Humanities
- History Essay Workshop
5 questions
- Philosophy Forum
4 questions
- Creative Writing Workshop
3 questions
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0Does the trolley problem actually tell us anything useful?The trolley problem comes up constantly and the scenarios are so artificial that I cannot see what is learned from them. Nobody will ever stand at that lever, and if they did they would have seconds and no seminar. Is the point the answer to the question, or is it something else that I am missing entirely?3 OpenPhilosophy Forum · 8h ago
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0Why can you not derive an "ought" from an "is"?Hume says you cannot get a moral conclusion from purely factual premises, and that this move is made constantly without being noticed. But it seems like facts often settle moral questions. If I show that something causes suffering, surely I have shown it is wrong?3 OpenPhilosophy Forum · 8h ago
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0What is Hume’s problem of induction, in plain terms?I understand the summary, that we cannot justify expecting the future to resemble the past. What I cannot see is why this is treated as a deep problem rather than an obvious point that we then get on with ignoring. Science clearly works. What exactly is left unanswered?3 OpenPhilosophy Forum · 8h ago
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0What is the difference between a valid argument and a sound one?My seminar keeps marking arguments as valid but not sound, and I lose the distinction every time I think I have it. Both seem to mean the argument is good. Is there a case where calling something valid is actually a criticism?3 OpenPhilosophy Forum · 8h ago
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0How much historiography does an undergraduate essay actually need?I keep being told to engage with historiography, and my attempts turn into a paragraph listing who argued what before I start on my own answer. It reads like a literature review bolted onto the front. How much is expected, and where is it supposed to sit?3 OpenHistory Essay Workshop · 8h ago
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0What is the difference between a cause and a condition in history?Essay questions constantly ask about causes, and my feedback says I list factors without distinguishing between them. Long term, short term, underlying and immediate all seem to be labels for the same list. Is there a real distinction here, or is it just vocabulary for ranking things?3 OpenHistory Essay Workshop · 8h ago
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0Can a primary source still be reliable if the author was obviously biased?I have been taught to identify bias in sources, and the natural conclusion is that a biased source is unreliable and should be discounted. But almost every source I have is biased in some direction. If I discard them all I have nothing left. How is bias supposed to be handled instead?3 OpenHistory Essay Workshop · 8h ago
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0How do you turn description into argument in a history essay?Every essay I hand in comes back with "too descriptive, not enough analysis" written in the margin. I have read the marking criteria and I still cannot see the difference in my own writing, because to me the facts already make the point. What is the actual test for whether a paragraph is arguing rather than narrating?3 OpenHistory Essay Workshop · 8h ago
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0What is the difference between voice and style in writing?Workshop feedback uses both words and they seem to be used interchangeably, sometimes in the same sentence about the same paragraph. I have been told to develop my voice and to vary my style without being told how they differ. Is there a working distinction, or are they the same thing under two names?3 OpenCreative Writing Workshop · 8h ago
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0Why does my dialogue sound stilted when real speech is messy?I recorded a real conversation and transcribed it, hoping to learn how people actually speak. The transcript is unreadable, full of repetition and half sentences, and nothing like good dialogue in novels. So realistic is clearly not the target. What is dialogue supposed to be doing instead?3 OpenCreative Writing Workshop · 8h ago
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0How do you show instead of tell without padding the prose?My workshop keeps writing "show don't tell" on my drafts, so I replace "she was angry" with half a page of clenched jaws and slammed doors. Then the note becomes that the pacing has gone. It seems like I can be concise or I can show, and I cannot see how to do both.3 OpenCreative Writing Workshop · 8h ago
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0Thesis check: WWII island-hopping essayDraft thesis: "The island-hopping campaign succeeded less through combat superiority than through logistics: by isolating rather than capturing strongholds, the Allies turned distance itself into a weapon." Too clever? Not arguable enough?2 OpenHistory Essay Workshop · 138d ago
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Yuki Tanaka 65d ago
Light and shadow, form and void. Visual metaphors philosophers have used for millennia.
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Diego Fernández 65d ago
Historical moments caught vertically. Perfect for scrolling between readings.
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Diego Fernández 66d agoShow, don't tell (for real)
"She was sad" vs "She traced the rim of her cold coffee, untouched for an hour, and watched the rain streak patterns on the window that looked like the tears she wouldn't let fall." Same emotion. Completely different impact.
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Sofia Reyes 70d ago
Abstract visual patterns. Philosophy begins with wonder at the structure of reality itself.
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Alex Chen 65d ago
Pen on paper, thoughts becoming words. Something primal about putting ideas into language.
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Liam O'Donnell 67d agoExistentialism speedrun
Sartre: existence precedes essence. You are not born with a purpose, you create it. Sounds liberating until you realize you cannot blame your nature, upbringing, or circumstances. You are "condemned to be free." Camus took it further: the universe is absurd, and the proper response is to embrace it anyway.
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Diego Fernández 70d ago
City streets and architecture. The built environment is the primary source nobody reads.
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Liam O'Donnell 70d ago
A writer at their desk. The solitude and focus that makes good prose possible.
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Liam O'Donnell 68d agoHow to read a primary source
Before reading a document, ask yourself: who wrote this? For whom? What were they trying to accomplish? What did they leave out? The silences in a source often reveal more than the words. Your professor will notice if you do this.
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Emma Larsson 71d ago
Creative inspiration, vertical style. Save this for your next writing session.
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Diego Fernández 71d ago
City skyline time-lapse. Every building is a layer of history if you know how to read it.
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Liam O'Donnell 67d agoFirst lines that hook
"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Orwell tells you EVERYTHING about his world in one sentence. Try this: write a first line that tells the reader something is wrong without stating it explicitly. Post yours below.
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Sofia Reyes 68d agoThree theories of truth, one paragraph
Correspondence: true if it matches reality. Coherence: true if it fits with other beliefs. Pragmatist: true if it works. Most people are correspondence theorists until they realize we never access "reality" directly. We only access our perceptions of it.
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Diego Fernández 68d agoThesis formula that works
Best pattern: "Although [common interpretation], [your argument] because [evidence-based reason]." Forces you to engage with historiography instead of summarizing events. I went from B+ to A using only this change.
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Omar Haddad 68d agoThe trolley problem is overrated
Unpopular opinion: real moral decisions rarely have five known outcomes and one clear lever. The trolley problem distracts from more useful frameworks like virtue ethics, care ethics, and moral particularism that actually deal with ambiguity.
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Alex Chen 70d agoDialogue exercise
Write a conversation between two people where they never say what they actually mean. A couple discussing what to have for dinner, but really arguing about something deeper. Subtext is what separates good dialogue from transcription.
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Omar Haddad 71d agoRead Braudel
If you have not read Fernand Braudel on "la longue durée," you are missing the single most perspective-shifting idea in historiography. Stop looking at events and individuals. Start looking at climate, geography, and demography. They shape centuries.
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Yuki Tanaka 71d agoNarrative Point of View
Narrative Point of View
Mini-courseNarrative Point of View1 unit · 1 lesson · 3 questionsWhich POV uses "you" to address the reader as a character?0 0 0 -
Sofia Reyes 99d ago💡 Tip The counterargument paragraph formula
Steelman → concede what's true → pivot on evidence: 'Critics rightly note X. Indeed, [evidence for X]. However, this overlooks Y, because [your evidence].' Works in every essay I've graded well.
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Omar Haddad 110d ago❓ Question How specific should a thesis be for a 45-min exam essay?
Under time pressure I default to broad theses I can definitely support. But feedback says 'not arguable enough'. How do you write a sharp thesis when you can't plan for 20 minutes?
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