School Is Hard is a blog that originally had the objective of helping students get through the trials and tribulations of college. As the blog founder matured, however, he took on a broader perspective. Making a strong declaration of his feelings against the modern education system, School Is Hard founder Patrick promotes “knowledge, creativity, and grades.” Although the author is no longer primarily concerned with helping college students specifically, there are still many college student-help articles on the site, like
New Ways to Improve Study Skills. Today, however, the topics are more varied, including articles like why young people should get hired despite a lack of experience, as well as topics like Comedy Central’s open mic challenge.
The good
There is a lot to like about School Is Hard, including its very mantra on knowledge, creativity, and grades. With over 100 articles focused on helping students, the site makes for a good resource. The blog also tackles important issues relating to the recession and its effects, such as unemployment and debt troubles. The integration of video posts also makes for a diverse collection of content.
The bad and the ugly
The bad side of having such diversity in content is that the site also diversifies its audience. In some cases, this can be a good thing, but a relatively small blog like School Is Hard may have some trouble if it does not have a niche audience that will keep returning to the site. Another problem with the website is that it is rather sloppily designed. For example, the entire right margin is full of links that are indistinguishable from each other and from the normal font on the page. In effect, the blog looks cluttered, difficult to navigate, and painful on the eyes. If the author can set his focus and tidy up the School Is Hard design, then there’s lots of potential for growth.
Pimp Dorm is a website that was created by a group of students. The main idea of the blog is to offer ideas, information, and advice for college students who want to improve their dorm room. Whether dorm improvement has to do with decor and cleanliness or throwing parties, Pimp Dorm has loads of information for the college student. Aside from providing some advice for pimping your dorm, the blog also has articles on college life in general.
What’s pimpin’ at Pimp Dorm
One of the best aspects of the Pimp Dorm blog is its design. Bright and bold colors come together in a contemporary design that fits in with the whole “pimp” theme. The blog layout is rather generic, with the main navigation links running down the left margin, while the popular links and ads run down the right margin. Although the layout is generic, it works well and makes it easy for visitors to navigate the site. Another interesting thing about this blog is that it has a “Dorm Video” section where you can find videos about dorm life. There is also a “Dorm Pranks” section for some funny videos of dorm-based practical jokes. Finally, the site also promotes some products for sale, which is a good fit for its theme. These unique features are great for capturing the attention of visitors and for giving visitors a reason to come back to the site.
What needs pimpin’ at Pimp Dorm
My main concern with Pimp Dorm is the lack of articles. While the articles like “Maximizing Your Dorm Room?s Space” are quite useful and relevant to the target audience, there aren’t very many articles to go through. Even a blog with the best design and an amazing concept will be worth little without a good amount of content to keep visitors busy. In time, perhaps this blog will continue to develop, adding more content, more videos, more products, and, ultimately, more reasons to keep the traffic coming.
My U Search is a website that has two main purposes. It serves as an “honest” and “objective” college search tool for students. The tool is meant to gather information about the visiting student, then suggest a number of colleges and universities based on the given information. The second purpose of the site is to provide a blog full of articles for helping students get through college life and all of the ups and downs it presents. A typical type of topic that you can find on this blog is Top 10 Tips for Your College Move-in Day.
What My U Search is doing right
My U Search is a great website and blog. Not only does it have a specific purpose and mission, but it also provides useful content to its target audience. From topics on choosing your majors to tips on getting good grades, it’s easy to see why students would find My U Search to be helpful. The blog and the website as a whole are well-designed, with categories, recommended links, and other links lined down the left margin and ads along the right margin. The header also allows visitors to easily navigate around the website, giving links to access the forum, blog, college search and match system, and other links within the site.
What My U Search is doing wrong
Truthfully, there isn’t much to complain about this blog. If anything, I would suggest a little more eye-catching design along the header of the page. Right now, all that can be seen along the header is the MyUSearch.com logo. There is a lot of room for more pictures or some other easy design upgrade. Overall, however, My U Search is a well-designed blog with loads of articles and information for students and anyone else who wants to be in the know about college life.
As with anything in life, there are always two side of a coin, the pros and cons. It is just a matter of weighing things out. If the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, then that is the only time you can decide on hiring professional services to do the editing for you.
What are professional editing services and how can you find companies offering these services?
Editing services are provided by companies that hire professional editors and writers. Usually, clients submit their work for editing and professional proofreading. These companies may be found online and are proven to give you great satisfaction with their service. However, should you wish to do the editing yourself, there are various checkers online that might help you correct your own mistakes for grammar and spelling. They do not charge any fee, but you can’t expect them to be nearly as good as professional editors.
Pros and cons of using professional essay editing service
Getting the services of an editing company might be good for a writer who is all tied up with his or her writing stints and responsibilities. Those applying for college or university admission may employ the service of professional editors to make sure that their personal statements are error-free. This increases their chances of getting admitted to their chosen school. The editor will edit the essay to make it seem free-flowing, cohesive, and professionally done.
One disadvantage though is the expense of having to hire their services. Maybe it is not commensurate to having to pay so much for something you can actually do yourself. Nevertheless, it might be good to have someone who will proofread your spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and inconsistencies of writing to be assured of your admission in the school you have chosen. In the end, what matters most is your own voice and originality.
Related links:
Improving your writing – Tips on how to improve your writing
Proofreading tips – Basic proofreading tips
Essay for admission – How your personal statement can serve as a marketing tool for admission
SWOT analysis – Doing the SWOT analysis when writing your essay
Winning personal statements – How to turn your essay into a winning personal statement
There are so many overused styles to avoid when writing your admission essay for college. One of them is the use of cliches in writing and other trite expressions. Another tip is to only use the passive voice when needed. Otherwise, make do with the active voice when writing a personal statement. Using vague words or ambiguous expressions is not a good writing habit anymore. If before, it is thought of as creating a sense of mystique or mystery for your readers, now, it is seen as inappropriate and unnecessary, especially when writing an essay for college admission.
Starting or ending with a quote
It is good to employ the use of quotes when writing your essay. Just remember to lay out your chosen quotes correctly. You must start with a new line and indent on the second line where you will put the quote you have decided to use in your essay. Also, remember to introduce your chosen quote with a colon and quotation marks. It is necessary to place quotes correctly because it will indicate that you are professional about how you write.
Ending the essay with unfounded generalizations
The rule of thumb is to never end your essay with unfounded generalizations that will only leave your readers guessing, or what?s worse, will get your readers confused with what you are talking about in your essay. Make sure that when you conclude your essay, it does not only end with a big bang, but it also delivers what the admissions officers are looking for in your personal statement. The key here is to always give utmost consideration to your audience.
Trying to be witty (difference between trying to be witty and being genuinely witty)
Each year, countless students struggle to write their admissions essays. They exhaust all efforts and time to come up with an outstanding essay, which will guarantee that they will stand out among the other potential candidates in line. Some students, perhaps out of extreme eagerness to qualify, try to be witty or funny to make their admissions essays stand out. However, they do not realize that they must always be careful with infusing wit or humor as well, because the admissions officers would always know if the student is just pretending or faking it. It might even work against you. Therefore, never leave your readers an impression that you are too good to be true or simply trying too hard.
Related links:
Making good impression – How to make good impression on your essay
Controversial essay topics -About tackling controversial topics
Essay themes – Using religion as theme for the essay
College applications – All about college applications and personal statement
Good personal statements – About how to write a good personal statement
