Attention, grammarphiles: today is National Punctuation Day! Commemorated every September 24th, National Punctuation Day is the only holiday in existence to celebrate the wonderful, squiggly world of punctuation marks. In a world where punctuation is rapidly in decline, thanks to texting and trendy writers (ahem, ee cummings and James Frey), this day serves to remind…
Category: Education
For Students: The Keys to a Happy Dorm Life
Now that summer has drawn to a close and the school year has arrived, many of you will have left the nest for the first time and moved into that staple of college comedy: the dorm. As a recent college graduate and an employee of the front desk of a residence hall for nearly two…
World Class: Snapshots of Classrooms From Around the Globe
The ever-curious Brain Pickings yesterday shed light on a fascinating project, "Classroom Portraits." Since 2004, photographer Julian Germain has captured images of classrooms the world over, progressing from his small corner of North East England to include schools from North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Collected in a new book, Germain's…
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For Students: eNotes’ Intern Offers Writing Tips
5 Writing Habits to Ditch Now Our fabulous and world-worn eNotes intern returns to share cautionary tales from the battlefield of her college experience. Okay, so really she just graduated from UCLA and is dead smart, but that just means you should pay attention to what she says even more. This time, she covers the five…
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How To Talk About Books You Haven’t Read
Or, "Why It's Okay to Use eNotes' Study Guides" Modern literatis everywhere are faced with a crippling predicament: every month of the year, publishing houses churn out one bestseller after another, each one peaking our interest more than the last. And true booklovers, or at least those who want to be considered such, are expected…
For Students: eNotes’ Intern Spills on the Other Ways to Prepare for College
Your teachers and counselors may have all of your academic college-prep under control (or if not, eNotes.com is here to help), but we at eNotes know that there's a lot more to the adjustment of going off to university than pure schooling. Most of you will be moving away from home, and aside from the…
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The “Liberal Decalogue”: A Lesson in Teaching
The year before he died, acclaimed philosopher Bertrand Russell published the final volume in his series of autobiographies. Spanning twenty-five years of his life, from 1944 to 1969, this final chapter might be Lord Russell's most intimate. Brutally honest, and often humorous, he writes about everything from his religious self-questioning to his second imprisonment for…
R.I.P. Encylopedia Brittanica: 1768-2012
My grandparents had them. They lined the den in their modest Indiana home. In the garage, outdated sets were stacked neatly in boxes. Every year, salesmen came to the doors of homes and schools peddling their wares. But all that is over. Encyclopedia Brittanica has announced that they will no longer offer their product in…