By Sophie Hoss Dear Metropolitan Transportation Authority: I’ve ridden your trains all through my childhood, and I’ve commuted on them almost every day of high school and college. The train is the easiest and most convenient method of transportation available to me, but as a longtime patron, it has come to my attention that there is a need for stronger safety precautions for women taking … Continue reading An Open Letter to the MTA
Sophie Hoss Engaging characters are arguably the most important component of any story. If you’re invested enough in a novel’s characters, you’re willing to stick with them through the entire plot. When you begin crafting fiction of your own, characters are probably one of the first elements you want to focus on. Think of them as the heart and soul of your story. After all, … Continue reading How to Write Interesting Characters
By Rosie You “Wow, this is my first time meeting an English major on campus.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice. Okay, maybe not. I knew Stony Brook University was a STEM-focused school when I applied. I also knew I was not meant for the … Continue reading Reflections of an English Major
By Justin Alito Ok, maybe not the world, but it’s a start in the right direction. If I told you there was a pill that clears your head, takes away your anxiety, helps you sort through your problems, lowers your blood pressure, and potentially even saves your life, would you take it? Of course, you would! It’s a no-brainer. Well, my friends, that pill is … Continue reading How Journaling Can Save The World
RhetComp Blog Editorial Staff Can you compress your life down to six words? For National Day of Writing on Thursday, October 20th, the RhetComp blog and Stony Brook University’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric are challenging readers to create six word memoirs. The concept of a six word story was popularized by author Ernest Hemingway. When asked to write a full story in six words, … Continue reading National Day on Writing and A Six Word Challenge
By Annie Lin My favorite class, by far, at Stony Brook is WRT303: The Personal Essay. I took the course in the spring of my junior year, accompanying a crowd of pre-health students strongly encouraged to do so in order to ease the process of crafting a successful personal statement. I convinced myself I was different, reminding myself that I was a writing minor and … Continue reading The Personal Essay: Refining the Song of My Life
(cover image art by Isabella Lee) Matthew Hono Early this semester, students in Professor Laura Lisabeth’s class on social justice writing exercised their creative muscles, crafting zines on the topics that spark their drive to work towards a better future. They are a pleasure to read with well-researched arguments and eye-catching graphics. Many of them can be seen as a call to action. Explore their … Continue reading Student Zines Showcase The Products of Passion
Shivasuryan Vummidi In a nutshell, my medical school application cycle for this academic year was an emotional rollercoaster. When I first began applying to medical schools, I felt confident in myself and in my application, only to then become neurotic and anxious towards the middle of my cycle, but then suddenly be reinvigorated when I finally got an acceptance. To all the premeds at Stony … Continue reading How to Successfully Navigate the Medical School Application Cycle (+ My Own Experiences)
Shivasuryan Vummidi Before I began writing my medical school personal statement, I often asked myself what the point of a personal statement is. Why did the “what drives you to become a doctor?” essay have such a high weight on my overall application? Medical schools could see my academic qualifications and extracurricular experiences – why was it so important to write an additional essay to … Continue reading My Personal Guide to Writing a Personal Statement
Before moving to the US five years ago,I spent my teenage life in Togo, a small country located on the Coast of West Africa. Togo was colonized after the first world war in 1922 by the French. As a heritage of their colonization, they imposed on us their language and their model of education. In the French model of education, the high school years are … Continue reading From Science to Writing
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