There’s still time for Year 12 or Lower Sixth students to enter the Robson History Prize 2010 with a First Prize of £600 (split between the winner and their school) and a £400 Second Prize (also split between the winner and their school). To enter this essay writing competition, students should submit an essay of 2,000 to 4,000 words by the closing date of 31st May 2010. The topic can be chosen from any of the questions set for this year. Have a look at this list of Cambridge essays to see which question captures your imagination. You also need to be considering university study in order to enter the contest. The winners are invited to visit the college.

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As an editor, I see the same simple punctuation mistakes time and again costing students valuable marks when the overall quality of their work deserves a much higher grade. Whether it is everyday essay writing or an undergraduate dissertation, correct grammar punctuation is the quickest way to see a huge improvement in the quality of your work (not to mention better grades!) The good news is that help is at hand! Listed below are examples and explanations of the most common errors in using punctuation marks, along with some simple tricks to help you remember how to correct them.

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The conclusion to your essay needs to bring closure to the argument you have addressed in the essay. It is important that you tie up all the loose ends and leave your reader feeling satisfied that the problem of the essay question has been addressed effectively. How do you go about writing a convincing conclusion? This essay writing guide offers you some tips:

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We’ve all heard of classmates who leave essay writing until the night before a deadline. Avoid the last minute stress and get organized with this essay writing guide:

1. Create a Schedule. As soon as you receive the list of essay paper questions (or, ideally, right at the start of the academic year), write all your essay deadline dates onto a calendar.

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Think ahead clearly, before you begin, about how you want to put your essay together, what you want to say, and the nature of the relevant material. Strict deadlines can tempt you to put something on the page as soon as possible, but thorough planning will save you time by making the writing phase that much smoother.

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