essay writing about success

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

Meet top uk universities from the comfort of your home, here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.

Verification Code

An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify

Thanks for your comment !

Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.

School Education /

✍️Essay on Success in 100,150 and 200 Words: The Power of Positive Mindset

Updated on
Oct 26, 2023

The concept of success is very simple; if you invest your time wisely and work hard, you will achieve success in no time. But success is not as simple as it sounds; what might sound like success to one might not be the same for another person. It embodies the realization of one’s goals, aspirations, and desires, often accompanied by a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

Success is manifested in different aspects, such as career achievements, personal growth, or even the pursuit of happiness. It is a journey filled with determination, perseverance, and often a willingness to learn from both triumphs and setbacks. Ultimately, success is a subjective pursuit that reflects the unique path and definition of achievement for each person.

Table of Contents

1 What Makes a Person Successful?
2 Essay on Success in 100 Words
3 Essay on Success in 150 Words
4 Essay on Success in 200 Words

What Makes a Person Successful?

Being successful is very subjective and can vary from person to person. Therefore, here are some common factors which contribute to the success of a person.

Hard Work and Persistence: Success requires effort and dedication and one has the ability to face challenges.
Setting Clear Goals: It is very important for one to have specific and attainable goals which will provide direction and motivation.
Networking: The person should have the capability to build relations and at the same time be open to opportunities which strike.
Time Management: Managing time effectively and priorities is essential for productivity and progress.
Self-Discipline: One should be very focused and maintain self-control which will help them achieve long-term goals.
Management of Finances: Having a basic understanding of finances and managing them wisely is also very important for attaining financial success.

Essay on Success in 100 Words

Success is the culmination of dedication, hard work, and determination. It is not merely the achievement of material wealth, but the fulfilment of one’s goals and aspirations. Success varies from person to person; for some, it’s a thriving career, while for others, it could be having a harmonious family life.

To attain success, individuals must set clear objectives, persevere through challenges, and learn from failures. Success often involves learning, adapting, and embracing change. It’s the result of resilience and the willingness to keep pushing forward. Ultimately, success is a personal journey, and its definition is unique to each individual.

Essay on Success in 150 Words

Everybody wants to be successful in life, but are they willing to put in all their efforts? Success is not solely measured by wealth or fame but by achieving one’s goals and finding fulfilment. True success is often the result of determination, hard work, and resilience. Setting clear, achievable objectives and being persistent through challenges are crucial components.

Education is a common path to success, providing knowledge and skills that open doors to opportunities. Embracing failure as a stepping stone, learning from mistakes, and adapting to change are essential to achieving success. However, it’s important to recognize that success is subjective and can encompass a broader spectrum of achievements beyond material possessions.

Personal growth, happiness, and a sense of purpose are all part of success. Balancing personal and professional life is key to sustaining it. Ultimately, success is a journey, not a destination, and it’s about realizing your full potential and making a meaningful contribution to the world.

Also Read: Essay on Nature: In 100 Words, 200 Words, 300 Words

Essay on Success in 200 Words

Success is a multifaceted concept, often defined by achieving one’s goals and aspirations. It is a subjective and deeply personal notion, as what constitutes success varies from person to person. However, a common thread in success is the continuous pursuit of one’s ambitions, combined with determination and hard work.

Success is not solely measured by material wealth, but rather by the fulfilment and satisfaction that comes from reaching one’s objectives. It is the result of setting clear goals, developing a plan, and facing all the challenges. The road to success is rarely smooth; it is often marked by setbacks and failures. These obstacles are crucial for personal growth, teaching valuable lessons that contribute to success in the long run.

Moreover, success is not an endpoint; it is a continuous journey. It requires adaptability and the willingness to learn and evolve. Success can be found in various aspects of life, from career achievements to personal relationships and self-fulfilment. It is the balance and harmony between these different facets that lead to a truly successful and meaningful life.

In conclusion, success is a complex and individualized concept, rooted in determination, hard work, resilience, and personal growth. It is not defined solely by external markers but by the fulfilment and happiness, one derives from their accomplishments and the journey to achieve them.

Writing an essay on success requires you to describe this multifaceted concept. Success is achieved when one’s goal and objective is attained. Those who are successful, have fulfilled their highest ambitions in life and work, or are actively striving towards doing so.

Happiness does not follow success. Contrary to popular belief, living a life that makes you happy can help you achieve your goals and be content.

You gain from success because it gives you the things you want or need. Setting and achieving attainable goals results in a feeling of well-being.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay-writing page and follow Leverage Edu !

Malvika Chawla

Malvika is a content writer cum news freak who comes with a strong background in Journalism and has worked with renowned news websites such as News 9 and The Financial Express to name a few. When not writing, she can be found bringing life to the canvasses by painting on them.

Connect With Us

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. take the first step today..

Resend OTP in

Need help with?

Study abroad.

UK, Canada, US & More

IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More

Scholarship, Loans & Forex

Country Preference

New Zealand

Which English test are you planning to take?

Which academic test are you planning to take.

Not Sure yet

When are you planning to take the exam?

Already booked my exam slot

Within 2 Months

Want to learn about the test

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

When do you want to start studying abroad.

January 2024

September 2024

What is your budget to study abroad?

How would you describe this article ?

Please rate this article

We would like to hear more.

Have something on your mind?

Make your study abroad dream a reality in January 2022 with

India's Biggest Virtual University Fair

Essex Direct Admission Day

Why attend .

Don't Miss Out

Success Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on success.

Success Essay- In today’s world everyone wants to be successful but what is a success. The perspective of success varies from person to person. For the record, the people before us have a different view on success and the person after us will have a different view on success.

Moreover, people compare different people performance to evaluate their success. But success is not something that you can copy from others. You have to make your own path to achieving success. In modern-day, people are obsessed with success because of the glamour and lifestyle of successful people .

What formulates a person successful?

There are many ways in the world to be successful. But most people think of celebrities, artist, politicians, and businessmen whenever they heard the word success.

Moreover, they think doing what they will make you successful but that not the case. They forget the most basic thing that makes a person successful that is their hard work, dedication, and the desire to achieve their dream. More importantly, they what they like to do not what that others told them to do. Successful people do what they like to do also they do what they feel correct for their business.

If you look in the dictionary for the meaning of the word success then you will find that it means the achievement of one’s goal or aim . So, basically, anyone can achieve success by simply achieving their aim or goal.

What is the harm of success?

We all knew that we can’t achieve something without sacrificing something. Success also demands various things from you. But these sacrifices will not go in vain if you achieve your goal.

Certainly, many people achieve professional success but in doing so they fail in achieving mental, social and physical success. The tension of lacking behind in other things pulls them apart.

Also, there are cases where people became so obsessed with success that the people around them start to feel uncomfortable around them. In some cases, they have gone mad. Apart from that, people also get depressed if they can’t achieve success like others. So, we can say that there is much harm to success.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Success and hard work

It may sound unfit to some peoples but success depends a lot of hard work. Without it, you can’t become successful. Hard work does not mean that you do laborious work or the work that make you sweat. Hard work means having a healthy body, strong mind, willpower and positive attitude towards things. And for all those things you need energy. So, be attentive to your body and soul.

Besides, do not just work on your program, push your limit, take charge of other things, improve your skills and most importantly keep learning. Apart from that, be with positive peoples, develop positive habits, and do exercise not only for the body but also for your mind.

To sum it up, we can say that success is like a seed that needs a balanced proportion of all the elements of life. And no one can achieve success in a day they have to go through and face different conditions in life for being successful. Above all, success is the feeling of fulfillment that you feel when you achieve your goal.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

Travelling Essay
Picnic Essay
Our Country Essay
My Parents Essay
Essay on Favourite Personality
Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
Essay on Knowledge is Power
Essay on Gurpurab
Essay on My Favourite Season
Essay on Types of Sports

Download the App

Essays About Success: Top 5 Examples Plus 8 Prompts

Are you writing essays about success? Discover our guide that will help you succeed with essay examples about success and writing prompts.

Success is the achievement of a goal and can be achieved in the short, medium, or long term. Success does not come easily and often takes a great deal of hard work and commitment to achieving your dreams. However, some people walk a smoother path to success than others due to contacts, resources, and financial support.

While we all have different recipes for success, there are common ingredients that effectively support us in our pathway to success. Among them are discipline, patience, perseverance, and consistently followed strategy.

Read on below to see our pick of essay examples and prompts about success.




$30 per month	$79 per year	$20 per month

5 Essay Examples

1. crypto’s success proves it doesn’t need consumer trust by charlotte principato, 2. china’s success in fighting poverty offers lesson for all by alessandro golombiewski teixeira, 3. the story of the first sherpa to climb to the top of mt. everest by christopher rand, 4. ukrainian success will not be catastrophic by kori schake, 5. the story behind tesla’s success by amy wu, 8 topic prompts on essays about success, 1. academic success, 2. how to succeed in life, 3. success vs. happiness, 4. poems with the theme of success, 5. self-made billionaires: are they real , 6. how childhood experiences can affect success, 7. why exercise is vital to success, 8. is iq the best indicator of success.

“… [O]n top of playing their role in keeping financial assets safe, institutions will also need to provide customers with access to a broad array of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance products, as well as control over when and how they use them and greater transparency into how assets move.”

Crypto’s success is puzzling many over the influence — or lack thereof — of trust in the current generation of investors. But there is more to learn in today’s most untrusted but booming digital asset. And the lesson is for financial institutions to embrace crypto innovation while marrying this with their business principles on consumer confidence and safety.

“China’s poverty reduction strategy is worthy of reference for the majority of developing countries. In the process of poverty reduction, the Chinese government has had a clear overall plan and strategic direction. It has insisted that economic and social development go hand in hand.”

This essay weaves a remarkable story from the data on China’s drastic poverty alleviation. It is a story of progress that developing, and least-developed countries could turn to for inspiration in crafting anti-poverty policies and strategies. You can also check out these essays about business .

“Over the years, the try at the ascent was a test promoted largely by men who believed in white superiority. In the end, Tenzing, a nonwhite, passed it. Inevitably, this made him a hero to Indian nationalists. Tenzing is a Cinderella who has shown them that they, too, can be belles.”

The historic success of mankind in reaching the summit of Everest happened in the 1950s. Sadly it was little known that two men achieved this feat: one was British mountaineer Edmund Hillary and the other the Nepalese Tenzing Norkay. Norkay succeeds in raking in a “decent” income following the expedition, but his achievement is shadowed by the knighted Hillary.

“Ukrainians believe they are fighting for the fundamental values of a free society: human dignity, political liberty, national security. Those beliefs have electrified the society, which is engaged in impressive civic activism in support of the defense effort—something that will be studied by Western countries as mastery of 21st-century warfare.”

The counteroffensives of Ukraine have been successfully pushing Russian troops to retreat, exposing the decay in Russia’s military prowess and directing the world’s attention to its warfare tactics. While shrouded in grief over the loss of numerous civilian lives, Ukraine presses forward bolder and, in the process, wins overwhelming international support for the country to succeed against Putin’s Russia.

“Tesla’s release positioned it as one of the few successful independent automakers and a pioneer in the electric car market… When the Model S premiered in 2013, Tesla made headlines… The electric plug-in car received a near-perfect score of 99 out of 100 from Consumer Reports, which also named it as ‘the best car ever tested.'”

The essay tracked the beginnings of Tesla as a startup up to its success today as a $900 billion company. It looks holistically at its current operations, technology development strategies, and global expansion. Through the lens of analysts, it also gives readers a glimpse into the future of Tesla, which is projected to rake in almost 30% of the global electric car sales by 2030.

Essays about the success: Academic success

Some would define academic success as acing an exam, while for others, it’s about making it to the top of the class. We measure academic success mainly depending on what standard we aim to live up to and what we think is the best learning journey and pace. For this essay, talk about your barometers for academic success. Then, share your studying techniques and learning strategies for reaching new academic heights.

Over the years, there has been a lot of pressure for people to achieve significant life milestones faster, causing burnout and mental health disorders in a large population. Do you agree that pushing yourself to the limits is the right way to succeed in life? Your essay may take off from these questions, or you can provide your take on how to lead a successful life.

The road to success is beset with many impediments that could bring people down emotionally and mentally. For this essay, differentiate between success and happiness and determine which one is better to pursue. Back up your essay with research and real-life stories.

For example, if you choose happiness over success, you may cite studies showing how successful people are more prone to mental health instabilities. You may also turn your essay into a feature-like write-up by integrating stories of people who have climbed to the top of the corporate ladder only to fall into depression.

Be creative and turn your essay into a literary analysis. There is a wide array of poems about success at your disposal. One example and the most popular to date is Emily Dickinson’s “Success is Counted Sweetest.” You can dissect the poem line per line. Then, try to interpret the meanings beneath the metaphors and other figures of speech. Finally, articulate how the poem relates to the general aspects of life.

Debates have been brewing over describing billionaires as “self-made,” with critics arguing there is never such a thing as some even derived capital through inheritance. So for this essay, first lay down the definitions and criteria of what makes a self-made billionaire. Next, delve into the lives of those labeled as self-made billionaires and determine if their conditions meet the criteria enumerated.

Essays about the success: How childhood experiences can affect success

The field of psychology abounds in research studies that link factors from childhood to success or failure in one’s adult life. First, find research studies that interest you or could even relate to your life story. You could also cite others’ experiences as examples that agree with the research. Then, based on your chosen study, suggest how government, schools, and families can reform childhood practices to lead children to a better future.

Write about the scientific processes that happen to your body when you exercise and what these do in increasing your thinking capacity, energy, and focus, among others. Then, cite people you consider successful and write about their exercise routines. Finally, write about your exercise routine or plans to add exercise to your daily habit. You can also suggest programs for schools to encourage regular exercise among their students better

Some psychometric experts believe that the intelligence quotient is the best determinant of success, while others think it is but one. For your essay, write about where you stand on this divergence.

But first, walk your readers through the current debates on IQ. Then, support your opinion with the latest research correlating IQ with other factors such as social behavior and economic development. Also, add what experts have to say for additional support to your argument.

To check your grammar, try out ProWritingAid. ProWritingAid is one of our top-rated grammar checkers for several reasons, as laid down in this review .

But if writing essays is not your cup of tea, you can always write a simple five-paragraph essay .

Writing for Success

(52 reviews)

ISBN 13: 9781946135285

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Tracy Peterson, Adjunct Writing Instructor, Southwestern Oregon Community College on 8/16/23

Index is highly comprehensive. It includes the title of chapters as well as each subsection that can be linked directly from the index to the page within the document itself. Chapters include all major areas of study within my WR90 course. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Information is accurate and well thought out. It would be great to have PDFs of exercises given in the book. As it is, I’m not sure how usable the exercises are in the digital only format. I do, however, appreciate the focus on sentence skills. These are greatly needed among my Wr 090 students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is pretty timeless, and I don’t believe updates will need to be made often.

Clarity rating: 4

Text is clear, though perhaps a bit hard to access for many of my Writing 090 students. Terms such as “Rhetorical Modes”, for example, would not be understood. Simpler language would be more useful in a lower-level course. The occasional flowchart is useful; I would love to see more diagrams and/or images and less heavy text. While examples are given (generally one or two per concept), more would always be helpful.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is very consistent with the way ideas are presented, giving tips and highlights, key factors, examples, exercises, learning objectives, etc. All of these things are reproduced in each section and within each chapter in the same way, making them easy to find and identify.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters may be easily separated and rearranged according to the needs of the instructor. Subsections within each chapter are able to be completed independently.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the text is logical and rational. It begins with an introduction to writing, moves on to sentence skills, refining writing technique, the writing process, writing an essay, different rhetorical modes of essay writing, research and citations, presentations, and example essays.

Interface rating: 3

Title page could be a little more appealing. There are quite a lot of formatting issues, large oversized text boxes with writing in bottom quarter only throughout the entire text (Ex: pg 5), strange front sizes, and too much space on page (Ex: pg 72).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors. It was well worded and well written.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is pretty neutral. I would appreciate bringing in a little more cultural relevance into the text: images of multi-racial students, etc. However, the text does includes a section for English Language Learners which I greatly appreciate. These subsections could be added throughout the course, or done as a single unit.

Overall it is a well-made text. I personally would rather see a more project based textbook, but not finding any like that, I think this text creates a good jumping off point, from which the instructor can create and deliver more project based assignments.

Reviewed by Tonya Rickman, Adjunct Instructor English Department, Old Dominion University on 7/25/23

The content presented in this book is quite appropriate for college students, especially those students who are new to college and/or struggling with the rigors of reading and writing assignments required at the post-secondary level. The text is comprehensive as it encompasses a wide range of topics and strategies related to reading, writing, and academic work at the post-secondary level, making it a valuable resource for students and instructors alike. There is a glossary that includes key terminology – much of the language included in the book is straightforward (one does not need an extensive knowledge of English terminology to understand this book).

The text appears to be error free. There were a few examples provided in the grammar section (beginning on page 51), where the author discusses editing fragments that begin with prepositions. In those examples there appears to be a word repeated (e.g., when, When). However, it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that the repeated word “when” is not a typo, but it’s the format used to demonstrate a common error.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Even though the text was published in 2015 the information is still relevant and aligned with most of the reading and writing learning outcomes expected in a freshman and/or sophomore English course as well as other disciplines. Based on the current cultural climate in academia and shifting cultural norms in the broader society, the author might update examples in the book to convey a bit more of a feel of cultural inclusivity as well as a broader sense of technological advances (AI). That said, the systematic academic styles and simplistic tone certainly puts the reader at ease, especially when reading grammar rules that students might find confusing when presented in a more complex resource. Additionally, the exercises used to provide the reader with practice (i.e., Writing at Work) are not only a thoughtful way to help the reader make connections with the content of the text, but also useful in expanding the reader’s thinking beyond the use of a particular skill for academic purpose to a real-world application (i.e., the workplace).

Clarity rating: 5

Readers of this book have likely encountered the vast majority of terms used in the book at other times throughout their time in academia. The author actually described grammar and punctuation in a way that is understandable (i.e., short descriptions, rudimentary examples).

The format pretty much remains the same throughout the text – the author consistently articulates learning objectives, concepts, strategies, practice, and key takeaways. Additionally, visuals and links to external resources are regularly available to aid readers in gaining a deeper understanding of ideas. There is a logical progression of ideas as the reader moves forward in the text. For example, the reader is introduced to strategies for time management and study skills before learning strategies for conducting research.

Absolutely, this text can be read in sequential order (i.e., chapter one, two, three…), or the reader could refer to any chapter of interest based on his/her learning needs. As an English instructor, who has directed students to a variety of grammar resources online, I could see the benefit of directing students to a page in this text instead of several different online resources. Based on the quality of content in this text, it’s an efficient and effective way put a useful resource in the hands of students.

The sequential order of topics in the text is sensible – the structure enables the reader to know what’s coming next. The concepts in the text become increasingly complex as the reader progresses through each section of the text. The end of the text gives the reader the opportunity to apply understanding of concepts discussed earlier in the text. The progression in the complexity of skills is most notable in the steps for completion of a research paper – here the reader is challenged to apply several skills discussed earlier in the text (e.g., identifying the scope and sequence, considering steps in writing process, managing time).

Interface rating: 4

The majority of hypertext links are useful in navigating to other sections of the text and many of the links to external sources are still active (e.g., Library of Congress Subject Headings link). After visiting the external website, the reader is able to easily navigate back to the original text. The actual images (e.g., charts and tables) in the text are appropriately displayed – the color, spacing, and fonts are visually pleasing.

A huge part of the text is dedicated to the use of grammar – there don’t seem to be issues with grammar.

The text feels a bit culturally neutral - most of the examples are pretty generic. The reader likely feels the author is most concerned with providing examples for the purpose of highlighting development of essential skills that are part of the reading and writing process. For example, while there are multiple examples that spotlight contemporary issues (e.g., mortgage crisis, low-carb diets), the style and tone of writing feel appropriate for an academic text – you feel the examples are provide for academic purposes not to convey any views or positions on any of the issues.

I would recommend this book to English teachers for use with secondary and post-secondary students.

Reviewed by Alicia Andre, Faculty, Century College on 3/8/23

Writing for Success is a good text for an intro-college writing and grammar text. There are 15 chapters, and each chapter is well-organized and includes some sample essays and grammar exercises. What I like about this text, is that you can pick which topics will fit your course design. The beginning of the book has a comparison/contrast on the expectations of high school and college. This is a good way to start a college composition course because students often do not understand the demands of college writing. It also starts with reading strategies, and this is also helpful because many students today do not read carefully, and this can be a problem when they start to write a paper that asks them to analyze a reading. There is a lot to pick and choose from in this 600-page book.

The authors did an excellent job in this area as there were not any errors that I could see.

The chapters are relevant for any college composition course. The only concern is that the MLA/APA chapter may need to be updated. It might be a good idea to have a link to the Purdue Owl English web page in this chapter as the rules of MLA and APA often change over the years. Some of the readings and links might need to be updated as well.

I thought the organization and content were clear and easy to follow. I like that the “objectives” are included at the top of each chapter as this can be a nice way to see how course objectives link to the textbook chapters. Also, there are “tips” to help learners along the way.

There is clear consistency and it is easy to follow. The terminology seems accurate as well.

The modules are comprehensive and topics that I use in my college composition courses. The writing text that I am using now, has these topics embedded in units, but this text has similar topics in separate chapters which can be easy for the instructor and the student to locate. For instance, if I want to go over “understanding purpose in writing”, I can find information in the introduction. If I want to go over sentence boundaries, I can go to Chapter 2 or Chapter 6 depending on which one is a better way to explain the importance of using cohesive devices in writing. There is also a chapter on study skills that I would use at the start of the semester.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I suppose it isn’t easy to decide which chapter should go first to last. I looked at the organization of chapters and I would say Chapter 8 on “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin” should be after “Chapter 1: Introduction to Writing”, but since many teachers will simply assign certain chapters at different times, this isn’t a big problem. I like that the textbook included a chapter specifically designed for English Language Learners (ELL) since that is my subject area.

I think it is good, but I would like to see more visuals like graphs, pictures, and sample essays with edits. There are some good aspects though as the text has boxed information with samples. For instance, in the chapter on punctuation, the boxed information shows how the punctuation is used in the sentence. The text also includes some practice exercises in “blue” boxes. This is helpful because I can scan for those exercises and have students do those as homework. One concern I have is that some of the sample essays (i.e., Page 235) have small print and is difficult to read.

No errors that I can tell.

I think for the most part it is good in terms of being inclusive. The readings in the unit on narration included readings from Sandra Cisneros and Sherman Alexie. Some of the readings might include some sensitive topics related to race and abortion that could be problematic. However, I think that if I use this textbook, I can just pick and choose which topic best fits my students' needs.

I think this is an excellent book for a college composition course.

Reviewed by Jiale Hu, Assistant Professor｜Director of Research and Global Outreach, Virginia Commonwealth University on 8/10/22

It is a comprehensive book introducing writing skills. This book covers all the necessary writing basics, from words, sentences, and paragraphs to the whole essay. The authors also provide detailed instructions on the steps of writing. read more

Although some references need to be updated, the contents are accurate. The book provides error-free and unbiased content on writing.

This book is very helpful for students or even junior faculty who want to improve their writing skills.

As it is a book introducing academic writing skills, the authors did a fantastic job of writing this book in a clear way.

I appreciate that the authors structure all the chapters and sections in a consistent way. It makes reading and navigation more efficiently.

The book uses multiple strategies to break the contents into smaller reading sections. There are no enormous blocks of text without subheadings.

The contents of this book are well organized. Each chapter has multiple subchapters. Each subchapter has multiple sections to present the contents and topics in a logical, clear fashion. The authors have learning objectives at the beginning of each subchapter and key takeaways at the end of each subchapter. Major headings and subheadings are clear. All the further explanations or clarifications and examples or exercises have been put in the boxes for easy navigation.

Interface rating: 5

This book provides five formats, including online, pdf, ebook, XML, and ODF. Each format looks great! I did not experience any interface issues. I did not find any navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse readers.

After I read the book thoroughly, I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book has a chapter for English language learners. This is greatly appreciated. I did not see any text culturally insensitive or offensive. The essays in the final chapter also include a variety of examples.

My favorite chapter is Chapter 8: The Writing Process: How Do I Begin? This chapter provides detailed steps of the writing process: Prewriting, Outlining the structure of ideas, Writing a rough draft, Revising, and Editing. Especially in the chapter on outlining, the authors provide great examples showing different ways of organizing ideas and constructing outlines.

Reviewed by Seo Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Superior on 8/21/21

comprehensive book to adopt effective writing strategies for college students read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

comprehensive book to adopt effective writing strategies for college students

it was very accurate and clear, such as the basics of vocabulary, paragraph development, and introduction of essay paper.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

since I do not have a lot of writing assignments for the class, this book is not relevant to my course work

this book is very easy to follow through the context of book, very organized that need to college students

Consistency rating: 4

very structured and well-organized content

Modularity rating: 4

Yes. it help to write essay paper, the learn the process of writing

well-organized content

easy to follow, introduce the basic elements of writing for college students

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I do not see grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

did not involve the cultural contexts.

Reviewed by Pam Whitfield, English faculty, Rochester Community & Technical College on 12/21/20

Pretty accessible for students. Maybe a bit simple for freshman writing, but I would consider using it in a comp 101 course and supplementing with my own materials. I am most likely to use it for a “higher level” developmental writing course. Grammar comes first in the table of contents. That’s fine with me as it makes accessing those sections easy, but I would not teach these chapters chronologically. I would pick and choose, reordering chapters for my students to teach more holistically, so comp methodology has grammar embedded in it.

No glossary or index. This is a large omission and could be easily corrected: hire a grad student to do it as a summer project.

The content and examples are accurate overall. Ch 6 replaces persona/speaker/writer with tone in the rhetorical triangle. I find that reductionist or overly simplistic. But the chapter as a whole is superbly geared toward the dev ed writers I typically teach. I would use it in a class for students who missed the testing placement cut off for freshman composition.

I'd call its approach pretty classic in terms of comp pedagogy. It will not become obsolete in the near future. Updates should focus on new media and digital sources/examples.

Highly readable for students.

Yes, it's a text that provides a great overview but does not go deep into any one area or skill set. For ex, Chapter 5 for ELL students is just a start. Or perhaps it’s a jumping off place for teacher’s own pedagogy and materials. The slang and idioms lists are very short, for instance. They are just a starting point. This chapter could be an effective review for a competent ELL student or allow the instructor to assign one section/topic as needed to individual students.

I like the amount of sectioning; it reads in bite sized pieces for students. This is a long book—over 600 pages. It could be intimidating to dev ed and ELL students.

What helps make this text more organized and user friendly: key takeaways list at end of each chapter. charts and lists for quick reference by students. quick tips in text boxes. “writing at work” tips that help students connect the usefulness of what they’re learning in the classroom to the workplace.

There are a few poor design choices. For ex, student examples are displayed in italic font (as if the student were writing cursive). Italic font slows reading speed on the page and increases eye fatigue. Never put more than one sentence total into italics. The PDF version really needs a way to "tag" or jump to each chapter directly. Better yet, to jump to each section in the chapter by using a hyperlink or similar tool in the table of contents.

Everything I read was clean.

There is some variety. I would not term this a standout or obvious strength of the text.

I would test drive it for one semester in dev ed first, then consider adapting and supplementing it for my first year comp students.

Reviewed by Christian Aguiar, Asst Professor of English, The University of the District of Columbia on 12/21/20

This text provides extensive coverage of all of the content areas typically covered in first-year composition courses at community colleges. It includes chapters on paragraph structure, the writing process, rhetorical modes, research, MLA and APA documentation, sentence structure, punctuation, mechanics, revision, and even designing presentations. Individual chapters include check-in questions and, in most cases, suggested activities for students to complete as they read. There is also a selection of sample essays that follow the rhetorical modes. Finally, hyperlinks have been strategically placed to help students review important concepts by referring them back directly to the chapter where that concept was first introduced. This makes for a richly layered reading experience while also facilitating modular usage of the text.

The text generally follows the established approach to teaching writing, so its discussion of research writing, for example, includes sections on topic selection, planning, conducting research, organizing ideas, drafting and revising.

Wisely, the authors have avoided over-embellishing their work with examples that might become dated. Those examples critical to student learning tend to focus on general, enduring topics. Some of the suggested topics and activities may not age quite as well - for example, one activity asks students to complete an idea map to analyze the impact of “social networking,” which may already be a somewhat dated concept for students. Since the activities are clearly set apart in lightly-shaded boxes, it’s easy for users to update these activities as needed. It must be said that the included student examples are pretty generic; I’ve never used them.

In a nod to digital reading habits, the authors have kept paragraphs mercifully short - typically 2-3 sentences, rarely any more. Sub-headings are used judiciously. Each chapter section introduces learning objectives at the top of the page and “takeaways” at the bottom. The authors don’t attempt to over-simplify the writing styles, so the readability score is relatively high, in the 10th-12th grade or college range. This makes the text ideal for a first-year writing course, though it may prove somewhat challenging when used as part of development coursework, such as in a corequisite course.

The design of the text is clear and lucid. There are fifteen chapters, each divided into several sections covering individual topics. Each topic begins with clear learning objectives and concludes with one or more key points. All chapters feature built-in comprehension questions, short writing activities, and/or writing tips. The visual design is crisp; it makes use of white space and a consistent color palette to improve readability.

The organization of the text makes it very easy to assign a single chapter, or section of a chapter, at a time. Each section has its own URL that can be embedded in an LMS to bring students directly to the desired reading. The use of hyperlinks to refer back to ideas covered in “previous” chapters makes it easier to take the text out of order, as students are able to readily access concepts.

See consistency

The digital interface is clean, consistent, and easy to navigate. The text does not generally make use of images, though there are frequent tables, charts and organizers that read clearly on Chrome and Firefox.

In two years of teaching with the text, I have found no grammatical errors.

The text is culturally competent in the sense of being quite generic and inoffensive; it does not necessarily engage a range of experiences or voices. I haven't found this a problem because the text does not include any embedded readings - it is strictly focused on writing content, so I supplement it with short stories, essays, and films that I have selected. This makes the text readily adaptable to varied cultural contexts. The student sample essays included at the end of the text do embody a white, middle-class aesthetic, though: one describes baseball, “America’ pastime,” while another compares London and Washington, D.C.

