Adien Dubbelboer, an instructor in the English Centre for Humanities in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, is the Academic Coordinator for Effective Writing and the Course Coordinator for English 255, Introductory Composition. She was kind enough to set some time aside from her busy schedule to speak to The Voice Magazine about the… Read more »
Did writing your essays ever feel like locking eyes with a gnarly pit bull? Or worse, did you get bitch-slapped with a “minus” grade? One prof labeled me an A-minus student. Everything I did, whether stellar or stupid, got the A-minus. Tainted a near-perfect GPA. So, how do you nab an A in your essays?… Read more »
Would you go to a job interview dressed in tattered pants?or a Victoria Secret’s naughty nighty? First impressions are lasting impressions. My grade-seven teacher taught me that after I clowned up a book report. But for essays, your title page serve as a first impressions. So, let your title page cheer “I care!” with a… Read more »
Did you ever playfully mimic someone? Well, a crazed philosopher once said that when a person he loves dies, he becomes them. For a week. It sounds morbid, but divine. So, how do you become someone? Look to Christian Bale: the ultimate chameleon. An actor who morphs into almost anyone. Through character acting, these actors… Read more »
You’re about to star in a movie. In this movie, we stare at your scars. We quiver at your night terrors. We shudder at your darkest secrets. Yet, we want you to win big. That’s because, when You’re the star, we feel your pulse, your thrills, your fears. The movie is an autobiography about your… Read more »
At one point, you wanted fame, didn’t you? At some point, we all did. Well, would you play the role of the Kellogg’s mom? The Nyquil snoring dad? Personally, I’d cast well as Danica Patrick on steroids. But Go Daddy dropped her once she hulked. And, as a child, I fumed during Barbie commercials. I… Read more »
Can you bake a cake or build Lego houses? Of course, you can. Now, let’s up the stakes: a chiffon cake; a Trump tower. You’re going to build them?essay style. That is, Natalie Portman-at-Harvard style. First, we’ll put some passion into your essay outlines. Like fun with custom stonework or lifelike teddy-bear cake molds. You… Read more »
Do you ever go trance-like while studying? Such crazy states are called flow. And I want you to feel flow?with music with no sound: musical essays. To make a musical essay, mix together metaphors, rhythm, and meter. But first, listen for the symphony in Brian Greene’s Elegant Universe?hear where “microscopic particles engag[e] in a pointless… Read more »
Do you go crazy when drafting papers? Worse yet, does zilch about your essay’s structure stand-out as special? All my life, my intros and conclusions fizzled. And my paper structures? Complex yet homely. Downright homely. That is, until now. You see, I discovered tricks for structuring essays. Tricks that trigger critical thinking. But beware: critical… Read more »
Do you get spooked with public speaking? Then add color with comedy. Why? A smiling audience fends off fear. Given 24 hours, you can make a one-minute comedy act, according to David Nihill in his book Do You Talk Funny? That one minute can slingshot you into public-speaker stardom. And what other prizes come with… Read more »