Do not announce.Do not announce what you are going to write about. In other words, avoid phrases like “This paragraph is going to be about” and “I am going to tell you about.” When writing an academic paragraph, begin with a topic sentence. The topic sentence does not always need to be the first sentence, but it is helpful for beginning writers to put it in early. It gives the writer a focal point, and it provides the reader with some guidance as well.For example, if...

Do not be afraid of these three little words. Too often we are afraid to say “I don’t know” even when it is obvious we don’t.Knowledge and learning come from exploring, questioning, seeking, and failing. Yes, I said another prohibited word these days – failing. All that innocent word means is that we don’t know something at the moment. It is not a life sentence! Let’s get over our terminology stumbling blocks.When we don’t know something, we should...