essay to review

How to Write Critical Reviews

When you are asked to write a critical review of a book or article, you will need to identify, summarize, and evaluate the ideas and information the author has presented. In other words, you will be examining another person’s thoughts on a topic from your point of view.

Your stand must go beyond your “gut reaction” to the work and be based on your knowledge (readings, lecture, experience) of the topic as well as on factors such as criteria stated in your assignment or discussed by you and your instructor.

Make your stand clear at the beginning of your review, in your evaluations of specific parts, and in your concluding commentary.

Remember that your goal should be to make a few key points about the book or article, not to discuss everything the author writes.

Understanding the Assignment

To write a good critical review, you will have to engage in the mental processes of analyzing (taking apart) the work–deciding what its major components are and determining how these parts (i.e., paragraphs, sections, or chapters) contribute to the work as a whole.

Analyzing the work will help you focus on how and why the author makes certain points and prevent you from merely summarizing what the author says. Assuming the role of an analytical reader will also help you to determine whether or not the author fulfills the stated purpose of the book or article and enhances your understanding or knowledge of a particular topic.

Be sure to read your assignment thoroughly before you read the article or book. Your instructor may have included specific guidelines for you to follow. Keeping these guidelines in mind as you read the article or book can really help you write your paper!

Also, note where the work connects with what you’ve studied in the course. You can make the most efficient use of your reading and notetaking time if you are an active reader; that is, keep relevant questions in mind and jot down page numbers as well as your responses to ideas that appear to be significant as you read.

Please note: The length of your introduction and overview, the number of points you choose to review, and the length of your conclusion should be proportionate to the page limit stated in your assignment and should reflect the complexity of the material being reviewed as well as the expectations of your reader.

Write the introduction

Below are a few guidelines to help you write the introduction to your critical review.

Introduce your review appropriately

Begin your review with an introduction appropriate to your assignment.

If your assignment asks you to review only one book and not to use outside sources, your introduction will focus on identifying the author, the title, the main topic or issue presented in the book, and the author’s purpose in writing the book.

If your assignment asks you to review the book as it relates to issues or themes discussed in the course, or to review two or more books on the same topic, your introduction must also encompass those expectations.

Explain relationships

For example, before you can review two books on a topic, you must explain to your reader in your introduction how they are related to one another.

Within this shared context (or under this “umbrella”) you can then review comparable aspects of both books, pointing out where the authors agree and differ.

In other words, the more complicated your assignment is, the more your introduction must accomplish.

Finally, the introduction to a book review is always the place for you to establish your position as the reviewer (your thesis about the author’s thesis).

As you write, consider the following questions:

• Is the book a memoir, a treatise, a collection of facts, an extended argument, etc.? Is the article a documentary, a write-up of primary research, a position paper, etc.?
• Who is the author? What does the preface or foreword tell you about the author’s purpose, background, and credentials? What is the author’s approach to the topic (as a journalist? a historian? a researcher?)?
• What is the main topic or problem addressed? How does the work relate to a discipline, to a profession, to a particular audience, or to other works on the topic?
• What is your critical evaluation of the work (your thesis)? Why have you taken that position? What criteria are you basing your position on?

Provide an overview

In your introduction, you will also want to provide an overview. An overview supplies your reader with certain general information not appropriate for including in the introduction but necessary to understanding the body of the review.

Generally, an overview describes your book’s division into chapters, sections, or points of discussion. An overview may also include background information about the topic, about your stand, or about the criteria you will use for evaluation.

The overview and the introduction work together to provide a comprehensive beginning for (a “springboard” into) your review.

• What are the author’s basic premises? What issues are raised, or what themes emerge? What situation (i.e., racism on college campuses) provides a basis for the author’s assertions?
• How informed is my reader? What background information is relevant to the entire book and should be placed here rather than in a body paragraph?

Write the body

The body is the center of your paper, where you draw out your main arguments. Below are some guidelines to help you write it.

Organize using a logical plan

Organize the body of your review according to a logical plan. Here are two options:

• First, summarize, in a series of paragraphs, those major points from the book that you plan to discuss; incorporating each major point into a topic sentence for a paragraph is an effective organizational strategy. Second, discuss and evaluate these points in a following group of paragraphs. (There are two dangers lurking in this pattern–you may allot too many paragraphs to summary and too few to evaluation, or you may re-summarize too many points from the book in your evaluation section.)
• Alternatively, you can summarize and evaluate the major points you have chosen from the book in a point-by-point schema. That means you will discuss and evaluate point one within the same paragraph (or in several if the point is significant and warrants extended discussion) before you summarize and evaluate point two, point three, etc., moving in a logical sequence from point to point to point. Here again, it is effective to use the topic sentence of each paragraph to identify the point from the book that you plan to summarize or evaluate.

Questions to keep in mind as you write

With either organizational pattern, consider the following questions:

• What are the author’s most important points? How do these relate to one another? (Make relationships clear by using transitions: “In contrast,” an equally strong argument,” “moreover,” “a final conclusion,” etc.).
• What types of evidence or information does the author present to support his or her points? Is this evidence convincing, controversial, factual, one-sided, etc.? (Consider the use of primary historical material, case studies, narratives, recent scientific findings, statistics.)
• Where does the author do a good job of conveying factual material as well as personal perspective? Where does the author fail to do so? If solutions to a problem are offered, are they believable, misguided, or promising?
• Which parts of the work (particular arguments, descriptions, chapters, etc.) are most effective and which parts are least effective? Why?
• Where (if at all) does the author convey personal prejudice, support illogical relationships, or present evidence out of its appropriate context?

Keep your opinions distinct and cite your sources

Remember, as you discuss the author’s major points, be sure to distinguish consistently between the author’s opinions and your own.

Keep the summary portions of your discussion concise, remembering that your task as a reviewer is to re-see the author’s work, not to re-tell it.

And, importantly, if you refer to ideas from other books and articles or from lecture and course materials, always document your sources, or else you might wander into the realm of plagiarism.

Include only that material which has relevance for your review and use direct quotations sparingly. The Writing Center has other handouts to help you paraphrase text and introduce quotations.

Write the conclusion

You will want to use the conclusion to state your overall critical evaluation.

You have already discussed the major points the author makes, examined how the author supports arguments, and evaluated the quality or effectiveness of specific aspects of the book or article.

Now you must make an evaluation of the work as a whole, determining such things as whether or not the author achieves the stated or implied purpose and if the work makes a significant contribution to an existing body of knowledge.

Consider the following questions:

• Is the work appropriately subjective or objective according to the author’s purpose?
• How well does the work maintain its stated or implied focus? Does the author present extraneous material? Does the author exclude or ignore relevant information?
• How well has the author achieved the overall purpose of the book or article? What contribution does the work make to an existing body of knowledge or to a specific group of readers? Can you justify the use of this work in a particular course?
• What is the most important final comment you wish to make about the book or article? Do you have any suggestions for the direction of future research in the area? What has reading this work done for you or demonstrated to you?

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• Education and Communications
• Critical Reviews

How to Write an Article Review

Last Updated: September 8, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,085,625 times.

An article review is both a summary and an evaluation of another writer's article. Teachers often assign article reviews to introduce students to the work of experts in the field. Experts also are often asked to review the work of other professionals. Understanding the main points and arguments of the article is essential for an accurate summation. Logical evaluation of the article's main theme, supporting arguments, and implications for further research is an important element of a review . Here are a few guidelines for writing an article review.

Education specialist Alexander Peterman recommends: "In the case of a review, your objective should be to reflect on the effectiveness of what has already been written, rather than writing to inform your audience about a subject."

Things You Should Know

• Read the article very closely, and then take time to reflect on your evaluation. Consider whether the article effectively achieves what it set out to.
• Write out a full article review by completing your intro, summary, evaluation, and conclusion. Don't forget to add a title, too!
• Proofread your review for mistakes (like grammar and usage), while also cutting down on needless information. [1] X Research source

Preparing to Write Your Review

• Article reviews present more than just an opinion. You will engage with the text to create a response to the scholarly writer's ideas. You will respond to and use ideas, theories, and research from your studies. Your critique of the article will be based on proof and your own thoughtful reasoning.
• An article review only responds to the author's research. It typically does not provide any new research. However, if you are correcting misleading or otherwise incorrect points, some new data may be presented.
• An article review both summarizes and evaluates the article.

• Summarize the article. Focus on the important points, claims, and information.
• Discuss the positive aspects of the article. Think about what the author does well, good points she makes, and insightful observations.
• Identify contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the text. Determine if there is enough data or research included to support the author's claims. Find any unanswered questions left in the article.

• Make note of words or issues you don't understand and questions you have.
• Look up terms or concepts you are unfamiliar with, so you can fully understand the article. Read about concepts in-depth to make sure you understand their full context.

• Pay careful attention to the meaning of the article. Make sure you fully understand the article. The only way to write a good article review is to understand the article.