I’ve used this book as a core text for my first-year writing course for two years, and I find it generally does everything the standard first-year writing textbook does with the added benefits of being clearer, more concise, editable and, of course, free. It is designed to support process- or modes-based courses, but it can also be easily used in smaller chunks to support other approaches to first-year writing.

Reviewed by Holly Armstrong, Instructor, Middlesex Community College on 6/30/20

Writing for Success thoroughly covers all aspects of writing. Beginning with the basics of vocabulary, the text progresses through word order, paragraph development, sentence variety and clarity, then moves on to beginning an essay through to research writing. For first year students, including English language learners, the textbook provides clear and thorough descriptions of the writing process and provides examples of completed essays for review as well.

The content of the text is accurate and error-free. While the text covers more topics than I would use in my Reading, Writing, and Reasoning course, the review of vocabulary development, word order, sentence variety, grammar, and paragraph writing are crucial for my students.

Instructional material in Writing for Success is up-to-date and not likely to go out of date since the focus is on the very basics of introductory writing through to essay formats.

Writing for Success is easy to read and appropriate for first year students. While lengthy, the overall review of vocabulary, word order, sentence writing, paragraph development, including help for English learners especially regarding word choice and sentence order, provide clear and concise information.

Tone used is consistent throughout the text. Examples and exercises for each covered topic are easily found and clearly labeled.

Writing for Success covers all aspects of reading and writing, while also incorporating grammar review, and providing help for English learners. While the text is long, instructors can pick relevant material to use and students have a resource that can be used as a reference tool for later courses as well.

Writing for Success follows a logical flow for introducing writing to first year students. The text has a detailed table of contents and each section is clearly labeled and easy to follow. However, there is no index or glossary as part of the text, and this feature is one that could be added for greater ease of use.

I read Writing for Success online and did not have any issues. I was able to navigate the text easily.

The text contained no grammatical errors.

The text was not culturally insensitive. Perhaps the readings included can be updated to include more relevant and timely topics.

Writing for Success is a thorough text encompassing all aspects of the writing process. For first year students, it provides a complete grammar review as well as clearly organized and detailed instruction for essay writing, including model essays. Throughout the text, clear and thorough explanations of concepts are given. Although the text contains limited images, it is well organized and easy to follow. While some students may not need such a thorough review before beginning essay writing, a text that can meet the needs of all learners in my introductory course is welcome.

Reviewed by Brenda Williams, Faculty, Lane Community College on 6/23/20

It is complete and accurate. It covers a lot of material. read more

It is complete and accurate. It covers a lot of material.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

No errors and it is unbiased.

It is very relevant. It will help college students adjust to the college environment and expectations.

The text is direct and clear. An easy read.

It is consistent throughout each chapter and easy to navigate.

It does cover alot of material but that could make it easier to break up into smaller assignments.

It flows and is organized. It can be taught in a different order though which can be helpful.

I had no issues. Things were easy to find and navigate.

I didn't find anything insensitive or offensive.

It was written well.

Reviewed by Dr. Deborah Bradford, Part-time Professor, Bridgewater State University on 6/11/20

This book is very complete, but does not have an index or glossary. It does have a Table of Contents. It might be the most extensive book I have encountered for the topics that are covered. read more

This book is very complete, but does not have an index or glossary. It does have a Table of Contents. It might be the most extensive book I have encountered for the topics that are covered.

This book is accurate and unbiased with no errors.

Writing for Success is timeless in its content. I don't see anything that would make it obsolete. If any updates were needed, I'm sure they could be made easily.

Writing for Success is very clearly written which is especially helpful for beginning writers. The examples given are also very clear followed by exercises that reinforce the material. I did not find any outstanding (in a negative way) technical terminology.

The text is very consistent regarding terminology and framework. One can expect to always find the same headings/subheadings in each chapter such as Learning Objectives, Exercises, Tips, Writing at Work, Key Takeaways, etc. My additional comments about organization (which is very close to the meaning of framework) are below.

Writing for Success is a huge book that covers just about everything a professor would want for any level writer. There really is no way the book could or should be used in its entirety during one semester. It definitely can be easily broken up and reorganized into smaller sections according to what is needed at different points in the semester.

This book is very well-organized. When one becomes familiar with how the material is presented after the first chapter or so, it is comforting to see this same format followed throughout, making the information easier to read and comprehend. The headings and subheadings are clearly marked and bolded and the information that is in a box (Learning Objectives, Tips, etc.) in one chapter is consistently in a box in the other chapters. However, chapters 2-5 (or at least chapters 2-3) might be better placed nearer the end of the book, after the rhetorical mode essay examples or in an appendix. After reading chapter 1, I was surprised to suddenly be thrust into chapters on grammar and punctuation when I would have preferred continuing to read about the elements of writing that are discussed after chapter 5. However, the sequence of chapters can be changed according to the needs of the particular class (as noted in the Modularity section above).

I did not encounter any interface issues.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

I did not find the book to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

This book is great and I would recommend it to any professor who is teaching a beginning or even intermediate writing course. I especially like the sections entitled Tips and Key Takeaways which serve as very helpful and concise information/reminders of what to keep in mind for good writing. I was so happy to also see the section entitled Writing at Work included, as I have not seen similar content in many writing books. It is so important to include, as I always want to have my students make a connection between their school work and the outside world, i.e. their real world professional work -- a connection that is sometimes difficult for them to make, especially for the traditional college-aged students.

Reviewed by Eileen Feldman, Instructor, Bunker Hill Community College on 6/4/20

This book presents traditional aspect of writing: grammar, sentence construction, paragraph development, essays, research. It raises the bar by adding chapters directed to novices transitioning into college, to English Language Learners, and to... read more

The material and grammar/spelling showed no errors

The relevance is written for longevity. Contemporary technology is referred to and can be added to by interested readers. The topics suggested for writing exercises are timeless but could also be expanded by the Creative Commons agreement.

The text is clear in language, font, and format. There are so graphics , but charts and blue shading for tips help focus attention.

The framework of this book is consistent. Each chapter contains purpose statements, tips to help students, workplace writing situations, key takeaway summaries, and end of chapter quizzes. There are student paragraphs and essay to demonstrate each concept.

Each section can be separated and used as students' needs are assessed. The order of chapters can be changed at teacher's discretion.

The text is clear and logical. The entire Appendix of student sample essays of each rhetorical style appeared rather surprisingly and could be incorporated with those preceding sections.

There are no interface problems, but neither are there many charts or images.

THere are no glaring grammatical errors.

The topics suggested are of American interest and might not resonate with a variety of cultures in the class. Likewise the sample student essay might be intimidating or irrelevant to some readers.

The two outstanding contributions added to this rhetoric are1) the lengthy socioemotional introduction to college level work and challenges and 2)the concern with incorporation of these wkills into workplace environment.

Reviewed by Christy Moore, Associate Professor, Marian University on 3/27/20

The text is VERY comprehensive. I believe it would be difficult to get all the way through the text in one semester. It covers the most basic writing processes early and then eases the student into a more complex understanding of what he/she needs to know to write effectively for the assignments normally given at the college level. The Key Takeaways sections and End of the Chapter exercises really provide teachers a way to continuously assess student understanding throughout the semester.

The content is accurate and all of the exercises that I tried, that are provided to test student understanding, were written correctly as well. Each section is very specific and accurately instructs on certain skills and topics essential for quality writing.

Based on the fact that this text covers English grammar and writing at an acceptable level for a college student, the material is very relevant and should remain that way quite easily. Any student that did not have the opportunity to have a strong grammar/writing class in high school will learn so much from the material provided in the text. As technology grows and changes, there may be a place for additions to different formats for student writing.

I believe the text to be clear, concise and to the point. All of the exercises provided throughout the text allow for students to check their own clarity and understanding of the material as well. The writing and grammar terminology used in the text is clear and specific in both definition and organization.

The consistency of the terminology and framework is more than adequate. One thing that this text provides that I think is essential for the student just entering college is predictability. All of the chapters follow a similar framework that can really provide much needed continuity for a student just getting started a college level reader and writer.

Depending on pre-assessment of students in the course, I believe that this text is set up for easy reorganization of material. There will be some sections that students should be able to test out of due to more than adequate prior knowledge. For those though that need a more step by step approach to topics, the content is divided into very manageable sections that will not be overwhelming to a novice to the writing process.

The structure of the text is logical and clear. The text is formatted in a way where an instructor can jump back and forth to meet the needs of specific students for the writing assignment at hand. I would like to see some writing assignments earlier in the text which could help incorporate a student's understanding of the grammar and mechanics that he/she just learned.

The book's interface had no issues. I navigated the chapters and sub-sections very easily and viewed many of the quality charts, graphs and examples provided throughout the text. I liked the bolded vocabulary terms and links provided that take you back and forth to chapters that supplement one another.

I found no grammatical errors.

I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive or offensive.

I wish all of the students that I have in my Reading and Writing in the Content Areas course would have the opportunity to utilize this book in an entry level writing class on campus. It would give me the peace of mind that they have all been introduced to the material that is essential to develop good writers and that they can move on to teach writing appropriately in their future secondary classrooms.

Reviewed by Joseph Amdahl, Adjunct, Chemeketa Community College on 5/21/19

This category might indicate one of the downsides of this particular textbook -- the text covers quite a bit of ground, coming in at a mere 645 pages. Having said that, a lot of the page includes examples, exercises, and their "Key Takeaways" section -- so the page count doesn't come across as overwhelming as it might seem. Overall, thorough/useful text that would work well for a composition course.

There were no glaring issues with the book regarding accuracy. Writing comes across as objective. A few minor aspects -- for example, the author writes: "A good paragraph contains three distinct components: a topic sentence, body, and concluding sentence." Would have liked more regarding paragraph transitions and implementation of both topic sentence and paragraph transition sentences for students. Overall, book seems accurate and with low bias.

The first half of the text will hold up well, -given that it covers less malleable material like grammar/usage/etc. The essay/writing exercises could be useful in the second half - though not totally inspiring. Given that MLA/APA format evolves/changes, the last section of the textbook will probably go out of date within the next few years.

The material in the textbook is fairly clear. One of the downsides of this text is how much ground is covered. Would probably be more clear if the book was split into two books -- one on grammar/usage and one on the writing process and the elements of an essay.

The text seems consistent regarding both terminology and framework.

Given the page count of this textbook, it might be difficult to cover this much material in a 10-week term. The "Key Takeaways" sections of the chapters were useful and a neat way to add clarity to the intention of each section. Again, given the white space on the page, the text doesn't come across as overwhelming -- though it could have been split into two books in order to add clarity. Would be easy for an instructor to assign sections here (one per week might be manageable).

The layout of the textbook makes sense. From the building blocks of language/grammar/usage to the writing process, essay assignments, editing, and finally formatting. Again, could probably split into two textbooks -- one that covers grammar/usage/format and one that covers the writing process & essay assignments.

The text has no glaring interface issues; however, a few of the pages had quite a bit of white space. For example, page 460 ends after a short paragraph, followed by mostly white space, and then some boxes containing information on pg. 461. Organization like this was probably an attempt to make the content as clear as possible.

There were no glaring grammatical errors.

I didn't notice anything offensive or culturally insensitive within the textbook.

This textbook would be useful to a range of students. The exercises, on a variety of grammar/usage topics, are clear and thorough. The one downside is just that this textbook covers quite a bit of ground.

Reviewed by Candace Hoes, Adjunct Lecturer, LAGCC on 5/17/19

The textbook begins at the basics of writing, such as grammar, word choice, and constructing sentences, and then builds to more complex concepts such as creating a thesis in a research paper. There are adequate stepping stones along the way, with examples of strong and weak theses that gradually build upon each other. I could see using this textbook for both an intro composition course and several building levels. There are examples of several types of essays both within the text itself and hyperlinked to outside websites.

The instructional matter of this textbook seems consistent with basic composition courses.

I wish that instead of links, the textbook provided a few examples of parenthetical citations of commonly used types of sources. I can see the advantage to providing links is that it more or less places the burden on those websites to stay up to date with the MLA's stipulations instead of updating the textbook itself. However, in my experience, students don't always follow links and would probably ask the professor directly instead. The websites that are linked, such as Purdue Owl, are very robust, but beginning composition students have difficulty navigating those websites to find their answers.

This textbook avoids jargon when explaining concepts and breaks down concepts that can easily confuse a beginning composition student, such as the main idea versus a controlling idea.

This textbook uses the same terminology throughout.

The textbook is highly modular. For example, in my composition course, I would assign brief, five-minute presentations to the students on grammar and punctuation as a review. The sections on word choice and additional help for English language learners would be good as individual readings or to refer students to on a case by case basis if I noticed errors in their essays. The sections that discuss essay types are very in-depth, so I would use them as the backbone for a lesson delivered during the class and assign them as reading as reinforcement. They could be used to open up a unit that culminates in that type of essay. I would focus on one skill in particular in each unit, such as a strong thesis, body paragraphs, introductions and conclusions, etc.

However, the example I gave drew from several different areas of the textbook. It's designed in such a way that it's easy to pick and choose what you need. You wouldn't have to adhere to their organization or go "straight down the list" in order to make sense and use of the textbook.

I appreciate that the learning objectives are separated out into boxes at the beginning of each sub-unit to make it easier for the instructor to scan for individual lessons. The organization of subjects are designed build upon each other from the smallest building blocks of writing to more complex assignments. Key takeaways and exercises are included at the close of each section as well.

The text itself is well formatted in an easy to read typeface and font.

The table of contents on the PDF is easy to use and has internal links to pages, which eliminates the need for searching for page numbers. Each subsection is also linked, which comes in hand because the chapters themselves have been broken down into such discreet sections that it's easy to find just the lesson that's needed rather than search an entire chapter.

Some of the external hyperlinks are no longer working.

I wish that some of the images and charts were easier to read in the PDF, but they can be clicked on and printed for handouts.

I did not find any glaring grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

In the lesson on developing a thesis, the textbook asks students to write a thesis on, "Texting while driving; The legal drinking age in the United States; Steroid use among professional athletes; Abortion; Racism." While these are topics that students are likely to have strong opinions on and therefore it's easy for them to create an "argument," I do not find that beginning compositions students have the finesse to address abortion and racism delicately. That could easily spiral into a hurtful and insensitive writing exercise. The examples of essays included in the textbook themselves seem pretty homogeneous from a cultural perspective. There are external links to essays from more culturally diverse perspectives, but unfortunately some of them are no longer active.

Overall this is a very robust and useful textbook.

Reviewed by Bradley Hartsell, Adjunct English Instructor, Emory & Henry College on 3/13/19

With 600+ pages, this textbook really builds college writing from the ground up, starting with 'sentence writing' and 'subject-verb agreement' all the way up to writing a research paper and examples of 10 different kinds of essay. In between, the textbook is thorough in its explanations and rife with exercises concerning grammar-related instruction and essay construction. I'm not left feeling an aspect I teach in my courses is ignored or goes underserved.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The textbook's explanation of grammar and sentence construction certainly seem correct, as does their advanced lessons such as developing and revising a thesis statement. However, I did errors on pg. 44 and pg. 49 ("Computers are tool" has a missing word; "The entire family overslept Because because we lost power" and "He has been seeing a physical therapist Since since his accident" seem indicate that those are correct sentences as written, failing to account for the repeated and incorrectly capitalized word). Regarding biases, on pg. 359, in strengthening a working thesis about teenage girls becoming too sexualized, the authors take some editorial liberties asserting that "It is true that some young women in today's society are more sexualized..."; it seems distracting for them to comment on this topic at all, at least without any providing any couched language, like "While the writer of this thesis may feel this way, he or she should also consider X, Y, and Z..."; for example, the authors suggest this 'student' should ask themselves the following questions, including "What constitutes 'too sexualized?'" which is an instructive question for the 'student' to ask themselves but the authors should also be operating within those same parameters, or better yet, abstaining from any comment on female sexuality at all. Also, their example sentences/questions seem conspicuously politically-charged (e.g. "The welfare system is a joke" pg. 358; "Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation." pg. 357; "Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration." pg. 355). And lastly, there are unnecessary editorial uses (i.e. not instruction sentences, examples, etc.) of gendered pronouns ('He' being a bad storyteller, pg. 353).

English grammar and college writing have the convenience of not really going out of date; APA/MLA formatting can easily be updated accordingly.

This textbook does a good job of putting grammatical jargon, like independent clauses, in plain terms so that anyone can understand it. Even as an English instructor, I don't always readily recall the correct terms and exact definitions, even if I know how to use them in practice, so Writing for Success does a nice job of stripping away heightened language and providing plenty of right/wrong examples, therefore making something otherwise pedantic fairly accessible.

Throughout the comprehensive span of the textbook, I see no departure in the terminology or the fairly conversational style of communicating information.

This textbook is formatted and coherently layered in a way that is easy to visualize and process, with properly sectioned-off section introductions, lesson 'tips,' examples, and exercises.

The textbook flows in a logical, linear fashion, beginning with simple 'subject-verb agreement' and each section linearly building from the one that came before it, until now-grammatically correct sentence structure can be built into more complex sentences, and thus drafting a college essay (and so on).

The interface is fluid; it's convenient that it goes to desired page upon click in the table of contents; places to enter answers prompt a text bar to allow you to write into.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

See above--there are no major errors that I can tell, but I did see careless mistakes on pg. 44 and pg. 49.

I find this textbook greatly lacking here. Exercise 1 on pg. 355 asks students to make a student for, in part, 'abortion' and 'racism.' Why? The former is especially charged. Elsewhere, the authors can be clumsy when addressing femininity, race, and politics. Again, why include charged examples? Yes, most language is mostly inoffensive (e.g. "My mother freezed the remaining tomatoes from her garden so that she could use them during the winter), but be it editorial or 'student' examples, they needlessly make allusions to divisive topics. Allow me to restate from above: on pg. 359, in strengthening a working thesis about teenage girls becoming too sexualized, the authors take some editorial liberties asserting that "It is true that some young women in today's society are more sexualized..."; it seems distracting for them to comment on this topic at all, at least without any providing any couched language, like "While the writer of this thesis may feel this way, he or she should also consider X, Y, and Z..."; for example, the authors suggest this 'student' should ask themselves the following questions, including "What constitutes 'too sexualized?'" which is an instructive question for the 'student' to ask themselves but the authors should also be operating within those same parameters, or better yet, abstaining from any comment on female sexuality at all. Also, their example sentences/questions seem conspicuously politically-charged (e.g. "The welfare system is a joke" pg. 358; "Despite his promises during his campaign, President Kennedy took few executive measures to support civil rights legislation." pg. 357; "Closing all American borders for a period of five years is one solution that will tackle illegal immigration." pg. 355). And lastly, there are unnecessary editorial uses (i.e. not instruction sentences, examples, etc.) of gendered pronouns ('He' being a bad storyteller, pg. 353). Regardless of the authors' politics, left or right, it seems relatively easy to use language and examples without allusions to politics--socially, bodily, or otherwise.

The idea and general execution of this textbook is everything I want in an English textbook--free for my students to use and comprehensive enough to cover any reasonable topic to expect in my composition classes. For me, the variety in my class calls for some students needing very basic attention paid to grammar (check), while others ace grammar and need thesis strengthening or outlining of research topics (check). There are a couple of grammar mistakes I've noted (which suggests there could be more that I've missed), and I strongly believe some (many?) editorial decisions need to be shelved, namely that of the authors' inclusion of politically-adjacent (or even politically-charged) language and examples. Students in a first-year writing course shouldn't be asked to develop a thesis statement about abortion, or read the authors imply something of a referendum on an assassinated president.

Reviewed by James Gapinski, Instructional Specialist, Chemeketa Community College on 3/8/19

WRITING FOR SUCCESS has extensive depth and breadth. It is over 600 pages in the PDF format, but it doesn’t contain much redundant or extraneous information. The book starts with some discussion of how college writing is different from other forms of writing—setting up that distinction provides realistic expectations and contextualization for beginning college-level writers. The book moves into a discussion of reading strategies, emphasizing the importance of comprehending and exploring college readings before diving into writing assignments. I like how these pre-writing discussions frame the entire book, moving naturally toward more technical chapters on grammar and usage, revision, research, and documentation styles. This book is a beast, containing just about anything a writing teacher might need for introductory composition students.

This book is accurate and thorough. I do not notice errors in fact.

WRITING FOR SUCCESS contains useful information that is likely relevant on many college campuses. It is current, but it is not necessarily forward-thinking in its scope. Within the state of Oregon—and more broadly on the national stage—college-level writing is moving toward multimodal composition. This book covers the classic writing assignments found in a typical college classroom, but it does not dive as explicitly into emerging forms of writing. In coming years, outcomes and assessments will likely focus on multiple expressive modes within the composition process. Shifts toward new modes of writing will render the book obsolete if it is not amended or updated. Moreover, there are some missed opportunities in this book for embedding more URLs that prompt additional research and intertextual learning. There are some chapters that incorporate links to online writings by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., links to online library resources, and so on, but these are few and far between in WRITING FOR SUCCESS. A broader focus on new media could greatly improve this book’s long-term relevance.

This textbook is clear and accessible. Whenever new terminology is introduced, definitions are readily provided and explained. It scaffolds information meaningfully and thoughtfully.

This book features consistent formatting and organization. After students have read one or two chapters, they will expect some charts and tables that help define concepts, quick tips in each chapter, and regular exercises to practice what they’ve learned. These learning tools are provided in predictable ways, so students are not caught off-guard by new content.

WRITING FOR SUCCESS breaks information into recognizable modules. Chapters are clearly organized around core themes, and they could be easily assigned piecemeal or out-of-sequence. Additionally, within each chapter, information is presented in bite-sized pieces, with clear headings for navigation and reference. Overall, navigation is clear, and this textbook’s format allows instructors to pick and choose which topics they want students to read.

Topics follow a logical order. The book starts with an introduction to college writing, moves into writing basics, and ends with discussion of formal research writing. The section on English Language Learners felt out of sequence, as if it were placed into the book at random. The ELL chapter is extremely valuable and should remain in the book, but on a macro level, it does not flow with the surrounding chapters. Still, that is only one hiccup in an otherwise well-organized book.

The interface is clean, and this book is offered in multiple formats for ease of access. I personally read the PDF format, and it was easy to navigate. The informational boxes with tips and exercises were eye-catching, and the text itself is formatted well.

I did not notice any glaring grammatical problems.

WRITING FOR SUCCESS draws from examples and recommends additional readings across several cultural contexts, so it earns some kudos for that. Moreover, the book is aware of its own textual inferences; when the book presents students with hypothetical examples, the fictitious students are not exclusively given Indo-European names. However, some problems arise elsewhere in the text. For example, there is a sample exercise that talks about “gay marriage” being legal in six states. Not only is “marriage equality” a more inclusive term, but the exercise itself is outdated and does not reflect the fact that marriage equality is now recognized on the federal level. In another example, the narrative essay section directs students to several pieces written by Sherman Alexie. While its important to include native authors in textbooks, Sherman Alexie has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. In the #MeToo era, perhaps Natalie Diaz or Louise Erdrich are more appropriate native writers to highlight. While these are just two isolated examples, I found several other microaggressions and culturally insensitive missteps in this book. It feels out-of-touch in key moments. These problems could be addressed through some surgical revisions, but this aspect of the text is problematic in its current form.

Overall, this is a comprehensive book with many valuable chapters. It has some shortcomings, and I would be hesitant to adopt the book in its entirety. However, its incredible breadth and thoughtful modularity allows instructors to pick and choose which chapters best fit their learning goals.

Reviewed by Dhipinder Walia, Lecturer, Lehman College on 5/21/18

This text covers all structural and technical concepts in Standard American English using succinct tutorials and relevant examples. Additionally, there are several sections that may guide student writers towards major writing assignments like the... read more

The content is accurate and error-free.

The instructional material is up to date and will not easily become out of date. The only portion that I found less than timely is the APA/MLA portion as well as the visual chapter. The aesthetics of charting and presentations has already changed since this publication.

There is no jargon here. Everything is intended for a beginner writer. It is also easy for instructors to layer on difficult concepts during lecture if students are up for it.

The tone is consistent as is the emphasis on the writer and their process.

Modularity rating: 3

I didn't find the organization to be effective. Traditionally, in a composition course, I am not going to assign a student to read chapters on mechanics. Rather, I would assign a type of writing alongside a reading alongside a particular concept. It might be interesting to readjust the organization to show the way grammar, structure, and content work together rather than apart.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

As mentioned above, I don't think the flow works as an instructional tool for a first year writing course. I think it works better as a supplementary resource for a student writer.

There were no interface issues.

This text contained no grammatical errors

The text is not insensitive though the readings are political in nature.

This is a useful text for composition instructors to have, particularly when teaching an online course. I could easily copy and paste tutorials into my feedback for students. Should the structure of this text change, I may consider using it as a text.

Reviewed by Catherine Batsche, Associate Dean, University of South Florida on 3/27/18

This text provides a comprehensive overview of writing. The text covers basic writing skills, organizational skills, and the writing process. There are even chapters on writing research papers and various types of essays. It could be used as a text for a writing course or as a reference book for students who need to work on selected problem areas to improve their writing.

The text provided accurate information, good examples, and several activities to reinforce the major points in each chapter.

The book contains basic information about writing that should continue to be relevant over time.

Clarity rating: 3

The writing style of the book is extremely clear and easy to follow.

The framework for this book is applied consistently across chapters and sections. Each chapter begins with clearly stated learning objectives, exercises, learning tips, and key takeaways.

The book can easily be used as stand-alone chapters, entire sections, or the book as a whole. I plan to use several chapters in workshops to train teaching assistants who will grade assignments in writing-intensive courses. The teaching assistants will then use the entire book as a reference book when providing feedback to students.

The text is well organized and flows in a clear, logical fashion. Some chapters may be less useful for some classes depending on the purpose of the class. For example, the first few chapters on study skills seems out of place in relation to the remainder of the text. Likewise, the chapters on APA and MLA style are too condensed to provide more than an overview and will need to be supplemented with other material. However, these chapters do not detract from the overall quality of the book.

The presentation of the book does not have as much visual appeal as some other online books. It is text-heavy but well organized. I had no problem navigating the book.

I have not found any grammatical errors.

I have not found any examples that might be offensive. However, I have not yet used the book in its entirety so I will learn more about this aspect as I begin to use it with students.

Many undergraduate students need to improve their writing skills but don't know how to get the help they need. This book provides a valuable resource for students who need to learn more about the writing process as well as those who need to improve in specific areas such as grammar and punctuation. I plan to use the text to train teaching assistants how to provide feedback to students who are taking courses that have major writing assignments. This is an excellent book that can be used as a stand-alone text or as a supplemental reference in any course that has major writing assignments.

Reviewed by Davida Jordan, Adjunct Instructor, Portland Community College on 8/15/17

Extremely comprehensive, clocking in at over 600 pages, this book is an excellent grammar reference for writing students. It includes practical exercises that can be used to strengthen work writing or academic writing. It would appeal to a wide variety of students, from beginning to advanced and is arranged in order of increasing difficulty. Besides giving practical information about grammar and writing, the text includes helpful suggestions on organization, time management, and study skills.

There are some small typos such as missing letters or words. Overall, the book is mainly error-free, but for a good grammar and writing textbook, it really should be 100% accurate. The tone is unbiased and in fact is encouraging and fair.

The book addresses the complexities of writing in the twenty-first century and guides students through carefully choosing their online resources and verifying their validity.

I appreciated the additional examples of different rhetorical styles at the very end of the book; however, many of the links were broken. This is an easy-to-remedy problem, though.

The text uses encouraging languages and easy-to-understand metaphors to illustrate abstract concepts.

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework from chapter to chapter. There is a reliable pattern that each chapter follows.

Most of the time, it's easy to pick out the different sections of the book because they are color-coded or similarly marked. For example, nearly all of the Key Takeaways are in a green box. All of the Tips for Writing at Work are in a grey box. All of the Learning Objectives are in a black box.

It's possible to click on writing examples and view them in a larger version in a new window.

Although the book builds in terms of levels of difficulty, it would be very easy to use a chapter out of order to suit the instructor's needs. Each chapter can stand alone even though some pieces of writing are carried through as examples from chapter to chapter. This gives the book cohesiveness but doesn't impede its modularity.

The text is logical and clear. Grammatical concepts are explained thoroughly, and the writing process is taken apart step-by-step for the students.

There are several parts where an underlined sentence is referred to, but it's not actually underlined in the text. It's possible this is only a problem in the PDF version. Overall, the formatting is clear and easy to follow.

Seeing as it's a grammar and writing textbook, the grammatical errors are minimal.

The text includes great excerpts from diverse authors such as Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Shteyngart, and MLK.

In the opening chapters, some grammatical concepts were addressed superficially but then were returned to in more detail in later chapters, which was reassuring. Chapter 5 focuses on English language learners, the students I teach. However, the entire book could be useful to both native and non-native English speakers.

Reviewed by Rachel Wilson, Adult Education Instructor, Bossier Parish Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers all its bases, from success and study skills for new college students to draft, revising, writing, and presenting a research paper. Chapters 1 through 5 cover the basics of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice, and these chapters cover only that which is most important to writing without getting into unnecessary grammar review. The text provides relevant exercises to go along with each chapter and its individual sections. In chapter 6, the author discusses paragraphing, while in chapter 7, he provides the student tips on improving writing at a sentence level. Chapter 8 covers the writing process, providing ample information on pre-writing strategies and revision and editing techniques. The text also effectively walks the student through the process of writing an essay in chapter 9 and discusses the rhetorical modes in depth in chapter 10. The last chapters (11-15) are dedicated to researching, writing research papers, presenting those papers,0 documenting sources, and providing sample essays in the different rhetorical modes. While the author does a good job covering the basics of documenting sources, I would still have to send my students to their writing handbook or the OWL at Purdue for comprehensive coverage of the source citation formats.

