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Index Cards are an awesome tool to help chunk an essay into more manageable parts and to develop an organized structure for your final piece of writing. This is so basic that I am certain you will achieve success with this process!

Let’s imagine my teacher told the class they had to select a health problem and turn in an essay discussing the ways in which that illness can be treated:

 

I am very interested in depression since I have heard heaps about that disorder in the media lately. So I head to the library and read about depression and how it can be treated. I find some good books and also look up some websites on the world wide web. While I am reading, I scrawl down some of the major notes on Index Cards like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I have the major ideas for this subject noted down on index cards, I can put them into a logical order so that my assignment will have a good structure. You possibly know that a well-structured assignment has an introduction (defining the topic and listing the main points), a body (with each paragraph expanding on a main point) and a conclusion (the last paragraph that reminds the reader about the main points and reaches some kind of decision on the topic). With that in mind I would possibly order my index cards in this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that my cards are organized into an appropriate structure, I can draft my essay. The first card will form the basis of my introduction. It will discuss depression as an illness and I will most likely add a sentence about the two main ways of treating depression. Each of the other cards then becomes another paragraph in my assignment: I simply extend on the notes I have written on the cards and write the content in my own words as full sentences. Then, I write a conclusion that summarizes the main points from my assignment. I might also add a final sentence along these lines: “Depression is very treatable with medication and psychotherapy so people who are diagnosed do not have to suffer without help.” This would draw my argument to a nice conclusion.

I hope this helps you to write some great essays!

Making use of index cards is just one way to organize your writing. I prefer a technique called Mind Mapping for note-taking and organizing essays. You can find more information about Mind Mapping at Buzan’s Mind Mapping site.

 

So you have graduated high school and now must turn your attention towards college. It is a great feeling, finishing high school, and you are ready for the college life. College life is all about freedom and fun for aspiring students. It’s great to get out of the house and be your own person. But one thing you should remember is that with freedom comes responsibility.

Among all the responsibilities financial ones are very important. You need to keep an eye on your expenses and save as much money as possible. A scholarship is a good way to save money. You can pay for your expenses without getting a student loan. Getting a scholarship can take some work, but being able to go through college with as little debt as possible is very beneficial.

When you are applying for scholarships the first thing you need to do is make a list of scholarships which you know. Making a list of scholarships will give you an idea as to how many are there for which you can apply. You should try and make your list as long as possible. If you don?t know where to start looking for scholarship programs you can search for scholarships on the web, or meet with your career counselor at school. There are thousands of scholarships that you probably have never heard of, including scholarships for moms. By simply typing in “scholarships” on Google you will be surprised to find many scholarship programs looking for all kinds of different criteria.

There are even websites that can supply you a free list of scholarships available for various criteria. Do a lot of searching so you will get a very long list. When making the list of scholarships you should note down even the criteria for scholarships. After you have all the different scholarship programs you can then go through them and weed out the ones that do not fit.

You should make it a point to apply to as many scholarships as you are able, the wider you cast your net, the better. At the most what will happen is you will not get a scholarship. Just remember if there are no takers you do stand a chance to get it. There are so many scholarships that do not get claimed just because there were simply no applicants; so who knows you might get it. Even after you have sent in your applications, keep your list of Scholarships. You can use this list to mark off your approvals/denials, allowing you to see how you are doing.

Also, even if you are going to take classes through a distance learning college program, there are still scholarships that you can apply for.

Another good tip to keep in mind is to also apply to the scholarships which have smaller award amounts. You will have better chances at it because they are typically in less demand. If you are able get a handful of small scholarships it can pay you better off then one large one. The whole secret is to apply for as many scholarships as possible, increasing your chances of getting the money you need.