• With either method, make an outline of the main points made in the article and the supporting research or arguments. It is strictly a restatement of the main points of the article and does not include your opinions.
• After putting the article in your own words, decide which parts of the article you want to discuss in your review. You can focus on the theoretical approach, the content, the presentation or interpretation of evidence, or the style. You will always discuss the main issues of the article, but you can sometimes also focus on certain aspects. This comes in handy if you want to focus the review towards the content of a course.
• Review the summary outline to eliminate unnecessary items. Erase or cross out the less important arguments or supplemental information. Your revised summary can serve as the basis for the summary you provide at the beginning of your review.

• What does the article set out to do?
• What is the theoretical framework or assumptions?
• Are the central concepts clearly defined?
• How adequate is the evidence?
• How does the article fit into the literature and field?
• Does it advance the knowledge of the subject?
• How clear is the author's writing? Don't: include superficial opinions or your personal reaction. Do: pay attention to your biases, so you can overcome them.

Writing the Article Review

• For example, in MLA , a citation may look like: Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise ." Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127-53. Print. [10] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• For example: The article, "Condom use will increase the spread of AIDS," was written by Anthony Zimmerman, a Catholic priest.

• Your introduction should only be 10-25% of your review.
• End the introduction with your thesis. Your thesis should address the above issues. For example: Although the author has some good points, his article is biased and contains some misinterpretation of data from others’ analysis of the effectiveness of the condom.

• Use direct quotes from the author sparingly.
• Review the summary you have written. Read over your summary many times to ensure that your words are an accurate description of the author's article.

• Support your critique with evidence from the article or other texts.
• The summary portion is very important for your critique. You must make the author's argument clear in the summary section for your evaluation to make sense.
• Remember, this is not where you say if you liked the article or not. You are assessing the significance and relevance of the article.
• Use a topic sentence and supportive arguments for each opinion. For example, you might address a particular strength in the first sentence of the opinion section, followed by several sentences elaborating on the significance of the point.

• This should only be about 10% of your overall essay.
• For example: This critical review has evaluated the article "Condom use will increase the spread of AIDS" by Anthony Zimmerman. The arguments in the article show the presence of bias, prejudice, argumentative writing without supporting details, and misinformation. These points weaken the author’s arguments and reduce his credibility.

• Make sure you have identified and discussed the 3-4 key issues in the article.

Sample Article Reviews

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/grammarpunct/proofreading/
• ↑ https://libguides.cmich.edu/writinghelp/articlereview
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4548566/
• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 July 2020.
• ↑ https://guides.library.queensu.ca/introduction-research/writing/critical
• ↑ https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/creating-an-outline.html
• ↑ https://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_periodicals.html
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4548565/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/593/2014/06/How_to_Summarize_a_Research_Article1.pdf
• ↑ https://www.uis.edu/learning-hub/writing-resources/handouts/learning-hub/how-to-review-a-journal-article
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

If you have to write an article review, read through the original article closely, taking notes and highlighting important sections as you read. Next, rewrite the article in your own words, either in a long paragraph or as an outline. Open your article review by citing the article, then write an introduction which states the article’s thesis. Next, summarize the article, followed by your opinion about whether the article was clear, thorough, and useful. Finish with a paragraph that summarizes the main points of the article and your opinions. To learn more about what to include in your personal critique of the article, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Book Reviews

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you write a book review, a report or essay that offers a critical perspective on a text. It offers a process and suggests some strategies for writing book reviews.

What is a review?

A review is a critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. Reviews can consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture, art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, and many other forms. This handout will focus on book reviews. For a similar assignment, see our handout on literature reviews .

Above all, a review makes an argument. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. It allows you to enter into dialogue and discussion with the work’s creator and with other audiences. You can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization. You should clearly state your opinion of the work in question, and that statement will probably resemble other types of academic writing, with a thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Typically, reviews are brief. In newspapers and academic journals, they rarely exceed 1000 words, although you may encounter lengthier assignments and extended commentaries. In either case, reviews need to be succinct. While they vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features:

• First, a review gives the reader a concise summary of the content. This includes a relevant description of the topic as well as its overall perspective, argument, or purpose.
• Second, and more importantly, a review offers a critical assessment of the content. This involves your reactions to the work under review: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective or persuasive, and how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand.
• Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests whether or not the audience would appreciate it.

Becoming an expert reviewer: three short examples

Reviewing can be a daunting task. Someone has asked for your opinion about something that you may feel unqualified to evaluate. Who are you to criticize Toni Morrison’s new book if you’ve never written a novel yourself, much less won a Nobel Prize? The point is that someone—a professor, a journal editor, peers in a study group—wants to know what you think about a particular work. You may not be (or feel like) an expert, but you need to pretend to be one for your particular audience. Nobody expects you to be the intellectual equal of the work’s creator, but your careful observations can provide you with the raw material to make reasoned judgments. Tactfully voicing agreement and disagreement, praise and criticism, is a valuable, challenging skill, and like many forms of writing, reviews require you to provide concrete evidence for your assertions.

Consider the following brief book review written for a history course on medieval Europe by a student who is fascinated with beer:

Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600, investigates how women used to brew and sell the majority of ale drunk in England. Historically, ale and beer (not milk, wine, or water) were important elements of the English diet. Ale brewing was low-skill and low status labor that was complimentary to women’s domestic responsibilities. In the early fifteenth century, brewers began to make ale with hops, and they called this new drink “beer.” This technique allowed brewers to produce their beverages at a lower cost and to sell it more easily, although women generally stopped brewing once the business became more profitable.

The student describes the subject of the book and provides an accurate summary of its contents. But the reader does not learn some key information expected from a review: the author’s argument, the student’s appraisal of the book and its argument, and whether or not the student would recommend the book. As a critical assessment, a book review should focus on opinions, not facts and details. Summary should be kept to a minimum, and specific details should serve to illustrate arguments.

Now consider a review of the same book written by a slightly more opinionated student:

Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600 was a colossal disappointment. I wanted to know about the rituals surrounding drinking in medieval England: the songs, the games, the parties. Bennett provided none of that information. I liked how the book showed ale and beer brewing as an economic activity, but the reader gets lost in the details of prices and wages. I was more interested in the private lives of the women brewsters. The book was divided into eight long chapters, and I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to read it.

There’s no shortage of judgments in this review! But the student does not display a working knowledge of the book’s argument. The reader has a sense of what the student expected of the book, but no sense of what the author herself set out to prove. Although the student gives several reasons for the negative review, those examples do not clearly relate to each other as part of an overall evaluation—in other words, in support of a specific thesis. This review is indeed an assessment, but not a critical one.

Here is one final review of the same book:

One of feminism’s paradoxes—one that challenges many of its optimistic histories—is how patriarchy remains persistent over time. While Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600 recognizes medieval women as historical actors through their ale brewing, it also shows that female agency had its limits with the advent of beer. I had assumed that those limits were religious and political, but Bennett shows how a “patriarchal equilibrium” shut women out of economic life as well. Her analysis of women’s wages in ale and beer production proves that a change in women’s work does not equate to a change in working women’s status. Contemporary feminists and historians alike should read Bennett’s book and think twice when they crack open their next brewsky.

This student’s review avoids the problems of the previous two examples. It combines balanced opinion and concrete example, a critical assessment based on an explicitly stated rationale, and a recommendation to a potential audience. The reader gets a sense of what the book’s author intended to demonstrate. Moreover, the student refers to an argument about feminist history in general that places the book in a specific genre and that reaches out to a general audience. The example of analyzing wages illustrates an argument, the analysis engages significant intellectual debates, and the reasons for the overall positive review are plainly visible. The review offers criteria, opinions, and support with which the reader can agree or disagree.

Developing an assessment: before you write

There is no definitive method to writing a review, although some critical thinking about the work at hand is necessary before you actually begin writing. Thus, writing a review is a two-step process: developing an argument about the work under consideration, and making that argument as you write an organized and well-supported draft. See our handout on argument .

What follows is a series of questions to focus your thinking as you dig into the work at hand. While the questions specifically consider book reviews, you can easily transpose them to an analysis of performances, exhibitions, and other review subjects. Don’t feel obligated to address each of the questions; some will be more relevant than others to the book in question.

• What is the thesis—or main argument—of the book? If the author wanted you to get one idea from the book, what would it be? How does it compare or contrast to the world you know? What has the book accomplished?
• What exactly is the subject or topic of the book? Does the author cover the subject adequately? Does the author cover all aspects of the subject in a balanced fashion? What is the approach to the subject (topical, analytical, chronological, descriptive)?
• How does the author support their argument? What evidence do they use to prove their point? Do you find that evidence convincing? Why or why not? Does any of the author’s information (or conclusions) conflict with other books you’ve read, courses you’ve taken or just previous assumptions you had of the subject?
• How does the author structure their argument? What are the parts that make up the whole? Does the argument make sense? Does it persuade you? Why or why not?
• How has this book helped you understand the subject? Would you recommend the book to your reader?