This text is, as far as I can see, both accurate and error-free, though, as stated above, there are a few sections (mostly with documentation) where outside sources would have to be consulted for in depth discussions of the topics.

The only area I feel could use a little updating would be the documentation chapter, though for just an overview, it does its job adequately. The text is set up in a way that seems to allow for easy updates as necessary, and the information contained within is timeless enough to withstand possible changes in writing instruction.

The text is written in easily understandable prose and defines its particular terms in an accessible way for students.

Consistency rating: 2

The text maintains consistency and follows a well-organized framework.

This text is organized in such a way that makes it easy to assign small readings to students without having to jump back and forth between chapters or different parts of the book in general.

The text builds on itself, from having the necessary study skills to understanding basic grammar and sentence structure to navigating the writing process. It then transitions from the writing process to the essay, the types of essays, and research papers. It ends with documentation and presentation of research. I would suggest, though, including chapter 15 (readings on the rhetorical modes) in the chapter on rhetorical modes (chapter 10) or distinguishing it as an appendix rather than a chapter of its own at the end.

The features of the textbook within the text itself are easily navigated, especially with hyperlinks to jump to specific parts of the book. However, while the book does have a short section index at the beginning of each chapter, a comprehensive table of contents at the beginning, or even an index at the end, of the book would go a long way in making this work more easily accessible to the everyday user. As it currently stands, a user must scroll through the entire document to find what the book covers. While an instructor can direct his or her students to specific sections with the appropriate PDF page number, the student user would not be able to discover specific information in the text efficiently right off hand.

With having read through the text, and to the best of my grammar knowledge, I see no major errors or typos.

The text is appropriately inclusive and culturally sensitive.

As an Adult Education Instructor without access to textbooks in the classroom for my students, it is especially helpful to have access to a college level textbook that discusses the basics of grammar and writing my students will need very soon. Instead of having to make copies that will get thrown away or lost, I can give my students the link to this text and assign them specific sections to read before each lesson. As I will soon be teaching a college-level English 101 as well, I am excited to have this text as a supplement to the department-required text.

Reviewed by R.A.Q. Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Southern University and A&M College on 6/20/17

One of this text's advantages is its comprehensiveness. However, I find that too much emphasis was placed on writing basics, which in fact, comprises the bulk of the text. While this portion is extensive, I found the chapter on rhetorical modes lacking. For example, Narration was covered in four pages. I would have preferred more emphasis on basic features of each mode, guided writing practice, and illustrations/visuals (annotated sample essays). The text does not include a glossary or index, which are additional disadvantages. Overall, however, I find this text effective.

The content appears accurate and error-free.

The overall content is foundational, so relevance is not an issue. Formatting and style guides, URLs, and sample essays can be readily updated as needed.

Besides its comprehensiveness, a highlight of the text is its clarity. The writing directly addresses the student much more so than other texts I have used. The conversational tone, especially in the early chapters, should engage even the most reluctant writer. Many of the tips and advice provided serve to assist students beyond the composition course into the whole of their academic career and the workplace. This is definitely a student-friendly text.

Chapters are consistently organized throughout and feature learning objectives, exercises, collaborative activities, and key takeaways, which should be particularly helpful for students. Several of the exercises require students to revisit and revise a previous exercise, as new skills and knowledge are acquired.

This text is suitable for modules, which would allow instructors to organize chapters according to the demands of the course and student's needs. Much of this text's early chapters would serve as much needed review and guided practice for students, since more so than other texts I have used, this one provides in-depth coverage of basic writing skills. Chapters 10-15 should meet the needs of most first year writing programs.

The text is well-organized. However, the sample essays (ch. 15) would have been better placed after the rhetorical modes chapter (ch. 10). The strength of the text's organization are the chapters on writing a research paper and visual presentations.

I downloaded the PDF version and had no significant problems with the interface. The only issue I did have was after clicking a hyperlink then attempting to return to the text, I was redirected to the beginning. This may be an inconvenience for some.

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

The text refrains from cultural insensitivity. Several of the examples, grammar exercises, and sample readings were inclusive of various kinds of diversity. In particular, a text's sample essays plays a crucial role in my overall satisfaction, as I expect to see culturally relevant essays that may resonate with my students. This text included commonly used standbys, such as King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail and Alexie's Indian Education.

Reviewed by William Broussard, Assistant Professor, English, Southern University on 6/20/17

The book covers the writing process, several essay styles, as well as grammar and syntax exercises thoroughly without being intimidating, and is excellently paced. Particularly impressive is the amount of detail given to the sentence, paragraph,... read more

The book accurately describes, in great detail, all elements of the writing process. Combines all elements of a traditional handbook with specific reference to the rhetorics of several essay styles, and does so in an encouraging manner. Aim is clearly to encourage non-English/Writing majors.

Content appears up-to-date, and of note is a section on presentations and visual rhetorics which will be useful and likely interesting to contemporary students. Book is light on visual imagery, making it less appealing to contemporary/millennial students, but its structure seems amenable to relatively easy updating, and all links were accurate.

The book is clear and provides many examples of student writing to explain the application of material discussed in each chapter.

The book moves along at a predictable pace and begins with building blocks of writing (sentence and paragraph style, punctuation, process) before moving on to more complex assignments. By Chapter 15, which focuses on a number of essay styles, the student has had individual chapters to prepare each step of building an essay, ensuring mastery before taking on more complex projects.

It is simple to imagine this textbook divided into two parts so as to encompass an English 1 and English 2 textbook, and to imagine teaching the introductory elements while interspersing major assignments from Chapter 15 alternatingly.

Well-organized, and as mentioned previously, it is excellently paced with each ensuing chapter building logically upon the previous one.

The book is lacking only in this area. The pdf version features noticeably few visual images and pictures, and very few links for students to interact with supplementary materials to the text. However, the author provides a link for the submission materials which shows an openness to addressing it. However, what is included is accurate and appropriate.

No perceived grammatical or spelling errors. Simple and clear writing style.

Text is inoffensive, but lack of visual texts or discussion of more challenging contemporary topics (the book does not include any sample texts by contemporary authors on challenging issues).

An excellent choice for introductory writing courses.

Reviewed by Emily Aucoin, Assistant Professor, River Parishes Community College on 6/20/17

The textbook effectively covers the writing process and addresses mechanical and grammatical concerns. While the chapter devoted to rhetorical modes is not terribly in depth, it does an adequate job of introducing and explaining each type of writing assignment. The research section of the text is effective, but the MLA references are dated. There also is a detailed table of contents but no glossary.

The textbook's content seems accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

For the most part, the content seems relevant and long-standing. The main area in need of updating is MLA, but linking to an outside website could quickly remedy this problem.

The book is written in a straight-forward, clear manner that should be readily understood by most freshmen-level students. The embedded exercises and tips also are accessible.

The included terminology is clear and consistent, as well as appropriate for the subject matter. The chapters also follow a logical framework and reinforce material through exercises and relevant examples.

The textbook easily can be divided into smaller, stand-alone reading sections. Instructors should be able to readily assign portions of the text to meet their course learning outcomes and objectives.

Overall, the textbook is well organized; it effectively addresses key elements of grammar and mechanics, walks students through the writing process, and details various types of writing. While I would like to see Chapter 10 (Rhetorical Modes) divided into separate, better detailed chapters, on the whole, the textbook's organization is logical.

The textbook was easy to follow, particularly because of the detailed table of contents and chapter outlines. Some links also were included throughout to help readers more easily navigate the text.

The text seems free of grammatical errors.

The text does not seem culturally insensitive or offensive. Some of the linked essays in Chapter 15, for example, provide students with readings that are culturally diverse.

On the whole, this is an effective, comprehensive resource that could be of use in any freshman-level composition course.

Reviewed by Genevieve Halkett, Instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 4/11/17

The book is extremely comprehensive, beginning with the concept of college writing, moving on to writing basics such as sentence structure, punctuation, and paragraph structure. it provides a good guide to essays; it includes basic structure,... read more

The index is complete and easy to follow.

There are a few typographical errors but the majority of the 607-page resource was accurate.

There was no real bias though I would like to see more cultural variety in the literary excerpts and situations used in the exercises.

Most of the resource focuses on writing and grammatical structure; there may be small changes that need to be made as the use of the English language evolves; however, this will be negligible. I anticipate this text requiring very few changes in years to come.

it is well laid-out and easy to follow. The explanations, examples, and directions are clear and concise. It is also written with both native and English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) speakers in mind; the word choice and structure reflect this.

The text's framework and terminology are consistent; I did not see any examples of inconsistency.

This resource lends itself to a modular approach; it would be easy for an instructor to relevant chapters that reflect student needs, course time constraints, or changes within a curriculum.

The resource's is consistent overall; each chapter begins with learning objectives, explanation, examples, exercises, and key takeaways. It is a good resource for students since they are quickly able to anticipate and follow each chapter.

This resource was quite simply designed; there are no charts or images that would lead to confusion. Enough space is given so that blocks of text are read without difficulty and it is free of distraction.

Since it is a writing textbook, I was gratified to find that the grammatical structure and use was very accurate.

I would definitely have like to have seen more examples of the races, ethnicities, and backgrounds I encounter in class; most of the examples used were extremely neutral and reflected a very narrow strata of society. For me, this was the weakest part of the text.

This is an excellent resource-well structured, user friendly and easily adaptable. My main concern-the lack of cultural relevance- can be balanced by providing supplementary materials reflective of the learners' cultures and backgrounds.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Sandell, Professor, Minnesota State University, Mankato on 4/11/17

Provides instruction in steps and sections; builds writing, reading, and critical thinking; and combines comprehensive grammar review with paragraph writing and composition. Provides a range of discussion ideas, examples, and exercises. Serves... read more

Quite accurate in terms of the information provided. Uses sources that we use in my writing-intensive classes, so the book is addressing real needs in the classroom. Suggestions reinforce the concepts and practices that our librarians share with students and instructors.

Thought-provoking scenarios provides opportunities for collaboration and interaction. The exercises are especially useful for working with groups of students, which is how I organize workshops and discussions in my classes. Tips for effective writing are included in every chapter. It's nice to have positive examples of how to write, rather than dwelling on negative examples of how not to write. Addresses each concept with clear, concise,and effective examples that are reinforced with opportunities to demonstrate learning. This textbook will be useful for students throughout their academic studies.

Very clear. Clear exercises teach sentence and paragraph writing skills that I already try to emphasize in my classes. I will use many of the exercises, but base them on the content of my course curriculum, instead of generic assignments.

Provides consistent and constant reinforcement through examples and exercises about writing. Involves students in the learning process through reading, problem-solving, practicing, and experiences in the processes of writing.

Modularity rating: 2

Each chapter is stand-alone and easy to read on-line or to print and read off-line. Each chapter has examples that organize the discussion and form a common basis for learning.

Overall, the organization, structure, and flow is fine. Textbook is more than 600 pages, which makes it more of a reference / resource book. I will pull materials that I need for my specific writing-intensive course.

Presents comfortable, easy-to-read material with simple graphics and helpful charts. The Table of Contents does not allow the reader to jump directly to the chapter or section.

The text contains no grammatical errors that I found... If there had been a few mistakes, I would still use the text as a resource.

I am starting to use the idea of the academy as a culture. So, in the writing-intensive course I teach about human relations in a multicultural society, I emphasize how student writing in college must be qualitatively different than writing in secondary schools. I am delighted that this text begins with an introduction to that very idea. Word choices in the text imply inclusion of a variety of ethnic groups and audience backgrounds (e.g., Malik, Miguel, Elizabeth).

I will use this book in a second-year general education writing-intensive course. This resource is useful and friendly, although it is very long. With its incremental approach, the text addresses a wide range of writing levels and abilities. I think students will appreciate it as a resource that they can use throughout their academic life.

The text would also be valuable in a first-year intro-to-college course (we call it First Year Experience), because it teaches many useful academic study practices. For first-generation college students, this text introduces many strategies about how to "do college" with which their families may not be familiar.

Reviewed by Leann Gertsma, Adjunct English Instructor, Minnesota West Community & Technical College on 2/8/17

I was surprised to find this textbook to be a very comprehensive writing handbook. It not only covers grammar and sentence structure, but also devotes a lot of time to the topics of college writing, the writing process, writing techniques, and essay types. All the sections are clearly labeled with useful exercises to guide students through the material. I appreciated the hyperlinks throughout to navigate to other related sections. One area that seemed to be lacking was the table of contents in each new chapter. These pages were not enabled with hyperlinks and failed to have page numbers associated with them.

I felt this text was accurate. It contains good information for first year writing students. I did not see any bias or errors throughout.

While I did find most of the information current and very relevant to writing students, some of the links in the last chapter did not work. As websites continually change, these would need to be updated on a regular basis. The research chapters would also need to be updated on a regular basis as these materials change frequently.

I found the textbook to be clear. The prose was adequate for first year composition students. There are many examples in the chapters that are relevant to the readers and help put the concepts into practical application.

This textbook is consistent in language, tone, and structure.

The textbook is arranged in an easy to use fashion. The chapters have easy to follow headings, and the key concepts are highlighted. All the chapters are arranged in a similar manner with objectives, lessons, examples, exercises, and key takeaways. Instructors can easily assign specific sections or chapters, while skipping others without confusion. I think the APA and MLA chapter should be split into two chapters to avoid confusion.

The topics are arranged in a clear structure throughout the text. I would have liked to see the chapters arranged in a different format, but this is a minor problem as the instructor can assign the chapters in a different order than they are presented.

This textbook was easy to navigate. The only concern I saw with this was the several of hyperlinks in the final chapter did not work anymore.

I did not find any errors in the text.

I did not see any insensitive or offensive language in the text.

I liked the example papers in the text. However, I wish there were more of them. I also found the chapter on APA and MLA a bit confusing. Students often struggle with these concepts so I think they should have been presented differently. The two styles should not be lumped together in one chapter. They should be separated.

Reviewed by Timothy VanSlyke, Instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 2/8/17

Although there is no index or glossary, I feel that the text is very comprehensive in its coverage of developmental writing. The text clearly walks the student through the writing process and introduces the major rhetorical styles students will face in college. It is clear that the author has worked extensively with the population(s) likely to have need of this course and has planned a comprehensive curriculum to serve them. Having worked extensively with students needing to develop their academic writing skills, I found it very straightforward to adopt the text and align it with my course outcomes.

Content is definitely error free and unbiased. I haven't found any errors or content that struck me as biased or inaccurate.

I think this book will be relevant for quite some time as the need for students to communicate effectively in writing is not going to change. The organization of the text lends itself to updating quite well. For example, the sections devoted to grammar and mechanics, the writing process, and rhetorical styles may need little or no updating, while over time, the sections devoted to research writing (e.g. MLA style) might need more revision.

Given that this book is intended for developing writers, I feel clarity is essential. Too much jargon would scare away students who may already feel overwhelmed. This book strikes an excellent balance between communicating important concepts and terms without being overly technical. Good examples of this can be found in the sections on grammar and mechanics as well as in the rhetorical modes section.

The organization of the book easily lends itself to easy navigation, chapters are divided into logical sections (e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and each section follows a consistent format. There are recurring sections that are color coded (exercises in blue boxes, "key takeaways" in green boxes) and the numbering system is clear and logical. The only downside is that the downloadable PDF version of the book doesn't have a table of contents, but I found that if your pdf reader can show bookmarks, there are bookmarks to each of the sections.

This book is very modular. Each chapter is divided into sub-sections (chapter 1.1, 1.2, etc) and the sections are logically divided and lend themselves to easy be assigned as separate readings.

The structure of the text is logical and clear, but what I like most is that the chapters are not overly dependent on a linear flow, which allows me to assign chapters out of sequence without worrying that it will be disruptive to students.

I would describe the interface as quite user friendly. A quick skim of the online Table of Contents is all that is needed to understand the organization of the text and its major sections. Accessing each section is quite easy with the links provided.

One standout in this area is a complete chapter devoted to second language learners, which is quite useful for this population. Otherwise, I have found this to be an excellent resource that introduced students to the academic culture.

Overall I am very pleased with this text, and excited that I can offer my students a book of this quality completely for free!

Reviewed by Jennie Harrop, Chair, Department of Professional Studies, George Fox University on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Writing for Success is admirably comprehensive, but maybe a little too much so. While some professors will find the one-source stop helpful in reducing textbook costs, many students will be overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of information. Because the text attempts to cover so much in a single volume, much of the information is offered at a surface level without the depth necessary for the content to become memorable and meaningful. Two key components that are missing in this text because of its surface-level scope are the WHY (why is this information relevant?) and the HOW (how do I apply this?).

Most information is accurate, although some is not thorough enough. When explaining the dash or parentheses, for example, it might be helpful for students to hear when and why these punctuation marks are most effectively used. If a student masters the use of parentheses as described in section 3.6, should he or she pepper an essay with lots of parenthetical asides? If not, why not?

In the section on APA formatting, the title page running heads are not correct.

The key information in the text will not become outdated, although the examples and the sample texts will. The book would benefit from consistent updates to ensure that the examples are culturally sensitive and generationally appropriate. The APA and MLA sections will also need consistent updates.

The prose is clear, but the information covered is not always. In section 5.2 titled "Negative Statements," for example, students are told that negative statements are the opposite of positive statements, but the text does not explain why this information is worth considering. In section 5.6 titled "Modal Auxiliaries," the text moves immediately to examples and exercises without an explanation of why this information might be pertinent or useful.

The terminology and framework presented are consistent throughout.

The text is consistently broken into individual chunks of information rather than meandering prose, which can be enormously helpful for students. Some sections jump directly into the modular chunks of examples and exercises without bothering with any explanatory sections at all, however. In those cases, students need some kind of explanation of why the information presented is important and relevant.

The text's organization is consistent and easy to navigate. The information is presented in divisions familiar to most writing texts: (1) mechanics, (2) writing process, and (3) sample essays.

The Table of Contents is a helpful feature, allowing one to skip through topics easily. I was unable to download this text in a way that would allow me to highlight or make notes.

The grammar is correct throughout.

The examples used are culturally sensitive but mostly bland in a way that makes them forgettable and unimpactful. If cultural relevance means that we whitewash, this text is successful; if it means that we step into the controversy, then the examples in this book need to be more forthright and genuine.

I have used this book in a basic writing course, and I found the students informed but uninspired. I will continue to require this text as a reference books for all students in our program, but I will seek a more lively text for future writing courses in order to keep students engaged, enthusiastic, and forward-thinking.

Reviewed by Sherri Kurczewski, Instructor , Portland Community College on 12/5/16

This book has sections that I would cover in my class. It is a basic writing tool for beginner writers in college. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 1 see less

This book has sections that I would cover in my class. It is a basic writing tool for beginner writers in college.

Overall the book is accurate. It goes over the basic differences of high school vs. college writing with additional grammar explanations and exercises.

This book is for a basic writing class for students who are underprepared for college level writing.

The book was written very direct to the beginning college writer. The tables help explain the differences in high school vs. college writing.

The consistency of the book was good. There was not a lot of terminology that would be over the students understanding.

The book is good at putting each section together. There are small, yet informative grammar sections. An instructor may skip over some chapters without confusing the student.

The organization of the book seems fine. It has the basic ideas of writing and then leads to grammar.

There were no issues with navigation of this file.

I did not see any errors in grammar.

This is a straightforward book without many examples. I did not see any issues.

I would definitely use this book in my basic writing class. It is a quick read and I could easily pull out sections to use and compare.

Reviewed by Anna Erwert, Adjunct faculty, Portland Community College on 8/21/16

The book is extremely comprehensive. If a college works on a 10-week quarter, it's unlikely a student would use the whole book. However, I personally like this completeness because it allows flexibility. Whole class, we could use the chapter on the writing process, and then after essay 1, I could assess writers and assign them portions of the sentence level and grammar sections as needed. Also the most common writing errors, like comma splices and frags, are covered and include exercises.

With a decade plus teaching college Writing and Reading, I feel the book is accurate in the sense that it covers what students actually need. I did not see bias. It is very concise and matter-of-fact.

It's relevant eternally, but one caveat: most colleges are moving toward supporting Reading and Writing in one class. Integration of reading skills would be a way to keep this book fresh.

Very little jargon. Everything is well defined, though I do think more examples and samples would be nice. However: this is an easy section for the individual instructor to augment.

Very consistent.

This is my favorite part of the book. It is way more inclusive than we could use in one quarter, but I could assign grammar or sentence level stuff with flexibility, as needed. I could also do the whole book in reverse (sometimes I like to start big, then move to smaller concerns)or present only the Research section for a Reading class.

Very logical but also easy to manipulate logically

There isn't anything confusing about it. I don't think it is the most engaging, exciting design in the world, but perhaps that is not the goal here. More pictures though, sorry- it is a visual age- would be welcome. Still, instructors could add in pics, slides, video, etc.

I saw no errors

The book is geared more to the college student, not the particular culture or gender. In some ways this is a relief to me, as I am trying to work with topics that bring us together, like say, the cost of college, as opposed to those that fragment us, like racial profiling. In a ten week course in one of the most diverse campuses in the PCC system, this is becoming very important. In this sense, the book fits.

Super useful framework. Teachers will augment with samples, interactive activities, visual aids, etc., but that makes it better for your specific audience anyway.

Reviewed by Olga Filatova, Visiting Assistant Professor, Miami University on 8/21/16

I was surprised by how much useful content the book has. It covers everything I would need to teach in a first year college composition writing class. The text gives overview of reading and writing strategies, and covers everything from grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, sentence structure, elements of composition and writing process, to rhetorical modes and elements of research. It has so much material, that it can be adjusted to a wide range of students' needs and writing abilities. Parts of the book can be used as a reference. The book is very much in line with my course goals, and is particularly effective in helping students with writing in a variety of genres, introducing a clear thesis statement and sustaining it throughout the paper with support and evidence. It also has good tips for reading, writing and editing. However, I didn't find the section for language learners helpful. I teach composition to international students, and would definitely skip the chapter. The concepts in the chapter are not well-explained and application exercises are insufficient. This chapter can be used as a reference for instructors who don't usually work with LLs.

The content is accurate. I didn't find the readings particularly engaging, but they are good for structure analysis. The links to additional essays provide opportunities to choose more engaging reading material.

Writing foundation principles are solid. MLA and APA citation and formatting would need most often updates. The link to Purdue OWL solves this problem.

The book is written in a very clear manner. However, some of the explanation might be too long and lack sufficient examples.

The book is very consistent. I would rearrange the chapters and start with the writing process. Grammar, vocabulary and punctuation can be in a reference section of the book.

The text is divided into chapters and sections. Each of the chapters follows the same structure. The chapters have clear learning objectives, subtitles and exercises for practical application. The main points are summarized at the end. Students would have no trouble navigating the content.

The topics are presented in a logical way. As I mentioned above, I would rearrange the chapters in the book. The way the chapters are arranged now puts the emphasis on developmental writing vs rhetorical practices.

The books interface is very good.

The book is excellently written. I didn't see any grammar errors.

The book is culturally relevant. It focuses on American culture. It lacks elements of global cultural awareness, but it is good enough for the purposes.

Thank you for the book. It is very good. I will use it with my students next semester!

Reviewed by Laura Funke, Instructor, Inver Hills Community College on 8/21/16

The text is almost too comprehensive—trying to cover writing, reading, and study skills strategies. Within writing, it covers grammar, mechanics, paragraph writing, essay writing, ELL troublespots, and even documentation. Although an instructor could easily focus on specific chapters based on the level of the class and needs of the students, the effort to be comprehensive led some areas to be overly simplistic and basic. For example, in the section on writing introductions, there is a list of strategies for starting the essay (the hook or attention grabber) but not much direct instruction or modeling. In other words, quality was sometimes sacrificed for quantity.

From my experience, the content of the book was accurate in most areas, but some advice was simplistic. For example, telling English language learners to avoid slang and idioms is wrong. What often makes ELLs’ writing awkward is the lack of idioms. The advice to avoid slang might be better for a chapter for native English speakers. In the same ELL section, the author stated that simple present is used “when actions take place now” but that is not the case. Present progressive verbs are used for the current moment (“Right now, I am writing a review.”) These inaccuracies happened on occasion, but in general, the advice and information given by the writer was accurate.

The text can be easily updated because of the modular organization. The topics used for examples or exercises would benefit from regular updating. Some topics are engaging for students, but others would not be for most students (such as ‘the hardiness of the kangaroo rat’).

The text is written in using clear, accessible language that is appropriate to first year college students. New terms are explained clearly and put in bold letters. It might be helpful to put key terms and definitions in margins, as many textbooks do, or at least consider an index and glossary at the end of the book.

I didn’t notice any inconsistencies in framework or terminology.

The text is structured in such a way that instructors and students can pick and choose among relevant chapters. There are references to prior chapters, but the text doesn't assume that students have read the text from front to back. Students can easily refer back to prior chapters when more background is needed or if additional follow-up instruction is needed. One recommendation would be to include the chapter and section number on each page in a footer or header.

The information flows logically for the most part. The book begins with a broad overview of writing and student success strategies. Then it moves from sentences, to paragraphs, to essays, to research papers. One section that seemed out of place was to include 'purpose, audience, and tone' in the chapter on paragraph writing. It would seem to be a topic that could use its own chapter. I also felt that chapter 7 on sentence variety was misplaced after paragraph writing. Still, I appreciated that the author circled back to some topics briefly even if they were covered in more detail in another chapter. For example, the author discusses wordiness and word choice in the chapter on revision even though those topics were discussed in an earlier chapter. Imbedding some sentence-level concerns into the chapters on paragraph or essay writing helps students to see the relevance of the sentence-level instruction.

Occasionally an informal font is used to show student examples of writing. This playful font is difficult to read (see p. 233). It would be better to use a standard font like Times New Roman to make the text easier to read. Also, the book is very text-heavy. There are few to no engaging photographs or images for readers. Even though it is clearly organized with headings, subheadings, bold words, and other organizational devices which are very helpful, it is not visually engaging. There is a nice use of internal links. In one section, chapter 6.2 p. 247-248), the directions prior to three model paragraphs said “The topic sentence is underlined for you” but I didn’t see any underlining. I don’t know if that is an error in the text or a problem with my own computer.

I noticed no grammatical errors when reviewing the text.

The text is not culturally insensitive. However, I wouldn’t say that the writing samples are particularly engaging or daring in terms of challenging the status quo. Most of the topics are standard examples: “How to grow tomatoes from a Seedling,” “Effects of Video Game Addiction” and “Comparing and Contrasting London and Washington D.C.” I would like to see more creative and engaging course readings in the text, readings that address the interests and backgrounds of culturally- and linguistically-diverse students.

The practice exercises are often very engaging and creative. For example, p. 287 the author explains an exercise in which students rewrite children stories (written using simple prose) with more complex syntactical structures to practice sentence complexity and variety. Most all exercises are practical and student-friendly. The text doesn’t get bogged down with excessive use of exercises; instead, students’ own writing is often the basis of the exercises, making them relevant to developing their own writing skills.

Though I appreciate the author’s efforts at comprehensiveness and detail, I found the text quite dry. With more visuals, updated course readings, and perhaps an updated format that isn’t so text-heavy, the text would be more engaging for students.

Reviewed by Jennifer von Ammon, Full-time faculty, Lane Community College on 8/21/16

The text is primarily focused on grammar review and would be an appropriate text for a development writing course. Although there are several chapters dedicated to mechanics, there are limited essay assignment options, so an instructor would need... read more

The book appears accurate and unbiased.

Content seems fairly up-to-date though some of the suggested topics were somewhat overused (abortion, legal drinking age). Inclusion of different learning styles (visual, verbal, auditory, kinesthetic) is relevant.

The text is written clearly and has helpful headings/subheadings to organize material. Incorporating more images/illustrations could have enhanced the text.

The book is consistent in tone and structure.

The text could be assigned into smaller reading sections. I appreciated the "key takeaways" at the close of each chapter.

Though I appreciated the comprehensive coverage of grammar/sentence structure/mechanics, I would have liked to have seen the text incorporate writing assignments earlier in the text.

The text is clearly presented with headings/subheadings, but including more images may make the text more engaging for students.

The text appears to have no grammatical errors.

I did not find the text insensitive or offensive though some of the topics and references seemed somewhat outdated (MTV).

Reviewed by Paul Carney, English Instructor, Minnesota State Community and Technical College on 8/21/16

The text covers all the essentials of college composition, from the writing process and mechanics to rhetorical modes and the research paper. The material devoted to grammar, punctuation and usage is well organized and fairly thorough. While very brief, the sub-divided units on punctuation could be more developed. That said, too much textual explanation and not enough modeling can be a real turn off for students struggling with these mechanical issues. One cannot defer to the text for teaching. The rhetorical modes are equitably covered, though persuasion might welcome more attention and development. For a basic college composition text, this text certainly suffices.

The information is accurate and consistent with language arts standards for bias and equity. However, the example essays in the back could be more reflective of cultural and class diversity.

The writer does a fine job of using examples (exercises, models, examples, etc.) relevant to students in the near future. With supplemental readings and other OERs, this text will withstand expiration of content for at least three years.

The book's clarity is, perhaps, its greatest strength. The writer is keenly aware of his/her audience, college students who approach writing with an array of aptitudes and attitudes. Chapter 1, for instance, "Introduction to Writing," begins a foundational conversation with the reader, a conversation suitable to and supportive of most college students. The sentence complexity is appropriate for the audience. Also, student readers will appreciate the inclusion of "Tips" for building clarity.

The text is consistent in terms of utilizing and referencing terminology and other sections of the book.. The writer consistently uses and revisits key concepts and terminology (grammar, sentence structure, paragraph development, unity, etc.), reminding the reader that writing is a recursive process involving strategic "layering" of ideas and skills.

Each chapter in Writing for Success can "stand alone" if necessary. Oftentimes, in the interest of responding to differentiated learning styles, instructors must isolate and prescribe content for students' individual writing challenges. This text lends itself to easy access to subheadings for particular reference and reinforcement.

