Tutor profile: Elise M.

I'm completely overwhelmed by a paper I need to complete. How do I get started when I'm too scared to begin?

Anxiety is very common when it comes to school assignments- it's completely normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed when you have a lot of schoolwork to complete. The best method I know to combat what I call "blank page anxiety" (when you're just staring at the computer screen trying to start writing but you're too overwhelmed to actually start) is to JUST START. Begin with one small task. It could be reading one article of research, it could be changing the settings of your Word document to match MLA or Chicago Style standards. Once you've got that little thing done, move on to the next. Just write down as much as you possibly can without worrying about the quality. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised with what you'll come up with!

What is a harmonic progression? Give some common examples.

A harmonic progression, in its simplest form, is a series of chords (collections of three notes stacked together using thirds) that allow a piece to "progress" from one tonal center to another. Typical progressions include variations on the common Tonic - Subdominant - Dominant - Tonic. In Roman Numerals, this would be expressed as I ii V I or I IV V I or even I ii V vi.

How do I create a strong, well-written thesis statement for my high school essay?

First, you have to answer some questions about the paper you're writing. A thesis should be short (one sentence, ideally) and it needs to indicate what you're writing about, what point(s) you want to prove, the organization of your paper, and (depending on the subject) how you have reached any conclusions you will make. Some of the questions you need to answer could be 1) What am I trying to prove or explain? 2) What are the points I need to make about my topic? 3) What is the most logical way to organize all of my points into a paper? Once you have your answers, we can further discuss the actual thesis's wording.