Beyond the internal workings of the book, you may also consider some information about the author and the circumstances of the text’s production:

• Who is the author? Nationality, political persuasion, training, intellectual interests, personal history, and historical context may provide crucial details about how a work takes shape. Does it matter, for example, that the biographer was the subject’s best friend? What difference would it make if the author participated in the events they write about?
• What is the book’s genre? Out of what field does it emerge? Does it conform to or depart from the conventions of its genre? These questions can provide a historical or literary standard on which to base your evaluations. If you are reviewing the first book ever written on the subject, it will be important for your readers to know. Keep in mind, though, that naming “firsts”—alongside naming “bests” and “onlys”—can be a risky business unless you’re absolutely certain.

Writing the review

Once you have made your observations and assessments of the work under review, carefully survey your notes and attempt to unify your impressions into a statement that will describe the purpose or thesis of your review. Check out our handout on thesis statements . Then, outline the arguments that support your thesis.

Your arguments should develop the thesis in a logical manner. That logic, unlike more standard academic writing, may initially emphasize the author’s argument while you develop your own in the course of the review. The relative emphasis depends on the nature of the review: if readers may be more interested in the work itself, you may want to make the work and the author more prominent; if you want the review to be about your perspective and opinions, then you may structure the review to privilege your observations over (but never separate from) those of the work under review. What follows is just one of many ways to organize a review.

Introduction

Since most reviews are brief, many writers begin with a catchy quip or anecdote that succinctly delivers their argument. But you can introduce your review differently depending on the argument and audience. The Writing Center’s handout on introductions can help you find an approach that works. In general, you should include:

• The name of the author and the book title and the main theme.
• Relevant details about who the author is and where they stand in the genre or field of inquiry. You could also link the title to the subject to show how the title explains the subject matter.
• The context of the book and/or your review. Placing your review in a framework that makes sense to your audience alerts readers to your “take” on the book. Perhaps you want to situate a book about the Cuban revolution in the context of Cold War rivalries between the United States and the Soviet Union. Another reviewer might want to consider the book in the framework of Latin American social movements. Your choice of context informs your argument.
• The thesis of the book. If you are reviewing fiction, this may be difficult since novels, plays, and short stories rarely have explicit arguments. But identifying the book’s particular novelty, angle, or originality allows you to show what specific contribution the piece is trying to make.
• Your thesis about the book.

Summary of content

This should be brief, as analysis takes priority. In the course of making your assessment, you’ll hopefully be backing up your assertions with concrete evidence from the book, so some summary will be dispersed throughout other parts of the review.

The necessary amount of summary also depends on your audience. Graduate students, beware! If you are writing book reviews for colleagues—to prepare for comprehensive exams, for example—you may want to devote more attention to summarizing the book’s contents. If, on the other hand, your audience has already read the book—such as a class assignment on the same work—you may have more liberty to explore more subtle points and to emphasize your own argument. See our handout on summary for more tips.

Analysis and evaluation of the book

Your analysis and evaluation should be organized into paragraphs that deal with single aspects of your argument. This arrangement can be challenging when your purpose is to consider the book as a whole, but it can help you differentiate elements of your criticism and pair assertions with evidence more clearly. You do not necessarily need to work chronologically through the book as you discuss it. Given the argument you want to make, you can organize your paragraphs more usefully by themes, methods, or other elements of the book. If you find it useful to include comparisons to other books, keep them brief so that the book under review remains in the spotlight. Avoid excessive quotation and give a specific page reference in parentheses when you do quote. Remember that you can state many of the author’s points in your own words.

Sum up or restate your thesis or make the final judgment regarding the book. You should not introduce new evidence for your argument in the conclusion. You can, however, introduce new ideas that go beyond the book if they extend the logic of your own thesis. This paragraph needs to balance the book’s strengths and weaknesses in order to unify your evaluation. Did the body of your review have three negative paragraphs and one favorable one? What do they all add up to? The Writing Center’s handout on conclusions can help you make a final assessment.

Finally, a few general considerations:

• Review the book in front of you, not the book you wish the author had written. You can and should point out shortcomings or failures, but don’t criticize the book for not being something it was never intended to be.
• With any luck, the author of the book worked hard to find the right words to express her ideas. You should attempt to do the same. Precise language allows you to control the tone of your review.
• Never hesitate to challenge an assumption, approach, or argument. Be sure, however, to cite specific examples to back up your assertions carefully.
• Try to present a balanced argument about the value of the book for its audience. You’re entitled—and sometimes obligated—to voice strong agreement or disagreement. But keep in mind that a bad book takes as long to write as a good one, and every author deserves fair treatment. Harsh judgments are difficult to prove and can give readers the sense that you were unfair in your assessment.
• A great place to learn about book reviews is to look at examples. The New York Times Sunday Book Review and The New York Review of Books can show you how professional writers review books.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Drewry, John. 1974. Writing Book Reviews. Boston: Greenwood Press.

Hoge, James. 1987. Literary Reviewing. Charlottesville: University Virginia of Press.

Sova, Dawn, and Harry Teitelbaum. 2002. How to Write Book Reports , 4th ed. Lawrenceville, NY: Thomson/Arco.

Walford, A.J. 1986. Reviews and Reviewing: A Guide. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Your Step-By-Step Guide To Writing An Academic Essay (& Review Checklist)

Writing a formal essay can be scary! It requires a lot more work and research than other assignments, and there are many rules to follow when writing it. It’s difficult to know where to start, and even the thought of writing it can be stressful.

However, with the right information and tips or even with the aid of services like the essay writing service reddit , preparing and writing your essay becomes a lot easier. Check out our guide for essay writing below to help you write a paper you can be proud to hand in.

Before You Start Writing The Essay

1. pick your topic.

Unless your teacher has given you a very specific topic, you will need to pick one. If possible, choose a topic that interests you. Once you have a topic in mind, narrow it down to make your paper more specific. You want to be able to prove a point with your chosen topic.

Example: “Golden Retrievers as therapy dogs” is too broad of a topic. A topic that is narrower, such as, “Golden retrievers as therapy dogs for residents in nursing homes” keeps your research and ideas focused.

2. Determine Your Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is the main point you are trying to prove in your essay—it ties all of your ideas and arguments together into one or two concise sentences. A good thesis statement gives your reader a preview of what you will be discussing in the body of your essay.

Example: Golden Retrievers are ideal therapy dogs for seniors in nursing homes because they provide emotional support and companionship to residents.

How To Write A Strong Thesis Statement

• Ask yourself, what are you trying to say about your topic in your paper? Is there something you are trying to prove?
• Focus these ideas into one or two sentences.
• Make sure you introduce your topic and give the reader an idea of the direction you are taking. Include your topic/opinion and your supporting arguments/reasons.
• Finally, make sure you are able to back up your thesis with evidence/supporting resources.

3. Find Sources

Once you have an idea of what you want to say in your essay, start finding sources you can use to back up your points. Aim to have at least 2-3 credible sources in your paper, unless your teacher says otherwise.

Some examples of sources include:

• Published articles
• Encyclopedias
• Academic Journals

Always check with your teacher to find out what kind of sources he or she is looking for. Once you have found (and read) your sources, take note of pieces of information you think could back up your thesis.

4. Create An Outline

Creating an outline of your essay will help make the writing process much easier. It is a way to organize your thoughts and structure them in a way that makes sense. Try to come up with three arguments that support your thesis. These arguments will form the body of your essay.

Example: Arguments to support the thesis could be:

• Golden Retrievers can sense emotion in humans.
• Golden Retrievers are highly intelligent and easy to train.
• Golden Retrievers are more calm and gentle than other breeds of dogs.

Writing Your Essay

All essays, regardless of length, have an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each of these sections serve a different purpose in your paper.

The Introduction

The introduction of an essay is one paragraph that introduces your topic and gives an overview of what will be discussed in the body of the paper.

The introductory paragraph is where you will state your thesis and the arguments that you will be presenting in the body of the essay. Avoid talking about the conclusion or findings in the introductory paragraph—you will be discussing those in the rest of the essay.

Helpful Tip: Even though it appears at the top of your essay, write your introduction last. This way, you can summarize the rest of your essay easily—it’s difficult to summarize something you haven’t written yet!

The body of your essay is where you present your arguments/evidence that back up your thesis. Each paragraph in your essay should have:

• A topic sentence: What is this paragraph about? What are you trying to prove in this paragraph?
• Supporting sentences: How can you back up the topic sentence? What sources can you use to support your claim?
• A concluding or transition sentence: How will you keep your reader engaged? How can you link this paragraph to the next?

Every paragraph in your essay should have a unique claim/argument that supports your thesis. Always structure your essay to have the strongest argument in your first paragraph, and the next strongest argument in the final paragraph of the body. Your other argument should be sandwiched between your stronger paragraphs.

The Conclusion

The conclusion is the last paragraph in your essay. This is where you wrap up your findings from your discussion in the body paragraphs.

Start your paragraph by restating your thesis (although not in the exact same words). In a few sentences, summarize your arguments from the body paragraphs, and avoid discussing any new ideas that you didn’t talk about in the body of your essay. Finally, wrap up your findings in one final sentence.

Helpful Tip: Your final sentence should convince your reader that you proved your thesis.

References/Bibliography

The final page in your essay is the references page (sometimes called the bibliography). This is where you document all the sources you have cited in your paper. There are several different formats that can be used to reference sources, such as APA or MLA style. Your teacher may have specified a certain format he or she would like in your paper. If you are unsure, double-check with your teacher before starting.

