Choosing a Persuasive Essay Topic: Dos and Don’ts

Picture of a frustrated guy, finding it difficult to choose a persuasive essay topic.Choosing the right persuasive essay topic one is the first step towards getting the grade that you want. It’s impossible to emphasize how important the right topic is in writing a persuasive essay. According to our essay editors, it’s often the difference between an average paper that is nevertheless difficult to write, and an outstanding paper that gives you no real trouble. A persuasive essay — which should not be mistaken for an argumentative essay — should be passionate and convincing. Therefore, it’s vital to choose an essay topic that you can be passionate and convincing about. Writing about something that doesn’t engage you is unlikely to result in a paper that will engage and interest your audience. Take a look at our argumentative essay outline and persuasive essay outline for more insights.

If you have been asked to write an expository essay, take a look at our guide to expository essays.

Professors grade a lot of papers. They are not only looking for essays that fulfill the terms of the assignment — they’re looking for work that exceeds those expectations and stands out from the rest. A great way to distinguish your persuasive essay from the very first sentence is to

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10 Business Writing Tips Direct From The Experts

Image of a pen on written business materialEvery single business on this planet is dependent upon the written word to woo customers and win sales.

However, it’s a shocking fact of life that the majority of business owners and entrepreneurs have very little writing experience. Despite this, the same business owners go full steam ahead and write their own customer materials and communications, rarely stopping to consider whether or not their writing actually makes sense and is powerful enough to encourage their customers to take action.

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What are Abstract Nouns?

Abstract nouns are nouns that name a person, place or thing that you cannot detect using any of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. In other words, abstract nouns refer to something that it is completely impossible to interact with. More commonly they are used to describe emotions or ideas.

The angry bird loved breaking through stuff. It filled him with pride to see disaster in his wake.

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What are Concrete Nouns?

Concrete nouns are naming words that are used for something that you can physically touch, see, smell, hear or taste. In other words, they are physical things that can be perceived by at least one of the senses.

If you can experience something using at least one of your senses, then it is a concrete noun.

The ugly troll simply loved the taste of snot. Unfortunately, his love of snot had severely impacted his love life.

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12 Capitalization Rules Most People Don’t Know

Capitalization rules can be extremely difficult to master, and there are a number of common capitalization errors that our proofreaders and editors come across time and time again.

In this article, we take a look at some of the capitalizations rules that are regularly flouted and explain the do’s & don’ts of using capital letters in your writing.

Picture of the number oneDo capitalize official job titles or role names but only if they come before the name and are attached to the name. Do not capitalize the title if it comes after the name.

 

  • President Barack Obama

or

  • Barack Obama, president

 

  • Llama Farming President Donkey Jones

or

  • Donkey Jones, llama farming president

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14 Punctuation Marks Everyone Needs to Master

There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Master them all and… well, you’ve mastered punctuation!

In this guide to punctuation, we take a look at common punctuation marks and how they are used. We also provide some great examples of how you can use punctuation marks in your writing and when proofreading and editing your work. We’re also offering a free punctuation poster to boot!

1. The Semi-Colon

Punctuation marks semi colon

The semi-colon is an immensely useful punctuation mark for those who are looking to slam two slightly related clauses together into a single triumphant sentence.

Semi-colons are most commonly used to merge two independent clauses. For example:

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5 Character Traits That Are Essential for College Application Essays

Personality in the brainCollege application essays are fraught with anxiety and stress for the average high school senior. Whether you are asked to answer a bizarre question like, “What are your thoughts on February?”—or a more mundane question about how you have demonstrated leadership skills under pressure, you may be losing a great deal of sleep about how the essay will impact your chances of gaining a place at the educational establishment of your choice.

If you’re here, then chances are you’re looking for information about writing college application essays. Luckily for you, we have five great tips that should help you out in your moment of need.

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Proofreader’s Checklist: A Tightrope Walker’s Guide to Proofreading

Proofreader checklist can be like walking a tightropeProofreading need not be boring… check out our proofreader’s checklist with a twist!

If you can’t afford professional native English proofreading services and instead opt to step out onto a grammatical tightrope and proofread your own work, you should do so with care. It is often very difficult to proofread your own writing because you are very familiar with its content, and you know what it should say. Sadly, what your written communications should say, does not always mirror what they actually do say. If you’re an ESL student, or grammar and punctuation aren’t exactly your forte, you will find proofreading an extremely difficult and time-consuming process.

If you really must insist on proofreading your own work then break the task up into manageable chunks, making sure that you approach each element in a methodical manner. Our proofreader’s checklist contains a list of steps that you can progress through in order to ensure that your draft is proofread fully.

