Guess the Horror Movie
A masked killer calls people and makes answering the phone a very bad idea.
Scream
Fix the sentence: 'The ghost was scary, it chased the students.'
'The ghost was scary, and it chased the students.' The original joins two independent clauses with only a comma.
Claim: “College students should get more sleep.”
Evidence: “Studies show that sleep improves memory.”
Analysis explaining how improved memory supports the claim that college students should get more sleep.
The student was tired. The student wrote an essay. The essay made no sense.
Challenge: Combine these into one better sentence.
Possible answer: The tired student wrote an essay that made no sense.
“After the professor graded the essay, the student was terrifying.”
Question: Who or what is terrifying? How could you rewrite this to make the meaning clearer?
The sentence suggests the student thinks the essay grade was terrifying
A summer camp counselor's worst nightmare.
Friday the 13th
In MLA style, where does the period usually go in this sentence? 'The internet changes how we think (Carr 42)'
After the parenthetical citation: 'The internet changes how we think (Carr 42).'
Thesis: “In this essay, I will talk about why social media is bad.”
It announces the topic instead of making a specific, arguable claim about social media.
BONUS: Give me an alternative thesis statement that is arguable for this specific prompt.
“Social media is a thing that people use, and it can be good or bad.”
Challenge: Turn this into a specific, debatable thesis.
Possible answer: Although social media helps college students maintain relationships, excessive use can interfere with their sleep and academic focus.
“If students have homework, their lives are basically over.”
Question: What's the problem with this claim if it appears in an academic essay?
It's an exaggeration and doesn't provide specific, supportable reasoning.
A family vacation turns into a fight for survival when they encounter terrifying doubles of themselves.
Us
The new university policy will greatly effect our funding.
The new university policy will greatly affect our funding.
Claim: “Social media can negatively affect students' concentration.”
Evidence: “A student checks their phone 30 times during a one-hour lecture.”
Give me some analysis for this prompt in your own words!
“School uniforms are bad. I hate wearing uniforms. Students should be comfortable. Also, school lunch is expensive.”
Challenge: Identify the sentence that doesn't belong and explain why.
Answer: The school lunch sentence is off-topic because it doesn't support the argument about school uniforms.
“My roommate failed one test, which proves that the entire education system is a failure.”
Question: Explain the flaw in the reasoning.
One person's experience isn't enough evidence to support such a broad conclusion. This is an overgeneralization.
A man visits his girlfriend’s family for the weekend, but the longer he stays, the more he realizes something is seriously wrong.
Get Out
Climate change is a massive threat. "Global temperatures have risen sharply" (Smith, 2024). This matters because...
According to Smith (2024), "global temperatures have risen sharply."
“This quote is important because it shows that the author makes a good point.”
Question: Why is this analysis weak, and how could it be improved?
The analysis is weak because it makes a vague statement without explaining why the quote matters or how it supports the writer’s argument. Saying the author “makes a good point” is an opinion, not an actual analysis.
“Books are good. Reading is important. People read books. Books have words.”
Challenge: Turn these ideas into one strong claim with a clear argument.
Possible answer: Reading literature helps students develop critical thinking skills by exposing them to perspectives and experiences beyond their own.
“Although the professor explained the assignment three times, which everyone heard, because the instructions were posted online.”
Question: Why does this sentence feel unfinished, and how could you fix it?
Answer: It is a fragment because it lacks a complete main clause. For example: “Although the professor explained the assignment three times and posted the instructions online, several students were still confused.”
A family moves into a farmhouse where strange things begin happening, so they call in two people who specialize in dealing with the supernatural.
The Conjuring
The experiment failed, the temperature was too high.
Use a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction (like because or and):
Thesis: “Some people like online classes, but other people prefer in-person classes.”
Question: Why is this difficult to argue effectively, and how could it be revised?
This thesis is difficult to argue effectively because it simply states that people have different preferences without taking a clear position. It doesn't explain why one option might be better or what the essay will argue.
Example revision: “In-person classes are more effective than online classes because they encourage student participation, provide immediate feedback, and create more opportunities for collaboration.”
“I forgot to do my reading I went to class anyway my professor asked a question I stared at the wall hoping to become invisible.”
Challenge: Rewrite this as two or three grammatically correct sentences without losing the humor.
Possible answer: I forgot to do my reading, but I went to class anyway. When my professor asked a question, I stared at the wall, hoping to become invisible.
“When Jordan told Alex that their essay was terrible, they started crying.”
Question: Who started crying? What makes the sentence confusing, and how could you rewrite it?
Answer: It's unclear whether Jordan or Alex cried. For example: “When Jordan told Alex that Alex's essay was terrible, Alex started crying.”