Polishing Your Work

After writing the first draft of your essay, take one or two days before you go back and read it so your mind is fresh. Make any changes you think are necessary to improve your paper, such as reordering sentences, adding extra information, or taking out sentences that don’t add value to your arguments.

If possible, ask another person to review your essay for spelling, grammar, and clarity. A second set of eyes is helpful to catch small errors you may have missed.

Helpful Tip: Read your essay out loud to make sure it flows and your sentences are clear.

The Oxford Learning Essay Review Checklist

Use our essay review checklist to make sure your essay is polished and ready to go before the deadline!

More Essay Writing Tips

• Don’t force yourself to write your essay in order—start by writing the body of your essay first. Your introduction and conclusion should not be written until the main points of the body are completed first.
• Don’t plagiarize. Plagiarism is taking other people’s ideas, thoughts, or work and presenting it as your own (or not citing your sources correctly). Always give credit where it is due.
• There is no such thing as starting too early! Get a head start and prioritize writing your essay so you have plenty of time to review and edit well before the due date.
• Avoid using slang terms and contractions. These words make your writing appear less formal.

Time To Get Writing!

Writing an essay can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! Give yourself plenty of time to pick your topic, find your sources, and preparing your outline. Once you are happy with your ideas, just start writing! If you begin your essay well before the due date, you will have lots of time to edit and rework your essay. This way you can be confident in your work when it comes time to hand it in.

If you need more help with writing your essay, Oxford Learning is here to help!

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How to Write an Article Review: Template & Examples

An article review is an academic assignment that invites you to study a piece of academic research closely. Then, you should present its summary and critically evaluate it using the knowledge you’ve gained in class and during your independent study. If you get such a task at college or university, you shouldn’t confuse it with a response paper, which is a distinct assignment with other purposes (we’ll talk about it in detail below).

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In this article, prepared by Custom-Writing experts, you’ll find: 

• the intricacies of article review writing;
• the difference between an article review and similar assignments;
• a step-by-step algorithm for review composition;
• a couple of samples to guide you throughout the writing process.

So, if you wish to study our article review example and discover helpful writing tips, keep reading.

❓ What Is an Article Review?

• ✍️ Writing Steps

📑 Article Review Format

🔗 references.

An article review is an academic paper that summarizes and critically evaluates the information presented in your selected article. 

The first thing you should note when approaching the task of an article review is that not every article is suitable for this assignment. Let’s have a look at the variety of articles to understand what you can choose from.

Popular Vs. Scholarly Articles

In most cases, you’ll be required to review a scholarly, peer-reviewed article – one composed in compliance with rigorous academic standards. Yet, the Web is also full of popular articles that don’t present original scientific value and shouldn’t be selected for a review.  

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Not sure how to distinguish these two types? Here is a comparative table to help you out.

Article Review vs. Response Paper

Now, let’s consider the difference between an article review and a response paper:

• If you’re assigned to critique a scholarly article , you will need to compose an article review .  
• If your subject of analysis is a popular article , you can respond to it with a well-crafted response paper .  

The reason for such distinctions is the quality and structure of these two article types. Peer-reviewed, scholarly articles have clear-cut quality criteria, allowing you to conduct and present a structured assessment of the assigned material. Popular magazines have loose or non-existent quality criteria and don’t offer an opportunity for structured evaluation. So, they are only fit for a subjective response, in which you can summarize your reactions and emotions related to the reading material.  

All in all, you can structure your response assignments as outlined in the tips below.

✍️ How to Write an Article Review: Step by Step

Here is a tried and tested algorithm for article review writing from our experts. We’ll consider only the critical review variety of this academic assignment. So, let’s get down to the stages you need to cover to get a stellar review.  

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Read the Article

As with any reviews, reports, and critiques, you must first familiarize yourself with the assigned material. It’s impossible to review something you haven’t read, so set some time for close, careful reading of the article to identify:

• Its topic.  
• Its type.  
• The author’s main points and message. 
• The arguments they use to prove their points. 
• The methodology they use to approach the subject. 

In terms of research type , your article will usually belong to one of three types explained below. 

Summarize the Article

Now that you’ve read the text and have a general impression of the content, it’s time to summarize it for your readers. Look into the article’s text closely to determine:

• The thesis statement , or general message of the author.  
• Research question, purpose, and context of research.  
• Supporting points for the author’s assumptions and claims.  
• Major findings and supporting evidence.  

As you study the article thoroughly, make notes on the margins or write these elements out on a sheet of paper. You can also apply a different technique: read the text section by section and formulate its gist in one phrase or sentence. Once you’re done, you’ll have a summary skeleton in front of you.

Evaluate the Article

The next step of review is content evaluation. Keep in mind that various research types will require a different set of review questions. Here is a complete list of evaluation points you can include.

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Write the Text

After completing the critical review stage, it’s time to compose your article review.

The format of this assignment is standard – you will have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction should present your article and summarize its content. The body will contain a structured review according to all four dimensions covered in the previous section. The concluding part will typically recap all the main points you’ve identified during your assessment.  

It is essential to note that an article review is, first of all, an academic assignment. Therefore, it should follow all rules and conventions of academic composition, such as:

• No contractions . Don’t use short forms, such as “don’t,” “can’t,” “I’ll,” etc. in academic writing. You need to spell out all those words.  
• Formal language and style . Avoid conversational phrasing and words that you would naturally use in blog posts or informal communication. For example, don’t use words like “pretty,” “kind of,” and “like.”  
• Third-person narrative . Academic reviews should be written from the third-person point of view, avoiding statements like “I think,” “in my opinion,” and so on.  
• No conversational forms . You shouldn’t turn to your readers directly in the text by addressing them with the pronoun “you.” It’s vital to keep the narrative neutral and impersonal.  
• Proper abbreviation use . Consult the list of correct abbreviations , like “e.g.” or “i.e.,” for use in your academic writing. If you use informal abbreviations like “FYA” or “f.i.,” your professor will reduce the grade.  
• Complete sentences . Make sure your sentences contain the subject and the predicate; avoid shortened or sketch-form phrases suitable for a draft only.  
• No conjunctions at the beginning of a sentence . Remember the FANBOYS rule – don’t start a sentence with words like “and” or “but.” They often seem the right way to build a coherent narrative, but academic writing rules disfavor such usage.  
• No abbreviations or figures at the beginning of a sentence . Never start a sentence with a number — spell it out if you need to use it anyway. Besides, sentences should never begin with abbreviations like “e.g.”  

Finally, a vital rule for an article review is properly formatting the citations. We’ll discuss the correct use of citation styles in the following section.

When composing an article review, keep these points in mind:

• Start with a full reference to the reviewed article so the reader can locate it quickly.  
• Ensure correct formatting of in-text references.  
• Provide a complete list of used external sources on the last page of the review – your bibliographical entries .  

You’ll need to understand the rules of your chosen citation style to meet all these requirements. Below, we’ll discuss the two most common referencing styles – APA and MLA.

Article Review in APA

When you need to compose an article review in the APA format , here is the general bibliographical entry format you should use for journal articles on your reference page:  

• Author’s last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year of Publication). Name of the article. Name of the Journal, volume (number), pp. #-#. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Horigian, V. E., Schmidt, R. D., & Feaster, D. J. (2021). Loneliness, mental health, and substance use among US young adults during COVID-19. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 53 (1), pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2020.1836435

Your in-text citations should follow the author-date format like this:

• If you paraphrase the source and mention the author in the text: According to Horigian et al. (2021), young adults experienced increased levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic. 
• If you paraphrase the source and don’t mention the author in the text: Young adults experienced increased levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic (Horigian et al., 2021). 
• If you quote the source: As Horigian et al. (2021) point out, there were “elevated levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and drug use among young adults during COVID-19” (p. 6). 

Note that your in-text citations should include “et al.,” as in the examples above, if your article has 3 or more authors. If you have one or two authors, your in-text citations would look like this:

• One author: “According to Smith (2020), depression is…” or “Depression is … (Smith, 2020).”
• Two authors: “According to Smith and Brown (2020), anxiety means…” or “Anxiety means (Smith & Brown, 2020).”

Finally, in case you have to review a book or a website article, here are the general formats for citing these source types on your APA reference list.

Article Review in MLA

If your assignment requires MLA-format referencing, here’s the general format you should use for citing journal articles on your Works Cited page: 

• Author’s last name, First name. “Title of an Article.” Title of the Journal , vol. #, no. #, year, pp. #-#. 

Horigian, Viviana E., et al. “Loneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use Among US Young Adults During COVID-19.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs , vol. 53, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-9.

In-text citations in the MLA format follow the author-page citation format and look like this:

• According to Horigian et al., young adults experienced increased levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic (6).
• Young adults experienced increased levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic (Horigian et al. 6).

Like in APA, the abbreviation “et al.” is only needed in MLA if your article has 3 or more authors.

If you need to cite a book or a website page, here are the general MLA formats for these types of sources.