I do appreciate the inclusion of exercises at the end of chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The text's organizational format may be its greatest and only notable weakness. The book begins with a thorough, thoughtful introduction to the writing process by citing fears and misconceptions commonly held by college students. This section of the book is critical to establishing a casual but accurate understanding of the writing process. Then, rather abruptly, succeeding chapters shift to local writing issues relating to writing basics - fragments, punctuation, sentence fluency. Typically, and I would argue more logically and appropriately, these localized writing matters should appear in the back of the text for easy access and reference. Logically, the chapter(s) following the discussion of the writing process should launch the student into the writing process itself.

I had initially downloaded the pdf version of the text, thinking that was the one and only interface for accessing, reading and utilizing the text. However, in a later attempt I was able to access a digital version that is quite easy to navigate. I like the ever-present position of the table of contents for easy point-and-click navigation. The chapters line up sequentially and the display is reader-friendly.

The style and mechanics reflect mastery of grammar and usage.

Again, I would point to the example essays as evidence of shallow (not necessarily insensitive) attention to cultural and class diversity. Were I to use this text, I would supplement the example essays with models reflective of wider cultural experiences (class, gender, race, LGBT).

Writing for Success is what it says it is, a book that provides essential instruction in how to approach and embark on the writing process. It provides a basic review of grammar and usage that probably would require additional instruction and opportunities for practice. A college writing instructor who usually defaults to his or her favorite and reliable "bag of tricks" would find this open text very useful for foundational instruction.

Thanks for this opportunity to review an open text in the Creative Commons.

Paul Carney

Reviewed by William Wells, Instructor, Metropolitan State University on 8/21/16

This book covers all the topics I would normally cover in a first year composition course and more. I would like to see an effective, preferably interactive, Table of Contents and a glossary. read more

This book covers all the topics I would normally cover in a first year composition course and more. I would like to see an effective, preferably interactive, Table of Contents and a glossary.

The content is extremely accurate and well-articulated.

This book will likely be useful until we communicate exclusively with emoticons. Necessary updates should be fairly easy to integrate.

Clear and well-written for its audience.

The text is generally consistent in tone and framework and uniformly consistent in terminology.

The text appears as of it would be easily adaptable as modules.

Some of the topics seem slightly out of place, but it has a clear structure.

The text appears to have several broken links, particularly in the beginning, in the .pdf version.

I had some questions about word usage--particularly the heading of "Dos" and "Don'ts" which, to my eye, looks funny. I would probably go with "Do's and Dont's."

The text does not seem culturally insensitive and makes an overt attempt to accommodate those students with differences in learning styles.

I will be giving it a try in my next class.

Reviewed by Michelle Robbins, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

Writing for Success includes all the topics I cover in a developmental writing class, plus a large chunk on research papers. It covers grammar and constructing paragraphs and essays in a comprehensive manner. For developmental writing, I did... read more

For developmental writing, I did find that Chapter 2 was a bit light on the parts of speech. For instance, in one exercise students must identify adverbs and adjectives, but there is no real explanation of them first. However, the sentence practice in regard to subjects, verbs, and independent clauses was solid.

Chapter 6 on purpose, tone, audience, and content was excellent. I haven't seen those elements addressed in quite the same way (sometimes barely at all) in other textbooks I have used.

I was also pleased with the links to articles and essays. (More on this in relevance and cultural relevance.)

Content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. The author includes a variety of links to additional readings and does an excellent job of covering different sides of an issue. For instance, he is sure to link to articles arguing both for and against the use of torture.

Because grammar, language, and writing change fairly slowly, the content here is relevant and lasting. Some articles may become dated, but those are easy to change. Many of them won't need to be replaced anyway because, regardless of their dates, they are still good examples (and, obviously, in writing and literature older works are critical to examine). One of the sample essays was written in 1994. Certainly our outlooks on the material has changed (the role of wives), but the piece is still a good (and creative) example of a definition essay--and fodder for discussion.

The text is clear and accessible for upper-level remedial students and still works for 100-level courses. The student examples are useful, but a few of them were not especially compelling or strong examples and could be replaced.

It is consistent. I thought the repetition of sections such as "writing at work" and "key takeaways" were helpful for students absorbing a lot of information.

The organization of sections made the text easy to follow. At first I thought it would be better organized by integrating the writing samples in the last chapter into the instructional chapters, but ultimately, I found that grouping the types of content (grammar in one area, writing instruction in one, samples in another, and so on) made accessing content easier--especially because they are also cross-referenced within the chapters.

Much of the time, I want my students to access different topics simultaneously, so I found the organization here to work fine. The chapters and sub-sections are clear, so it is easy to move between them.

I found the cross-referencing of sub-sections to be particularly helpful, as in the chapter on coordination: it refers back to the section on semi-colons and vice versa.

All worked well for me. All graphics were clear, and it was key to be able to magnify the student samples for better readability.

One significant issue is that many of the links to essay examples in Chapter 15 are dead.

I found no errors.

The links to outside sources included cultural variety (and were quite interesting!). Perhaps the examples within the text itself might show more variety.

I was especially impressed by the links to Chapter 15 examples (those that worked); there were blogs, poems, and magazine articles. The variety of source types and authors was excellent, and the pieces themselves were compelling.

Overall, Writing for Success was clearly written, useful, and fairly comprehensive. I would definitely use it in my developmental Writing 90 course. I can also envision using many sections for Writing 80.

Reviewed by Kelsea Jones, Adjunct Instructor, Treasure Valley Community College on 1/7/16

McLean's text is surprisingly comprehensive, covering topics from reading and study strategies, to grammar, to writing paragraphs and essays, to research. While some of this material would be spot-on for first year composition, I feel as though most of the strategies are more appropriate for developmental composition courses (like WR 115: Intro to College Writing in the Oregon system).

The major downside of this text is that there is no Table of Contents or index for this 600+ page book.

The information in the text appears to accurate, unbiased, and very detailed.

The text makes use of sentence and essay examples that are relevant and that will not have to be constantly updated. The main pieces of information in this text that would need to be updated are the APA and MLA style guides; however, both guides follow the most recent editions. Otherwise, the links provided in the text, such as those to the Purdue OWL, may need the most monitoring and updating.

The writing style of this text is accessible and conversational. Terms are introduced with examples, including some excellent graphic organizers, before they are used in the text, and the terminology is consistent throughout.

There is a consistent framework in each chapter: learning objectives are listed, information is presented with tips and examples, and the information is summarized in a "Key Takeaways" box.

The text is divided into chapters and sub-sections that could be divided into smaller reading sections or reorganized to fit individual course needs. Instructors could take or leave any of the content without confusing their students.

The text is organized so that students can build upon their skills, from reading and studying all the way to researching and making presentations; in that way, it is a clearly organized and structured text. However, this organization is what makes the text more appropriate for developmental writing courses than first year composition courses. The reading, studying, and grammar sections of the text could easily be organized into appendices at the back of the book to act as supplemental material rather than the meat of the text.

Interface rating: 2

There are a few confusing interface issues with this version of the text: 1) None of the paragraphs are indented, which makes skimming the text difficult. 2) The learning objectives and tips in the text are set off in a light gray color that is easy to miss while scrolling through the pages; the blue and green colors chosen for the exercises and key takeaways are much easier to see and read. 3) Several headings for sections, tables, and figures are cut off from the information they introduce. 4) There are no clickable links in the text, table of contents, or index to aid navigation. 5) There is no title page for the text!

The text contains no apparent grammatical errors.

There was no content that was culturally offensive, but I also did not find the text to be particularly inclusive.

Overall, I found this text to be a good Open Educational Resource that offers a real wealth of information about college writing. For all of its interface problems, the text would be easy enough to adapt to either developmental composition courses or first year comp courses. I would recommend this text to instructors interested in using OERs in their classes.

Reviewed by Shawn Osborne, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

The text clearly covers all areas and ideas of the subject at this level and is well organized. A nice addition is that each chapter opens with Learning Objectives and closes with Key Takeaways. read more

The text clearly covers all areas and ideas of the subject at this level and is well organized. A nice addition is that each chapter opens with Learning Objectives and closes with Key Takeaways.

I found the content to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

The content is up-to-date and relevant. It is arranged in such a way that any necessary updates should be quite easy to implement.

The text is straight forward and clear.

The terminology and framework of the text is consistent.

The text can be divided into smaller reading sections easily.

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear way.

There are no interface issues. The images/charts and other display features are well placed and bring clarity to the learning point.

There are no grammatical errors in the text.

The text is culturally relevant.

Chapter 5: Help for English Language Learners and Chapter 14: Creating Presentations are useful additions to the text. I also appreciate the links to further readings in Chapter 15 and believe this will be very beneficial for students.

Reviewed by Fran Bozarth, Adjunct Professor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

This book really covers it all so long as there is no need to address reading fiction - in fact, it has way more than I would be able to use in a term! However, it appears to be appropriate for a semester course, or for two terms of... read more

Subjects are covered appropriately, although I don't know that students would find all of it particularly engaging - use of this material would be VERY reliant upon an effective, engaging instructor.

At our college we have the additional course goal of requiring some understanding of reading fiction, and an instructor utilizing this book would need to supplement for it.

While the Table of Contents is very clear, there is no index or glossary.

The content in this book is consistent with the goals of most Reading/Writing/Study Skills/College Success courses I have encountered. It seems to be error-free, and the author did a particularly good job of projecting no biases that I could detect.

The content related to this text has remained fairly static for decades, though there have been some developments in the past few decades regarding holding students more accountable for knowing their learning styles, and for constructing meaning with connections to their own experiences. This book addresses the basic, standard content, and nicely brings in opportunities for students to better understand themselves as learners. Again, this will depend heavily upon the instructor and their ability to engage students.

Some of the exercises and examples may become obsolete if there are any major technological changes in our society (for example, if email is suddenly abandoned in favor of something else.) However, I believe that such updates would be quite easy to implement given the use of a simple "Find & Replace" feature.

Clarity is a strong suit for this text. I did not locate any portion of the book that lacked clarity. Context was provided for examples of poor writing as well as for strong writing. Context was also provided for any specialized language.

The book is extremely consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The framework utilizes a "here is what you will learn" type of bulleted list, followed by sections that match the bulleted list, with examples where appropriate, and exercises at the end of the chapter. The end of the book includes not only a full-text example of each type of essay, but also provides links to additional examples written by often well-known and well-regarded authors.

The structure of the overall text is appropriate, and logical. I really appreciate that exercises aren't just randomly thrown in, as many published textbooks often do.

The text is easily readable, but I find that the layout of the pages can cause the text and sections to run together. More effective use of headings and subheadings would make this easier for students to follow. Additionally, there isn't an easily discernible break between chapters/sections. I would very much like to see more solid page breaks (title pages perhaps?) at the beginning of each chapter/section. Given the learning styles assessment at the beginning of the book, it would be appropriate to at least include some icons that match each section - for example the "Key Take Aways " could have a key icon. Some suggestions for students regarding how they can apply this using their unique learning styles might be helpful as well. Otherwise, that learning style information seems to be unrelated from the students' point of view.

The links in the PDF did not seem to work. I don't know if I need to consider looking at this material in a different format in order to use the in-text links. (In other words, I don't know if it's me or if it's the text or the technology or what....)

The topics in the text are presented in a very appropriate fashion, with concepts building in a logical way, one upon the next. Very nicely scaffolded!

The interface seemed to be working correctly. I was able to read everything, and things seemed to be correctly placed. I was not sure if the blue text was supposed to be linked. I was unable to click it and go to any links (which were typically references to other chapters within the text, so it wouldn't be impossible to locate those items - just tedious.)

The text appears to have been impeccably edited. All of the writing lesson content was modeled within the text. Items that were incorrect were clearly labeled as being examples of poor writing, or were clearly used for the purpose of applying identification and editing skills.

This text appears to be quite sterile when it comes to cultural sensitivity. Given the audience, the examples are typically American with some culturally diverse names thrown in. The examples given weren't particularly indicative of one race, ethnicity or background or another. In some ways, I am thankful for the lack of contrived cultural sensitivity. I didn't note anything that would create a barrier to culturally diverse populations, other than the assumptions that are made based upon american culture (such as the notion that we have all had a job at one time or another, or at least have some understanding of the concept of employment.)

This book has much to offer. The authors did an excellent job of including the content that is consistent with standard reading/writing/study skill content. I think it will be very workable and pliable for use by instructors who chose it.

Reviewed by Kimberly Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of English, Bismarck State College on 1/7/16

One of the classes I teach is a freshman composition writing lab that focuses on sentence level errors and sentence clarity. This is a super resource for that type of class. The book contains all sentence, grammar and mechanics concepts that are essential to teaching students to recognize and repair sentence-level errors. The Table of Contents clearly outlines all of the all of the component of the book. As far as being the main source for a first semester freshman composition class, if I used it, I would certainly supplement it with more readings, but for freshman composition sentence level instruction, this book is very thorough. My comprehensive rating reflects that particular focus.

The descriptions of the concepts are very detailed, and these descriptions are very accurate, explaining the concept with correct sample sentences.

Since the primary focus of this book is the grammatical concepts that impact sentence issues, the text will not necessarily need updating. Of course, MLA formatting guidelines do change, so these changes will will need to be updated within the book, but the general sentence concepts presented in the majority of the book will not soon become obsolete.

All portions of the book are very clearly presented. Grammar can be confusing to first semester freshman composition students, but the explanations are clearly presented. Examples are clearly connected to the grammar explanations.

Terminology is consistent within the text. Within the framework of a composition lab class, this text is consistent, covering all essential components covered in the course scope.

The clarity with how the concepts are presented in the Table of Contents allows instructors to pick and choose which the concepts will be presented and the order of presentation.

The book has a clear organizational flow (considering that I would use this book for a composition lab that has a sentence practice focus). The sentence concepts build logically on each other.

No interface issues occur when accessing the chapters, and there are no display features that distract the reader. The lessons are presented very clearly, and the practice exercises are easy to follow.

The grammar lessons are error free.

The practice sentences do not contain an culturally biased material.

This is a text that I would consider using for a composition lab course (sentence practice focus). I would also consider using the text for first semester freshman composition, but using the text for that type of course would require finding supplemental readings.

Reviewed by Brandy Hoffmann, English Instructor, Central Lakes College on 1/7/16

Writing for Success offers a variety of sections that could be extracted as resources/readings for a first year writing course. In other words, despite some weaknesses, this text serves the function of an OER, and parts of it could be utilized widely. Overall, I would not feel comfortable using this as a primary text to teach rhetorical modes, including argumentative research writing, but I would use it as a supplementary text.

Strengths: I found the coverage of the following subjects to be generally effective: the overall writing process; the revision process (with exercises, p. 470); the editing process (with exercises, p. 476); thesis development (with samples of weak/strong, Chapter 9); paragraphing and topic sentences (with models of different types of paragraphs--summary/analysis/synthesis/evaluation, Chapter 6); sentence fluency and variety (with exercises throughout Chapters 2 and 7); preliminary research and research proposals (Chapter 11); outlining (with samples, Chapter 8), and basic MLA and APA documentation, including an effective discussion of in-text citations on pp. 501-503.

I want to point out the overall usefulness of the exercises offered throughout this text (adding value to the text, since practical exercises for college writing instruction can be hard to come by). I also appreciated the beginnings of chapters, which effectively addressed the questioning student and established the context.

Weaknesses: Viewed as a whole, the text struggles in terms of audience and purpose, organization of content, and content selection and emphasis. The text emphasizes some extraneous subjects while understating other topics that would be important to many composition courses. For example, for a composition course built on rhetorical modes—narration, description, illustration, argumentation, etc.--this textbook offers only a short overview of each. It also offers a few models and links to outside readings, but it doesn't include anything on composing annotated bibliographies, rhetorical analysis essays, critical reviews, or literature reviews. There is an overview on how to write a research paper, but the discussion on how to integrate sources effectively - quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing - is somewhat weak, and the discussion of plagiarism is limited.

The text offers an extensive section on study skills (in chapter 1), which seemed misplaced in this text - unless it was modified to address study strategies for a writing course, specifically (for example, rather than models of lecture "note taking," how about models of research note-taking in chapter 11; and instead of comparing general high school and college assignments, compare writing assignments specifically). I would recommend an overall reorganization of the text, moving chapter 8 (writing process) toward the front, for example, while moving chapters 2 (sentences), 3 (punctuation), 4 (words), and 5 (ELL) toward the end--to emphasize higher order concerns, first; lower order concerns, second.

I appreciate the attempt to address workplace writing as well as academic or in-school writing, but I found the brief "Writing at Work" sidebars a bit forced, possibly distracting, and unnecessary (e.g. pp. 224-225; p. 348). The attempt to include a pseudo student to shed light on the subject is sometimes helpful (Mariah, Chapter 8) but sometimes forced and not developed enough to be useful (Crystal, Chapter 1). The brief bits on "collaboration" throughout the text could be deleted- not developed enough to be useful. There is no index or glossary, and in the PDF I was using there was no table of contents, though this is available elsewhere. Despite these weaknesses, there are many reasons to use this text, as outlined under "Strengths" above.

Overall, this is an accurate and unbiased text. There will always be subjectivity in the delivery of academic writing advice because of varying preferences and changing ideas about what is appropriate or inappropriate. I tend to disagree with the following suggestions or omissions offered in this text: suggestion (through models that indicate 3 points to support a thesis) that a 5-paragraph essay is still the go-to formula for college writing in (Chapter 9); suggestion that a thesis is always one sentence; suggestion that it's a good idea to search for a random quote for your introduction online (p. 361); omitting any reference to intentional sentence fragments; omitting idea that contractions can be used in academic writing (in certain instances); omitting clear attribution and documentation in the summary on p. 220 apart from the opening signal phrase--not the best summary sample; the suggestion that a topic sentence begins an essay or article (p. 233), which seems misleading.

Writing advice tends to be timeless, to an extent, so there aren't big concerns that the content will become outdated. The author avoided pop culture and current event references, which was smart. The only suggestion would be to modify the text to better address new challenges and innovations in writing genres/writing instruction - perhaps including a chapter on multimodal writing and online writing toward the end of the text. (The use of "trade books" in Chapter 1 seems outdated, not fully defined.)

Overall, I found the writing to be very effective - definitely student-friendly yet not patronizing and still sophisticated. The writer avoided convoluted, wordy prose, and wrote in a tone appropriately formal yet conversational and relatable.

Yes, despite the overall issues with content organization and selection, which I address elsewhere, I found the text to be internally conistent with terminology and framework.

Yes, this text is easily divisible into smaller reading assignment, given the breakdown of subsectios within each chapter and the inclusion of exercise sections, etc. There are some issues with headers/interface, depending on the version of the text used, addressed in interface section.The text did not seem self-referential.

As stated above, I would recommend an overall reorganization of the text, moving chapter 8 (writing process) toward the front, for example, while moving chapters 2 (sentences), 3 (punctuation), 4 (words), and 5 (ELL) toward the end--to emphasize higher order concerns, first; lower order concerns, second.

Including Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter is helpful, allowing easy alignment with course objectives; the "key takeaways" at the end of each chapter are also helpful.

Please note: I was evaluating a downloaded PDF version of the text, so experience may be different in a different mode. Throughout the text, headings/labels can be difficult to distinguish from one another, making it challenging to follow the hierarchy/logic of the text. The organization of the "Reading Strategies" section in Chapter 1 was a bit confusing, listing the "three broad categories" of strategies but then failing to organize section headings that aligned. On p. 10, I would recommend moving "Ask and answer questions" before "Summarize."

For the "tips" offered throughout the text, it would be helpful if they were labeled in some way (e.g. "Tips: Succeeding in Timed Writings," p. 34). I would suggest eliminating the "Writing at Work" sidebars but turning some of these into tips (e.g. "Tips: Emailing Your Professor," p. 17). The paragraph on p. 38 that lists all chapters seems unnecessary and overwhelming. In the discussion of the SQ3R Strategy on p. 12, it seems like these steps should be handled separately with headings. The four academic purposes in Chapter 6 should be obviously highlighted at the beginning of the section rather than listed in the middle of the paragraph without emphasis (p. 217). On p. 230, "6.12" is referenced but does not exist? Use of "for this assignment" on p. 461 seems misleading.

Also, the font size, heading placement, spacing, indenting, and bullet formatting are all a bit awkward throughout; the text could be cleaned up for improved design and readability, though these issues do not detract largely from the text's usability.

Please note: I was evaluating a downloaded PDF version of the text, so experience may be different in a different mode. I located a few interface issues in my reading of the text: On p. 238+ the text keeps referring to underlined topic sentences, but they are not underlined. On p. 244 the text refers to underlined transitional words, but they are also not underlined.

Certain references to other sections in the text are colored in a way that makes them seem as if you could click on a link and be carried to a different section of the text, but this didn’t function, at least not in the PDF that I had downloaded (such as “see Chapter 12 ‘Writing a Research Paper’” on p. 10).

It would be helpful if there was a repeat of the chapter title on the top of each page of the text.

I located the following dead links in the PDF that I downloaded:

http://www.sunywcc.edu/LIBRARY/research/MLA_APA_08.03.10.pdf http://www.writing.ku.edu/guides p. 546

http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/132320728102659810/lib/132320728102659810/_files/Alexie,_Sherman_-_Indian_Education_TEXT.rtf http://www.pfeonyx.com/alliance/IndianCollection/Alexie2.pdf p. 596

http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mcunningham/grapes/mother%20tounge.pdf http://learning.swc.hccs.edu/members/donna.gordon/sum-2010-engl-1301-5-wk-crn-33454/1301-reading-block-crn-33454/Tan_Mother%20Tongue.pdf http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2000/on_the_internet_theres_no_place_to_hide p. 602

http://api.ning.com/files/-3HiJ651xE-rSj4Q4WeH-*f0NQJGyoXgI8AR*3Rat-AyxVuVAgEE bfbuyGbTu9gpi7z3gT4jqd52W3fBsDRfFGgEgLxB5wO4/GetItRight.PrivatizeExecutionsArthurMiller.pdf p. 605

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_Want_a_Wife.pdf http://www.usd305.com/212720101692451310/lib/212720101692451310/20100429123836146.pdf p. 607

http://eec.edc.org/cwis_docs/NEWS_ARTICLES_JOURNALS/Laird_Ellen.pdf http://depedia.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=I%27m_your_teacher%2C_not_your_Internet-Service_Provider p. 609

http://depedia.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=I%27m_your_teacher%2C_not_your_Internet-Service_Provider http://www.alandershowitz.com/publications/docs/torturewarrants.html p. 613

The title and link has changed for article p. 598: should be http://www.newsweek.com/dark-side-web-fame-93505 List of "Sources" on p. 568 awkward too... not sure links are directing to intended spot.

I located a few mechanical/sentence-level errors: p. 2 in Preface, 2nd paragraph, the list with "instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical..." could use semicolons for clearer listing/separation of items. p. 166 wording issue: "jargon a type" p. 202, 213, 275, 340, 366 spacing errors: "errors within, at and on"; "butit"; "thanswimming"; "Fencessymoblize"; "Writingis"; p. 208 lack of consistent periods at end of phrases in Table 5.16 p. 300 words/punctuation missing: "For example, for every Roman numeral I, there must be a For every A, there must be a B."

The text did not seem culturally insensitive or offensive and seemed usable by a wide audience of students.

I plan on using segments of this text in future writing courses, and I am grateful for the availability of OER texts like this one. So, despite any weaknesses addressed, this is still a valuable resource for faculty who are trying to lower the barriers to student success in their classrooms through the adoption of OER resources. I recommend the text, but study it carefully to determine how it will be used in your specific writing courses. It is probably best used as a supplementary text.

Reviewed by Michelle Cristiani, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

What I look for in a writing text at this level is flow from simple to complex: word placement and part of speech up through essays. This text follows that format beautifully. One glaring omission is fragment and run-on work. This is such a common issue at this level. I would also want to see more transition from sentence to paragraph, not just paragraph to essay. There are a couple of underdeveloped sections as the topics grow in detail: for example, nine rhetorical modes are discussed, which is a wide array, but within each section there is not much elaboration or examples. But overall, there are appropriate exercises after concepts are introduced. The text provides a solid framework for instructors to build upon as they see fit. The table of contents are easy to navigate and generally well-organized. I do find chapter 8 misplaced, though – it is titled ‘how do I begin.’ Because it describes the writing process from prewrite to edit it seems sensible to place it closer to the beginning. I especially appreciate the inclusion of research and citation – it is well-done.

The lessons and examples are true to the field. The structure mirrors most other texts in organization and usage. The research and citation sections are more-or-less current.

Longevity is easy to attain with this discipline because grammar/writing rules are tried and true...but the organization of this text makes it a true 'open' resource. One could update or mold portions into a larger discussion on grammar concepts like punctuation, or writing for description. The APA and MLA sections are vague enough as to not need much updates as the rules change. The links work. I see at least one MLA rule that has changed since 2009, but it's relatively minor, and easily updated.

Grammar-heavy texts can be tricky for students because there are so many labels, like 'rhetorical mode,' that they know the definitions of, but have not heard the terms themselves. This text keeps that jargon to a minimum, so that students can focus on the concept and not the vocabulary. Subject-verb agreement is the least accessible, but that is often difficult to explain for any text, and the exercises support the instruction. Parallelism could be defined more cleanly. The research section is quite clear. The learning objectives are clear enough as to be useful tools themselves.

Exercises are often post-concept and always post-chapter. Learning objectives are defined at the beginning of each section. Each section resembles the others, and for that reason can be easily modulated - but there are no clear cumulative assignments.

These chapters can stand alone quite easily. This works especially well for instructors like myself who teach grammar concepts side-by-side with writing concepts - they will pair closely in this model. The end-of-chapter exercises could easily be used as pretests as well as post-tests. Chapter 13 on research documentation is slightly self-referential, but the sections are unlikely to be taught separately and it doesn't feel overdone.

As previously mentioned, chapter 8 on getting started might be moved forward. Ideally the text would pair the writing process stages directly with modes, as they do change given the purpose...but since this might made the text less modular I understand the vision behind its generality. The reading examples might be closer to the chapter on modes, instead of at the end after research. Within chapters, flow is sensible and straightforward.

The layout and structure is simple and clean. Charts keep their shape even when window size is minimized. The clear table of contents is navigable by both scroll and click.

Grammar texts especially need to be spotless; I spotted no errors. Most importantly, there is consistency in structure and punctuation, for example in learning objectives from chapter to chapter.

Most important in this volume are the sample essay readings. Linked and cited authors include various time periods and controversial yet not sensitive topics. The text is to be commended for inclusion of essays from at least five different races and a variety of worldviews.

A solid framework and foundation for essay writing. The book could be used for a class specifically about writing, or as a companion to another course. Modules on research and citation are of specific relevance to a variety of content areas, and the extra essays in the final chapter can inspire debate and argument both in writing and verbal discussion.

Reviewed by Mary Sylwester, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

This textbook is amazingly comprehensive--probably more than any teacher actually wants. It covers strategies for success in college, reading, grammar, spelling, drafting, revising, thesis statements, and various rhetorical modes. Unfortunately,... read more

The content is accurate: rules for spelling and punctuation and general rhetorical content are presented as any writing instructor would expect. More explanation about rules for grammar and punctuation would be nice: for example, the explanation of the dash is "to set off information in a sentence for emphasis." This is accurate, but not the whole story.

The main portions of this text will not become outdated. The section on readings, however, is already problematic. The book offers one reading example per mode, and then others as links. Just in a quick survey of links in two of the rhetorical modes, I found five that were no longer operational. To be fair, the book does try to get around that problem with multiple link sources for the same essay, but I found this strategy confusing, as it tends to look as if there are more readings available than actually are present. In the future, as with any textbook including readings, there will be a need to provide up-to-date topics.

I found the book very readable. There is little or no jargon. This book would be appropriate for a freshman in college.

The page design is consistent: examples and exercises are similarly formatted and easy to locate. The author uses fictional student names to illustrate how some principles might be applied in real life.

In the "Exercise" sections, the book does refer the studen to other parts of the chapters. All the examples I found, however, referred the student to sections within the same chapter and not out to other chapters of the book. For example, in the Exercises for Ch. 8, the instructions say: "Working in a peer-review group of four, go to Section 8.3 “Drafting” and reread the draft of the first two body paragraphs . . . ."

This book starts with strategies for success, which seems reasonable, but then has a giant section about sentence grammar & spelling before even getting to writing paragraphs. "Refining Your Writing" comes before "How Do I Begin?" which seems backwards. The topic of thesis statements does not come up until Chapter 9, which seems terribly late. If I were teaching from this text, I would probably skip from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6, and use Chapters 2-5 (grammar and spelling) as references.

The display seems fine: I read it online rather than downloading. One benefit to the online format is the search window at the top, which offers a kind of substitute for indexing.

The only problem I ran into was that several links to the readings in Chapter 15 were nonfunctional.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Student example names used seem to cover a variety of ethnic backgrounds, but most are women's names. Readings cover a wide spectrum of ethnicities. For example, links to readings in the "Narrative Essay" section include Chicano, Russian Jewish, and Native American.

This is generally a well written textbook. However, there are two problems that instructors will encounter in using it: (1) it is not organized pedagogically, so instructors will need to consider the order of readings carefully, and not just move chapter by chapter through the book. (2) many links to readings are not functional, so instructors will need to be aware of that and either find new links or provide their own readings.

Finally, I have grave reservations about the ethics of using weblinks for essentially all the current readings in a textbook. I understand that using links in an online class for one-time readings is fine, but many of these links (especially those that remain functional) are to publications that have paying subscribers, such as The New Yorker. I would feel better about using a textbook that actually had permission to use other writers' work as a permanent fixture of the book.

Reviewed by Laura Sanders, Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

This text covers a range of topics students might need while building reading, critical thinking, research, and writing skills in developmental to upper division courses. read more

This text covers a range of topics students might need while building reading, critical thinking, research, and writing skills in developmental to upper division courses.

I see no evidence of inaccurate, erroneous, or biased content.

I believe it is safe to say that this book will be useful for a long time. While APA and MLA style may change and grammar rules may soften or transform, this book would be easy to update.

The book is accessible to students entering a course with various levels of academic preparation and experience.

Each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with takeaways. Throughout each chapter, there are charts and exercises to clarify and emphasize key content.

