Top Tips to Improve Your Creative Writing Skills.

Top Tips to Improve Your Creative Writing Skills. Golden Rules to Improve Your Writing Style. ChaptersHow to Learn How to Write.Top Tips to Keep Moving with Your Creative Writing.To learn how to write creatively is not something that happens just like that. You cannot attend a writing class and just be told how to write effectively. Or, indeed, you can â€" but this will not translate into effective storytelling, into a compelling style, or into realistic and persuasive characters.Creative writing courses are great, but mere attendance does not endow you with the skills that you will need to start finding your own voice.No. There is only one way to do that. And that is by writing. By writing again and again, and then by writing some more. If you want to be the greatest writer you can possibly be, in fact, writing needs to take over your life.Now, we appreciate that this is an easy thing to say. We appreciate that when you are holding down a fulltime job, when you have different commitments in your life, it is not the easiest thing in the world to realise. Writing often falls b y the wayside, in amongst drinks with friends, that little bit of work that needs to be done, or â€" let’s be honest â€" sitting down in front of Netflix.This, by the way, is the beauty of the creative writing course: it gives you the focus and the time to commit to your writing. This way you make writing your fulltime job.However, for those who are not enrolled in such a course â€" or for those of you who need to remember what writing is all about â€" here are some top tips to improve your creative writing.Check out jobs after a creative writing course! Never stop writing. CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover a ll our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow to Learn How to Write.We said above that no-one can teach you in any strict way how to write. This is because there is no one way how to write â€" and thank God.A creative writing program will not fill you with imperatives and prescriptions on how your writing should be. Rather, you should see it â€" and your professional writing teacher â€" as someone there alongside you in your writing process. As someone who can make suggestions â€" and guide you to develop your own style of effective writing.But all the real work necessarily comes from you. They are your skills that need to be honed. It is you that needs to sweat over the first draft â€" and sweat some more over the revising and the editing. It’s you that needs to develop your own writing techniques, your plotting and descriptive writing, or your poetic voice or dramatic style.No one can do that for you.And so, the greatest tip for you and your writing is to sit down and write. And when you are sat there with writer’s block, when you are straining through uninspired prose, just remember that there is only one way to get through this. That’s just to keep on writing.What are the main elements of creative writing?Top Tips to Keep Moving with Your Creative Writing.Here we want to share with you some writing tips that will be helpful for anyone starting to write â€" and any writers who have lost their groove a little in their writing career. Progress with writing always returns with your own return to the basics.However, here we are not going to be telling you how to use metaphors and similes. We’r e not going to tell you how you should go about creating characters. We’re not going to tell you, ‘oh, maybe start considering x technique or y type of structure’.These technical questions remain something that you need to decide for yourself.What we can advise on is the ways that you can prepare yourself best for the process of writing. How you can find inspiration even when you are seeing none. And what you should do with that draft once you have brought it to an end.These are just important as anything else in the process of writing. Let’s take a look.By the way, do you know what creative writing is? Creative writing is about reading too.Writing Starts with Reading.Reading and writing are two sides of the same coin. If you have a read widely and deeply â€" and if you have enjoyed the writing styles and idiosyncrasies of a range of writers â€" the chances are that you know what good writing is.And, if you know what good writing is, you are much more likely to be able to produce good writing of your own.This also seems fairly obvious â€" but it needs stressing again and again and again. The best way to understand the mechanics of a novel or a poem is to read them.Take an Interest in the World around You.This might seem like a strange one. It will do if you have only read poets like W.S. Graham, who only writes about writing, or like Gerard Manley Hopkins, whose primary subject is his own anguish.Yet, even these most introspective of poets developed the skills they had by turning their eyes to the world. By observing the work, life, movements, and speech of others.Learning to look a round, learning to listen to the way people talk or interact â€" all of these are writing skills.Nail the Basics.Think of the painter, Picasso. Famed for his perspective-shattering