✅ Article Review Template

Here is a handy, universal article review template to help you move on with any review assignment. We’ve tried to make it as generic as possible to guide you in the academic process.

📝 Article Review Examples

The theory is good, but practice is even better. Thus, we’ve created three brief examples to show you how to write an article review. You can study the full-text samples by following the links.

📃 Men, Women, & Money   

This article review examines a famous piece, “Men, Women & Money – How the Sexes Differ with Their Finances,” published by Amy Livingston in 2020. The author of this article claims that men generally spend more money than women. She makes this conclusion from a close analysis of gender-specific expenditures across five main categories: food, clothing, cars, entertainment, and general spending patterns. Livingston also looks at men’s approach to saving to argue that counter to the common perception of women’s light-hearted attitude to money, men are those who spend more on average.  

📃 When and Why Nationalism Beats Globalism   

This is a review of Jonathan Heidt’s 2016 article titled “When and Why Nationalism Beats Globalism,” written as an advocacy of right-wing populism rising in many Western states. The author illustrates the case with the election of Donald Trump as the US President and the rise of right-wing rhetoric in many Western countries. These examples show how nationalist sentiment represents a reaction to global immigration and a failure of globalization.  

📃 Sleep Deprivation   

This is a review of the American Heart Association’s article titled “The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation.” It discusses how the national organization concerned with the American population’s cardiovascular health links the lack of high-quality sleep to far-reaching health consequences. The organization’s experts reveal how a consistent lack of sleep leads to Alzheimer’s disease development, obesity, type 2 diabetes, etc.  

✏️ Article Review FAQ

A high-quality article review should summarize the assigned article’s content and offer data-backed reactions and evaluations of its quality in terms of the article’s purpose, methodology, and data used to argue the main points. It should be detailed, comprehensive, objective, and evidence-based.

The purpose of writing a review is to allow students to reflect on research quality and showcase their critical thinking and evaluation skills. Students should exhibit their mastery of close reading of research publications and their unbiased assessment.

The content of your article review will be the same in any format, with the only difference in the assignment’s formatting before submission. Ensure you have a separate title page made according to APA standards and cite sources using the parenthetical author-date referencing format.

You need to take a closer look at various dimensions of an assigned article to compose a valuable review. Study the author’s object of analysis, the purpose of their research, the chosen method, data, and findings. Evaluate all these dimensions critically to see whether the author has achieved the initial goals. Finally, offer improvement recommendations to add a critique aspect to your paper.

• Scientific Article Review: Duke University  
• Book and Article Reviews: William & Mary, Writing Resources Center  
• Sample Format for Reviewing a Journal Article: Boonshoft School of Medicine  
• Research Paper Review – Structure and Format Guidelines: New Jersey Institute of Technology  
• Article Review: University of Waterloo  
• Article Review: University of South Australia  
• How to Write a Journal Article Review: University of Newcastle Library Guides  
• Writing Help: The Article Review: Central Michigan University Libraries  
• Write a Critical Review of a Scientific Journal Article: McLaughlin Library  
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Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

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SERVICE TERMS

Last Updated Date: February 14, 2024

Welcome to the e-commerce shops, digital platforms, websites, applications ("apps"), widgets, blogs, or other online offerings owned or operated by Learneo, Inc.; and any of their affiliates or subsidiary companies (collectively, “Student Brands,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), including but not limited to bartleby.com (“Bartleby”); studymode.com, cram.com, paperrater.com, and all other online offerings (collectively, the “Services”) that post links to these Service Terms (the “Service Terms”). Your use of and access to our Services is governed by these specific Service Terms and the Learneo Terms of Service available here (the “Learneo Terms of Service”) (collectively, as amended from time to time, the “Terms”). In the event of a conflict between these Service Terms and the Learneo Terms of Service, these Service Terms shall govern. The Services include the online Services, resources, forums, contests or sweepstakes offered or operated by Student Brands.

Please review the Terms carefully before using the Services. The Terms govern each user’s (“you” or “your”) use of and/or access to the Services.

By using or accessing the Services, you acknowledge and agree that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the Terms. You also acknowledge that you have read and understood our data practices as described in the Privacy Policy applicable to the Services and Content you use.

The Terms affect your legal rights, responsibilities and obligations, govern your use of the Services, are legally binding, limit Student Brands’ liability to you, and require you to indemnify us and to settle certain disputes through individual arbitration. Please note that nothing in the Terms affects your mandatory statutory rights under applicable law, to the extent that such rights apply to you and cannot be limited or excluded.

If you do not wish to be bound by the Terms, and any applicable Additional Terms (defined below), you should not use or access the Services, and, where applicable, you should uninstall any Services downloads and applications.

In some instances, you may be subject to different or additional terms and conditions, policies and guidelines (“Additional Terms”) that are applicable to certain parts of the Services. Those Additional Terms will be posted on the Services in connection with the relevant offering. In the event of a conflict between these Service Terms and the Additional Terms, the Additional Terms shall control.

The Terms and the Additional Terms are subject to change at any time, so we encourage you to periodically review all terms and conditions posted on the Services. If we make any material changes to the Terms or the applicable Additional Terms, we will post the updated version(s), along with an effective date, and notify you by means of a notice on the Services. In the event that you have these Service Terms, or the Learneo Terms of Service cached on your browser, the Service Terms and the Learneo Terms of Service that apply to you are the most recent versions of the Service Terms and the Learneo Terms of Service that appear on a non-cached browser.

If any changes to the Terms or Additional Terms are not acceptable to you, you must stop your access to and/or use of the Services and, where applicable, uninstall any Services downloads and applications.