Clearly marked sections focus on student success strategies, grammar and punctuation, and approaches to composition. Instructors could easily select the chapters most relevant to individual reading and writing courses at all levels.

The book is structured very well. It begins with reading strategies and helping students transition from a high school to college learning environment. It moves into sentence-level techniques, including specific areas for English language learners. The text also includes sections on the writing process, rhetoric, research, documentation, and presentation.

The text is easy to navigate.

I do not see any grammatical errors.

While I do not see anything I consider offensive, I do believe few of my students would "see themselves" in this text. The sample names (like "Steve" and "Jones") and sample essay topics (baseball, video game addiction) do not suggest a recognition of the broad cultural diversity instructors encounter in college classrooms today. For me, this lack of inclusiveness marks the main weakness of this text.

I enjoyed reviewing the text and plan to assign a few chapters to my online writing students.

Reviewed by Amy Forester, Instructor, Clackamas Community College and Portland Community College on 1/7/16

The text is very comprehensive. There are sections that are useful for many different writing levels, from students in need of grammar and punctuation instruction to research writing. Also, each section is nicely developed with examples,... read more

The text is very accurate. It gives clear and easy-to-read instruction on many topics.

This text has great longevity. I can imagine using it for many years because the examples are not time-sensitive. This is a great book to accompany a reading list or anthology.

This is one of the first things I noticed about the text. I really like the tone and style of the writing. It is clear and does not over-complicate ideas. The author clearly has experience with first-year writing students because it is written in a clear, accessible way.

I appreciate the consistency of this text. The terminology is direct and logical, and students will find it easy to get a broader understanding of a topic because the text provides links to other parts of the text where the term is mentioned. Also, the chapter organization is perfect for first-year students who do not want long, meandering chapters.

I will be using this book in modules for different writing classes. For example, it is easy to teach the grammar and punctuation sections in a remedial course and leave them out in research writing courses. Each section is very well developed.

The topics are nicely organized in this text. Each chapter has the same features, so students know what to expect. I am particularly impressed with the section Writing at Work, which gives students a sense for how each strategy is used in the workplace.

Overall, the interface is very easy to read. The one improvement that should be made is, at least in my screen view, the student writing samples are hard to read because they are small and in a difficult font.

It is grammatically correct.

The text is not culturally insensitive. It seems inclusive in its examples.

I am particularly impressed with the grammar and punctuation chapters. I have used many different books to teach these topics, and have found that they are often explained in complicated, technical language. I will definitely use these chapters in my classes.

Reviewed by Katie McCurdie, Instructor, Portland State University on 1/7/16

The comprehensiveness of this text is very impressive. At 600 pages, it covers so many aspects of college writing, from grammar to essay writing to creating presentations, that pieces of this text would surely be useful for a wide variety of courses, but it is probably best suited to a first-year composition course. The first chapter provides a good introduction to writing in college, which includes a comparison to writing assignments in high school, along with more general advice on succeeding in college. This would be useful for just about any student entering an American university. It would also aid international students in understanding the expectations surrounding reading and writing as they transition from schools in their home country, where expectations, amount of coursework, and types of assessments can be drastically different. The next four chapters focus on sentence-level language issues: sentence structure, punctuation, vocabulary, and a whole grammar chapter for English language learners. These chapters could provide a great introduction to or review of the basics of English grammar, as well as the metalanguage needed to talk about grammar. In fact, I could see all four of the chapters begin useful for English language learners at intermediate and advanced levels. Chapters six through thirteen cover writing, from paragraphs to research papers, and fourteen focuses on presentations. Short exercises immediately reinforce the content in a variety of ways, such as by editing, completing sentences, and identifying and labeling grammar items. The amount of exercises might be enough for relatively advanced users of English, but those at a lower level would likely need additional exercises from another source. The “Writing Application” exercises at the end of most chapter sections provide opportunities for students to use what they’ve learned in short writing activities. In addition, there are end-of-chapter exercises for more practice.

Throughout the text, there is a combined focus on writing for academic purposes and writing in the real world. Examples and exercises reinforce this with work emails, business letters, job descriptions, cover letters, advertisements, and personal narratives and essays. This should send the message to students that the skills they are learning will be applied to all areas of their lives.

Although this text hasn’t reinvented the wheel in terms of writing instruction, it does present some novel ways to approach certain topics. For instance, there is a section in Chapter 2 on identifying and correcting fragments and run-ons that would potentially be very helpful for both native and non-native writers. It includes flow charts that students could use on their own to aid them in finding and fixing these all too common sentence structure errors in their own writing – an excellent tool to help students move towards becoming independent writers.

The table of contents is detailed and descriptive, but is not included in the pdf version.

I found the content to be mostly accurate. However, there are a couple places where the labeling of grammar items seemed incorrect or inconsistent to me. For instance, in Chapter 2, the text introduces some sentence structure basics including prepositional phrases (“At night,” “In the beginning,” etc.). However, when discussing how to fix fragments that begin with prepositional phrases a few pages later, the example sentences do not actually contain them; instead, they begin with adverb clauses or phrases (“After walking all day…”). For a native writer, distinguishing between these two different structures might not be crucial since the point here is fixing the fragment error. If using this text with English language learners, however, the discrepancy could cause confusion.

Information and example essays seem relevant and up-to-date although the chapter on MLA and APA documentation will have to be updated in the future. Updates should be easy to perform due to the text’s modularity.

The language used in the text is very easy to understand and approachable. Examples mostly consist of everyday language and situations or general academic vocabulary.

The text seems consistent to me except for the grammar terminology error I mentioned above.

This text seems made to be divided into smaller parts to be covered individually or even in a different order. Although the text does refer to itself at times, it does not rely on these references to convey information clearly and completely. Therefore, I noticed some sections of the text that necessarily repeat information from previous sections so as to stand alone as an independent lesson.

I appreciate how the book is organized, beginning with the introduction to college writing, which orients students to what they’ll be doing and why. I think it was a good choice to then put the grammar chapters next, before getting into the writing chapters. Writing books I’ve used tend to stick the grammar instruction at the end of the text or even hide it away in an appendix, but this text encourages students to become proficient writers from the sentence level up. The only part that seems oddly placed to me is Chapter 7, “Refining Your Writing,” which covers sentence variety, coordination and subordination, and parallelism. Also, I agree with another reviewer who said that it would be better if each rhetorical mode were given its own chapter. I never teach nine different modes in one course (maybe two or three), so the modularity would be better if each mode could be separate. On the other hand, I like how research writing is divided into two chapters and covered in detail. This type of writing is so difficult for most students, so it’s nice to have that comprehensive instruction. It’s also great to have the additional chapter at the end with example essays.

The interface is user-friendly with clear headings and sub-headings, logical use of bold text, numbered and bulleted lists, and blocks of subtle color to set off certain pieces of text from the main text. When suitable, information is presented in chart form or inside boxes. The font is highly readable and not distracting. Each chapter has a few main sections that are consistent throughout the text: “Learning Objectives” at the beginning, “Exercises” sprinkled throughout the chapter, and “Key Takeaways” at the end. There are also small boxes labeled “Tips,” which give advice on succeeding academically, and “Writing at Work,” which offers suggestions on how to use writing in real communication situations. As a result, the set-up of each chapter is predictable, which would theoretically allow teachers and students to fall into a comfortable routine.

One problem I found with the interface is that sometimes the margin sizes are not consistent from one page to the next. For instance, an indented list that begins on one page and continues on the next may not be indented on the second page. This is a small issue and may just be in the pdf version of the text.

I also noticed some navigation mistakes, when the text refers the reader to another part of the text, but it’s not the intended part. For example, in the section on fixing run-ons, it says, “For more information on semicolons, see Section 2.4.2 ‘Capitalize Proper Nouns’. However, there is nothing about semicolons in this section; this would most likely be in Chapter 3, which covers punctuation.

I did not see any errors.

I did not notice anything culturally insensitive, and there are some inclusive examples.

Overall, I find this text to be thoughtfully written, and I’d definitely consider using it for upper level writing & grammar-focused courses in the Intensive English Program.

Reviewed by Kirk Perry, Adjunct Instructor, Portland Community College - Cascade on 1/7/16

This textbook aspires to be a combined grammar book and reader. It covers all the appropriate areas, but the coverage is a bit thin when it comes to examples. read more

This textbook aspires to be a combined grammar book and reader. It covers all the appropriate areas, but the coverage is a bit thin when it comes to examples.

As far as I can tell.

The instructional content is very plain and basic; it will be sure to bore students for decades to come.

The readings (links) are good quality and likely to be useful for a decade or so.

Very clear and plain language--but again, not enough examples.

If anything, this text could be more technical. I think it is unhelpful to describe subordinating conjunctions as "dependent words." This strikes me as vague and misleading.

Yes, quite consistent.

Yes, it is effectively modular. Helpful subheadings and sections. There are lists and diagrams, but some sections can be a bit too text-y (dense paragraphs).

Yes: overview > grammar > process > writing modes > research > citation.

However, the example essays for the modes come in the final chapter. There is no good reason why "Chapter 10: Modes" could not be merged with "Chapter 15: Readings: Examples of Essays"--particularly because most of the examples are links.

Appears good.

Didn't notice any problems.

The example essay links provide a variety of ethnic/cultural perspectives.

This book is helpful but tries to do a bit too much--being both a grammar and a reader. It needs more examples of everything: run-on sentences, sense details, example essays, etc.

To adopt this for a course such as WR 115 or WR 121, I would have to provide many supplemental readings.

Reviewed by Annie Knepler, University Studies Writing Coordinator, Portland State University on 1/7/16

Writing for Success is quite thorough. It covers everything from sentence structure to the writing process. It has additional sections on creating effective presentations and concludes with sample essays. I could see how instructors could use... read more

At the same time, it often felt a little too comprehensive, and sometimes seemed to aim for breadth over depth. For example, not much space is devoted to integrating sources and ideas. Learning how to apply sources, and develop your own ideas based on research, is such an important element of college writing. Paraphrasing and integrating source material is complex, and takes a lot of practice. Otherwise, students tend to let the sources speak for them instead of truly conversing with the sources (which is what I would begin to expect of college level students). The text leaves the impression that integrating sources is a straightforward task as opposed to one that involves critical thinking and analytic skills. Overall, I found the research section fairly weak.

I have looked at and worked with several writing texts, and I’m used to ones that either focus on a specific aspect of writing (such as research writing) or have a specific approach. This text tries to be a more general writing text, and it, perhaps, tries to cover too much.

The book strikes me as accurate, thorough, and generally without bias. At the same time, I don’t fully agree with the approach it takes to writing and grammar. The text does a really nice job of explaining certain grammatical elements and providing several examples to demonstrate the idea. However, the text generally treats grammar as rules rather than conventions. These conventions often change or shift over time, just as writing conventions change over time.

Similarly, whereas I appreciated the texts emphasis on writing as a process, Writing for Success does not really highlight the idea that writing can also be a process of discovery for the student. To me, this is an important concept for both learning and writing, and it helps get students excited about the possibilities for college writing. For example, when discussing thesis statements, the book indicates that a writer might end up revising a working thesis to broaden or narrow down their thesis. However, it does not present the possibility that students’ ideas may shift in significant ways as they write, research, and discover ideas. I allow my students to leave themselves open to the idea that their working thesis could change in significant ways as they write.

Overall, for me, it does not adequately emphasize the idea that writing should be both dynamic and purposeful.

The book is designed in a way that makes it easy to update specific details and examples. In general, many of the concepts it covers, such as specific issues students should pay attention to as they edit and revise (such as wordiness, transitions, etc.), will likely remain consistent.

However, I would not characterize the text as particularly relevant given the current conversations in the field of composition and composition pedagogy. In recent years, there has been a much stronger focus on purpose, audience, and genre in relation to writing, and although these concepts are addressed, they are not really emphasized or approached with the degree of complexity I would expect out of a college-level writing course. Writing for Success seems to encourage an expanded version of the five paragraph essay rather than providing students with the tools to recognize multiple approaches to writing. It approaches writing with a step-by-step approach, rather than as a complex task that involves continual critical thinking and problem solving.

Although the text encourages students to apply these ideas to other writing tasks (something I really appreciated about the text), it often implies that the writing they will do in their writing class may not have a clear context or purpose. It even states that students’ “college composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake.”

The writing in the text is very clear and straightforward. It would be helpful for the authors to more clearly define the audience for the book. It strikes me as a text that would be too basic for many first-year college writing courses.

I also found some of the organizational decisions confusing (I address this below under organization/flow).

Consistency rating: 3

The chapters follow a fairly consistent structure in terms of content. They all start by stating objectives, explain the main concepts, review the concepts, and provide exercises. The text also fairly consistently encourages active learning by posing questions for students/readers to consider as they delve into a topic.

To my eyes, there are some inconsistencies in terms of the framework and the message of the text. For example, it opens by framing writing as a challenge, and I was prepared for it to address several of the complexities of college writing. Instead, it goes on to take a fairly formulaic approach to writing, and even implies at times that the five-paragraph essay is a common form for college writing.

The text is broken into clear sections. I’m not sure how well the text would work if assigned from start to finish, but I can see how instructors might select specific chapters for a specific purpose. I usually have a select group of students that might struggle with a certain issue and I would, for example, direct a student that is struggling with commas to that specific section.

I also appreciate the way the is designed to work with other classes that a student might be taking. The exercises often direct students to apply the ideas they’re learning to a piece of writing that they are already working on for another class or to a task they have been assigned in their job.

The structure of the text was, at times, a little confusing. For example, the fact that tone, audience, and purpose are first discussed under a chapter on paragraphs was a little disorienting. Though these elements clearly relate to paragraphs and paragraph structure, they are really a central element of the larger structure and purpose of an essay or paper. Beyond that, in this section the author clearly explains different types of paragraphs, and provides a clear and detailed description of concepts such as analysis and evaluation.

There were a few other choices that did not make sense to me. For example, why are signal phrases and verbs discussed in the section on formatting as opposed to the section on integrating material into texts? That doesn’t really make sense.

My main concern is with the larger structure of the book. It starts by breaking down sentences structure and explaining the parts of the sentence. It seems like these chapters would make more sense in connection to editing since these are issues students should explore as they are editing their work. Most research shows that students more successfully learn grammar and sentence structure when it’s addressed in a specific context (such as their own work). The structure of the book implies that students can “learn” elements of a sentence and then easily apply that to their work.

I read the text in iBook, and the formatting did not always functioned properly. Some of the tables/columns were hard to read, and there were instances where the text referred to underlined sections of the examples, but there was no underline in my version.

I did look at the PDF version, and this did not seem to be an issue.

The book is generally free of errors. I looked at some of the previous reviews, and it seems as though some of the specific errors people noted have already been edited out of the text. I did find one clear typo on page 408 where the word “Thesis” in a title is written “ThesIs.”

The book did not make any statements that were insensitive or inoffensive. At the same time, it also did not address issues of language that relate to culture or gender. So it essentially avoids the topic, which is insensitive in its own way. For instance, it does not deal with issues of language and gender, and in the chapter on pronouns it does not examine the increasingly common use of the singular “they.” I appreciated the section for English language learners, but was a little confused about it’s overall purpose. It did not in any ways address some of the rhetorical issues that multilingual and international students often struggle with, and instead seemed to want to take the place of an English language course. In other words, it seemed as though it was well meant, but not sufficient or clear.

I appreciate that the text encourages students to be not only active readers and writers, but also active students. It emphasizes that they should seek help if they need it, and demonstrates ways to engage with reading.

The lists of words, such as transitional words, were very helpful. My experience is that students benefit greatly from these types of examples. The section on presentation skills was also useful and provided some good tips concerning tone, voice, and connecting with your audience.

I also appreciate the use of examples in the text, and these were generally very helpful. The sample essays at the end were helpful, and I really appreciated all the links to model readings available on the web. Despite the examples, while reading the text, it often feels like there’s a little too much telling students how to write rather than showing.

My main concern is that it wouldn’t work well for a more theme or genre-based writing course, one that worked to place student writing in a specific context. At our university, writing instruction is integrated into yearlong, theme-based courses for first-year students. When I taught composition at a university with a more traditional first-year writing sequence, the courses were theme-based, and students were encouraged to think of their writing as contextualized and purposeful. Writing for Success often seems to assume that writing courses function more as isolated courses where students focus on the structures and processes of putting together expository writing.

As I note above, I think it would be helpful to better define the specific audience for this textbook. It’s certainly not appropriate for the college writing classes I’ve taught or worked with, and it could be that it has a different purpose. A college writing course should introduce students to more complex ways to approach their writing, and get them excited about the possibilities for communicating their ideas. I’m not sure that this text would achieve that goal.

Reviewed by Sara Crickenberger, Instructor, Virginia Tech on 6/10/15

The pdf of the textbook does not provide a table of contents or an index/glossary. It opens with a Preface then jumps right into Chapter 1. These omissions are inconvenient for planning and for both students and instructors trying to locate specific material in the 613-page book. However, the textbook covers a wide breadth of material relevant to a first-year writing class, ranging from basic discussion and tips to help students succeed as college-level readers and writers to sample essays employing a variety of rhetorical modes. I likely would not use everything in this textbook, but it contains a great deal of material that I would find useful.

The content appears to be accurate and unbiased. I did not find any factual errors or inconsistencies.

The material in the textbook is up-to-date and relevant. Some examples use historical references, which are essentially timeless. A couple of the sample essays discuss topics such as universal health care and low-carbohydrate diets that may be front page news one day and off the public radar the next, but the material was not dated in a way that made it less valuable as a resource for students. The sample essays are in the last chapter in the book, which could easily be updated with newer essays.

The book is easy to read and clearly speaks to college writing students. The language is accessible, explanations are clear, and instructions are easy to follow. The author defines terms that are specific to the study of language and writing and gives examples illustrating how they are used. After each section students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of the material by completing exercises based on their reading.

The book uses a consistent framework that includes learning objectives for each section, discussion/explanation of the material, exercises that allow students to practice what they have been reading/learning, tips to make difficult ideas more accessible or reinforce messages, key takeaways to reinforce the learning objectives for each section, and a writing application.

The book is divided nicely into numbered chapters and sections that work well as self-contained units. Each section has clear learning objects, examples, exercises, and a writing application. It would be easy to assign a chapter or section within a chapter with the accompanying examples and exercises for students to compete.

The chapter on Writing for English Language Learners seems a bit oddly placed. Since that material is relevant for only a segment of the student population, I probably would have moved that chapter toward the back of the book with the more specialized content on documentation and presentations rather than between the chapters on word choice and shaping content. However, the content in the ELL chapter does relate closely to word choice and sentence structure, so another instructor might think this is the perfect place for this material.

The biggest problem with navigation in this textbook is the lack of a table of contents and index is. However, I had one other problem with the formatting. The text is double spaced, but paragraphs are not indented and there are no blank lines between paragraphs, so it is difficult to tell where paragraphs break. This is an issue in terms of ease of reading, and it sets a poor example for students who are learning the conventions of mechanics and formatting.

There are a few spacing issues. In some places subheads butt directly against body copy or tables, for instance. And some page breaks cause awkward breaks in exercises, tables, and charts. These are small issues that don't significantly affect the readability or usability.

I found few errors in the book. One issue that I did notice is a problem that is common among my students, so I was especially disappointed to see the error in the text. The author uses "where" in reference to something other than place: "...establish a buddy system where you check in with a friend about school projects" (25).

The text has a few other issues, such as bullet points that don't use parallel verb structures, some use of "to be" constructions that could easily be revised to more active/vivid sentence structures, and some typographical errors, such as "accuratelydid" (92) and "ascrawny" (149). These errors are relatively rare but start to get annoying after a couple of hundred pages.

The book does not contain references that are culturally insensitive or offensive. The author switches between male and female names in examples/exercises and uses names that are reflective of a diverse population.

I am planning to use this book as one of my texts in a first-year writing class next fall. I likely will adapt it a bit by adding a table of contents, indenting paragraphs, correcting mechanical errors, etc. so that it is more functional and serves as a model of the writing and formatting I expect from students. I actually like the double spacing, which most publishers don't use because of space/cost issues. It provides plenty of room for students to annotate the text electronically or on print copies. I am not sure I am up for undertaking indexing.

Reviewed by Kari Steinbach, Instructor, University of Northwestern - St. Paul on 7/15/14

The text covers some helpful elements of a first college writing course, such as an overview of several genres of writing assignments, some grammar and usage issues, use of peer review and collaboration in writing, and research strategies. Some may consider the addition of the study strategy and reading strategy material to be too basic--even for a first year writing course. Without a clear table of contents or index, the organization was difficult to decipher and required paging back and forth throughout the book.

The book appears to be free from any obvious errors. Because of the rapid changes in databases, electronic research strategies, and documentation styles, it is likely that updates will need to be made--but this is the case for any text dealing with research and documentation.

Aside from requiring updates due to documentation and research changes, there may need to be an update of sample essays that have subject matter that may become outdated. Examples of cited sources may become outdated--especially in fields that change quickly.

The use of flow charts to help students understand grammar concepts is helpful. A better use of white space, illustration, font changes, bullets, and color in the design would make the text more visually fluid and more readable. The addition of full text student sample papers to show formatting is very helpful. I also appreciated the list of objectives at the beginning of each chapter.

The text appears to be consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

It would be helpful for the rhetorical mode section to be split into separate chapters, with each genre given more individual emphasis and examples of the strategies required for that genre.

My preference would be to teach grammatical concepts as they come up within the course of writing assignments. I would prefer a text that had grammar covered in an appendix that could be referred to throughout the course and as the issues came up during the writing assignments. I would not teach grammar independent of the writing assignment.

There is a need for a clear table of contents and index.

There are no obvious issues with the book's grammar.

There are no obvious issues of cultural insensitivity in the text.

Reviewed by Jonathan Carlson, Instructor, Composition, University of Northwestern - St. Paul on 7/15/14

The first chapter covers many "first year" or "freshmen" tips, best practices ideas and how-to info. Probably good material for the group using this book, but not essential. Table 1.2 is valuable to a student's overall understanding of writing. Table 8.1 is great! The outline checklist on 301 and 302 is good info. I like the discussion of thesis statements on page 341. It points out significant errors. I appreciate the section on plagiarism. This is such a key issue today, with so much research done online with text that is so easy to copy and paste. I like that the book notes that there is intentional and unintentional plagiarism. I think the reading examples in chapter 15 could be stronger. The compare and contrast essay is quite brief, and it is not organized for easy reading (one massive paragraph and one short paragraph). The cause and effect essay is rather short. I would like to see 3 to 5 page examples - approximations of what I will be expecting my Comp 1 students to write. I feel the persuasive essay is much too brief to be persuasive. Universal health care coverage is a massive and nuanced topic, and to serve it up in two pages seems almost offensive. By the by, the linked essays seems very good. I just think the book needs better, stronger examples of student essays. Overall, I think this is perhaps the most comprehensive writing textbook I've seen. However, the sample writings included in the text need to be expanded and off "better quality"--closer to what a student would turn in for a Comp I course.

Pg 319: "Generally speaking, write your introduction and conclusion last, after you have fleshed out the body paragraphs." This is dangerous advice. While I don't think it means to, I feel it downplays the importance of a thesis and/or mapping statement/plan of coherence. Without such a guide directly in front of them, many students will go off course. I feel the discussion/instruction of the thesis statement should occur in the outlining and drafting segment. It can and should be revisited later, but to wait to this point could be detrimental to the paper. Section 11.4: Accurate and essential. Students really need to know how to evaluate source material. From page 435: Questionable sources: free online encyclopedias. Thank you! From page 438: "Think ahead to a moment a few weeks from now, when you've written your research paper and are almost ready to submit it for a grade. There is just one task left - writing your list of sources." I've always thought it wise to have students created their references page as they write the paper. They can delete a source they don't end up including, and if they wait to the end, they are more likely to forget a source. Page 570: The chart should probably be labeled "Winter Olympic Medal Standings since 1924." If the combined total is calculated, the US has more than double our closest competitor, the Soviet Union. Also, the URL included in the text does not work. On the whole, the info is accurate and will be very helpful to students.

Not much in the book seems dated. Not much background is given for the fictional students in the book, and no pictures of them are provided. While this does increase the longevity of the book, it also decreases the chances of a real student identifying with the students in the textbook. The sample student writing on 361 is or will be dated, but if you're writing about tech, it's going to be. Beyond the Hype: Evaluating Low-Carb Diets from page 455. This is quite dated. After the myth that Atkins died from heart issues circulated, the low carb movement died with him. The process that this paper goes through is structured well. And I think that the teaching done by it is very relevant. So...I don't think that it's relevance as a fad should necessarily be considered. But if the book gets updated in 5 to 10 years, I'd recommend a different topic. The annotated essay portion on page 470 looks like it was created on an old-school typewriter. Ding! Page 531: The discussion of the URL vs. DOI is timely but may become irrelevant. I'm glad to see it's in here, but it may become irrelevant in the future.

All the language seems clear to me. However, I have a Master's in Writing. It's difficult to take that filter off and think as a college freshman would. For example, page 327 uses the phrase "formal English." I have a strong context for that, but would most college freshman. I honestly am not sure. It might be helpful to have a few early college students review the textbook.

Yes, it is internally consistent. The book uses similar language throughout and references previous and upcoming chapters frequently.

The textbook seems appropriately modular. An instructor could use portions he/she wanted or needed and leave out non-applicable content such as the "freshman seminar" type sections. Nearly half the book is grammar, punctuation and "college wisdom" content, which makes modularity especially important if the book is being exclusively used a Composition I textbook. And I do think its modularity is designed well and designed well enough to function in that way. The text does references previous and upcoming chapters frequently, but I think this still works fine.

There is no table of contents at the front. The portions about Crystal, while they are related thematically to the text, still seem out of place. I've used another textbook with a similar element (a group of first-year students who share their struggles and successes). In the textbook I used, there were pictures of the students, and their comments and insight were set off in colorful textbooks. While it seemed a bit cheesy, as does this, the concept is helpful to students, I think. Setting off this element in sidebar allows the text to flow more smoothly and helps to identify the comments as such. Some of the tables are broken at the page breaks in segments that make them hard to follow. For example, if they were broken between rows instead of in the middle of them, that would make them easier to follow. Exercise 2 on page 544/545 is an example of a terrible table break. The overview of sections on page 38 is very confusing. This info should be included mainly in a table of contents or a chapter introduction. The Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words section on page 327-328 could be set off with a different color or the like. It seems odd simply being part of the flow of text. Something to consider: This textbook is set up in something of a narrative structure. It might be more effective if set up as an owner's manual, considering our current generation of learners' aversion to lengthy text. 9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement Chapter 9 is covering developing a thesis, but chapter 8 looks at writing the draft. The instructions on the thesis need to come before instructions on writing the draft. Consider adding table 8.1 to page 354. Finally, there is no index, glossary or works cited sections at the end. The overall organization is good, quite functional, but some of the "accessories" are missing.

The color scheme is too muted. Various sections are "highlighted" in light gray. More distinct colors would give the reader clearer clues about how the text is organized. Also, some sort of picture or icon would help to recognize certain segments. For example, the "Writing at Work" segments could have a small picture of a person at an office desk (preferably Dwight Schrute). I really like the charts on page 49 and 51, 54.

I found a few punctuation errors, but they're all essentially the same: missing spaces. This may have happened when the document was converted to PDF. Orunless on page 52. "athesis" on page 338. Fencessymbolize on page 340. seeChapter 6 on page 368. From page 392: "Writers are particularly prone to such trappings in cause-and-effect arguments "Shouldn't it be "traps" instead of "trapping"? Manual published from page 424 Table 11.1 on 423 and 424 uses two fonts inconsistently. asSmithsonian Magazine orNature from page 434 athttp://www.apa.org and athttp://owl.english.purdue.edu on page 492. From page 521: "byperiods." From page 516: "inand"

I didn't find much that was necessarily inclusive, other than the names of the fictional students. There were some sample essays (linked) that included non-white authors, which is certainly inclusive. However, I don't think any of the examples or articles were exclusive. Being a "white" male myself, I have a filter that is difficult to remove. I would hope that you could find some non-white reviewers to give you their opinion of this element.

Very, very comprehensive. I actually felt all the grammar and "freshmen seminar" elements took up too much of the textbook, but since it's free and the modularity works well, that's fine. Please add stronger student sample essays, a table of contents, glossary, index and works cited sections. And make the color scheme bolder. Thanks for the opportunity to review this textbook!

Reviewed by Tanya Grosz, Assistant Professor of English & Director of Undergraduate Pathways, University of Northwestern - St. Paul on 7/15/14

I was surprised at just how comprehensive this book was. It covers everything from study strategies to prewriting to editing and punctuation and research writing. Also, it includes writing strategies for ELL students which is very helpful. While I would have liked to have seen more full-text essays woven throughout the text, there are several in the final chapter, there are links to others, and there are a few throughout the book.

I have taught writing for 20 years, and I find this text to be both accurate and helpful. I find that students, regardless of age, struggle most with essay organization, and this text devotes the appropriate amount of time to organizing a paragraph and essay.

Updates could be made in a straightforward and easy fashion; many of the principles are solid and timeless. The MLA/APA part can be easily updated as can the essay examples.

The tone is extremely accessible. As I read through chapters 1 - 3, I was concerned that the text was almost too basic to be used with college freshmen, but as I reflected upon this, it dawned upon me that I cover some of the same concepts in the first week of class based on a writing and editing assessment. A teacher could easily extract those components that aren't necessary. Ultimately, this book is clear and readable.

Each chapter has a framework that is consistent; there is review at the end that is helpful and exercises for the student who wishes to practice what has been covered in the chapter.

I could easily see myself extracting certain elements of various chapters and using some chapters but not others. The book lends itself to easily using some chapters and not others and certain parts of a chapter without the entirety.

This is a difficult question because no one would likely organize a textbook the same way as someone else. I found the Refining Writing chapter (Chapter 7) a little oddly placed, but it certainly was not a deal-breaker, and because of its excellent modularity, one could easily organize the presentation differently. The topics are definitely presented clearly and logically.