paintings, he seemed to have thrown the rules of figure painting aside. However, look at his early works and look at his notepads, and you see a master of conventional representative drawing too.The lesson here is a simple one: you can’t break the rules until you understand the rules, nor until you have mastered the principles upon which those rules are based.That counts for you and writing. Don’t start writing like William Faulkner in The Sound and the Fury until you know how to string proper sentences together. That means grammar and punctuation, kids; that means exploring the most simple sentence structure.Good writing begins with basic writing.Keep Experimenting.Only with the basics down can you start experimenting. And when we say experimenting, we mean endlessly experimenting: seeing what works, seeing what doesn’t, considering what happens if you do something like this or like this instead.Use everything you can get your hands on: writing exercises, writing prompts, or writing in the style of another novelist.This will stretch your writing skills â€" and give you endlessly new ground on which to work in the future.Find a Voice.Now, say by this point that you are sitting down to write a novel. You’ve done all those different experiments and exercises. Yet, the beauty of an effective book is its coherent style, a voice that shines through that is unique, recognisable, and compelling.How are you going to find this? Well, you will have nourished your own style in your numerous experiments above. But don’t force your writing into a style that doesn’t work for you. At the end of the day, you need to write naturally. Someone's been busy with their creative writing...Don’t Be Scared to Edit.If something isn’t quite working, change it. Return to the drawing board. Work around it, find a different way to write it, keep experimenting.Editing is not a separate process to writing when you are dealing with your own work. Editing is writing as much as putting those first words down on paper is writing.Be honest with yourself when you are reading through your work. Are you actually happy with that paragraph? Are you really convinced that the ending works? You will know if you are being dishonest with yourself.Don’t be Scared to Show Other People Your Writing.Have you written your novel yet then? or a piece of short fiction or a poem? Are they down on paper? Good.All writers have someone who they trust to read their work and give them sensible and understanding feedback. From the biggest contemporary novelists â€" think Arundhati Roy â€" to the youngest poets from history.Showing people your work is scary. However, this is something you need to do. How can you call yourself a writer if you don’t want anyone to read your work?Be Prepared to Cut.Have they said your work is rubbish? Have they told you that there’s a whole chapter that is ineffective or didn’t add anything?Maybe that was your favourite chapter. However, one of the most important skills in writing is to know what to leave out as much as what to include. Not everything belongs in the same novel, the same poem or story.If in doubt, cut it out.Keep on Writing.Have you finished that novel then? What’s next? Are you giving up as a writer, having exhausted your one idea? Or do you need to keep going towards the next book?Return to the top of this list and keep on writing.Finally, check out our introduction to creative writing!

5 tips to be more productive in office as a single mother - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / 5 tips to be more productive in office as a single mother - Introvert Whisperer 5 tips to be more productive in office as a single mother Diapers, wipes, milk, sanitized feeders, toys, and cough syrups are probably all you think about throughout the day as a mother of an infant; and if your kids are slightly older you can add healthy food options, field trip fees, cuts and bruises, and new bicycles to that endless list. While being a parent is a major responsibility, it may sometimes even become more challenging when you are a single mother with the responsibility of providing for your children. Although statistics reveal that more women are now employed in senior positions in large companies and are leading organizations, single mothers who head their households are still suffering in terms of income disparity and job opportunities. The term, Superwoman is probably meant for ladies who have the courage, determination, and drive to juggle between giving their children a good life and also maintaining a fulfilling career. So, while you juggle between buying diapers and scheduling important business meetings, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and you may also find yourself off track at times. However, keeping your daily productivity in check is nearly just as important as keeping that beautiful smile on your childs face. While you may think that your childs smile is priceless (and it definitely is) and that your job can take a back seat, it still isn’t ethically correct to perform poorly at it. Therefore, here are a few tips to keep you upbeat during work and make your life easier. 