A Pain Letter is a new-millennium alternative to a cover letter. It's a letter. It has black or blue ink on a white page, but that's about all that a Pain Letter has in common with a cover letter.

Summer stretches before us, with all its potential for meeting research and writing goals. But if you’re going on the faculty-job market for the first time — as a recent Ph.D. or an advanced doctoral ...

I know that writing well and with economy are pre-requisites for the cogent deliberation on a contentious topic being selected for publication as a Letter to the Editor. After all, each day only a ...

A few years ago, I wrote “A Letter to College Students (From All Profs)” in which I provided advice to students about how to ask for letters of recommendation. Interestingly, just as students do not ...

Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer. She reports on culture, society, human interest and technology. Her stories hold a mirror to society, reflecting both its malaise and its beauty.