THE CORE FOUR
...an essay thinking framework made exclusively for students ready to:
start right.
research with a plan.
build an argument.
write in your own voice.
THE THREE STARTING STEPS
MOST STUDENTS SKIP
READ TO FIND ANSWERS,
NOT JUST INFORMATION
ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS & BUILD AN ARGUMENT
SPEAK YOUR MIND -
NOT THE AUTHOR'S WORDS
Tutorials also available separately.
The thinking between
starting, researching & writing.
MOST TUTORIALS TEACH YOU THE STEPS.
THE CORE 4 TEACH YOU THE THINKING BEHIND THEM.
The steps in the writing process only make sense when you understand the thinking behind them. Because, you can know what a thesis is but not be able to write one that ties your ideas together. Just like you can know what an essay outline is, but not be able to organize one that gives your writing direction.
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That's why my tutorials are best thought of as thinking frameworks. They don't focus on the parts of writing. They focus on teaching you the thinking moves you need to produce them - and that's the part most students are never taught. ​
So many students feel like bad writers - because they've been handed a set of steps without the thinking frameworks to use them.
But, the truth is
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over-reading
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not knowing what to say
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struggling to figure out what's important
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not knowing when or how to write a thesis
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aren't writing problems.
They're thinking gaps that my tutorials show you how to catch and correct. ​
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MEET
THE CORE FOUR
4 : 1
Four tutorials. One essay thinking framework.
1.
Essay Relief
Start with direction.
Most students begin essays by picking a topic and then jumping right into their research and collecting information.​
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Essay Relief helps you figure out what you actually want to say before you start researching - so your reading, notes and ideas all move in the same direction before you open a source or write a single word.
You'll learn how to:​
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interpret essay prompts
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choose workable topics
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write guiding questions
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stop over-reading before it starts
You'll learn how to:​
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read purposefully
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know what is and isn't important
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take notes you can actually use
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stop highlighting everything
Research with Direction
Answers. Not interesting info.
2.
Research isn't about collecting more information. It's about finding the ideas that help you answer your question.
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Research with Direction shows you how to select relevant texts, take useful notes and create a set of supporting questions that will keep your thinking on track and stop you from disappearing into research rabbit holes.
3.
Thesis Thinking
Pull your ideas together.
A thesis isn't just a sentence. It's the nucleus of your essay - because every idea in your essay points back to it.
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That's why Thesis Thinking doesn't just tell you how to organize a thesis. It teaches you how to use language and structure to build a strong one, and how to avoid the most common student mistakes that lead to weak ones.
You'll learn how to:​
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evaluate the strength of your thinking
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fit your thesis to your essay question
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recognize weak thesis statements
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turn your thinking into a defensible argument
Find Your Voice & Write Like A Grad
Make your ideas the centre of the essay.
4.
You'll learn how to:​
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move beyond summary
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develop original analysis
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connect ideas clearly
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write with confidence and style
Strong writing isn't about sounding smart. It's about making your thinking visible.
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This tutorial shows you how to pull meaningful ideas out of a text and turn them into original analysis - so your essays sound thoughtful, clear and genuinely yours.
Is the Core Four the right fit for you?
​Take the quiz below & see if you and
the Core Four belong together.
Don't write your answers down. Just see if there's one that sounds like you.
1.
When you have an essay, the first thing you do is:
A. find a text and start reading right away
B. start writing and hope clarity appears
C. figure out what the prof wants to hear
D. read and search for the "right answer"
2.
Your notes usually look like:
A. entire paragraphs copied from sources
B. highlighted chaos
C. a set of brilliant disconnected thoughts
D. way more detailed than the essay itself
3.
When you start writing, you:
A. write the intro in three different ways
B. open a doc. wait for "the right" opener
C. write [delete] write [delete]
D. convince yourself to read one more article
4.
When an essay isn't going well,
you're most likely to:
A. start looking for another source to read
B. put if off - panic-write at the last minute
C. stop & hope for a writing revelation
D. question your every life decision
5.
Your thesis statement is usually:
A. a statement followed by three points
B. decided before you start reading
C. a sentence you write at some point
D. something you think about after reading
6.
What feedback do you hear most often from your teachers?
A. You didn't answer the question
B. You've included too many ideas
C. Your ideas are all over the place
D. You need to explain/elaborate more
Check your results!
Let's keep this simple: if each question had at least one answer that made you pause and think, "Yeah, that's me" - you're exactly who the Core Four was designed for.
Argh! This sounds just like me. I've heard enough.
THE QUIZ MADE YOU THINK.
NOW, LET'S ZOOM IN AND EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE.
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It's time to put yourself under a microscope.
YOU DON'T NEED ANOTHER FORMULA, WRITING LESSON, OR GENERIC ORGANIZER. YOU NEED TO LEARN *ESSAY THINKING* - THE THING THAT PULLS EVERYTHING ELSE INTO FOCUS.
It's wishful thinking to hope