1. Do difficult things first With so much to do, you may feel like saving the difficult things for the last and beginning your day with easy assignments. This may be specifically so when you have just had a full-fledged argument with your preschooler about going to school and want to relax for a couple of hours before tackling difficult office work. However, the bigger and more difficult tasks will continue to linger on your thoughts, even while you try to relax, and will prevent you from easing up throughout the day. Hence, it’s a good idea to take a stab at the bigger and more difficult tasks that you are dreading first and get them out of the way. In fact, if you do them before you move onto the easier tasks, you are very likely to be more productive at work and get a lot more done. So, make a list. Organize yourself. Put bigger and more difficult tasks on priority. Do them first. Move onto smaller and easier things second. Accomplish more in your day. It really is as simple as that. 2. Give yourself a break This is obviously easier said than done but it is definitely not impossible. In order to properly function at work, it is very important for single mothers to find some ‘me time’ for themselves and try to do something that they like. This can be taking a walk in the park, pampering yourself at a nearby salon, buying yourself new clothes, or going for that tango class you always wanted to attend. If you need more inexpensive options, you can simply watch a movie, read a book, or catch up on a conversation with a friend to give yourself a breather. The point is that it is very important to relax and let your stress level settle down in order to go to work recharged and with a clearer head. Solitude will allow you to develop a stronger perception as it will stop your brain from processing new information and allow it to effectively file all the information you have collected throughout the days/ weeks/ years! It will also give you a chance to discover more about yourself, be more efficient, and set your priorities right. For this reason, make sure you spend some time alone whenever possible. You also can give yourself this down time when your children are asleep or when they are busy in other activities. 3. Meditate Meditation can help immensely when you need to reduce anxiety, deal with stress, and relax your muscles. However, it is not as simple as closing your eyes and breathing in and out. If you are familiar with the right method to meditate, go for it; but if you are not, then log onto YouTube or search the Internet for an appropriate guide to help you out. What will this do? Meditation increases the blood circulation in your brain, improves memory and focus, gives you tons of energy, and also slows down your aging process. It also helps improve your planning capacity, gives a boost to your creativity, and effectively recharges you. Usually, meditating for ten minutes to half an hour a day is enough and you can surely spare this insignificant amount of time for yourself. However, make sure you do it correctly and concentrate on the process rather than rushing through it. What’s more, this will also enable you to keep calm with the kids and remain vigilant and vivacious at work. 4. Workout A rigorous workout definitely boosts your energy level and increases your stamina for physical activity throughout the day. Moreover, working out can help you stay fit and healthy, keep you upbeat and happy, and also helps clear your head of any negativity. If you do not have the time to go to the gym, you can easily begin your workout at home. Do a certain number of push-ups, sit-ups, and stomach crunches every day and also set a goal for the number of laps that you are going to run. To achieve the best results and make your workout sessions worthwhile, stay away from junk food and fizzy drinks. Add vegan protein to your diet in order to maintain a healthy diet plan and to remain strong. Devise a schedule and try to fit in at least an hour a day for your exercise routine. Afterward, you can relax and sip on a cup of herbal green tea to soothe your nerves. 5. Restrict the use of social media Social media is rather distracting and can waste a lot of precious time. Hence, if you have children who need your attention and a career which you need to excel in, you better restrict the time you spend on social media. Flipping through your newsfeed a few times a day is not so bad and would potentially not be detrimental to your productivity at work. But, if you are constantly uploading pictures of every single special moment that you and your children share, or are stalking people every time you check your newsfeed, there might be a problem. Moreover, extra information in your head regarding what is happening in everybody elses life is simply too much clutter and single mothers with promising careers require a clear vision and clutter-free brains. They already have tons to think about as is. Therefore, increase your productivity by limiting the time you spend on social media. At most, allocate an hour to social media and do all the chatting, uploading, updating that you need to do during this time span, and then focus solely on your job and children. If you remain organized and take good care of yourself, you can easily manage being a single mother with a demanding career.   Being a working woman is rewarding but being a mother is even more so, so cherish both essential parts of your life and make the most of them! AUTHOR BIO ABOUT Alycia Gordan