1. Ownership; Your Rights to Use the Services and Content.

• Ownership . The Services and all of its content (collectively, “Content”), including all copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names and all other intellectual property rights therein (“Intellectual Property”), are owned or controlled by Student Brands, our licensors, and certain other third parties. All right, title, and interest in and to the Content and Intellectual Property available via the Services is the property of Student Brands, our licensors or certain other third parties, and is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent and/or other Intellectual Property and unfair competition rights and laws to the fullest extent possible. Student Brands owns the copyright in the selection, compilation, assembly, arrangement, and enhancement of the Content on the Services.
• Display, view, use, and play the Content on a computer, mobile or other internet enabled or permitted device (“Device”) and/or print one copy of the Content (excluding source and object code in raw form or otherwise) as it is displayed to you;
• Subject to any applicable Additional Terms, if the Services includes a “Send to Friend,” social media sharing or similar tool that allows you to initiate and send to one or more of your contacts a communication that includes Content, or to post our Content to third-party services or your own site or online service, and the tool is operational, use the tool to do so; provided, however, that you do not do so in any manner that violates applicable law or third-party rights or reflects negativity on us, and only send to recipients you have permission to contact;
• If the Services includes a “Download” link next to a piece of Content (including, without limitation, an image, an icon, a wallpaper, a music track, a video, a trailer, an RSS feed), you may only download a single copy of such Content to a single Device;
• Download, install and use one copy of any software, including apps, that we make available on or through the Services (“Software”) on your Device in machine-executable object code form only and make one additional copy for back-up purposes; provided, however, that you understand and agree that: (i) by allowing you to download the Software, Student Brands does not transfer title to the Software to you (i.e., you own the medium on which the Software is recorded, but the Software's owner (which may be Student Brands and/or its third-party Software licensor) will retain full and complete title to such Software); (ii) you may not copy, modify, adapt, translate into any language, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Software, except as expressly authorized in the Terms or applicable Additional Terms, without the prior written consent of Student Brands; (iii) you may not assign, rent, lease, or lend the Software to any person or entity, and any attempt by you to sublicense, transfer, or assign the Software will be void and of no effect; and (iv) you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or attempt to reconstruct, identify, or discover any source code, underlying ideas, underlying user interface techniques, or algorithms of the Software by any means whatsoever, except to the extent the foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
• If made available to you, obtain a registered personal account (and/or related username and password) on the Services and interact with the Services in connection therewith;
• Link to the Services from a website or other online service, so long as: (a) the links only incorporate text, and do not use any Student Brands’ names, logos, or images, (b) the links and the content on your website do not suggest any affiliation with Student Brands or cause any other confusion, and (c) the links and the content on your website do not portray Student Brands or its products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive manner, and do not contain content that is unlawful, offensive, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, threatening, harassing, or abusive, or that violate any right of any third-party or are otherwise objectionable to Student Brands. Student Brands reserves the right to suspend or prohibit linking to the Services for any reason, in its sole discretion, without advance notice or any liability of any kind to you or any third-party;
• Stream the Content using any of the widgets and/or other digital streaming internet video players, if any, provided on the Services; and
• Use any other functionality expressly provided by Student Brands on or through the Services for use by users, subject to the Terms(including, without limitation, functionality to create and/or post User-Generated Content (as defined below)) and any applicable Additional Terms..
• Additional Terms for Usage Subscriptions . Purchases of usage subscriptions (e.g., credits, points, and/or virtual currency) or any virtual items made available on the Services are nonrefundable, have no monetary value (i.e., are not a cash account or equivalent), and are purchases of only a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-assignable, personal, and non-transferable license to use those items only, even if such came with a durational term (e.g., a monthly subscription). Any attempt to transfer, assign or otherwise sell or trade such subscription, regardless of manner or method, is null and void. Suspension or termination thereof results in the forfeit of the suspended or terminated subscription or items, except as may be noted in the applicable Additional Terms. As permitted by law, we are not responsible for repairing or reissuing any credit or refund or any other sum, as a result of our modification of any usage subscriptions or virtual item, or for loss or damage due to error, or any other reason.
• Additional Terms for Bartleby Tutor . One-time purchases of minutes to be used for real-time tutoring sessions offered through Bartleby Tutor must be used within ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. Any unused minutes thereafter are nonrefundable and cannot be redeemed for any credit or other value. Minutes purchased through subscriptions to Bartleby Tutor expire upon any cancellation of the Bartleby Tutor subscription; any unused minutes at the time of such cancellation cannot be refunded or otherwise be credited back to your account.
• Rights of Others . In using the Services, you must respect the Intellectual Property and rights of others and Learneo. Your unauthorized use of Content may violate the rights of others and applicable laws and may result in your civil and criminal liability. If you believe that your work has been infringed via the Services, see Section 5 below.
• Reservation of all Rights Not Granted as to Services and Content . The Terms and any applicable Additional Terms include only narrow, limited grants of rights to use and access the Services and Content. No right or license may be construed, under any legal theory, by implication, estoppel, industry custom, or otherwise. ALL RIGHTS NOT EXPRESSLY GRANTED TO YOU ARE RESERVED BY STUDENT BRANDS AND ITS LICENSORS AND OTHER THIRD PARTIES. Any unauthorized use of any Content or the Services for any purpose is prohibited.
• Third-Party Services . We are not responsible for third parties or their content, advertisement(s), apps or sites (“Third-Party Services”). For instance, portions of the Services may be integrated into or linked to third-party sites, platforms and apps that we do not control. Similarly, we may make ads and third-party content or services, which we also may not control, available to you on or via our Services. This may include the ability to register or sign into our Services using third-party tools, and to post content on third-party sites and services using their plug-ins made available on our Services. Use caution when dealing with third parties and consult their terms of use and privacy policies. We take no responsibility for Third-party Services and will not be liable for any damages caused by your use or reliance on Third-Party Services. If you are accessing or using the Services through Apple, Android, or any other mobile operating system platform, these are Third-Party Services. If you access our apps via Apple, see below for Additional Terms that are applicable to you and are incorporated into the Terms by this reference.
• To the extent that you are accessing the Services through an Apple mobile application, you acknowledge that the Terms are entered into between you and Student Brands and that Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) is not a party to the Terms other than as third-party beneficiary, as contemplated below.
• The license granted to you by Student Brands under the Terms is subject to the permitted Usage Rules set forth in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions ( see : http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html ) and any third-party terms of use applicable to the Student Brands Services you use.
• You acknowledge that Student Brands, and not Apple, is responsible for providing the Services and Content as defined in the Terms.
• You acknowledge that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance or any support services to you with respect to the Services and Content.
• To the maximum extent not prohibited by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the Services and Content.
• Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, and subject to the Terms, you acknowledge that, solely as between Apple and Student Brands, Student Brands and not Apple is responsible for addressing any claims you may have relating to the Services and Content, or your possession and/or use thereof, including, but not limited, to: (A) product liability claims; (B) any claim that the Services fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (C) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.
• Further, you agree that if the Services, or your access to and use of the Services, infringes on a third-party’s Intellectual Property rights, you will not hold Apple responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement and discharge of any such Intellectual Property infringement claims.
• You acknowledge and agree that Apple, and Apple’s subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of the Terms, and that, upon your acceptance of the Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce the Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

2. Content You Submit; Interactive Community Rules; Content Moderation and Content Recommendations.

• Except as otherwise described in the Services’ posted Privacy Policy , or any applicable Additional Terms, you agree: (A) your UGC will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary by us – regardless of whether you mark them “confidential,” “proprietary,” or the like – and will not be returned, and (B) to the maximum extent not prohibited by applicable law, Student Brands does not assume any obligation of any kind to you or any third-party with respect to your UGC. Upon request, you will provide documentation necessary to authenticate rights to such content and verify your compliance with the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms. You acknowledge that the Internet and mobile communications may be insecure and subject to breaches of security; accordingly, you acknowledge and agree that your UGC is submitted at your own risk.
• In your communications with Student Brands, please keep in mind that we do not seek any unsolicited ideas or materials for products or services, or even suggested improvements to products or services, including, without limitation, ideas, concepts, inventions, or designs for music, websites, apps, books, scripts, screenplays, motion pictures, television shows, theatrical productions, software or otherwise (collectively, “Unsolicited Ideas and Materials”). Any Unsolicited Ideas and Materials you submit are deemed UGC and licensed to us as set forth below. In addition, Student Brands retains all of the rights held by members of the general public with regard to your Unsolicited Ideas and Materials. Student Brands’ receipt of your Unsolicited Ideas and Materials is not an admission by Student Brands of their novelty, priority, or originality, and it does not impair Student Brands ’s right to contest existing or future Intellectual Property rights relating to your Unsolicited Ideas and Materials.
• License to Student Brands of Your UGC. Except as otherwise described in any applicable Additional Terms (such as a promotion’s official rules), which specifically govern the submission of your UGC, or in our Privacy Policy , you hereby grant Student Brands the non-exclusive, unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, and cost-free right and license to use, copy, record, distribute, reproduce, disclose, sell, re-sell, sublicense (through multiple levels), display, publicly perform, transmit, publish, broadcast, translate, make derivative works of, and otherwise use and exploit in any manner whatsoever, all or any portion of your UGC (and derivative works thereof), for any purpose whatsoever in all formats, on or through any means or medium now known or hereafter developed, and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed, and to advertise, market, and promote the same. Without limitation, the granted rights include the right to: (A) configure, host, index, cache, archive, store, digitize, compress, optimize, modify, reformat, edit, adapt, publish in searchable format, and remove such UGC and combine same with other materials, and (B) use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any UGC for any purposes whatsoever, including developing, producing, and marketing products and/or services. You understand that in exercising such rights, metadata, notices and content may be removed or altered, including copyright management information, and you consent thereto and represent and warrant you have all necessary authority to do so. In order to further effect the rights and license that you grant to Student Brands to your UGC, you also, as permitted by applicable law, hereby grant to Student Brands, and agree to grant to Student Brands, the unconditional, perpetual, irrevocable right to use and exploit your name, persona, and likeness in connection with any UGC, without any obligation or remuneration to you. Except as prohibited by law, you hereby waive, and you agree to waive, any moral rights (including attribution and integrity) that you may have in any UGC, even if it is altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. To the extent not waivable, you irrevocably agree not to exercise such rights (if any) in a manner that interferes with any exercise of the granted rights. You understand that you will not receive any fees, sums, consideration, or remuneration for any of the rights granted in this section.
• Student Brands may, but will not have any obligation to, review, monitor, display, post, store, maintain, accept, or otherwise make use of, any of your UGC, and Student Brands may, in its sole discretion, reject, delete, move, re-format, remove or refuse to post or otherwise make use of UGC without notice or any liability to you or any third-party in connection with our operation of UGC venues in an appropriate manner, such as to enhance accessibility of UGC, address copyright infringement, and protect Users from harmful UGC. Without limitation, we may, but do not commit to, do so to address content that comes to our attention that we believe is offensive, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, threatening, abusive, illegal or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate, or to enforce the rights of third parties or the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms. Such UGC submitted by you or others need not be maintained on the Services by us for any period of time, and you will not have the right, once submitted, to access, archive, maintain, change, remove, or otherwise use such UGC on the Services or elsewhere, except that California minors have certain rights to have certain content about them that they have themselves posted on the Services prospectively removed from public display as provided for in the Privacy Policy .
• Each time you submit any UGC, you represent and warrant that you are at least the age of majority in the jurisdiction in which you reside, or are the parent or legal guardian, or have all proper consents from the parent or legal guardian, of any minor who is depicted in or contributed to any UGC you submit, and that, as to that UGC: (A) you are the sole author and owner of the Intellectual Property and other rights to the UGC, or you have a lawful right to submit the UGC and grant Student Brands the rights to it that you are granting by the Terms and any applicable Additional Terms, all without any Student Brands’ obligation to obtain consent of any third-party and without creating any obligation or liability of Student Brands; (B) the UGC is accurate; (C) the UGC does not and, as to Student Brands’ permitted uses and exploitation set forth in the Terms, will not infringe any Intellectual Property or other right of any third-party; and (D) the UGC will not violate the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms, or cause injury or harm to any person.
• Any UGC (including chat messages, links, video, photo, audio or other media content) that you submit in connection with Bartleby Tutor may be made publicly available through Student Brands’ library of searchable content. Such UGC may be accessible by anyone, including Student Brands. We encourage you to not include any personally identifiable information in any UGC you submit to Student Brands, Bartleby, the tutors, or any other third parties in relation to the Bartleby Tutor, and to exercise caution when making decisions about what you disclose when using our Services in general.
• You may use the Interactive Community only for lawful purposes and in accordance with the Terms. If you are using our Interactive Community, and post, publish or communicate any UGC on or through the Interactive Community, please choose carefully the information that you post and/or provide to other users.
• You may not post on or transmit through the Services any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including any material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law, rule or regulation of the laws applicable to you or applicable in the country in which the material is posted. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to reject, refuse to post or remove any posting or other UGC (including private messages) from you, or to deny, restrict, suspend or terminate access to all or any part of the Interactive Community at any time, for any or no reason, without prior notice or explanation and without liability.
• You may not post UGC that: (A) involves the transmission of "junk mail", "chain letters" or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming" or "spamming"; (B) contains restricted or password-only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page); (C) solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users; (D) involves commercial activities and/or sales such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising or pyramid schemes; (E) includes a photograph or video of another person that you have posted without that person's consent; (F) circumvents or modifies, or attempts to circumvent or modify, or encourages or assists any other person in circumventing or modifying any security technology or software that is part of the Services; (G) involves the use of viruses, bots, worms or any other computer code, files or programs that may interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware, or otherwise may permit the unauthorized use of or access to a computer or a computer network; (H) covers or obscures the banner advertisements on your personal profile page; (I) involves any automated use of the Services, such as using scripts to add friends or send comments or messages; (J) interferes with, disrupts or creates an undue burden on the Services or the networks or services connected to the Interactive Community; (K) impersonates or attempts to impersonate another Interactive Community user, person or entity; (L) uses the account, username or password of another Interactive Community user at any time or discloses your password to any third party or permits any third party to access your account; (M) sells or otherwise transfers your profile; or (N) uses any information obtained from the Services or Interactive Community in order to harass, abuse or harm another person or entity, or attempts to do the same.
• We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove your profile and/or deny, restrict, suspend or terminate your access to all or any part of the Interactive Community for any reason.
• If you become aware of misuse of the Interactive Community, including any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any applicable law, please contact us at [email protected]. Notwithstanding the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we assume no responsibility for ongoing monitoring of the Interactive Community or for removal or editing of any UGC, even after receiving notice. We assume no liability for any action or inaction with respect to conduct, communication or UGC within the Interactive Community. You are solely responsible for all activities that occur within the Interactive Community. The Interactive Community is not designed for use by individuals under the age of 18 years ("Minors"). No children under the age of 16 are permitted to register or create user profiles, and individuals aged between 16 and 18 must participate in the Interactive Community only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian. Numerous informational and commercial resources (such as computer hardware, software or filtering services) are available to help parents keep their children safe online. If you are interested in learning more about these resources, information is available at many sites providing information on such protections. We do not specifically sponsor or endorse any of these sites or their services.
• Interactive Community users may upload to or otherwise submit to us for distribution on the Interactive Community and the Services: (A) UGC that is not subject to any copyright or other proprietary rights restrictions; or (B) UGC that the owner or licensor of any relevant rights has given express authorization for us to distribute over the Internet. You may not upload, embed, post, e-mail, transmit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any person or entity. Any copyrighted or other proprietary UGC distributed with the consent of a copyright owner should contain a phrase such as "Copyright, owned by [name of owner]; used by permission". We are entitled to presume that all UGC conforms to the foregoing requirements. The unauthorized submission of copyrighted or other proprietary UGC is illegal and could subject the user to personal liability for damages in a civil suit as well as criminal prosecution. Interactive Community users assume all liability for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyright or proprietary rights, or for any other harm arising from an unauthorized submission or submission of UGC. We assume no liability for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyright or proprietary rights, or from any other harm arising from any UGC.
• Content Moderation, Measures Use For the Purpose of Content Moderation and Content Recommendations .
• Content Moderation . For services that allow users to submit content, we reserve the right to remove content that violates the Terms, which includes our policies and guidelines. For instance, we use automated systems to identify and filter out certain content that violates our policies and/or guidelines. If the system does not detect any obvious signs of a violation, the respective content will be available online.
• Measures Used For the Purpose of Content Moderation . For services that allow users to submit content, in case of a violation of the Terms, which includes our policies and guidelines, or under applicable law, we will remove or disable access to your user content and terminate the accounts of those who repeatedly violate the Terms.
• Content Recommendations . To the extent that our Services provides any recommendations of content, our Services uses machine learning algorithms to recommend Content, as well as User-Generated Content, to Users to help them study better. These recommendations are based on data about the Content, e.g., the Content’s engagement data (based on, e.g., user traffic), relatedness of Content (e.g., based on a Users’ search terms), etc. Our Services may change how they recommend Content and User-Generated Content to Users. See section titled “Changes to Services and Amendments to the Terms” for more information.