The charts and graphs did not present very clearly on my screen, but I'm not sure if that's the text or my computer. While it wasn't distracting, the graphs were a bit pixelated and fuzzy. The essay samples were clear. Navigation was easy.

I thought the grammar, sentence flow, punctuation, etc. was excellent.

I wish I had access to the chapter for ELL students 20 years ago! I found nothing offensive in the text and found helpful chapters for college-bound high school students, freshmen or sophomore college students, and adult learners.

I find this book to be pragmatic, helpful, clear, straightforward, and well done. I am going to recommend it to my department for review. I think there should be a Learning Style quiz embedded or linked to when discussing learning styles for students. The writing tips and advice given were accurate and relevant. Literally, the only piece I would have liked to have seen addressed but did not was how to be an effective peer editor, but the tips for editing one's own paper could easily be applied to editing a peer's essay. While I would likely not use the chapter on presenting with my own class, I found it to be helpful. I do have one question about the formatting of the essays in chapter 12 at the end of the book: Why were the paragraphs not indented? I know of no composition instructors who allow block formatting for submitted essays. I recommend reviewing this book!

Chapter 1: Introduction to Writing
Chapter 2: Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?
Chapter 3: Punctuation
Chapter 4: Working with Words: Which Word Is Right?
Chapter 5: Help for English Language Learners
Chapter 6: Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content
Chapter 7: Refining Your Writing: How Do I Improve My Writing Technique?
Chapter 8: The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?
Chapter 9: Writing Essays: From Start to Finish
Chapter 10: Rhetorical Modes
Chapter 11: Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?
Chapter 12: Writing a Research Paper
Chapter 13: APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting
Chapter 14: Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas
Chapter 15: Readings: Examples of Essays

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition.

Beginning with the sentence and its essential elements, this book addresses each concept with clear, concise and effective examples that are immediately reinforced with exercises and opportunities to demonstrate, and reinforce, learning.

Each chapter allows your students to demonstrate mastery of the principles of quality writing. With its incremental approach, it can address a range of writing levels and abilities, helping each student in your course prepare for their next writing or university course. Constant reinforcement is provided through examples and exercises, and the text involves students in the learning process through reading, problem-solving, practicing, listening, and experiencing the writing process.

Each chapter also has integrated examples that unify the discussion and form a common, easy-to-understand basis for discussion and exploration. This will put your students at ease, and allow for greater absorption of the material.

Tips for effective writing are included in every chapter, as well. Thought-provoking scenarios provide challenges and opportunities for collaboration and interaction. These exercises are especially helpful if you incorporate group work in your course. Clear exercises teach sentence and paragraph writing skills that lead to common English composition and research essays.

Exercises are integrated in each segment. Each concept is immediately reinforced as soon as it is introduced to keep students on track.

Exercises are designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration. This allows for peer-peer engagement, development of interpersonal skills, and promotion of critical thinking skills.

Exercises that involve self-editing and collaborative writing are featured. This feature develops and promotes student interest in the areas and content.

There are clear internal summaries and effective displays of information. This contributes to ease of access to information and increases the ability of your students to locate desired content.

Rule explanations are simplified with clear, relevant, and theme-based examples. This feature provides context that will facilitate learning and increase knowledge retention.

There is an obvious structure to the chapter and segment level. This allows for easy adaptation to your existing and changing course needs or assessment outcomes.

Contribute to this Page

Essay on Success

Students are often asked to write an essay on Success in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Success

Understanding success.

Success is a subjective term, meaning different things to different people. To some, it may mean acquiring wealth, while to others, it could mean achieving personal goals.

Path to Success

The path to success often involves hard work, determination, and resilience. It’s about overcoming obstacles and persisting despite failures.

Success and Happiness

True success is not just about accomplishments, but also about happiness and satisfaction. It’s about feeling content with what you have achieved.

In conclusion, success is a personal journey. It’s about setting goals, working hard, and finding happiness in your achievements.

250 Words Essay on Success

Defining success.

Success is a multifaceted concept, often perceived as the attainment of wealth, social status, or the achievement of personal goals. However, this traditional view oversimplifies the complexity of success. It’s a subjective term, varying among individuals based on their values, beliefs, and life experiences.

Success as Self-fulfillment

One advanced perspective views success as self-fulfillment. It’s not merely about achieving a specific goal, but also about the journey that leads to it. Success can be found in personal growth, the acquisition of knowledge, or the pursuit of passion. It’s about setting and meeting personal standards, not societal ones.

The Role of Failure in Success

Failure, often seen as the antithesis of success, actually plays a crucial role in its attainment. Failure provides valuable lessons, fostering resilience and adaptability. It promotes innovation, pushing us to find alternative solutions and encouraging personal growth.

Happiness is another critical component of success. The pursuit of success devoid of happiness can lead to dissatisfaction and burnout. True success should enhance our well-being and contentment, not diminish it.

In conclusion, success is a personal and dynamic concept, encompassing more than just material or social achievements. It’s about personal growth, learning from failures, and finding happiness in the process. By broadening our understanding of success, we can lead more fulfilling lives, unbound by traditional societal expectations.

500 Words Essay on Success

The subjectivity of success.

Success is subjective, varying significantly from person to person. For some, it might mean achieving a high-ranking position in their profession, while for others, it could entail leading a peaceful life surrounded by loved ones. This subjectivity stems from our unique values, beliefs, and life experiences, which shape our definition of success. Therefore, it is crucial to define what success means to us individually, rather than adopting societal or external standards.

Contrary to popular belief, failure plays a critical role in success. It provides valuable lessons and opportunities for growth, fostering resilience and determination. When perceived as a learning opportunity, failure can become a springboard for success. Embracing failure, rather than fearing it, can lead to a healthier, more constructive approach to achieving our goals.

The Role of Hard Work and Perseverance

Success as a journey, not a destination.

One of the most profound perspectives on success is viewing it as a journey rather than a destination. This perspective encourages continuous learning, growth, and adaptation. It promotes the idea that success is not a final destination to be reached, but a continuous process of striving to improve and achieve personal fulfillment.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Long Essay on Success for Students and Children

Success could be considered as the fuel on which the whole world functions efficiently. The perspective of success is different for every individual. For example, for one person success could be to get his or her dream job whereas for others it could be to spend a couple of hours with the family. In this essay on success important points such as how time management leads to success and how hard work and failure are related to success are discussed. This Success essay for students and children explains all the factors that determine success.

One of the most important factors that lead to success is time management. Time is considered to be the most precious asset of our lives. Time is everything and it’s an invaluable entity and once spent it never comes back. So it is important to learn how to manage your time. Time management refers to the process of planning and executing the task and goals to get the maximum. If done properly would lead a person to be successful in his or her life. The amount of time a person invests in improving himself will directly improve the chance of success.

Success and Failure

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Success and failure are inversely proportional to each other. If a person is successful he or she will directly drift away from failure. Achieving success is not easy, if it was easy everyone would have done it, but it’s not impossible. It’s important to know that the road to success is filled with failures and through those failures one becomes successful. It should be understood that failure acts as a stepping stone for success and gives the will to work harder towards his/her goals.

Success and Hard Work

Success is directly proportional to hard work. The harder one works towards his or her goals the easier it is to achieve success. Hard work doesn’t mean to do laborious work or work that will make you sweat. Hard work means not only working on your goals but also being optimistic towards life and believing in yourself that even if the journey is difficult it can be achieved.

Everyone should keep in mind that the road to success is not easy and it’s difficult but it’s not impossible. Besides working on your goals that would lead a person towards success it is very important to push your limit every day, take charge of your life, and keep learning.

It is very important to take care of your mind which could be done by eliminating negative thoughts and negative people from your life. Staying positive is a key to success.

How Can You Attain Success?

We have discussed what being successful depends on. Now, let us take a look at what we can do actively to attain that position in our lives.

Be a risk-taker: Good things come to those who are unafraid of taking risks. You must venture out of your comfort zone and try new things if you ever wish to experience new things and fulfill your goals.

Surround yourself with people who uplift you: Having the right kind of peers and friends is very important if you want to achieve success in life. These people will motivate you and help you strive to do better when you are struggling.

Learn from your mistakes: Failures act as stepping stones. If you do not learn from the mistakes you have made, you will never be able to grow and prosper. Do not be disheartened if you do not succeed in doing everything the first time itself.

Believe in yourself and keep working hard: There is no shortcut to success. You have to work hard and never give up.

Learn soft skills: Nowadays, you need to enhance your communication and your time management skills to be able to handle everything life throws at you. Work on bettering your soft skills too.

Remain dedicated: You cannot give in to distractions if you aspire to do well. Take short breaks but never let your mind wander away from the task at hand. Complete your work on time and stay dedicated to your goals.

Short Essay on Success for Students and Children

Success is achieved by those people who work harder every day and manage their time properly. Students should understand the importance of time management. Managing time properly is the key to success. Loss of time is considered to be a loss of opportunities. Time management is what most successful people like Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk do. It is important for students to know what they want to achieve in life and should have a clear vision of their dreams. If a person has a vision in the life of what they want to become, they don’t drift around and will not end up in the wrong place. After having a vision or dream one should invest his or her time in making that dream a reality. That could be done by putting in constant hard work. Sometimes even if one is not talented one can achieve success through hard work and determination. The road to success is not easy it is filled with failures and it is important to understand that through those failures one leads to success. In conclusion, it could be said that managing the time every day and working on your dream even if there are failures in your journey is considered to be the ideal formulae for success.

How Can Success Harm You?

We are all chasing the idea of success but it is important to understand that too much of anything can become toxic or harmful in the long run. You might become so obsessed with being successful that you start disrupting your emotional and physical well-being. This can have rather negative long-term consequences. Moreover, failures are a part of life. If you do not stumble even once, you might become boastful and arrogant. This will drive away even your closest family members and friends.

There is another side to this debate. If you chase success too much, you will not be able to handle failure. This can lead to depression and the development of several severe mental-health issues. To avoid this, you must focus on all the aspects of success and not run after materialistic accomplishments.

FAQs on Success Essay

1. How can Students be Successful in Academics?

For students, success in academics could be getting good marks and exceeding everyone’s expectations. Students could achieve success in academics by planning everything accordingly. The first step for excelling in any exam is to know your syllabus completely. The second step is to make a timetable to differentiate what to study. when to study? and to know how much of a particular topic studied is important for the exam. The third step after completing the syllabus is to practice effectively. It is very important to be positive and believe in yourself.

2. What Can be the Impact of Success on People?

Success can have both negative and positive impacts on people. You must know how to navigate the ups alongside the downs in life. It is foolish to presume that success can be attained without sacrifices. People achieve professional success but they fail in achieving mental, physical, and social success. This might cause major mental issues like depression and loneliness. We must learn how to cope up with both our personal and professional lives without giving in to undue stress and anxiety.

3. Why should Young Students be taught the Importance of Hard Work?

As we have discussed in this article, there are no shortcuts to success. You have to keep persevering to be good at what you do. Success cannot be attained overnight. However, inculcating discipline can go a long way in teaching students how to handle whatever life throws at them. Hard work and discipline go hand in hand. You must be disciplined and work hard to achieve your goals. If young students are made to understand this from a tender age, they can go on to achieve great things in life.

4. Why can Success Sometimes Prove to be Harmful?

A famous quote states that you always pass failure on your way to success. We can never learn if we do not make any mistakes. One must learn to take failure in their stride and not let it affect them too much. Success can prove to be harmful when you put too much unnecessary pressure on yourself to do well. This can lead to a decline in your emotional well-being and affect you mentally. Everyone has to face ups and downs in life but you must try to learn something from every experience and grow.

5. How should Students Gain Inspiration to be Successful in Life?

Inspiration can be found anywhere if you try hard enough to look for it. People like Steve Jobs and Sundar Pichai did not become successful in one day. They kept trying out new things and did not shy away from taking risks. Ultimately, their hard work and dedication paved the way to their success. Students should take inspiration from such men and women who have overcome a lot of hurdles in life to reach the position they are in now. This will motivate them to do better too.

The “Success” Term Concept Essay (Critical Writing)

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Definition and concepts

It is a commonly experienced phenomenon that people have objectives to attain in life. Social structures, for example, drive the desire among individuals in lower classes to break through to better living standards as per what they admire. This leads to individuals adopting strategies and approaches that can help them in changing their status. Thoughts or dreams are not however just realized and even after some people making steps towards achieving their objectives they never manage to have positive results.

The outcome of every single initiative is normally identified with success or failure. The term success has been offered a variety of definitions and approached differently depending on societies, and individuals. It has for example been defined in terms of monetary possession with rich individuals being considered successful. Establishment and maintenance of a healthy family in social terms has also been used in societies to define success.

According to Schwaiger, the definition of success varies depending on an individual’s society and the social value that the individual upholds. One of the formal definitions of success however gives it the property of attaining a subject that an individual has desired. This gives success a diverse meaning that starts from small things that an individual may achieve out of sight of any third party. My personal perception of success is in line with this definition to mean any attainment of a predetermined goal by an individual (Swaiger 53).

Based on these definitions of success and my perception towards the subject together with my past life experience, a successful person is that individual who identifies an objective and works to its successful accomplishment. The achievement might not necessarily be a magnificent one that attracts public attention.

A student who has been poorly performing in class, sets his goal at improving by five percent in a next undertaken exam would for example be successful if he attain the five percent increment. My consideration of success to include intent is because some people can find themselves in a better position without necessarily working towards the attainment. This defines luck rather than success.

Key Determinants to Success

From the definition of success that gives it the property of set objectives that are then to be pursued by an individual to attainment lays the ground to the factors that affect it. The basis of success that established the goal to be pursued is for example a point to its factor.

In the laying out of the goals, an individual is normally faced with fears over the possibility of positive results as a result of the initiative to be undertaken. There are also always a variety of other options that an individual can pursue with fears of loosing better opportunities following the adoption of a given option. Being daring with respect to risk taking is therefore a determinant of success.

Without the courage to make choices, an individual will not even be able to establish a goal to pursue. Once a goal has been identified, plan for adopting an approach into realizing the objective becomes a necessity. An individual must at this moment have the capacity to creatively identify ways through which the goal can be best realized. The capacity to develop plans and strategies for implementation thus becomes the next determinant of success.

An individual who has a dream but can not figure out how such a dream can be realized whether directly or through other people will most likely stagnate with the dream at its initial stage. With an identified plan and consideration that there are always challenges to every initiative, persistence of a person plays another role in determining the success of the individual.

Persistence involves the will to move on even in threats of failure to attain the planned goals. Hard work is another determinant in attaining success of individuals. Hard work that starts from the initial stages of an activity up to its ultimate accomplishment thus forms the basis of determinants to success (Dalton and Alger 270).

A third party’s Perception of Success

One of the parties that I have considered to be successful around me is my parents. An interaction with them throughout my life has offered me an understanding of their perception and understanding of what success is all about.

According to my parents and as I was driven by my mother, success means the accomplishment of a dream that one has. With this consideration of meaning of success, their definition of success is similar to mine in the sense that success involves the identification of a goal which in their view is the dream that an individual may have.

My parents have considerably been successful with respect to their dream that they accomplished. Their success was attained through persistence that finally enabled them to identify the tool to their success and how to acquire that tool. Though they finally attained their dream, they were occasionally faced with setbacks in the process.

Their dream being financial stability when they had no adequate education saw them struggle to get jobs which they occasionally lost till my mother got a job in a shop that established her as a business person. Poverty and being over ambitious were their major challenges (Dalton and Alger 270).

Comparison of Ideas

The writers had a variety of opinion about success. According to Dalton and Alger, there are a variety of uncontrollable forces that affect success of an individual. Discrimination for instance was identified by the authors as a factor towards success. Barriers between social classes also play a role to the success of an individual.

These ideas compares with mine on the basis that it is not very easy to break barriers into success. This for example explains the rigidity as realized in social classes that are very difficult to cross. Success thus depends on a variety of factors other than those controllable by individuals (Dalton and Alger 270).

Personal Hope to Success

As an individual, I have resorted to adopt a stepwise approach in pursuing my objectives to my ultimate success. My goals in life include my academic success in the short run and economic stability that can adequately support my family back at home. Obstacles that I have realized over my success include language barrier together with unstable economic background that has forced me to work as I study. My plan for success is basically based on perseverance and hard work to attain my goals.

Oppressions to success

Oppression, realized in any form negatively affects people’s capacity to succeed. Taking forms such as segregation, cultural difference and even self concealment, oppression directly affects the capacity to succeed by limiting resources (Richard 3).

Works Cited

Dalton, Cruz and Alger, Horato. From Ragged Dick . New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2010. Print.

Richard, Valencia. Chicano School Failure and Success: Past, Present, and Future . New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2010. Print.

Swaiger John. In Search of a Good Fit . New York, NY: Xulon Press, 2009. Print.

Three Ways of Meeting Oppression
Problems with Social Security
Social mobility and status attainment in American society
Factors That Influenced the Persistence of Minority Doctoral Students: Dissertation Critique
Closing Education Attainment Gap in Schools
The History and Culture of Islam & the Arabs and Their Contributions to Global Civilization and the Advancement of Human Society
Views on Freackonomics by S.Levitt and S.Dubner
Making an Argument About War
Revolutions and Reforms in Egypt and the Arab World
Art and Creativity to Solve Problems
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, October 10). The "Success" Term Concept. https://ivypanda.com/essays/success/

"The "Success" Term Concept." IvyPanda , 10 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/success/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'The "Success" Term Concept'. 10 October.

IvyPanda . 2018. "The "Success" Term Concept." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/success/.

1. IvyPanda . "The "Success" Term Concept." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/success/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The "Success" Term Concept." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/success/.

About Project
Testimonials

Business Management Ideas

Essay on Success

List of essays on success in english, short essay on success – essay 1 (100 words), essay on success: definition and how to achieve success – essay 2 (250 words), essay on success: parameters, qualities for achieving success and conclusion – essay 3 (300 words), essay on success: what is real success – essay 4 (500 words), essay on success: success and hard work – essay 5 (500 words), essay on success: education is the road to success – essay 6 (650 words), long essay on success – essay 7 (1000 words), essay on success: intro, success in life and success for students – essay 8 (2500 words).

The students should be able to distinguish between true success and success of ill deeds. The short essays for students shall enlighten them with the true meaning of success. The essays written in simple language are very informative and shall prove to be beneficial for students of all classes.

Success is much more than riches, power or fame. Success is simply the feeling of satisfaction and happiness one gets from leading a particular way of life or carrying out a particular activity. Success in any field or aspect of life can only be achieved through serious hard work and a little bit of opportunity. One of the most important recipes of success is determination and it might as well be the most important secret of success. To become successful, it is necessary to never give up until the aim of happiness and satisfaction in life is fully met. The happiness and satisfaction can be found in very different things in different people.

‘Success’ is a very powerful word. Many of us run behind it; most of us want to conquer it. So, what is success all about? Does this mean acquiring money or fame? Success means different things to different people.

Definition of Success

The Oxford dictionary defines success as “ The accomplishment of an aim or purpose ”.

This is the definition of success in theory, but in reality it differs according to people’s interests and goals.

It is very important for every individual to define their own concept of success rather than following someone else’s footsteps. We must analyze what makes us happy, what gives us contentment, and what motivates us . No one can list out our needs better than us.

True success means understanding our dreams and working joyfully to make those dreams come true.

How to Achieve Success

Many great people have suggested various ways to achieve success. But the real secret ingredient to nail success is to believe that we are already successful . With this strong affirmative thought, success can be easily achieved if we follow these three success factors:-

We should follow our passion because that is where our heart and soul is. When we follow our passion there is no need for us to put any extra effort.
The path to success is always challenging. We should build confidence to face any challenging situations.
The third and most important success factor is discipline . When we work in a disciplined manner, things will automatically fall in place.

If we stick to these three factors, nothing can stop us from tasting success. Success is a journey which continues even after the goal is achieved.

Success is perhaps the most desired feeling that all of us want to experience in the pursuit of our goals and also in day to day life. Apparently, every individual has his or her own definition of success.

Parameters of Success

None can deny that the world blindly respects and trusts wealthy people. Money is the prime dynamic force that drives this world. The sooner we acknowledge and appreciate this fact the better. Academic success is a prime concern for all in the initial part of life, especially in the school days. For those who continue perusing studies, academic success is the epitome of everything. It is mostly observed that success in personal life becomes a tough task for those who have all the riches. Here is where the common people feel successful to have a happy personal life.

Qualities for Achieving Success

One should not regret their decisions taken in the past and must refrain dwelling in the past. We must give deep thought before taking any decisions and uttering words from the mouth. For making a successful decision one must ask questions to oneself like: What Do I Need To Do? What Will Be The Outcome? Will It Be Worth Doing? One must keep the emotions for success and failures intact and should not showcase it to others. Successful people never wait for applause or acknowledgement of their work as they eventually get it. To become successful one must keep friends close and enemies closer. A successful person never demeans the weak and never underestimates anyone.

To become successful one has to understand what is important in that instant, recognize and work on the weaknesses, take criticism and hold on to the strengths. From a broader perspective Success defines the contentment, peace of mind and sheer happiness that is achieved. One should remember that only perseverance can lead the path to success.

Introduction

Real success is something we should all strive to attain. Real success can simply be said to be achieving a higher position or very high position in our chosen field or area; it can be politics or business or even education. In the world we live in today, we have equated success to riches, prosperity, fortunes, cars, houses and so many mundane things. We believe that once a person has enough money to be able to afford what he or she wants, the person is successful. This is a total and complete misconception that will be discussed here.

Money isn’t a measure of success?

While it is important to note that having money is a part of being successful and you can classify as rich person as being successful, money is not all that success is about and we have a lot of people around us that are seemingly rich but still count themselves as not successful. In fact, sometimes we see wealthy people and conclude that they aren’t successful. If this is true then we can safely conclude that success is deeper that money or other superficial and physical things can we might acquire or own. Money is very important to success in life but it is not a necessity and neither is it the only key to success in life.

What is real success?

Real success is way beyond the physical things we can see, real success is all about the feeling of satisfaction we get when we accomplish a task or do something, it is the happiness we get just by remembering what we have achieved and how we did it, real success has to do with a lot of positive feelings about ourselves and pride in what we have been able to do. As we can see, real success can only be achieved within one’s self and that is why a lot of people who we think are successful still believe they aren’t just because they aren’t happy with what they are doing or they feel they can get so much more out of life. From this, we can see that it is very important to attain true success in life.

How one can attain real success

For one to be successful, the first and most important thing one needs to do is to set goals and objectives. Only through the setting of goals can one really have something to pursue and claim success when we got those things or meet the set goals and target. A very important ingredient in achieving real success is determination. If one is going to get real success, one has to be determined to never give up no matter what the situation might be. Another very important ingredient is hard work as we can’t expect to be successful if we don’t work hard and do all it takes to meet all of our set goals. It is important that we get all the skills that are required for us to be successful in our chosen field.

The yardstick of success varies from people to people. The success story of an individual begins from the moment of his/her birth. A human child begins the winning streak by challenging every obstacle from the moment of conception to delivery. So no human is ever a failure, and hence confidently we can say that the very existence of every human in this word bear an element of success.

At the primary level, success lies within the parameters of cracking competitive exams and identifying one’s aptitude as to which profession the individual can flourish. On broader terms, a successful life is indeed a happy life reflecting upon how far one has reached. Success is not just related to material success.

How to become successful in life?

Nobody has ever become successful within a split of a moment. It is not an arduous task either. Strong determination coupled with hard work is the key to success. The first step to any attempt is to set the goal. There can be short-term goals, and long-term goals and both play a significant role on your road to success. Once the target set, then you have to do strategic planning. It is advisable to set a time frame as well. It will enable you to evaluate yourself on a regular basis. Fixing a time frame can also check into our procrastinating nature.

The next most important factor to become successful in life is hard work. It is the key to success. The adage rightly says that ‘no pain, no gain.’ You need to keep in mind that nobody else is going to do what we ought to do. If we put little effort and saw the seeds of hard work and perseverance, then we are sure to reap success and bounty. If you have strong willpower and the fire to ignite your dreams, then nothing can pull you back.

Stay focused on your objectives rather than hoping:

You can inspire yourself by being a self-motivator and critic. It opens room for self-improvement and appreciation. As it is said that ‘well begun is half done,’ do not hesitate to sparkle a start. Once we get a push, the rest will fall right in place. Even if we stumble down a couple of times, do not let go of our dreams. Failures are part and parcel of any successful entity. Mistakes are quite common and what needs to do is that we acknowledge them, and bear them in our mind. It ensures that we learn from the mistakes and in turn do not repeat them.

Nobody has ever been successful overnight. Patience is yet another golden rule. Just convince your mind that you are strong enough to be successful, though not today, at least some day. Never be disappointed if you lose. Trust in yourself and believe that you will reach there and you deserve to reach there. Your strength and weakness define the person you are, and the realization of it is rather important. Selfless dedication and hard work will definitely get you there.

Once you achieve your goals, you can be a strong inspiration to others. There is a warrior in you and never shut it down. You are capable of climbing higher and boom into a fantastic personality. Whatsoever, live a humble life, spread positivity and bear the torch to others’ road to success.

Saying education is the road to success is just another way of saying education is very important for all of us in life, without education there would not be a lot of progression in both our individual and collective lives as human. It is very important that we get education in order to get success in life. Most times, people generally limit education to the four walls of a classroom or a school.

Education has roots in every area of our existence; education can be said to begin from the home, parents and family members educate and train the children on good characters that they should imbibe and teach them to remove some habits and characters. All of these good characters imbibed by the child through education at home can help the child become very successful in future.

We all know that without good characters and morals, it is extremely hard to become successful or make it in life as people would not want to be associated with such person. We are also educated on good communication and interpersonal skills that are very necessary for us to make it and become successful in life.

Importance of education to success

We need to know the true value and worth of education. Education helps to facilitate our skill, knowledge and learning; it gives us a different view of the world and refines our personality, helping us to build very positive attitudes. Education is a totally essential tool in ensuring a bright future.

Education can serve as a tool in achieving anything and everything good about life. When we get a high level and degree of education, we earn respect and recognition from our family and the society at large.

Education can go a very long way in changing our thoughts and level of reasoning; it broadens our worldview and provides us with the opportunity to get knowledge and technical skills that are highly needed in life. We can improve our knowledge level and skill by watching educational documentaries and programmes on the TV, reading the news and keeping up to date with all of the happenings all over the world, reading a lot of books that can educate us. Education can go a long way to make us into more rational and civilised people. Education guarantees our place among people in the society and can help us achieve all of our dreams and aspirations in life.

Education and success

Success is the goal of all of us and it is our mission. Life can sometimes be full of different opportunities and challenges. Success can only be attained if we have all of the required and needed tools.

The most important tool for success is education because without education, we wouldn’t be able to have a wide view of the world and be able to innovate and develop. A lot of youths and children today cite the examples of the successful people that didn’t graduate from school and still went ahead to be successful in life. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook famously did not graduate from Harvard university but still went ahead to become very successful. The truth is even though Mark didn’t graduate, he was well educated and wouldn’t have been able to start Facebook if he had no knowledge of coding and wasn’t enrolled in Harvard at all. From him, we can learn that education isn’t limited and can basically be any way of widening our knowledge and improving ourselves. We should never confuse education with getting a diploma or a degree. Only education in or out of school can make us be successful in life and give us the true career we want.

Without education, life would be totally meaningless without education. The only path to true success in life is education, every one that has been, is and would be successful in life needs education to do that.

The modern world has a way of doing things, that is, modern man has his own particular view on how things should look. That view is completely different from the perspectives upheld by those who came before us, so to say. Like the ancient Greeks were obsessed with performing heroic deeds, or medieval European Christians with martyrdom and upholding saintly principles, we can argue that modern man has an obsession with success. Or more precisely, one aspect of that new worldview is to compare people between each other through the notion of success.

In a way, the beginning of the 21 st century is preoccupied with the concept of success more than ever before, both individual and collective. That fact can is seen in many aspects of our daily lives, people are not just oppressed with celebrities and successful people they want to live that lifestyle or achieve some sort of greatness. Looking at the current state of things one is encouraged to analyze the situation further and to find the reason behind these phenomena, or at least to offer a new perspective on worldwide trend.

What Makes a Person Successful?

There are many ways a person can be successful. Most people will think of celebrities, politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, etc. They will think of someone who is known the world over because of the thing they do, the thing they are good at. That’s all fine, but there are successful people who do not like to be celebrities and there are, most definitely, celebrities who cannot count as successful people.

What then makes a successful person? Is it how they do things? Is it what they get in return? Is it in the number of things they can amass in their life? Most of those things can count as some part of our overall image of such a person. But, how can we define it? What is it actually?

What I like is simple answers, they are usually correct and the most practical at the same time. Even though not all answers can be simple, this one is. When you look up the word success in any dictionary you will find that it is considered an accomplishment of an aim or a purpose.

Surely people were able to accomplish an aim or a pulpous in their lifetimes, even several, before the 21 st century. Why is it that this noun has such relevance for the classification of people in this age?

History of Success

If we take a look at history, as I mentioned before, we can see that every age has a different occupation. When we talk about the ancient Egyptians, we do not talk about single individuals who made this country so great we talk about the collective in general. But also, we do not know the names of the people who actually accomplished the construction of the pyramid we remember the person who ordered it and did nothing to build it.

Sometimes when I think about all the great artists whose names I do not know, that built humanity in the name of kings, it seems as if it was forbidden for individuals to be famous if they were not born into some sort of noble family.

That drastically changed with the return of democracy to Europe and the liberation from the old-world view that separated people into casts, genders, and races. The new perspective born from revolutions gave every man the right to control their destiny and therefore the right to become successful, to achieve one’s dreams and ideals. Celebrating success can be seen as a collective celebration of the boundless human potential to do incredible things. Is it always so shiny? Or is there a dark side to the story?

Can Success Harm us?

We all know that being successful has its price and the people on the top can often be alone, because of the many sacrifices they had to make to get there. There are also countless examples of people who have achieved success professionally but their health and social lives fail because they cannot handle the strain that comes with maintaining that image of perfection that is expected of them.