Raising Bilingual Kids Expert Tips from a Parent Who Has Been There

Raising Bilingual Kids Expert Tips from a Parent Who Has Been There Megan L. As you probably know, being bilingual has many amazing benefits, from increased brain health to higher salaries, and more! You may have also heard that for many people, learning languages is far easier in childhood than it will be in their adult years. If youre a parent, or about to become one, youre probably wondering how to raise a bilingual child. Have no fear, many other parents have embarked on this journey, and they are happy to share their discoveries with you. Even if you dont speak a second language yourself, you can still help your child grow up bilingual. So what do you need to know to raise a bilingual child? Adam Beck of Bilingual Monkeys has lots of experience and great advice for doing just that! Heres Adam My best advice for successfully raising a bilingual child, from birth, can be summed up in these three principles 1. The two “core conditions” for fostering active ability in the minority language are  exposure  and  need. The child must receive sufficient interactive exposure to the target language (there’s no “magic number,” but a good benchmark for most families seeking active ability would be roughly 25 hours a week), while also feeling an organic need to use that language. Your aim, for the first few formative years, is to “condition” your child to communicate with you in the minority language by the time he or she begins to speak. And you’ll raise the odds of achieving this if you proactively emphasize that language and “de-emphasize” the majority language. In other words, the more openly you use the majority language around the child, the more you may undermine his or her need to use the minority language with you. So, although I know it may not be realistic to avoid using the majority language entirely, I would be cautious about how freely you speak that language in front of the child, especially in those early years. 2. Generally speaking, the results of your bilingual quest will be in proportion to how high you make this a priority in your life. If your sense of priority is high, if you make this aim central to your daily lifestyle, then your approach will be more mindful and proactive. This will result in more persistent and effective efforts, and greater success over time. The reverse of this is also likely true: The lower your sense of priority, the less action you’ll take and the less progress you’ll make. As Gandhi once said (though I don’t think he was talking about raising bilingual kids): “Action expresses priorities.” 3. Flood your home with minority language resourcesâ€"particularly booksâ€"and read aloud to your children every single day, from birth and throughout childhood. A large home library and a daily read-aloud routine should be the bedrock of your daily efforts to promote the minority language. Again, when it comes to resources, emphasize the minority language and “de-emphasize” the majority language. Assuming the future will bring schooling in the majority language, it’s to your advantage to make the home far richer in minority language resources. At the same time, talk, talk, talk to your baby in the target language. The more input the child receives through books and speech, the more output he or she will eventually produce. Adam Beck is the founder of Bilingual Monkeys  and The Bilingual Zoo. For many more helpful tips from Adam, see My Best Tips for Raising Bilingual Kids. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by David D.

Becoming a Professional Boxer

Becoming a Professional Boxer What Can You Do To Become a Professional Boxer? ChaptersThe Advantages and Disadvantages of Becoming a BoxerHow to Become a Professional BoxerHow to Train and Become a Professional BoxerHow To Start a Career as a Professional Boxer“Boxing isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life.” - Maëlle PariezMaëlle Pariez is a French boxer and martial artists with a rather good track record. She was the French K-1 champion in 2013, French Thai Boxing Championship runner-up the same year, and the Thai Boxing World Championship runner up in 2015 and 2016.Combat sports like boxing, kick-boxing, savate, and martial arts are known for being violent and popular amongst mafiosos. However, there are a lot of benefits to them.In recent years, boxing and wrestling have driven growth in UK sports clubs. An estimated 6,587 sports clubs are operating in the UK.Are you looking to start a career as a boxer?Here’s our mini guide. AndreyBoxing Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KostiaBoxing Teacher 5.00 (1) £17/h1st les son free!Discover all our tutors LeeBoxing Teacher £17/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SajBoxing Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KaranBoxing Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ThomasBoxing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HaileyBoxing