3. Using the Services; Services and Content Use Restrictions.

• Creating an Account . Accounts may only be set up by you (and if not you, by an authorized representative of the individual that is the subject of the account and who is of the age of majority). We do not review accounts for authenticity and are not responsible for any unauthorized accounts that may appear on the Services. For any dispute as to account creation or authenticity, we shall have the sole right, but are not obligated, to resolve such dispute as we determine appropriate, without notice. If you register with us or create an account, you are solely responsible and liable for the security and confidentiality of your access credentials and for restricting access to your Device and for all activity under your account. Usernames and passwords must be personal and unique, not violate the rights of any person or entity, and not be offensive. We may reject the use of any password, username, or email address for any reason in our sole discretion. You are solely responsible for your registration information and for updating and maintaining it. You will immediately notify us here of any unauthorized use of your account, password, or username, or any other breach of security, but will remain responsible for any unauthorized use thereafter. You will not sell, transfer, or assign your account or any account rights.
• Any deal terms presented to you at the time of subscription, rental, purchase, or other transaction you conduct on or initiate on the Services (“Transaction”) shall be considered Additional Terms. You agree to pay Student Brands all charges at the prices presented to you or your agent(s). You must provide, and you authorize Student Brands to charge, your chosen payment provider (your "Payment Method") when you make a purchase or subscribe to paid Services. You agree to make payment using that selected Payment Method and will only provide us information about payment methods that you are authorized to use. We allow you to save and manage your information about your Payment Method, including the full credit card number, account number, and expiration dates, for future purchases or transactions on our site. You may make changes to your default Payment Method at any time. If we are unable to charge one payment card, we may charge another valid credit card that you have entered for use on our site. You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information that we have on file, and you consent to Student Brands updating such stored information from time to time based on information provided by you, your bank or payment services processors. If you initiate a chargeback dispute for any payment or transaction made on our site, Student Brands reserves the right to terminate the provision of services or delivery or products to you pending resolution of the chargeback dispute with the credit card issuer.
• Subscription fees may be automatically renewed at the end of the original term selected, for a similar period of time, unless notice is received from the subscriber to terminate the subscription before renewal. Unless and until the subscription is canceled or terminated in accordance with the Terms , you hereby authorize us to charge your Payment Method to pay for the ongoing cost of the subscription. Subscription fees are NOT refundable if you request to cancel or terminate your subscription. Should a refund be issued by us, all refunds will be credited solely to the Payment Method used in the original transaction. You hereby further authorize us to charge your Payment Method for any and all additional purchases of Services and Content.
• Some Transactions may be subject to taxes in certain states. Depending on your state and the nature of the product or Services you receive from us, this may be a rental tax, sales tax and/or use tax. Tax rates are different from state to state. You are responsible for paying all such taxes.
• Services Use Restrictions . You agree that you will not: (i) use the Services for any political or commercial purpose (including, without limitation, for purposes of advertising, soliciting funds, collecting product prices, and selling products); (ii) use any meta tags or any other “hidden text” utilizing any Intellectual Property; (iii) engage in any activities through or in connection with the Services that seek to attempt to or do harm any individuals or entities or are unlawful, offensive, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, threatening, harassing, or abusive, or that violate any right of any third-party, or are otherwise objectionable to Student Brands; (iv) decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or attempt to reconstruct, identify, or discover any source code, underlying ideas, underlying user interface techniques, or algorithms of the Services by any means whatsoever or modify any Services source or object code or any Software or other products, services, or processes accessible through any portion of the Services; (v) engage in any activity that interferes with a user’s access to the Services or the proper operation of the Services, or otherwise causes harm to the Services, Student Brands, or other users of the Services; (vi) interfere with or circumvent any security feature (including any digital rights management mechanism, device or other content protection or access control measure) of the Services or any feature that restricts or enforces limitations on use of or access to the Services, the Content, or the UGC; (vii) harvest or otherwise collect or store any information (including personally identifiable information about other users of the Services, including email addresses, without the express consent of such users); (viii) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Services, other computer systems or networks connected to the Services, through password mining or any other means; or (ix) otherwise violate the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms.
• Content Use Restrictions . You also agree that, in using the Services, you will: (i) not monitor, gather, copy, or distribute the Content (except as may be a result of standard search engine activity or use of a standard browser) on the Services by using any robot, rover, “bot”, spider, scraper, crawler, spyware, engine, device, software, extraction tool, or any other automatic device, utility, or manual process of any kind; (ii) not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any the Content (including any images, text, or page layout); (iii) keep intact all trademark, copyright, and other Intellectual Property and other notices contained in the Content; (iv) not use the Content in a manner that suggests an unauthorized association with any of our or our licensors’ products, services, or brands; (v) not make any modifications to the Content (other than to the extent of your specifically permitted use of the Student Brands Licensed Elements, if applicable); (vi) not copy, modify, reproduce, archive, sell, lease, rent, exchange, create derivative works from, publish by hard copy or electronic means, publicly perform, display, disseminate, distribute, broadcast, retransmit, circulate or transfer to any third-party or on any Third-Party Services, or otherwise use or exploit the Content in any way for any purpose except as specifically permitted by the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms, or with the prior written consent of an officer of Student Brands or, in the case of the Content from a licensor or owner of the Content; and (vii) not insert any code or product to manipulate the Content in any way that adversely affects any user experience or the Services.
• Availability of Services and Content . Student Brands, in its sole discretion without advance notice or liability, may immediately suspend or terminate the availability of the Services and/or Content (and any elements and features of them), in whole or in part, for any reason, in Student Brands’ sole discretion, and without advance notice or liability.
• Age of Users . Unless otherwise specifically noted in the features made available to you, the Services, Content and any products and services appearing or marketed on the Services are intended for and directed towards the purchase and use by adults (those aged 18 years or above) or by individuals 16 or older with the consent of adults. Individuals over the age of 16 and under the age of 18 years may only use the Services with the supervision of a parent or legal guardian and should review the Terms with a parent or legal guardian to ensure that they understand them.
• Internet Connectivity Charges . Internet connectivity is required to access the Services. Any access fees or charges applicable to your internet connectivity are solely your responsibility. Certain internet service providers, including wireless carriers, may charge fees for data connections based on the total amount of data you access. We are in no way responsible for the fees charged by or policies of internet service providers or others with whom you contract for such internet connectivity.