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The Secrets to Writing Amazing Argumentative Essays

Argumentative essays often strike fear deep into the heart of even the most dedicated students; there really is no need. Let’s face it, we all like a good argument every now and again! Everyone’s at it: politicians, news broadcasters, lawyers, and solicitors… even that noisy couple next door who can’t seem to agree on whose turn it is to take the garbage out! But topping the list of supporters of the argumentative form simply has to be teachers and professors. It doesn’t matter what the subject is, the chances are that, at some point during the school year, you will be asked to write an argumentative essay.

Well, fear not, our essay editors have put together just the guide for you, and in a few minutes time, you will have the confidence and knowledge to go forth and argue!

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Online English Check. From Just $0.020 USD Per Word!

Business proofreading for all business typesIf you’re searching for an online English check then stop here; you’ve found exactly what you need. Vappingo’s online editing and proofreading services provide a quick and easy English checking service from just 0.020 USD per word! You may have been searching for grammar software or an automated service… to use these would be a big mistake and won’t give you the best results. Software can’t tell you how to fix mistakes and won’t be able to assist you to express yourself using the best possible choice of words: WE CAN!

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Statement of Purpose: Editing and Proofreading

Personal Statement Editing and Proofreading ServicesYour statement of purpose is an extremely important document that can heavily influence whether or not you are offered a place on the university course of your dreams. Every year university admission departments review thousands of student statements and, for this reason, you need to make sure that you know how to write a statement of purpose.

Before we proceed, it’s important that you understand that a statement of purpose is not the same thing as a personal statement or application essay. For more information, check out our guide to the difference between a personal statement and a statement of purpose. If you are looking for help writing a personal statement, you would be better off reading our guide on how to write a statement of purpose.

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5 Reasons why you Should use a Document Editor Today

When you are writing or publishing an important document, you should never underestimate the importance of having your written English checked by a professional proofreading agency. Here are five reasons why you should use a document editor from Vappingo to perfect your written English documents:


English expert document editors
1)  Our Professional document editors are English experts.
Our editors know the English language inside out and will analyze your written English using over 160 English grammar rules. However, unlike automatic grammar checking software and websites, our document editors won’t simply point out the mistake and make suggestions for how you can fix it, they will actually fix it for you, saving you the major headache and confusion of deciphering complex English rules.

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A Great Proofreading Trick For Mac Owners

Mac LogoWe’re always telling our customers that one great proofreading trick is to read your paper or essay aloud in order to audibly hear mistakes. Well, if you’re a Mac owner, you may be able to go one better and have your Mac do the reading for you!

Hearing the words without having to read them yourself will undoubtedly assist you to identify punctuation and grammar issues and, best of all, the function is really easy to use and set up.

Select the Apple menu > System Preferences > Speech > Text to Speech. Place a check next to the check box “Speak selected text when the key is pressed”. Click on the “Set Key” button and choose a combination of keys that you will use to activate the speech recognition activity. Choose your preferred voice from the options offered at the top of the window and select the speaking rate from the speeds available. Close the window and you’re done.

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Proofreader, Proof-reader or Proof reader?

Proofreader, proof-reader or proof reader… hmm. Perform a simple search on the Internet and you’ll quickly become confused about which version is actually correct. In practice, all three versions of this job title are perfectly acceptable, including the lesser-spotted hyphenated version. We favor the term proofreader and that’s why you will see that this is … Read more

7 Common English Errors Every Proofreader Should Look For

Grammar lady says "apostrophes are for possessives, not pluralsThere are a number of common English errors that our proofreaders come across time and time again and, given that Vappingo’s mission is to make written communications the norm, we feel that it is our duty to help our customers with their written English. Hopefully, this post will help a few of you to learn from your mistakes and develop your own proofreading skills. If nothing else, they most certainly highlight the importance of proofreading and editing before it is published.

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Proofreading Joke: An Important Distinction

Thanks to James Garlick who sent in a really good joke about the importance of proofreading that he found on the Internet. We love it!

If only this guy had come across our editing and proofreading services.

In an ancient monastery, a new monk arrived to dedicate his life to subservient solitude and to join the others as they copied ancient records. The first thing he noticed was that the other monks were copying, by hand, books that had already been copied by hand.

The new monk had to speak up: “Forgive me, Brother Mark, but copying other copies by hand allows many chances for error. How do we know we aren’t copying someone else’s mistakes? Are they ever checked against the originals? Who is proofreading them?”

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Proofreading Symbols Every Proofreader Should Know

A set of proofreading symbols

Proofreading symbols are like a foreign language to most people; they are often considered to be an indecipherable series of squiggles, letters, and symbols that mean absolutely nothing to the regular guy or girl on the street. Unless you know what these proofreading marks actually mean, using them to improve and develop your writing is … Read more