Teacher 4.50 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidBoxing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe Advantages and Disadvantages of Becoming a BoxerBoxing is a sport that can help you climb the social ladder by earning money through the Noble Art. Boxing is great for your physique. (Source: SFReader)There are many benefits to being a boxer: becoming a multimillionaire if you’re unbeatable in the ring, being in peak physical condition, and being able to take a punch without even flinching.The Disadvantages of BoxingUnfortunately, very few boxers will become millionaires even if they compete at a high level and there are several disadvantages to boxing:Struggling to become professionalRegular injuryA long amount of time trainingHigh levels of competitionA sport that’s subject to financial logicProfessional boxers tend to have less protection than amateur boxers.Boxers also have to train for incredibly long periods to improve their cardio performance, endurance, precision, power, technique, footwork, and breathing.  This means they may have to train 4 to 5 hours per day for several years.A professional boxer also has to run their career like a business.  They need to be associated with a boxing organisation to find matches an d challenge stronger opponents to increase their earnings.  Most of the time, they’ll work with a promoter whose job is to organise fights with other boxers in exchange for a cut of the earnings.There are still a lot of advantages, though.The Advantages of BoxingBoxing is great for your mental and physical health. Boxing is also great for your self-confidence and you’ll start to feel better after just a few sessions.So what about professionals?Boxing can help you build an athletic body.If you search for boxers on Google, you’ll see just how athletic many of them are.  Of course, a world champion will also earn a whole heap of cash.Regularly going to a boxing club comes with many benefits:Improving your agility and endurance.Improving your cardiovascular system.Reducing stress levels.Building self-confidence.Toning your body.So what do you need to do to become a professional boxer or world titleholder?How to Become a Professional BoxerAs you know, you won’t become a champion boxer overnight.  There are a lot of things, including work, that you’ll have to do to become a professional boxer.  You need to get into shape to become a professional boxer.Exceptional Physical FitnessNo matter which weight class you are (flyweight, featherweight, bantamweight, lightweight, middleweight, welterweight, heavyweight, etc.), you’ll need to train a lot. This is even true for amateur boxers. If you want to be the best, there are a few things that you won't be able to do. (Source: PublicDomainPictures)Firstly, you’ll need to go to a boxing club and start training.Bit by bit, a coach or instructor will work out whether or not you’re ready for a fight.  Training will include intense warm-ups (squats, push-ups, burpees, running, etc), technical training (learning how to throw a jab, hook, uppercut, etc), and weight training. You need to be able to survive several rounds with your sparring partner and work out what your strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to boxing.Doing Your ResearchYou need to climb the up the ladder in the world of amateur boxing before you can go pro.  After that, you’ll need to apply to be a boxer with the British Boxing Board of Control. This is so that “boxers are fully prepared, fit, and properly matched to enjoy a rewarding career with some financial benefit.”. They suggest that most boxers should realise that very few make it to the top and most boxers will need another job alongside boxing.There are many options for those wanting to train as a boxer.  You can get a licence from international federations such as the WBA, WBO, IBA, EBY, IBF, etc.  A boxer who wins a prestigious boxing event or defeats the title holder in a particular weight category will have even more opportunities to fight for more money.How to Train and Become a Professional BoxerBefore you move onto training, you need to choose your discipline.  After all, there are several types of boxing including savate, Thai boxing, and kick-boxing that may be of interest to you. Most competitors train for between 3 and 5 hours a day five times a week. If you want to be the very best, you're going to have to train. (Source: 12019)Here’s an example of the type of training they may do:Jogging and squats: 30 to 60 minutesWarm-ups: 30 minutesPunching bag exercises: 30 to 60 minutesTechnical exercises: 30 minutesSparring: 30 minutesStrength training: 60 minutesStretches and cool down: 30 minutesYou’ll also become pretty good at using a skipping rope.Coaches will advise that you listen to your body, especially if the exercises are too difficult or your muscles begin to fill with lactic acid due to overexertion during your training.  