Then there is also the psychological pressure any person can experience when they become obsessed with succeeding in the things they do. This emotion can cause such discomfort for people that they can freeze in key moments when they should be at the top of their game. Not to mention the depression some people experience when they come in contact with the images of people that exist on social media. There is a lot in being successful that we put under the carpet, or we just consider it as part of the game, something that we should bear. It does not have to be that way.

Sharing Success

People are made to be in a group and therefore everything they do they should do for each other; however, this fact of human existence has also been a breeding ground for nationalism and other group-oriented ideologies that made the 20 th century so dark. The striving to be successful, the best, the most dominant will make people perform incredible and inspiring things but it will also make them give legitimacy to the worst monstrosities. How do we draw the line between the good and bad aspect of wanting individual and collective success?

Maybe we should stop looking at success as part of domination and make it part of what makes us authentic as human beings. What do I mean? If we start celebrating everyday people when they express themselves or make something that is fulfilling for them and makes other people grow we will support others to develop this aspect of their humanity and not concentrate on domination and subordination. We should support the celebration of collective endeavors that strive to enhance the human race as a whole and not adore individual examples as if they were the meaning of life.

The secret to success is not in money and fame, but in reaching that feeling of fulfillment when you know you have accomplished something that truly matters to you and other people around you. Dreaming big and then having it, it’s not impossible.

If you’ve been feeling a little low lately, this essay on success is sure to boost your motivation levels and set the goals right for you! We hear about so many successful people from all the areas. Some of them may be our favorite singers, actors, scientists, writers, social workers, politicians, and what not. Their achievements inspire the hearts of many and urge them to do better.

While we tend to focus on the sensation of the final outcome, the journey toward the goal is what matters the most. Sadly, human nature forces us to look at everything through the eyes of instant gratification. But the stories of success are not created overnight. In real life, any small big achievement demands tons of efforts and sacrifices.

If success is a building, consider each effort to be a brick, that has to be put in day and night tirelessly. Dreaming about achieving a goal in life is a lovely idea. Nonetheless, working on it every day is more than just a fantasy. You have to make it happen.

Do you pray or meditate? What happens at that moment? You sit quietly and focus all your attention and energy into the prayer or in watching those thoughts. Prayer commands sincerity. True worshipping is when the heart is pure and honest.

In the same way, success is a conscientious phenomenon. It asks for dedication and ethical diligence. For a real success, there are no shortcuts and there is no quitting too! Yes, we all get tired and hopeless. That doesn’t mean we have to give in to those feelings and quit. Keep working no matter what!

At times, when you feel that you can’t go on anymore, take a break. Rejuvenate yourself, talk to your loved ones, rest a lot, create a fresh perspective. And come back again with a greater force and zeal. You never know when the efforts will turn into the sweet fruits of success. One thing common in all the great personalities was that they never quit!

Personal Definition of Success

There is no fixed definition of success. You see, success is quite a relative term and its meaning changes from one person to another. However, it is sure to say that being able to feel content with your life and achieve what you dreamed of, is what makes you a successful person!

A prosperous life is not strictly about having all the materialistic comforts around. To some extent, this may be true. But, all in all, it’s only a microscopic way to measure someone’s success.

Let us introduce you to some of the most powerful quotes on success given by the different eminent personalities.

Everybody’s favorite, the great feminist and poetess, Maya Angelou says, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Winston Churchill quotes it as, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Not to mention, America’s former first lady, Michelle Obama who expresses her own views on success. According to her, “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

In the words of Albert Einstein, “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

Anne Sweeney, who remained the president of the Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014. In her words, “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.”

It is evident enough how these miraculous and charismatic visionaries have described success in various terms and that there is no particular way to define it. The only authentic parameter should be your own satisfaction and happiness.

What is Success

We have understood that success is an abstract notion. Now, it is time to get to the bottom and explore some basic questions about it. Have you ever tried to inquire into what success means to you? What are the things that would make you convinced that you are a successful person now? Does your heart yearn for fame, money, peace, joy, love, or something else?

These questions are crucial. They make your mind clear and set your priorities more effectively. Always remember that a virtue that appeals to you may not mean the same to another person. Everybody has their own preferences and goals in life.

The bottom line is regardless of what the goal is, we can each be successful in our lives as long as the achievement makes us happy and content. It could be your education, a well-paying job, having a loving family, social security, or freedom to live the way you want to.

Anything, no matter how small or big, that fills us with a sense of purpose and gratifies the heart leads to success. If you are a happy person and love your life, then success is yours! For a long time, our minds have been trained to believe that money is the greatest source of joy. However, it’s not true!

Undoubtedly, wealth is a strong means to create comfort and security for us. But if it was the only thing needed for success, why do the richest people still deal with depression, anxiety, fears, and failures? Have you ever thought about it?

Physical wealth does not guarantee an insusceptibility to dissatisfaction and failure. Thinking otherwise would only create a bottomless void within you. People madly run after money and career. And yet when they are well-established, they still may not feel the joy and peace within. What is the missing piece in their lives?

Success in Life

Life is a rollercoaster, isn’t it! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Overcoming your flaws and frailty is a victory in itself. If you are thinking of coming out as a winner in life, don’t confine yourself to monetary values. With money, you may feel “technically” rich and yet have no access to the truest joy.

There are many dimensions to success. But everything depends upon our ability to recognize them. What are these dimensions, by the way! Let us explore a few of them.

You must have heard the famous quote, “Health is Wealth”. We need to understand the hidden value of this quote today more than ever. Ask yourself, if you would be able to enjoy anything in the same way if you were suffering from an acute or chronic illness? No, but such physical ailments are a bitter truth to many. To these people, achieving a partial or full recovery, having a long and respectful life is a success.

For the emotional souls, having their loved ones around, giving them a quality life, and taking care of them is what counts as the real victory. A person who cares about the whole society, for him/ her the true meaning of succeeding would be providing the basic amenities to the underprivileged, fighting for human rights, or creating awareness.

And yes, the biggest of the aims could be as simple and meaningful as leading a peaceful life. It could be about not having regrets and ill feelings toward others. They could also be as big as winning a gold medal in the Olympics, breaking the stereotypes, getting out of a toxic relationship and having a stable life.

The point is, success cannot be put into a singular category. And comparing one’s goal with the other person would be like comparing apple to an orange, or fruits to vegetables. Each person is unique. Their journey of life is different and so are their goals and parameters of success.

Success for Students

The keys to successful academic life are open secrets. As a student, your progress depends on the level of self-discipline, dedication, and hard work. If you are able to pull off these habits in long-term success would never leave you. Right? Nonetheless, the matter is not so simple.

In today’s time, students are looking for “success” more desperately than ever! Considering the cut-throat competitions, it is quite understandable also. The pressure of family’s expectations makes things even more complicated. The students have no option except to excel in their studies, but at what costs?

First of all, academic success is dependent on a limited number of subjects. The true potential of a child or a young one cannot be fairly measured based on such a narrow line. Moreover, somehow we have come to believe that excellent grades are a must for a student’s survival in this world. Fortunately, that’s not completely correct.

The practical life is much more than a few subjects. Most of the things we learn at school and colleges are plain theories. The bookish knowledge hardly proves to be of any help in the real world. What makes you rich is the experiences you gain on a daily basis.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that grades and books shouldn’t be taken seriously at all. You need to understand that these things play a partial role in forming the ladder of success. The better word to focus on would be ‘growth’.

If winning the race and grabbing a seat in some reputed college takes a toll on your mental, physical, and psychological health, then, we are seriously doing something wrong here. After all, these are the same factors leading to the rising number of suicides among the youths.

Not getting good marks doesn’t mean that you are not good enough for anything. It just means that you haven’t explored everything yet. There are many great personalities like Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, J.K. Rowling, who were a failure on the scales of conventional methods. But they proved everyone wrong.

All you need to remember is that never lose faith in yourself. If you really love what you do and consistently pour all of your energy into that task, then, definitely success is waiting for you! Make a routine of your choice and follow it religiously. Stay punctual. Fix your eyes on the goal and keep working.

Success and Hard Work

You can only work hard when you are fit overall. A good health is not just about having a strong body but also a strong mind and willpower. For all these things, you need energy. So, pay attention to things that you are feeding to your sensory organs. This includes from the proper diet to releasing stress, stay positive, working out, having those around who believe in you.

Don’t just work hard on your curriculum only. Take charge of other aspects too. As much as possible, include healthy foods in the diet. Staying positive induces good hormones in the body and the effect clearly shows in your performance. To strengthen your mental health, meditate every day.

Sitting around greenery, talking to your loved ones, reading positive books, are some of the other ways to replenish your energy levels. Make sure to work out every day, or at least go for a 30-minutes walk. Keep yourself hydrated. Drink plenty of water and other fluids.

Apart from focusing on the positive steps, be careful of the negative factors too. For instance, any negative conversation or toxic people in your life may suck away all your energy and charm. Try your best to avoid these triggers. Not only that, distractions like television, online chats, social media, parties, etc. should not be underestimated.

Keep your body and mind clean like a temple. It will help you work harder and with more effectiveness. There are no shortcuts to success. However, prefer to work smart rather than work hard. Never ever neglect the amount of sleep you get. There is no substitute for proper sleep.

Lack of sleep makes you cranky. Your concentration and memory become poorer. The learning becomes slower. So, a million dollar advice would be to get sufficient sleep, that means up to 8-10 hours. A few hours may be up and down depending on the person’s body requirements.

It is okay if the hard work makes you tired. However, the whole idea of hard work should not suffocate you. They say that if you love what you do, you don’t have to work a day in your life! If the set goals don’t well-align with your heart, explore something that does. Your goals should be set by you and not anyone else.

Success and Failure

Do you fear failure? What is the definition of failure according to you? How important is a failure for success? Let us find some answers to these amazing questions and doubts that we all face within us. To make things easier, here are a few great quotes for you!

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy

“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

Must have changed your perspective a bit! Well, it won’t be wrong to say that failure is a part of success. It is an inevitable part of that process. Like two sides of a coin. You cannot expect to taste success until you have learned to embrace the failures.

There is an interesting story about it with a strong message. There used to live a guy who owned a grand and luxurious car. That car always stayed inside the house. The man never drove it. One day, one of his friends visited him and asked the reason for not taking the car out on the road.

Do you know what the man replied? He said that he would take the car out when all the traffic lights are green. He was waiting for an impossible thing to happen! Can you believe that? It’s ironic but yes, we all do the same metaphorically.

When we don’t take steps due to the fear of failure, subconsciously, we are waiting for everything to be perfect. So perfect that there would be no tiny scope for failing. That means there would be no red lights at all. How is that even possible!

Leave the fear of failure behind. The only thing you should be scared of is not making efforts. Because that kills even the slightest chance of success. Be humble and embrace failure. Learn from your mistakes. These lessons are valuable. No book would teach you the way your experiences will.

Success is a cumulative and relative term. Without peace and love, money and fame don’t count as success. True success would satiate your soul. It would fill your life with joy. Shrug off the idea of comparing your life with someone else’s. Every person follows a different path and journey. That is why the meaning of success also varies from one individual to another.

No matter how difficult or impossible seems the goal, never quit. Keep working and one day you would succeed. Don’t confine your ambitions to just making money. Listen to your heart and follow it. The voices within us are our guiding lights!

Try to be a good person before becoming a successful person. Only an individual who has earned the love and respect of all has achieved the truest success.

Get FREE Work-at-Home Job Leads Delivered Weekly!

Join more than 50,000 subscribers receiving regular updates! Plus, get a FREE copy of How to Make Money Blogging!

Message from Sophia!

Like this post? Don’t forget to share it!

Here are a few recommended articles for you to read next:

Essay on Statue of Unity
Essay on My Best Friend
Essay on Solar Energy
Essay on Christmas

No comments yet.

Leave a reply click here to cancel reply..

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Billionaires

Donald Trump
Warren Buffett
Email Address
Free Stock Photos
Keyword Research Tools
URL Shortener Tools
WordPress Theme

Book Summaries

How To Win Friends
Rich Dad Poor Dad
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
The Luck Factor
The Millionaire Fastlane
The ONE Thing
Think and Grow Rich
100 Million Dollar Business
Business Ideas

Digital Marketing

Mobile Addiction
Social Media Addiction
Computer Addiction
Drug Addiction
Internet Addiction
TV Addiction
Healthy Habits
Morning Rituals
Wake up Early
Cholesterol
Reducing Cholesterol
Fat Loss Diet Plan
Reducing Hair Fall
Sleep Apnea
Weight Loss

Internet Marketing

Email Marketing

Law of Attraction

Subconscious Mind
Vision Board
Visualization

Law of Vibration

Professional Life

Motivational Speakers

Bob Proctor
Robert Kiyosaki
Vivek Bindra
Inner Peace

Productivity

Not To-do List
Project Management Software
Negative Energies

Relationship

Getting Back Your Ex

Self-help 21 and 14 Days Course

Self-improvement.

Body Language
Complainers
Emotional Intelligence
Personality

Social Media

Project Management
Anik Singal
Baba Ramdev
Dwayne Johnson
Jackie Chan
Leonardo DiCaprio
Narendra Modi
Nikola Tesla
Sachin Tendulkar
Sandeep Maheshwari
Shaqir Hussyin

Website Development

Wisdom post, worlds most.

Expensive Cars

Our Portals: Gulf Canada USA Italy Gulf UK

Privacy Overview

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Hard Work — Success: Hard Work or Luck

Success: Hard Work Or Luck

Categories: Hard Work Luck Success

About this sample

Words: 849 |

Published: Aug 24, 2023

Words: 849 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

The power of hard work, the role of luck, the symbiotic relationship, the role of preparation, cultivating a balanced perspective, cultivating a growth mindset, conclusion: a holistic perspective.

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

Expert in: Business Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 768 words

3 pages / 1408 words

1 pages / 635 words

7 pages / 3076 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Hard Work

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard is a phrase that encapsulates the essence of achieving success through dedication and perseverance. This essay delves into the significance of this statement, exploring how [...]

Working hard is often considered a crucial factor in achieving success in various aspects of life, including academic, professional, and personal endeavors. While some may argue that talent or luck play a significant role in [...]

Work is an essential aspect of human life, shaping our identities, providing us with a sense of purpose, and allowing us to contribute to society. Our philosophy of work encompasses our beliefs, values, and attitudes towards [...]

Success is a term that is best understood by those who have achieved it rather than those who simply possess it. It is achieved when one defies the odds and proves the critics wrong. This can be accomplished by improvising one's [...]

“Rome was not built in a day,” and basically, there exist in a society, two different category of successful persons of different discipline – the talented and the hard worker. Some people are talented at making hard work and [...]

How many people work long hours in the day whether it’s doing homework and studying or working an actual job? A study done in Lancet Medical Journal studied about 600,000 individuals and found that those that worked long periods [...]

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1.3 Becoming a Successful College Writer

Learning objectives.

Identify strategies for successful writing.
Demonstrate comprehensive writing skills.
Identify writing strategies for use in future classes.

In the preceding sections, you learned what you can expect from college and identified strategies you can use to manage your work. These strategies will help you succeed in any college course. This section covers more about how to handle the demands college places upon you as a writer. The general techniques you will learn will help ensure your success on any writing task, whether you complete a bluebook exam in an hour or an in-depth research project over several weeks.

Putting It All Together: Strategies for Success

Writing well is difficult. Even people who write for a living sometimes struggle to get their thoughts on the page. Even people who generally enjoy writing have days when they would rather do anything else. For people who do not like writing or do not think of themselves as good writers, writing assignments can be stressful or even intimidating. And of course, you cannot get through college without having to write—sometimes a lot, and often at a higher level than you are used to.

No magic formula will make writing quick and easy. However, you can use strategies and resources to manage writing assignments more easily. This section presents a broad overview of these strategies and resources. The remaining chapters of this book provide more detailed, comprehensive instruction to help you succeed at a variety of assignments. College will challenge you as a writer, but it is also a unique opportunity to grow.

Using the Writing Process

To complete a writing project successfully, good writers use some variation of the following process.

The Writing Process

Prewriting. In this step, the writer generates ideas to write about and begins developing these ideas.
Outlining a structure of ideas. In this step, the writer determines the overall organizational structure of the writing and creates an outline to organize ideas. Usually this step involves some additional fleshing out of the ideas generated in the first step.
Writing a rough draft. In this step, the writer uses the work completed in prewriting to develop a first draft. The draft covers the ideas the writer brainstormed and follows the organizational plan that was laid out in the first step.
Revising. In this step, the writer revisits the draft to review and, if necessary, reshape its content. This stage involves moderate and sometimes major changes: adding or deleting a paragraph, phrasing the main point differently, expanding on an important idea, reorganizing content, and so forth.
Editing. In this step, the writer reviews the draft to make additional changes. Editing involves making changes to improve style and adherence to standard writing conventions—for instance, replacing a vague word with a more precise one or fixing errors in grammar and spelling. Once this stage is complete, the work is a finished piece and ready to share with others.

Chances are, you have already used this process as a writer. You may also have used it for other types of creative projects, such as developing a sketch into a finished painting or composing a song. The steps listed above apply broadly to any project that involves creative thinking. You come up with ideas (often vague at first), you work to give them some structure, you make a first attempt, you figure out what needs improving, and then you refine it until you are satisfied.

Most people have used this creative process in one way or another, but many people have misconceptions about how to use it to write. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions students have about the writing process:

“I do not have to waste time on prewriting if I understand the assignment.” Even if the task is straightforward and you feel ready to start writing, take some time to develop ideas before you plunge into your draft. Freewriting —writing about the topic without stopping for a set period of time—is one prewriting technique you might try in that situation.
“It is important to complete a formal, numbered outline for every writing assignment.” For some assignments, such as lengthy research papers, proceeding without a formal outline can be very difficult. However, for other assignments, a structured set of notes or a detailed graphic organizer may suffice. The important thing is that you have a solid plan for organizing ideas and details.
“My draft will be better if I write it when I am feeling inspired.” By all means, take advantage of those moments of inspiration. However, understand that sometimes you will have to write when you are not in the mood. Sit down and start your draft even if you do not feel like it. If necessary, force yourself to write for just one hour. By the end of the hour, you may be far more engaged and motivated to continue. If not, at least you will have accomplished part of the task.
“My instructor will tell me everything I need to revise.” If your instructor chooses to review drafts, the feedback can help you improve. However, it is still your job, not your instructor’s, to transform the draft to a final, polished piece. That task will be much easier if you give your best effort to the draft before submitting it. During revision, do not just go through and implement your instructor’s corrections. Take time to determine what you can change to make the work the best it can be.
“I am a good writer, so I do not need to revise or edit.” Even talented writers still need to revise and edit their work. At the very least, doing so will help you catch an embarrassing typo or two. Revising and editing are the steps that make good writers into great writers.

For a more thorough explanation of the steps of the writing process as well as for specific techniques you can use for each step, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

The writing process also applies to timed writing tasks, such as essay exams. Before you begin writing, read the question thoroughly and think about the main points to include in your response. Use scrap paper to sketch out a very brief outline. Keep an eye on the clock as you write your response so you will have time to review it and make any needed changes before turning in your exam.

Managing Your Time

In Section 1.2 “Developing Study Skills” , you learned general time-management skills. By combining those skills with what you have learned about the writing process, you can make any writing assignment easier to manage.

When your instructor gives you a writing assignment, write the due date on your calendar. Then work backward from the due date to set aside blocks of time when you will work on the assignment. Always plan at least two sessions of writing time per assignment, so that you are not trying to move from step 1 to step 5 in one evening. Trying to work that fast is stressful, and it does not yield great results. You will plan better, think better, and write better if you space out the steps.

Ideally, you should set aside at least three separate blocks of time to work on a writing assignment: one for prewriting and outlining, one for drafting, and one for revising and editing. Sometimes those steps may be compressed into just a few days. If you have a couple of weeks to work on a paper, space out the five steps over multiple sessions. Long-term projects, such as research papers, require more time for each step.

In certain situations you may not be able to allow time between the different steps of the writing process. For instance, you may be asked to write in class or complete a brief response paper overnight. If the time available is very limited, apply a modified version of the writing process (as you would do for an essay exam). It is still important to give the assignment thought and effort. However, these types of assignments are less formal, and instructors may not expect them to be as polished as formal papers. When in doubt, ask the instructor about expectations, resources that will be available during the writing exam, and if they have any tips to prepare you to effectively demonstrate your writing skills.

Each Monday in Crystal’s Foundations of Education class, the instructor distributed copies of a current news article on education and assigned students to write a one-and-one-half- to two-page response that was due the following Monday. Together, these weekly assignments counted for 20 percent of the course grade. Although each response took just a few hours to complete, Crystal found that she learned more from the reading and got better grades on her writing if she spread the work out in the following way:

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
Article response assigned.		Read article, prewrite, and outline response paper.		Draft response.		Revise and edit response.

For more detailed guidelines on how to plan for a long-term writing project, see Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” .

Setting Goals

One key to succeeding as a student and as a writer is setting both short- and long-term goals for yourself. You have already glimpsed the kind of short-term goals a student might set. Crystal wanted to do well in her Foundations of Education course, and she realized that she could control how she handled her weekly writing assignments. At 20 percent of her course grade, she reasoned, those assignments might mean the difference between a C and a B or between a B and an A.

By planning carefully and following through on her daily and weekly goals, Crystal was able to fulfill one of her goals for the semester. Although her exam scores were not as high as she had hoped, her consistently strong performance on writing assignments tipped her grade from a B+ to an A−. She was pleased to have earned a high grade in one of the required courses for her major. She was also glad to have gotten the most out of an introductory course that would help her become an effective teacher.

How does Crystal’s experience relate to your own college experience?

To do well in college, it is important to stay focused on how your day-to-day actions determine your long-term success. You may not have defined your career goals or chosen a major yet. Even so, you surely have some overarching goals for what you want out of college: to expand your career options, to increase your earning power, or just to learn something new. In time, you will define your long-term goals more explicitly. Doing solid, steady work, day by day and week by week, will help you meet those goals.

In this exercise, make connections between short- and long-term goals.

For this step, identify one long-term goal you would like to have achieved by the time you complete your degree. For instance, you might want a particular job in your field or hope to graduate with honors.
Next, identify one semester goal that will help you fulfill the goal you set in step one. For instance, you may want to do well in a particular course or establish a connection with a professional in your field.
Review the goal you determined in step two. Brainstorm a list of stepping stones that will help you meet that goal, such as “doing well on my midterm and final exams” or “talking to Professor Gibson about doing an internship.” Write down everything you can think of that would help you meet that semester goal.
Review your list. Choose two to three items, and for each item identify at least one concrete action you can take to accomplish it. These actions may be recurring (meeting with a study group each week) or one time only (calling the professor in charge of internships).
Identify one action from step four that you can do today. Then do it.

Using College Resources

One reason students sometimes find college overwhelming is that they do not know about, or are reluctant to use, the resources available to them. Some aspects of college will be challenging. However, if you try to handle every challenge alone, you may become frustrated and overwhelmed.

Universities have resources in place to help students cope with challenges. Your student fees help pay for resources such as a health center or tutoring, so use these resources if you need them. The following are some of the resources you might use if you find you need help:

Your instructor. If you are making an honest effort but still struggling with a particular course, set up a time to meet with your instructor and discuss what you can do to improve. He or she may be able to shed light on a confusing concept or give you strategies to catch up.
Your academic counselor. Many universities assign students an academic counselor who can help you choose courses and ensure that you fulfill degree and major requirements.
The academic resource center. These centers offer a variety of services, which may range from general coaching in study skills to tutoring for specific courses. Find out what is offered at your school and use the services that you need.
The writing center. These centers employ tutors to help you manage college-level writing assignments. They will not write or edit your paper for you, but they can help you through the stages of the writing process. (In some schools, the writing center is part of the academic resource center.)
The career resource center. Visit the career resource center for guidance in choosing a career path, developing a résumé, and finding and applying for jobs.
Counseling services. Many universities offer psychological counseling for free or for a low fee. Use these services if you need help coping with a difficult personal situation or managing depression, anxiety, or other problems.

Students sometimes neglect to use available resources due to limited time, unwillingness to admit there is a problem, or embarrassment about needing to ask for help. Unfortunately, ignoring a problem usually makes it harder to cope with later on. Waiting until the end of the semester may also mean fewer resources are available, since many other students are also seeking last-minute help.

Identify at least one college resource that you think could be helpful to you and you would like to investigate further. Schedule a time to visit this resource within the next week or two so you can use it throughout the semester.

Overview: College Writing Skills

You now have a solid foundation of skills and strategies you can use to succeed in college. The remainder of this book will provide you with guidance on specific aspects of writing, ranging from grammar and style conventions to how to write a research paper.

For any college writing assignment, use these strategies:

Plan ahead. Divide the work into smaller, manageable tasks, and set aside time to accomplish each task in turn.
Make sure you understand the assignment requirements, and if necessary, clarify them with your instructor. Think carefully about the purpose of the writing, the intended audience, the topics you will need to address, and any specific requirements of the writing form.
Complete each step of the writing process. With practice, using this process will come automatically to you.
Use the resources available to you. Remember that most colleges have specific services to help students with their writing.

For help with specific writing assignments and guidance on different aspects of writing, you may refer to the other chapters in this book. The table of contents lists topics in detail. As a general overview, the following paragraphs discuss what you will learn in the upcoming chapters.

Chapter 2 “Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?” through Chapter 7 “Refining Your Writing: How Do I Improve My Writing Technique?” will ground you in writing basics: the “nuts and bolts” of grammar, sentence structure, and paragraph development that you need to master to produce competent college-level writing. Chapter 2 “Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?” reviews the parts of speech and the components of a sentence. Chapter 3 “Punctuation” explains how to use punctuation correctly. Chapter 4 “Working with Words: Which Word Is Right?” reviews concepts that will help you use words correctly, including everything from commonly confused words to using context clues.

Chapter 5 “Help for English Language Learners” provides guidance for students who have learned English as a second language. Then, Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” guides you through the process of developing a paragraph while Chapter 7 “Refining Your Writing: How Do I Improve My Writing Technique?” has tips to help you refine and improve your sentences.

Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” through Chapter 10 “Rhetorical Modes” are geared to help you apply those basics to college-level writing assignments. Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” shows the writing process in action with explanations and examples of techniques you can use during each step of the process. Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” provides further discussion of the components of college essays—how to create and support a thesis and how to organize an essay effectively. Chapter 10 “Rhetorical Modes” discusses specific modes of writing you will encounter as a college student and explains how to approach these different assignments.

Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” through Chapter 14 “Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas” focus on how to write a research paper. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” guides students through the process of conducting research, while Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” explains how to transform that research into a finished paper. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” explains how to format your paper and use a standard system for documenting sources. Finally, Chapter 14 “Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas” discusses how to transform your paper into an effective presentation.

Many of the chapters in this book include sample student writing—not just the finished essays but also the preliminary steps that went into developing those essays. Chapter 15 “Readings: Examples of Essays” of this book provides additional examples of different essay types.

Key Takeaways

Following the steps of the writing process helps students complete any writing assignment more successfully.
To manage writing assignments, it is best to work backward from the due date, allotting appropriate time to complete each step of the writing process.
Setting concrete long- and short-term goals helps students stay focused and motivated.
A variety of university resources are available to help students with writing and with other aspects of college life.

A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

by Mark Rennella

Summary .

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

Partner Center

Your path to academic success

Improve your paper with our award-winning Proofreading Services , Plagiarism Checker , Citation Generator , AI Detector & Knowledge Base .

Proofreading & Editing

Get expert help from Scribbr’s academic editors, who will proofread and edit your essay, paper, or dissertation to perfection.

Plagiarism Checker

Detect and resolve unintentional plagiarism with the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker, so you can submit your paper with confidence.

Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations with Scribbr’s free citation generator and save hours of repetitive work.

Happy to help you

You’re not alone. Together with our team and highly qualified editors , we help you answer all your questions about academic writing.

Open 24/7 – 365 days a year. Always available to help you.

Very satisfied students

This is our reason for working. We want to make all students happy, every day.

Although there was a small hiccup in the reviewing of my document, the quick response and solution was more than enough to showcase the great service Scribbr has. I'm super happy and will be using Scribbr more often in the future :)

Love it! Makes all the difference in my schoolwork and research. The web extension was a game changer. Sometimes my citings are wrong so you still need to check them, but the majority of the time they are correct.

Simple, straightforward, and easy to use. I have used a lot of citation manager tools and sites. This is by far the easiest to use

some minor mistakes like capitalization…

some minor mistakes like capitalization of all words in the titles.

Fast & Flexible Editing Service

I have been using Scribbr for more than three years! As a non-native English speaker, it has always been difficult for me to improve my writing in my theses and papers. Scribbr always returns the edited document promptly and provides the flexibility to customize my editing requests (for example, keeping LaTeX annotations and editing specific sections of a long paper). I will definitely continue to use Scribbr in the future.

Citations are Easy With Scribbr

It makes creating citations so much easier. However, sometimes trying to cite a website will show an error and you may have to enter the details manually. Still very much worth it!

Citation Generator is the best citing…

Citation Generator is the best citing website I have ever used! I am a college student who is constantly needing to cite their sources and this is the website to use. It is very reliable and works great! 100/10 would recommend.

Like having someone next to me.

I loved how detailed the notes were in my editing by Doug. I felt like he was right there with me from his comments. He gave specific directions and advice. It was such a pleasurable experience.

Best and Easy Quick Citations

Had not been in school in over 12 years and APA seemed almost like a foreign language. Scribblr made returning back to school and APA citing easy and quick.

Saves so much time!!

The citation generator is easy to use

The citation generator is easy to use, very user friendly, and incredibly well designed. It is the only tool I use for citations anymore.

Excellent proof reading services.

I just started back to school after 20…

I just started back to school after 20 years, and this app has helped me feel confident about it.

Scribbr is the best.

Scribbr is free and accurate and has been for a long time. I love the service and if I could afford to donate to keep it that way, I would. I'd even pay for it if it came down to it! Instead, I'm writing a review to show my support in how much I appreciate the service. I've used it to help me through both undergraduate and graduate programs. It has made my life so much easier!

Very easy and efficient use.

