By James Pearce

I am a writer, leader, and motivator interested in helping other people find their greatest efforts and achieve their dreams on a daily basis. I hope my site motivates others and propels them to new ideas and goals.

U.S. Dances In Societal Boxing

Is it the foxtrot or the tango? A waltz? A flapper dance? None really fit, but the dancing is daily and in full-force. Living in the United States is a whirlwind blur of movement. Everyone moves rapidly and all at once. Everyone stays confined to their circle. There is no crossing over. None is acceptable.…

Just Say No To Discrimination

Here is a letter I sent today to our Hamilton Southeastern School Board Members in reference to their recent 4-3 vote to not include specified wording in Board policies recognizing often marginalized groups. Final vote by the board will be taken at the May 8 board meeting: Dear HSE Board — I am writing in…

Pearce Writing Guide For High School Students

Pearce Writing Guide For High School Students *I use a series of symbols to mark your paper. In the text of your paper, you’ll see the symbol. It is then your job to reference this guide to improve on the error made. Grammar & Mechanics Areas:   RO = Run-On Sentence If you have RO…

Thesis Statements Aren’t Complicated

Originally posted on Pearce Writing:
Too many times students make thesis statements much harder than they should. Students seem to think that complexity equals clarity which is about as far from truth as they can venture. What students need is a clear, concise thesis statement that leads the reader where the student writer wants that…

Best Reads of 2018

Here are my favorite reads of 2018. Some of these books were published prior to 2018, but 2018 is when I read them! 1.) The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai   Website: http://rebeccamakkai.com/   Reviews: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/books/review/rebecca-makkai-great-believers.html https://pearcewriting.com/2018/12/21/the-great-believers-delivers-powerful-modern-message/   Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-great-believers-rebecca-makkai/1127236681?ean=9780735223523#/     Odyssey Bookshop: https://www.odysseybks.com/book/9780735223523   Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Believers-Rebecca-Makkai/dp/0735223521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549215761&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+believers   2.) Dark At The Crossing by Elliot…

Currently Reading 2019

•Black Leopard, Red Wolf by: Marlon James   •Washington Black by: Esi Edugyan •Drown by: Junot Diaz   •A Lucky Man by: Jamel Brinkley — finished 2/13/19   •Dark At The Crossing by: Elliot Ackerman — finished 2/6/19   •Barren Island by: Carol Zoref

Books I Read In 2018

Here are the books I have fully enjoyed reading in 2018! I hope I haven’t left any out! CLICK ON EACH BOOK AUTHOR/TITLE TO SEE MORE ON AMAZON.  Agrawal, Ajay, Gans, Joshua, and Avi Goldfarb Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence   Albright, Madeleine Fascism: A Warning   Arsenault, Raymond Freedom Riders: 1961…

Justifying A Position Using A Passage As Evidence

In high school and college writing, students are often asked to write using evidence from texts they are reading during class. As part of that process, they are asked to justify a position using a piece or pieces of quoted evidence as backing of that position. There are several segments that must be formed in…

The One Million Dollar Class

So this is where it begins. I get this email from a student who was in my class about eight years ago. In the email, the student states that she finished her aeronautical engineering degree and is employed now at Boeing. She’s not writing, though, just to tell me she works at Boeing. Pretty quickly,…

Why Are Schools Afraid To Set High Expectations

Welcome to the 20 minute rant! Rules of the 20 minute rant are simple: 1.) Write for 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes. No more, no less. 2.) Write about something current to today that was in the mind. That’s it! Simple rules!  Schools today are so afraid. They are afraid of parents, they are afraid…

The Great Believers Delivers Powerful Modern Message

Society just doesn’t want to expose what’s under its covers. In the United States, people are especially afraid of people who are different than themselves. Fear is transmitted from the institutional power structures that govern and the application of these power structures is brutal and destructive. Rebecca Makkai does so much more than break the…