That said, you do need to push yourself if you want to improve your endurance or become stronger. They often need to build muscle to ensure that they can handle themselves in the ring.A boxer complete with boxing gloves, a cup, and a gum shield will learn to control their fear of being hit.  It’s a natural reaction to be scared of being hit and avoid being hurt.  This is what your guard and dodges are f or.  This is why professional boxers work in a team with their sparring partner so that they’re ready for combat with any type of boxer.So what types of exercises do they do?If you’ve seen a boxer, you won’t be surprised to learn that they do a lot of sit-ups, push-ups, and burpees.How To Start a Career as a Professional BoxerBefore you start your career as a boxer, you’ll need to meet a coach and join a boxing club. No matter what type of boxing you do, you need to be good at it if you want to go pro. (Source: PranongCreative)After a few weeks of intensive training, you’ll probably want to ask them about your ability and level and the best type of training for you.  You’ll need at least between 75 and 90 minutes of training per day five times a week.  The intensity of this training will increase over time.  You need to be able to go for 12 rounds in a boxing match, after all.A career in boxing is very demanding and there'll be no alcohol or smoking and you'll also need to eat healthily.After you’ve trained in your boxing club, you’ll want to start competing in boxing competitions. Firstly at a local level before moving on to regional, national, continental, and global competitions.  There are several different competitions such as:The England Boxing National Amateur ChampionshipGB Three NationsWomen’s Winter Box CupBoxers will look to affiliate with more lucrative federations as they p rogress and find a promoter who’ll find better opponents.  This promoter will take a percentage of the boxer’s earnings just like an agent would. The bigger the fight, the more interest, spectators, sponsors, and money there’ll be. A lot of professional boxing makes its money from pay per view. The fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor on 26 August 2017 generated over 600 million dollars! Of course, only the top fighters earn anywhere near this kind of money.If you're interested in boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, or any other combat sport, consider enlisting the help of a private tutor or coach on Superprof. Compare the many different tutors available and find the best one pound for pound.Before you pick your private tutor, there are several things that you'll need to carefully think about. Firstly, no two tutors are alike and you need to pick the one that'll help you to get the most out of your training and set on you on the path to glory. Secondly, there are three main types of tutorial available from the tutors on Superprof, face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials, and you need to pick the one that's right for you.

Get Instant Math Help- From a Qualified Expert Math Tutor

Get Instant Math Help- From a Qualified Expert Math Tutor 0SHARESShare Is doing Math a daily chore and constant struggle for your kid? Is it a head breaking task for you amidst your daily routines? No need to worry-online tutoring help in Math through Tutor Pace drives away all your mental worries and sets you at peace. Instant Math help what way is it helpful? Getting stuck up with Math problems is a common factor and you need to do something to get out of the struggle. Tutor Pace offers you the solution with its certified tutors online who extend their warm hands to help your child in Algebra, Trigonometry or Stats with their experience and expertise in the subject. Helping with Math how do online tutors help you? Online Math tutors as in Tutor Pace provide tailored and customized solutions for your learning requirements and make you feel comfortable and relaxed in your own phase with your learning pace. You do not feel the gap you find in your classroom atmosphere and are able to clear your doubts with confidence in a safe environment. Math help live what way it is beneficial? You interact with your tutor online and share the two way interactive board. You are able to do the problem step by step with your tutor and share files for homework and assignment with him. You can chat live and gain immediate solution for your problems. Tutor pace sees to it that you understand the concept well to analyze and do the sums without confusion. Online tutoring help in Math is a perfect remedy for those who struggle in Math. [starbox id=admin]

College Culture