Scribbr is great in terms of efficiency. When i am writing a paper it literally takes a total of 10 seconds for me to cite the paper. Also helped that I learned how to use in-text citations on this website and that it is free.

Happy working with Eva

Eva improved the Samenvating (summary) of my dissertation in Dutch, which is not my native language. Thank you, Eva. I am happy working with you.

Scribbr has helped this graduate…

Scribbr has helped this graduate student quickly pick back up the citation skills from their undergrad days.

Great Time Saver

So good to plug my references in here and have them all formatted and put into alphabetical order. This tool saves me a big chunk of time!

I love it. I had been out of college for 6 years and kind of forgot how to cite. This site does it for me and I never get told it is incorrect. Scribbr makes citing a breeze. And I am not a bot!

It is so helpful

It is so helpful. I'm so thankful my friend recommended this site to me.

Everything you need to write an A-grade paper

Free resources used by 5,000,000 students every month.

Bite-sized videos that guide you through the writing process. Get the popcorn, sit back, and learn!

Lecture slides

Ready-made slides for teachers and professors that want to kickstart their lectures.

Academic writing
Citing sources
Methodology
Research process
Dissertation structure
Language rules

Accessible how-to guides full of examples that help you write a flawless essay, proposal, or dissertation.

Chrome extension

Cite any page or article with a single click right from your browser.

Time-saving templates that you can download and edit in Word or Google Docs.

Help you achieve your academic goals

Whether we’re proofreading and editing , checking for plagiarism or AI content , generating citations, or writing useful Knowledge Base articles , our aim is to support students on their journey to become better academic writers.

We believe that every student should have the right tools for academic success. Free tools like a paraphrasing tool , grammar checker, summarizer and an AI Proofreader . We pave the way to your academic degree.

Ask our team

Want to contact us directly? No problem. We are always here for you.

Email [email protected]
Start live chat
Call +1 (510) 822-8066
WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Frequently asked questions

Our team helps students graduate by offering:

A world-class citation generator
Plagiarism Checker software powered by Turnitin
Innovative Citation Checker software
Professional proofreading services
Over 300 helpful articles about academic writing, citing sources, plagiarism, and more

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

PhD dissertations
Research proposals
Personal statements
Admission essays
Motivation letters
Reflection papers
Journal articles
Capstone projects

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

Program Overview
Course Options
Admission, Tuition & Fees
International Students
Residential & Commuter Experience
Cybersecurity
Digital Marketing
Entrepreneurship
Environmental Studies
Lifespan Development
Media & Social Change
Political Science
Screenwriting

How to Pick a College Essay Topic, According to an Admission Expert

A student in a USC hoodie writes in a notebook outdoors. (USC Photo/Philip Channing)

The personal essay is one of the most crucial parts of a college application. While your transcripts and test scores highlight your achievement, they’re ultimately just stats and figures.

That’s where the college essay comes in: It helps colleges determine who you are. You can let your personality shine through and also show off your biggest wins — and explain away any potential shortcomings.

Of course, not everyone loves to write. And even if you do, it’s not always easy to figure out what to say. After all, most college essay prompts are quite vague. Where do you even start?

We spoke with Dan Phan, the academic program manager for USC Bovard Scholars , to learn how to pick the perfect college essay topic.

What Should a College Essay Focus On?

First things first: You need to determine what your dream school is asking for. Some will ask for just one essay, which is in response to several possible prompts. Usually, these prompts have to do with your background, your ambitions, challenging or formative times in your life or your personal beliefs. Other schools, however, will require you to write a personal statement, in addition to answering several shorter supplementary essay questions.

So, different universities have different application requirements. However, the essay’s goal remains the same, regardless of the prompt or format.

“The main personal statement should be introspective and shed light on the student’s core values, experiences that shaped them and aspirations for the future. Who is this student? Where have they been

Where do they hope to go?” Phan said.

What are Some Examples of College Essay Themes?

Many people use the college essay to reflect on hurdles in their lives. These difficulties could be related to academics or personal struggles. The idea is to show how you handle adversity. Essays can also focus on a personal turning point, to illustrate your personal growth or how you adapt to change.

Other applicants focus on topics related to identity and diversity, diving into their cultural background or family history to explore how their heritage and upbringing have shaped them into who they are today.

Some students write about their passions, hobbies or community involvement, showing what they have to offer besides good grades. It’s also a way to paint a picture of how they could participate in campus culture. After all, the goal is for the university to want you to be there and bring your personal touch to campus!

Phan’s favorite college essay themes?

“I love reading stories about the movers and shakers of the world, young adults that I can envision in the college setting, wherever that may be, and making a big difference once there,” she said.

And while Phan sees plenty of stories about family, culture, personal obstacles and achievements, she’s also read some “beautifully written essays” that she “remembers vividly to this day.”

The topics of these essays were wide-ranging and, often, highly personal.

“Playing music with symbrachydactyly (a hand anomaly characterized by missing fingers),” Phan recalled. “Visiting the neighborhood wig shop after school to chat with cancer patients. Defying gender stereotypes. Living close to the state prison and getting involved in prison-to-school pipeline programs. Car rides listening to NPR. Peach dumplings. Natural hair. Treasure maps.”

So, don’t be afraid to get creative. While your college essay should express who you are, there are many different ways to do so.

How Do You Choose a College Essay Topic?

When faced with vague prompts and open-ended suggestions, it can be hard to think of one story that summarizes who you are. Unfortunately, you can’t write about everything that makes you unique. Instead, narrow it down to a specific thesis.

Phan recommends that students think about the top four things a stranger would need to know to get acquainted with them.

“I encourage students to be vulnerable, to build connections and to think about some of their most formative or meaningful experiences, whether that involves family, identity, culture, extracurricular activities or interests,” Phan said.

Ask yourself what your strengths are. What are the skills and qualities that separate you from others? Then, consider the stories in your life that illustrate these traits.

Maybe you’re proud of your resilience. What’s a time in your life that it was tested? Or perhaps you have a passion for improving your community. What led you to that? What are some times you’ve demonstrated that dedication?

Once you consider what you want the essay to reveal about you, it’s easier to determine what examples in your life illustrate that.

“The most compelling essays are not only well written but have rich details that humanize the student’s experiences,” Phan said.

What Not to Write in Your College Essay

While you have plenty of options for your college essay, there are also some topics you don’t want to write about. For example, Phan advises applicants to avoid writing about grades or academic performance. Your transcript already covers that.

Another common pitfall? Not writing about yourself.

“Sometimes, students make the mistake of bringing in another person like a family member, friend or leader they admire, and the essay ceases to be about the student but rather about how incredible the other person is — which completely misses the point,” Phan explained.

Similarly, keep in mind that you’re writing about yourself now. That means you should be discussing who you are as a prospective college student, not who you were in kindergarten. While stories from your youth may help explain who you’ve become, the focus should always be on personal growth and development.

Some essay topics are so overused that they’ve become clichéd, such as teenage heartbreak, mission trip experiences or winning a sports game, Phan said: “Considering how admissions committees may be reading tens of thousands of applications each application cycle, admissions readers want to read unique college essays with fresh perspectives and angularity.”

Should Someone Proofread Your College Essay?

Applying for college is a process with many steps, and most students ask for help confirming they’ve done each part correctly. The same goes for your college essay!

Once you’ve selected the topic, it’s normal to ask for feedback to ensure you’re on the right track. Your college counselor or a teacher would be the right people to ask.

Similarly, it’s a good idea to ask them for help refining the essay once it’s done. They can help you deliver your thesis in the most compelling way possible. Remember, even the most talented writers need a copy editor to check that their work is free of misspellings and grammatical errors.

However, don’t have too many people read your essay.

“I’ve seen essays become so disjointed because there were too many voices in the essays,” Phan said. “Additionally, working with multiple people can pull students in different directions, resulting in a bit of Frankenstein of an essay and the student’s original voice being completely lost.”

So, trust your gut! With enough preparation, hard work and proofreading, you can write a solid college essay that makes you stand out to potential schools.

Learn more about USC Summer and Online Pre-College Programs today.

Author: Becca van Sambeck

Share full article

Supported by

Guest Essay

Chris Christie: I’ve Debated Trump 6 Times. Here’s What Harris Needs to Do Tonight.

By Chris Christie

A former governor of New Jersey and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and 2024.

Tens of millions of Americans will be watching the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday night. Many of these folks will be Republicans and independents who, like me, have decided that they are unwilling to vote for Mr. Trump.

I’ll be honest: I don’t have much of an opinion of Ms. Harris yet, because I don’t know her well. If she’s an unknown quantity to me, you can bet she’s also one to the countless everyday Americans she needs to win over. These voters love this country, and many of them will be looking at her on Tuesday night for the first time as a potential president.

Which is why the debate presents a critical opportunity for Ms. Harris. The opportunity for Mr. Trump is much smaller. The country already knows him and has, in the main, formed opinions of him. Because Ms. Harris is a relatively undefined political candidate, she has both the advantage and the bigger challenge.

She needs to demonstrate a commitment to changing not just the way we talk to one another, but the very way we must steer our governance on a more productive path. For Republicans and independents who do not support Mr. Trump, this is how she earns their vote. They want to be for something , not just against someone .

I’ve debated Mr. Trump six times and I’d wager I’ve participated in at least 30 debate prep sessions with him since 2016. No one has more experience in the arena listening to his attacks and debunking them than I have. That’s how I know that Ms. Harris’s goal during the debate cannot be merely besting Mr. Trump or out-insulting him. If she spends most of her time tussling with him, she will end up like so many who have come before, stuck in the mud against the best political insulter in my lifetime. The problem with focusing only on him is that you ultimately sacrifice your message as you amplify his.

While I ran an entire presidential campaign last year arguing why Mr. Trump should not be president, I believe, just as I did then, that this process demands more than just making the case against him. The country will benefit if Ms. Harris earns support that extends beyond the rallying cry of Mr. Trump as a threat to democracy. She should want to persuade voters not just to vanquish him, but to get behind her vision to unite the country.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

Essay Papers Writing Online

Mastering the art of essay writing – exploring the world of professional essay writers.

Welcome to our exceptional team of dedicated individuals who are ready to assist you with all your academic writing needs. With years of experience in the field, our team of talented writers is committed to delivering top-notch essays that meet the highest standards of quality. Whether you are a student struggling with a challenging assignment or a professional seeking assistance with a scholarly piece, we are here to provide you with the reliable support you need.

Unleash your creativity: Our essay writers are not only highly competent in their respective areas of expertise, but they are also passionate about writing. We understand that every assignment is unique and requires a creative approach. By harnessing their creativity and applying it to your essays, our writers ensure that every piece of writing is engaging, insightful, and well-researched.

Timely delivery: We value your time and understand the importance of meeting deadlines. Our team of professionals is skilled at working under tight schedules and will always deliver your essays on time. With us, you never have to worry about missing a submission deadline again.

Confidentiality and privacy: At our essay writing service, we prioritize the confidentiality and privacy of our clients. We understand the sensitive nature of academic writing and guarantee that all your personal information, as well as the details of your order, will remain strictly confidential. You can trust us to maintain the highest level of privacy and discretion throughout the entire process.

When it comes to essay writing, don’t settle for anything less than the best. Trust our team of skilled professionals to deliver high-quality essays that exceed your expectations. Contact us today to get started on your journey towards academic success.

Why Hiring Skilled Essay Writers is a Smart Choice

When it comes to composing well-written papers, it is essential to entrust the task to highly experienced and proficient individuals. Skilled essay writers possess the necessary expertise and knowledge to craft high-quality essays that meet the highest standards of academic excellence. Hiring skilled essay writers is a wise choice for various reasons, allowing you to benefit from their expertise and ultimately achieve the desired results.

One of the main advantages of hiring skilled essay writers is the assurance of receiving top-notch essays. These professionals have a deep understanding of the subject matter and are equipped with the necessary research skills to gather relevant and credible information. Their ability to synthesize complex ideas into coherent and well-structured essays ensures that you receive a well-crafted piece that demonstrates critical thinking and analytical skills.

Furthermore, skilled essay writers can save you valuable time and effort. Writing an essay can be a time-consuming process that requires extensive research, analysis, and writing. By hiring professionals, you can delegate the task to them, freeing up your time to focus on other important tasks or simply relax and enjoy your academic journey without the added stress.

In addition, expert essay writers understand the importance of adhering to strict deadlines. They are accustomed to working under pressure and can deliver high-quality essays within the specified time frame. By hiring skilled essay writers, you can be confident that your assignment will be completed on time, allowing you to meet your academic obligations and avoid any potential penalties for late submissions.

Whether you are a busy student	or a professional seeking to enhance your writing skills,	hiring skilled essay writers is a wise choice.
Their expertise and professionalism ensure that you receive	impeccable essays that showcase your knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.	Don’t hesitate to seek their assistance!

In conclusion, hiring skilled essay writers is a wise choice due to their ability to deliver high-quality essays, save you time and effort, and meet strict deadlines. Their expertise and professionalism guarantee a well-crafted piece that meets the highest standards of academic excellence. So, why struggle with writing assignments when you can rely on skilled essay writers to support you in achieving your academic goals?

The Benefits of Trusting Professionals with Your Essays

When it comes to your academic success, it is crucial to ensure that your essays are of the highest quality. However, crafting well-written and persuasive essays can be a challenging task for many students. That is why trusting professionals with your essays can have numerous benefits and help you achieve your academic goals.

Firstly, professionals have the expertise and knowledge to produce exceptional essays. They possess a deep understanding of various subjects and can provide insightful analysis and critical thinking in their writing. By entrusting your essays to professionals, you can be confident that your work will be well-researched, structured, and original.

Additionally, professionals have extensive experience in essay writing. They have honed their skills and techniques over time, allowing them to produce high-quality essays efficiently. They are familiar with the requirements of different academic institutions and can tailor their writing accordingly. By relying on professionals, you can save time and effort, allowing you to focus on other important tasks.

Moreover, professionals can offer valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement. They have a keen eye for detail and can identify areas where your essay can be enhanced. Their expertise enables them to provide constructive criticism and guidance that can help you refine your writing skills. By working with professionals, you can learn from their expertise and continually improve your essay writing abilities.

Lastly, trusting professionals with your essays can provide you with peace of mind. Writing essays can be stressful and time-consuming, especially when you are juggling multiple assignments or have tight deadlines. By delegating the task to professionals, you can alleviate the pressure and ensure that your essays are delivered on time. This allows you to focus on other aspects of your education and enjoy a balanced academic life.

In conclusion, entrusting professionals with your essays offers a range of benefits. Their expertise, experience, feedback, and ability to provide peace of mind make them valuable partners in your academic journey. By seeking the assistance of professionals, you can elevate the quality of your essays and enhance your overall academic performance.

How Our Team of Proficient Academic Writers Ensures Exceptional Work Quality

At our company, we take pride in the high-quality work delivered by our team of proficient academic writers. We understand the significance of producing exceptional essays that are not only well-written but also meet the highest standards of academic excellence.

Our skilled writers are well-versed in various subjects and possess extensive experience in crafting top-notch essays. They have a deep understanding of the academic requirements and are committed to delivering papers that showcase thorough research, critical analysis, and clear arguments.

To ensure the highest level of quality, our expert writers follow a meticulous writing process. They start by thoroughly analyzing the essay topic and gathering relevant sources of information. They then conduct comprehensive research to gain in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.

Once the research is complete, our writers meticulously outline their essay to ensure a logical flow of ideas. They pay attention to the structure and organization of the paper, ensuring that each paragraph transitions seamlessly to the next, and that the overall argument is well-supported by evidence and examples.

During the writing process, our writers utilize their exceptional writing skills to create engaging and persuasive content. They use language effectively, employing appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures to convey their ideas in a clear and concise manner. Moreover, they ensure that the essay adheres to the specified formatting and referencing style.

After completing the initial draft, our writers carefully review and revise their work. They pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, and make necessary corrections. Additionally, they also ensure that the content is plagiarism-free by thoroughly checking it with reliable plagiarism detection tools.

Finally, before delivering the completed essay, our team of proficient academic writers conducts a thorough quality check to ensure that all requirements have been met and that the essay meets our strict standards of excellence. We strive to provide our clients with work that not only meets their expectations but exceeds them.

When you choose our services, you can rest assured that your essay will be in the hands of skilled professionals who are dedicated to delivering high-quality work. Place your order today and experience the difference our team of proficient academic writers can make!

Customized Essays: Tailored to Your Requirements and Preferences

When it comes to academic writing, we understand that each student has unique requirements and preferences. That’s why our team of seasoned professionals goes the extra mile to deliver customized essays that meet your specific needs.

Whether you are a student struggling with a complex research paper or a high-achieving student aiming for top grades, our writers are here to assist you. They have profound knowledge and expertise in diverse fields, allowing them to craft essays that are tailored to your subject and academic level.

Our process begins with a thorough understanding of your assignment instructions and guidelines. We collaborate closely with you to gather all the necessary information, ensuring that all your requirements and preferences are taken into account. We then assign your project to a writer who possesses the relevant background and skills to deliver a high-quality customized essay.

With our service, you can expect essays that are carefully crafted to reflect your unique perspective and argumentation style. Our writers conduct in-depth research on the topic, ensuring that the content is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant. They also pay attention to the structure and organization of the essay, ensuring that your ideas flow logically and coherently.

Personalized Approach: Our team understands that each student has different needs and expectations. We take the time to understand your requirements and preferences, ensuring that your essay is personalized to your unique specifications.
Accurate Research: Our writers conduct extensive research to gather relevant information and data for your essay. They cite credible sources and ensure that the content is accurate, current, and reliable.
Flawless Writing: Our team of professionals excels in delivering flawless writing that is free from grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and plagiarism. We take pride in our attention to detail and our commitment to delivering high-quality essays.
Timely Delivery: We understand the importance of meeting deadlines. Our writers work diligently to deliver your customized essay on time, allowing you to submit your work without any worries.

At Expert Essay Writers, we are dedicated to providing you with customized essays that exceed your expectations. Contact us today to get started on your personalized essay journey!

A Wide Range of Subjects: Our Experts Can Handle Any Topic

At Expert Essay Writers, we understand the diverse needs of our clients and their academic pursuits. That’s why we are proud to offer a wide range of subjects that our experts can confidently handle. Whether you’re studying engineering, psychology, literature, or any other field, our team of professionals is here to help you excel in your academic endeavors.

Our experts have in-depth knowledge and expertise in a myriad of subjects, ensuring that we can cater to the unique requirements of each individual assignment. No matter how challenging or specialized your topic may be, you can trust our team to deliver top-notch essays that exhibit a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

From mathematics and physics to sociology and history, we have a diverse pool of experts who are well-versed in the intricacies of various academic disciplines. We continuously update our team’s knowledge base to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements and research in each field, ensuring that we can tackle even the most cutting-edge and niche topics.

When you choose Expert Essay Writers, you can be confident that your essay will be handled by a knowledgeable professional who has relevant experience in your subject area. We carefully match each assignment with an expert who possesses the necessary qualifications and expertise, ensuring that you receive a high-quality essay that meets your specific requirements.

So whether you’re struggling with an assignment in biology, philosophy, or business, rest assured that our team of experts is ready to assist you. With our extensive range of subjects and talented professionals, we guarantee that you will receive a well-researched, well-written, and thoroughly referenced essay that exceeds your expectations.

Affordable Pricing: High-Quality Essays at a Reasonable Cost

At our esteemed company, we believe that everyone deserves access to top-notch writing services without breaking the bank. That’s why we offer affordable pricing options without compromising on quality. With our team of experienced professionals, you can trust that you’ll receive high-quality essays at a reasonable cost.

When it comes to essay writing, we understand the importance of striking a balance between quality and affordability. We know that students and professionals alike have budget constraints, and our goal is to provide you with exceptional essays that won’t strain your wallet. Our competitively priced services ensure that you get the best value for your money.

We take pride in offering transparent pricing with no hidden fees or extra costs. Our pricing structure is designed to be straightforward and easy to understand, so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Whether you need assistance with a research paper, an argumentative essay, or any other academic assignment, our prices remain affordable without compromising on the quality of our work.

When you choose our essay writing services, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Our team of knowledgeable writers goes above and beyond to deliver essays that not only meet your requirements but also exceed your expectations. We believe that affordability should never mean a compromise on quality, and we stand by that commitment.

Don’t let high prices deter you from seeking professional essay writing help. With our affordable pricing options, you can access expert assistance and top-notch essays without breaking the bank. Trust us with your writing needs, and we’ll deliver high-quality essays at a reasonable cost, helping you achieve academic success without the stress.

Customer Satisfaction: Our Priority in Providing Expert Essay Writing Services

At Expert Essay Writers, we understand the importance of customer satisfaction when it comes to providing exceptional essay writing services. We prioritize delivering the highest level of satisfaction to our clients, ensuring that their needs and requirements are met with utmost professionalism and reliability.

Our team of highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals are dedicated to delivering top-quality essays that meet the highest standards set by our clients. We believe in the power of well-crafted essays to make a lasting impact, and we strive to exceed expectations in every aspect of our service.

When you choose Expert Essay Writers, you can expect nothing less than top-notch customer service. We value open and transparent communication, and we are committed to addressing any concerns or inquiries promptly. Our team of experts is always available to provide assistance and guidance throughout the essay writing process.

Moreover, we understand that every client is unique, with distinct preferences and requirements. That is why we take the time to listen and understand your specific needs, ensuring that we tailor our services to meet your expectations. We believe in the importance of customization and personalization, as it allows us to deliver essays that truly reflect your individual style and voice.

Our commitment to customer satisfaction is reflected in our dedication to delivering essays that not only meet your expectations but exceed them. We go above and beyond to ensure that every essay we produce is of the highest quality, meticulously researched, and written with precision and expertise.

Choose Expert Essay Writers as your trusted partner in achieving academic success. Experience the difference our dedication to customer satisfaction can make in ensuring that you receive expertly written essays that exceed your expectations.

How to master the art of writing expository essays and captivate your audience, convenient and reliable source to purchase college essays online, step-by-step guide to crafting a powerful literary analysis essay, unlock success with a comprehensive business research paper example guide, unlock your writing potential with writers college – transform your passion into profession, “unlocking the secrets of academic success – navigating the world of research papers in college”, master the art of sociological expression – elevate your writing skills in sociology.

COMMENTS

️Essay on Success in 100,150 and 200 Words: The Power of Positive
Essay on Success in 100 Words. Success is the culmination of dedication, hard work, and determination. It is not merely the achievement of material wealth, but the fulfilment of one's goals and aspirations. Success varies from person to person; for some, it's a thriving career, while for others, it could be having a harmonious family life.
551 Success Topics to Write about + Success Essay Examples
It will help you to see whether the problem is relevant. A thesis is a very important part of your essay. You should state it at the end of the introductory paragraph. A thesis statement can look like this: Money and wealth do not define success. / Hard work is the most important contributor to one's success.
Success Essay for Students and Children
500+ Words Essay on Success. Success Essay- In today's world everyone wants to be successful but what is a success. The perspective of success varies from person to person. For the record, the people before us have a different view on success and the person after us will have a different view on success. Moreover, people compare different ...
Essays About Success: Top 5 Examples Plus 8 Prompts
4. Poems with The Theme of Success. Be creative and turn your essay into a literary analysis. There is a wide array of poems about success at your disposal. One example and the most popular to date is Emily Dickinson's "Success is Counted Sweetest.". You can dissect the poem line per line.
Success Essays
When it comes to writing an essay on success, choosing the right topic is crucial. The topic sets the tone for the entire essay and determines the direction of your writing. A well-chosen topic not only makes your essay more engaging but also allows you to explore different aspects of success and offer valuable insights to your readers.
Writing for Success
Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. ... The essay/writing exercises could be useful in the second half - though not totally inspiring. Given that MLA/APA format ...
Essay on Success
Students are often asked to write an essay on Success in their schools and colleges. And if you're also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic. ... 500 Words Essay on Success Defining Success. Success, a concept often misunderstood, is not merely the accumulation of material wealth or the ...
Success: How Do You Define It?
The meaning of Success. The etymology of the word success says that it is derived from the Latin word 'successus' which means 'an advance, succession, happy outcome', and it is first recorded in 1586 (*5). The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines the term success as "the achievement of a desired aim, or of fame, wealth or ...
Success Essay for Students in English
Short Essay on Success for Students and Children. Success is achieved by those people who work harder every day and manage their time properly. Students should understand the importance of time management. Managing time properly is the key to success. Loss of time is considered to be a loss of opportunities.
The "Success" Term Concept Essay (Critical Writing)
The outcome of every single initiative is normally identified with success or failure. The term success has been offered a variety of definitions and approached differently depending on societies, and individuals. It has for example been defined in terms of monetary possession with rich individuals being considered successful.
Essay on Success: Top 8 Essays on Success
Essay on Success: Intro, Success in Life and Success for Students - Essay 8 (2500 Words) Introduction. If you've been feeling a little low lately, this essay on success is sure to boost your motivation levels and set the goals right for you! We hear about so many successful people from all the areas. Some of them may be our favorite singers ...
Tips for Writing Effective Essays: A Comprehensive Guide
2. Organize your ideas: Before you start writing, outline the main points you want to cover in your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of ideas. 3. Use topic sentences: Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
Success: Hard Work or Luck: [Essay Example], 849 words
Hard work is often hailed as the cornerstone of success, embodying qualities such as determination, perseverance, and discipline. Those who advocate for the significance of hard work argue that consistent effort, meticulous planning, and unwavering focus are essential for achieving goals. Hard work implies investing time, energy, and resources ...
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
Harvard College Writing Center 2 Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt When you receive a paper assignment, your first step should be to read the assignment prompt carefully to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Sometimes your assignment will be open-ended ("write a paper about anything in the course that interests you").
Book Title: Writing for Success
Download this book. Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. For questions about this textbook please contact [email protected].
1.3 Becoming a Successful College Writer
Using the Writing Process. To complete a writing project successfully, good writers use some variation of the following process. The Writing Process. Prewriting. In this step, the writer generates ideas to write about and begins developing these ideas. Outlining a structure of ideas.
Essay
An academic essay is a piece of writing in which you present your position on a topic, and support that position by evidence. An essay has three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you put forward your position (this can take the form of a question or an argument) and its relevance to the chosen topic. In the ...
How to build an essay
Conclusion. You are ready to write an essay after you have done these steps: Identified all the components that you must cover so that you address the essay question or prompt. Conducted your initial research and decided on your tentative position and line of argument. Created a preliminary outline for your essay that presents the information ...
A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing
Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea. In persuasive writing, your "one idea" is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you ...
Scribbr
Whether we're proofreading and editing, checking for plagiarism or AI content, generating citations, or writing useful Knowledge Base articles, our aim is to support students on their journey to become better academic writers. We believe that every student should have the right tools for academic success.
Write a Winning College Essay: How to Pick a Topic
What Not to Write in Your College Essay. While you have plenty of options for your college essay, there are also some topics you don't want to write about. For example, Phan advises applicants to avoid writing about grades or academic performance. Your transcript already covers that. Another common pitfall? Not writing about yourself.
Effective Essay Writing Rubrics for Academic Success
When it comes to effective essay writing, understanding the key elements is essential for academic success. Here are some important elements to keep in mind: Thesis Statement: A clear and concise thesis statement that presents the main idea of your essay. Structure: A well-organized structure with introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
10 Ways to Write An MBA Admissions Essay That Stands Out
When I wrote my own MBA admissions essay, I remember feeling lost, rambling without a clear direction. Crafting a standout essay requires self-awareness, authenticity, and alignment with the program.
Custom Essay Writing Service: Professional Help for Your Academic Success
With our custom essay writing service, you can expect: High-quality custom essays tailored to your specific requirements. Original and plagiarism-free content. On-time delivery to meet your deadlines. 24/7 customer support for any questions or concerns. Affordable prices and discounts for returning customers.
Opinion
Tens of millions of Americans will be watching the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday night. Many of these folks will be Republicans and independents who, like me, have ...
Mastering the Art of Essay Writing
Unlock Success with a Comprehensive Business Research Paper Example Guide Unlock Your Writing Potential with Writers College - Transform Your Passion into Profession! "Unlocking the Secrets of Academic Success - Navigating the World of Research Papers in College" Master the Art of Sociological Expression - Elevate Your Writing Skills in Sociology Unlock Your Academic Success with ...

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

✍️Essay on Success in 100,150 and 200 Words: The Power of Positive Mindset

What Makes a Person Successful?

Essay on Success in 100 Words

Essay on Success in 150 Words

Essay on Success in 200 Words

Malvika Chawla

Connect With Us

Need help with?

Country Preference

Which English test are you planning to take?

When are you planning to take the exam?

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

What is your budget to study abroad?

Make your study abroad dream a reality in January 2022 with

Essex Direct Admission Day

Success Essay for Students and Children

What formulates a person successful?

What is the harm of success?

Success and hard work

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Download the App

Essays About Success: Top 5 Examples Plus 8 Prompts

5 Essay Examples

Writing for Success

Formats Available

Table of Contents

Ancillary Material

Contribute to this Page

Essay on Success

100 Words Essay on Success

Path to Success

Success and Happiness

250 Words Essay on Success

Success as Self-fulfillment

The Role of Failure in Success

500 Words Essay on Success

The Role of Hard Work and Perseverance

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Long Essay on Success for Students and Children

Success and Failure

Success and Hard Work

How Can You Attain Success?

Short Essay on Success for Students and Children

How Can Success Harm You?

FAQs on Success Essay

The “Success” Term Concept Essay (Critical Writing)

Definition and concepts

Key Determinants to Success

A third party’s Perception of Success

Comparison of Ideas

Personal Hope to Success

Oppressions to success

Works Cited

Business Management Ideas

Essay on Success

No comments yet.

Billionaires

Book Summaries

Digital Marketing

Internet Marketing

Law of Attraction

Law of Vibration

Motivational Speakers

Productivity

Relationship

Self-help 21 and 14 Days Course

Social Media

Website Development

Privacy Overview

Success: Hard Work Or Luck

Table of contents

Cite this Essay

Related Essays

Still can’t find what you need?

Related Essays on Hard Work

Related Topics

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

1.3 Becoming a Successful College Writer