23 topics
English help, mostly about the thesis
Almost every mediocre English essay has the same defect: the thesis is an observation rather than an argument. 'Shakespeare uses imagery of light and dark in Romeo and Juliet' is true, unarguable, and therefore worth very little — nobody could disagree with it, so there is nothing for the essay to do for five paragraphs.
Where students get stuck
My thesis keeps coming back as 'too descriptive'
Test it by trying to disagree. If no reasonable person could argue the opposite, it is a summary, not a thesis. Fix it by adding the word that makes it contestable — an interpretation, an effect, a judgment. 'Shakespeare uses light imagery' becomes 'Shakespeare's light imagery makes the lovers' idealism look self-destructive rather than romantic', which someone could argue against, which means it is worth defending.
I have quotes but the paragraphs feel like a list
The quote is usually doing all the work and the analysis is doing none. A body paragraph needs the claim first, then the evidence, then at least two sentences on how the specific language of that quote supports the claim — not a restatement of what the quote says. If you deleted the quote and the paragraph still made its point, you are analysing. If it collapses, you were summarising.
I don't know how to structure a comparative essay
Two options, and the choice matters more than students expect. Block structure covers all of text A then all of text B, which is easier to write and almost always reads as two separate essays taped together. Point-by-point covers one idea across both texts per paragraph, which is harder but is what produces actual comparison. If your comparative essay feels thin, this is usually why.
I don't know what my teacher's rubric actually wants
Rubrics are written for markers, not students, so 'sophisticated analysis' is not an instruction. The practical move is to run your draft against the actual rubric your teacher gave you, criterion by criterion, and see which ones your draft has no evidence for. Usually one or two categories are carrying the whole grade down, and they are rarely the ones you were worried about.
What's covered
English topics you can work through with a tutor, generate practice on, or turn into flashcards and a study plan.
Essay writing
- Building an arguable thesis
- Essay structure and paragraph order
- Topic sentences and transitions
- Integrating and analysing evidence
- Introductions and conclusions that are not restatements
- Counterargument and concession
Literary analysis
- Close reading and annotation
- Theme, motif, and symbol
- Characterisation and narrative perspective
- Tone, diction, and syntax
- Figurative language and literary devices
- Poetry: form, meter, and sound
- Context and authorial purpose
Other forms
- Comparative essays
- Rhetorical analysis and the appeals
- Persuasive and argumentative writing
- Research papers and source evaluation
- Citation in MLA, APA, and Chicago
- Creative and personal writing
Revision
- Editing for clarity and concision
- Sentence variety and flow
- Grammar, punctuation, and common usage errors
- Rubric-based self-assessment
English questions
Will it write my essay for me?
No, and that is deliberate. It works on your thesis, your structure and your evidence, and it gives feedback on drafts you wrote. Submitting generated prose as your own is academic misconduct at every school we know of, and it would not survive a conversation with your teacher about your own argument.
Can I give it my teacher's actual rubric?
Yes — that is the most useful thing you can do with it. Upload the rubric with your draft and it marks against those criteria specifically, so the feedback matches how you will actually be graded rather than a generic idea of good writing.
Can it help with a book my class is reading?
Yes. You can talk through a text out loud, work on what a passage is doing, and develop your own reading of it. Discussing a novel is one of the things speaking works far better for than typing.
Stuck on english right now?
Talk it through out loud, share your screen, and watch it worked out step by step on a whiteboard.
Start free — no card