College Culture Choosing a college based on strong academics is very important; however, there is a lot more to college than its national, academic rankings. Every college has its own unique culture, consisting of its academics, its geographic location and its student body. Its the vibe one gets from that college. There is nothing you can read or hear to fully understand a colleges culture. No one can tell you truly what its truly like, and how you will feel about it. You need to visit as often as you can. Some colleges are in isolated towns, and others are in the heart of big cities. Students at certain colleges tailgate for football games and paint their bodies, and other students go to the football games just to watch the band play. Some colleges offer a wide range of studies, and others specialize in certain fields. Essentially, the college you choose will be your home for four years. Similarly, do you always pick the most intelligent friends? If you could choose your own parents, would you opt to live with the most intelligent couple you could find? Your universitys intelligence is very important to your future success, but students should also select a college based on how happy they will be there. Visiting a college is the only way to find out its unique culture. It is very easy and affordable to schedule a college visit/walkthrough with a bubbly, overexcited tour guide. These, however, only give students a surface level understanding of the university. Students will receive extensive knowledge on how high every building is, who it was named after, when it was constructed, who the dean is, etc. This is all information that you are likely to immediately forget, assuming you actually cared to listen. College visits/walkthroughs with tour guides can be helpful. However, the best way to truly understand the culture of a college is by living there. Many colleges allow students to take short summer sessions. These summer sessions vary from college-to-college. However, most are three to five days worth of classes. Students will experience living in the dorms and eating the dining hall food. Also, students are likely to have roommates. These can be expensive; however, you can earn credits to that university. This is truly a unique way to gain an accurate perspective of what the college campus is like. If interested, students should attend these short summer sessions between their junior and senior years of high school. Another great way to find out the culture of a college is by visiting a friend, or a friends older sibling who is currently at the school you are interested in. Stay with them for a weekend. College kids love visitors. They will likely welcome you and show you what their college is all about. He/she will not be paid by the university to recruit freshmen. Rather, he/she will just be another college kid showing you how to have a great time at that college. He/she will introduce you to his/her friends and take you to the local coffee shops and restaurants. Essentially, selecting a college that fits your personality well is equally important as academic prestige. If you are miserable at an elite college, then your performance is likely to suffer as well. Also, you wont have the motivation to get involved in extra-curricular activities, which are important to your success.

SAT Subject Tests vs. AP Exams

SAT Subject Tests vs. AP Exams We’re quickly approaching AP test season, as well as the May and June SAT dates, which are primary for the SAT Subject Tests! At AJ, our test prep tutors are experts in AP test prep and SAT Subject test prep and help hundreds of students each year get ready for test day.This post introduces a lot of questions about how students, especially (but not exclusively!) juniors, should prepare for these tests, and what the major differences are between them.Major Differences Between the Tests There are several differences between AP and SAT Subject tests that are important to keep in mind. Subjects CoveredThere are far more APs than there are Subject Tests. Here is a side by side comparison:APSubject TestsMathCalculus ABCalculus BC StatisticsMath 1Math 2EnglishEnglish LanguageEnglish LiteratureLiteratureSocial SciencesWorld HistoryUS HistoryEuropean HistoryUS GovernmentComparative GovernmentArt HistoryHuman GeographyMacroeconomicsMicroeconomicsWorld HistoryUS HistoryNatural SciencesChemist ryBiologyPhysics IPhysics C: MechanicsPhysics C: Electricity and MagnetismEnvironmental SciencesChemistryBiology (Environmental or Molecular)PhysicsLanguagesSpanishSpanish (Literature)FrenchChineseItalianGermanJapaneseSpanish FrenchChineseItalianModern HebrewGermanLatinJapaneseKoreanAdditionally, there are no subject tests for computer science, psychology, or the arts, while there are two AP Computer Science tests, one in psychology, and tests in art history, music theory, and several kinds of studio art.  Dates Each AP test is taken at a specific date in the first half of May you can see all of those dates here.On the other hand, the SAT Subject tests are offered on Saturdays, like the regular SAT. However, not every subject test is offered on every date the June and November dates offer the most tests. You can find the schedule here.It’s important to keep in mind subject tests when putting together an SAT schedule; students can take up to three subject tests at once, but cann ot take them on the same date as the regular SAT. Format ContentThe AP Tests generally combine a multiple choice section with a free response section (this can be an essay, extended analysis, etc.) and are about 3 hours long. The SAT Subject tests are only multiple choice questions and are just an hour long. Even when an AP Exam and an SAT Subject Test have the same title, the content is often somewhat different. AP’s tend to focus on a few core topics and require more critical thinking about