If you’re a freelance writer, yet you haven’t penned a series of best
selling novels, or written the script for a blockbuster movie, chances are
you could use a few additional streams of income each month. You
probably don’t want to write eight hours a day, seven days a week,
anyway. After all, most writers need time away from the keyboard to
recharge their creativity.

So don’t just write MORE to make MORE money. Instead, try a few
different ways to earn additional income from your writing experience.

1. Teach Writing – Many times, local colleges and universities look for
writing teachers who can teach part time. If you have a background in
teaching (and enjoy it) offer to teach a class or two in creative writing,
business writing, or whatever kind of writing you do, for a local school.

There are also various writing schools that offer correspondence
courses for writers. Students’ manuscripts from all over the world are
forwarded to you, so you can work in the comfort of your own home no
matter where you live. Check into teaching a writing correspondence
course if the idea of teaching from home appeals to you.

2. Speak at Writers’ Conferences – Authors are always in demand for
writers’ conferences. Develop at least a few presentations you can offer
at conferences. Speakers usually present in hour long sessions, so
make sure your presentations are well planned and you have enough
information to keep an audience interested for at least an hour (and
sometimes sessions last 1 1/2 hours, so be prepared for those too).

3. Make Author Visits to Schools & Other Organizations – Schools have
author days, career days, and other events (mostly in the spring or fall)
and they are always looking for published authors for these events. If
you’ve written at least one book, make sure schools in your area know
you’re available for author visits. Authors are sometimes hired to speak
at library events, at historical societies, or for small business
organizations, too. If you’ve written a book(s) that might be of interest to
any of these types of groups, get the word out so they know about your
book(s) and your availability as a speaker.

4. Mentor Other Writers – Offer weekly sessions to other writers who do
not have as much writing experience, or published credits as you do.
Help them with their ongoing writing projects by critiquing their work,
showing them how to write book proposals and captivating query letters.
Also, help them find appropriate markets for their writing.

5. Offer writing workshops – There is always a demand for writing
workshops. You can offer these through libraries, schools, or even
community centers. Put together a proposal for a short series of
workshops, then find a location where you can offer them. Next, get the
word out in your local newspapers, or make up flyers to post in coffee
shops, libraries, community centers, etc. so people know how to sign up
for your workshops.

It really isn’t very difficult to add to your freelance writing income once
you start thinking of other interesting ways to make use of your writing
experience and expertise. Plus, as you gain more writing experience
and publishing credits, you’ll have even more to offer the public as a
speaker, mentor, teacher, or workshop presenter.

Popularity: 13% [?]

If you’re reading this article, you’re most likely in the preparatory stages of writing an academic thesis: a substantial academic paper written on an original topic of research, usually presented as one of the final requirements for the Master’s or Ph.D. degree.

It is important to note that an “academic thesis” should not be confused with a “thesis statement”. A thesis statement is “a basic argument” that clearly articulates what the Master’s thesis/dissertation is expected to demonstrate.

One of the initial building blocks to your immense writing project is to prepare a thesis statement: a sentence or paragraph that summarizes the argument you plan to make in your thesis/dissertation, as well as the supportive evidence you plan to use to back up that argument. In short, it provides a “road map” for the reader of where you plan to go with your thesis/dissertation. Most importantly, it must convince the reader that the claim is important to your academic field, and that it is likely to be true based on the evidence provided.

A good thesis statement should:

? Make a knowledge claim that purports to offer a new approach or idea in a particular field, and to explain why it is new. The purpose of any academic thesis/dissertation is to add to the existing pool of knowledge in a particular area, or to “fill in the gaps of knowledge.” As such, your knowledge claim should clearly state why the information/knowledge that you have to offer is new within your field, and should also convince the reader that your claim is likely to be true based on the evidence provided.

? Make an argumentative assertion that summarizes the conclusions you have reached about your topic after reviewing the literature. This assertion should be focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper. It should also identify the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are providing.

? Outline the scope, purpose and direction of your paper. After finishing your thesis statement, the reader should clearly know the essence of your intended project, and also the boundaries you intend to place on it. Your thesis statement should not make the reader expect more than you are prepared to present in your final document.

Keep in mind that your thesis or dissertation topic should address an unresolved problem or knowledge gap in your subject area that needs to be explored and that concerns society as a whole. Your thesis or dissertation topic should be unique in that it should add something new to the existing literature. Merely digging up answers that already exist does nothing to contribute to an academic or professional field of knowledge. Simply put, a thesis or dissertation topic should be based on new knowledge and new solutions to existing problems?not on simply churning up old answers. However, conducting research on questions that have already been answered is considered part of the literature review and is a useful exercise to find out if someone has already conducted research on your proposed research topic.

Popularity: 14% [?]