those topics whereas the subject tests require a broader knowledge base but are more based on memorizing facts. What does this mean for test preparation? Because subject tests and AP’s are similar but not identical, AJ Tutoring’s test prep strategy for students who are taking both is very similar to our strategy for students who are taking both the SAT and ACT we treat the two preps as separate, but try in most instances to complete them with the same tutor. That way, the tutor will kno w going into the second prep where a student’s content gaps are, and will already have a good idea of the student’s learning strategy, but will carefully differentiate between strategies that work well on one test, and those that work well on the other. A common prep schedule is to do four sessions (1.5 hours each) for an AP test, and subsequently three or four sessions for the corresponding subject test. Doing the prep for the AP will often help a student do better on the subject test than he or she would without the AP prep, and generally the schedule works out best to take the subject test (in June) after the AP test, since not all subject tests are offered in May, and the May SAT date falls between the two weeks of AP’s, meaning students are often already busy studying for multiple AP’s. If you’d like to learn more and get your student started with SAT and AP prep, please give us a call today!

Freshman Year Survival Tips

Freshman Year Survival Tips Goodbye, middle school; hello, high school! The adventure that is secondary education certainly comes with much excitement and trepidation.Eileen Huntington ofHuntington Learning Center says that while starting high school is a big change, there are many things parents can do to help their teens make a successful transition. This is a time when children become young adults and the school experience reflects that, she says. Freshman year sets the stage, so its important that parents help their children get off on the right foot. Here are several tips to help your teen ease into freshman year successfully and lay the foundation for a great high school experience: Commit to good organization. If your teen has previously struggled to stay organized, now is the time to get more serious about this essential skill. Set up routines at home like five-minute sessions at the beginning and ending of homework time to neaten the workspace, organize the backpack and get mentally prepared for the next day. Encourage your child to embrace tools like a planner or homework app, and consider color-coded folders or notebooks for each subject to minimize time spent finding notes and important papers. Talk about grades. Grades always matter, but in high school they are especially important. This is because students immediately start building their cumulative GPA, which is one of the top factors college admissions officers consider when evaluating applicants. Talk with your teen about why poor decisions lead to poor grades, which are harder to recover from when college is on the horizon in just a few years. Practice self-advocacy. On that note, because grades have a lasting impact in high school, its critical that your teen gets help as soon as he or she encounters trouble in a class. Set the expectation this year that its time for your teen to take ownership of the academic experience, which starts with making school the top priority, keeping up with homework and studying, and asking the teacher for help when he or she is confused or struggling to keep up. Take control of time management. High school is a whole new ballgame with multiple classes, different teacher expectations, extracurricular activities and more. Encourage your teen to strive for balance by scheduling absolutely everything, keeping on top of the daily to-do list and knowing his or her limits. The planner should become your teens best friendencourage him or her to put all test, homework and other important dates on the calendar and plan out time for the most essential tasks every day. Last but not least,Huntington reminds parents that keeping open lines of communication with their teens is essential. Its so important to share with new high school students that theres nothing to be ashamed of if challenges arise this year or anytime throughout high school, she says. Let your teen know that youre always there for support, no matter what. Having a solid family support system plus a positive outlook will help your teen survive and thrive as a freshman and for the rest of high school. To learn more about how to help your teen succeed in high school, call Huntington at 1-800-CAN-LEARN. About Huntington Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader.Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams.Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards.Founded in 1977, Huntingtons mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. 2017 Huntington Mark, LLC. Huntington Learning Center, the three-leaf logo, and 1 800 CAN LEARN are registered trademarks of Huntington Mark, LLC. Each franchised Huntington Learning Center is operated under a franchise agreement with Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.