4. Wireless Features; Messages; Location-Based Features.

• Wireless Features . The Services may offer certain features and services via your wireless Device. Features and services may include the ability to access the Services’ features, upload content to the Services, receive messages from the Services, and download applications to your wireless Device (collectively, “Wireless Features”). You agree to receive communications we may send through Wireless Features for which you are registered. Further, we may collect information related to your use of the Wireless Features. If you have registered via the Services for Wireless Features, then you agree to notify Student Brands of any changes to your wireless contact information (including phone number) and update your accounts on the Services to reflect the changes. If the Services includes push notifications or other mobile communication capability, you hereby approve of our delivery of electronic communications directly to your mobile Device. These notifications, including badge, alert or pop-up messages, may be delivered to your Device even when the Services is running in the background. You may have the ability, and it is your responsibility, to adjust the notifications you do, or do not, receive via your Device through your Device and/or app settings. Standard message, data and other fees may be charged by your carrier, and carriers may deduct charges from pre-paid amounts or data allowances, for which you are responsible. Your carrier may prohibit or restrict certain Wireless Features and certain Wireless Features may be incompatible with your carrier or wireless Device. Contact your carrier with questions regarding these issues.
• You may be given opportunities to subscribe to various text marketing or other text messaging programs and by doing so, you consent to receive ongoing text alerts (including by auto-dialers) from us related to our various businesses and affiliates, which may include co-promotions with or about other parties, except that if the scope of your consent for a particular subscription is limited, that subscription will be so limited. Such consent is not required to purchase any product or Services aside from the text subscription itself. Subsequent or different subscriptions will be unaffected by an opt-out. You consent to receive a text confirming any opt-out as well as non-marketing administrative or transactional messages.
• Email Messages . You may cancel or modify our email marketing communications you receive from us by following the instructions contained within our promotional emails. This will not affect subsequent subscriptions, and if your opt-out is limited to certain types of emails, the opt-out will be so limited. Please note that we reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to your account or use of our Services, such as administrative and service announcements, and these transactional account messages may be unaffected if you choose to opt-out from receiving our marketing communications.
• Location-Based Features . If GPS, geo-location or other location-based features are enabled on your Device, you acknowledge that your Device location may be tracked and may be shared with others consistent with the Privacy Policy . Some Devices and platforms may allow disabling some, but not all, location-based features or managing such preferences. Typically, your proximity or connection to wi-fi, Bluetooth and other networks may still be tracked when location services are turned off on Device settings. You can terminate Device location tracking via a mobile app by us by uninstalling the application. Territory geo-filtering maybe required in connection with use of some Services features due, for instance, to Content territory restrictions. The location-based services offered in connection with Student Brands’ mobile app(s) or feature(s) are for individual use only and should not be used or relied on in any situation in which the failure or inaccuracy of use of the location-based services could lead directly to death, personal injury, or physical or property damage. Use location-based services at your own risk as location data may not be accurate.

5. Notice and Take Down Procedure for Claims of Infringement.

• DMCA Notification .If you are a copyright owner who would like to send us a notice pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to identify content or material posted on the Services that is infringing and that you would like removed from our Services, or if you are a user whose work has been removed in response to such a notice of infringement and would like to file a DMCA counter-notice, you may submit such notice to us by following the instructions in this Section 5.
• The electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or the person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
• A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed and a description of the infringing activity.
• Identification of the location where the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work exists (for example, the URL of the website where it is posted or the name of the book in which it has been published).
• Identification of the URL or other specific location on the Services where the material you claim is infringing is located, providing enough information to allow us to locate the material.
• Your name, address, telephone number, and email address so that we may contact you.
• A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

The email address above is only for reporting copyright infringement and may not be used for any other purpose.

• If you believe an individual is a repeat infringer, please follow the instructions above to contact our DMCA agent and provide information sufficient for us to verify the individual is a repeat infringer.
• It is often difficult to determine if your copyright has been infringed. Student Brands may elect to not respond to DMCA notices that do not substantially comply with all of the foregoing requirements, and Bartleby may elect to remove allegedly infringing material that comes to its attention via notices that do not substantially comply with the DMCA.
• a legend or subject line that says: “DMCA Counter-Notification”;
• a description of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled (please include the full URL of the page(s) on the Services from which the material was removed or access to it disabled);
• a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled;
• your full name, address, telephone number, email address, and the username of your account with us (if any);
• a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if the address is located outside the U.S.A., to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided DMCA notification to us or an agent of such person; and
• your electronic or physical signature.
• Receipt of DMCA Counter-Notification . If we receive a DMCA Counter-Notification, then we may replace the material that we removed (or stop disabling access to it) in not less than ten (10) and not more than fourteen (14) business days following receipt of the DMCA Counter-Notification. However, we will not do this if we first receive notice at the address above that the party who sent us the DMCA copyright infringement notice has filed a lawsuit asking a court for an order restraining the person who provided the material from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Services. Upon our receipt of a Counter-Notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, we will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA's procedures regarding counter notification. All Counter-Notifications must satisfy the requirements of Section 512(g)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act. In all events, you expressly agree that neither Student Brands nor any of its affiliates or their employees, officers, directors, or agents will be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement. Please note you may be held liable for money damages if you materially misrepresent that an activity is infringing your copyrights.

6. Product Specifications; Pricing; Typographical Errors.

We strive to accurately describe our products or services offered on the Services; however, we do not warrant that such specifications, pricing, or other content on the Services is complete, accurate, reliable, current, or error-free. As permitted by applicable law, Student Brands shall have the right to refuse or cancel any orders in its sole discretion. Your orders are offers to purchase subject to our acceptance, which we may reject or cancel subject to refund. If we charged your credit or other account prior to rejection or cancellation, we will reissue credit to your account. Additional Terms may apply. If a product you purchased or accepted from Student Brands is not as described, as permitted by applicable law, your sole remedy is to return it, to cancel the purchase and receive a credit for the purchase price.

7. Termination or Suspension.

• Termination by Us . We may, upon notice to you, issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend, or terminate your account or your access to all or any part of the Services for any reason in our sole discretion. In certain cases, in our sole discretion, we may provide you with a written notice (a "Restriction Notice") to inform you: (i) your right to use or access any part of the Services has been terminated, including the right to use, access or create any account thereon; (ii) we refuse to provide any Services to you; and (iii) any subsequent orders placed by you will be subject to cancellation. Other conditions may apply and shall be set forth in the Restriction Notice.
• For You to Terminate . You may terminate the Terms by ceasing all use of the Services and deleting all Licensed Elements from your Device.
• Effect of Termination or Suspension . Following termination (by us or by you) or suspension, you will not be permitted to use the Services. Any suspension or termination will not affect your obligations to Student Brands under the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms. Upon suspension or termination of your access to the Services, or upon notice from Student Brands, all rights granted to you under the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms will cease immediately, and you agree that you will immediately discontinue use of the Services. The provisions of the Terms and any applicable Additional Terms, which by their nature should survive your suspension or termination will survive, including the rights and licenses you grant to Student Brands in the Terms, as well as the indemnities, releases, disclaimers, and limitations on liability and the provisions regarding jurisdiction, choice of law, no class action, and mandatory arbitration.

8. Disclaimers; Exclusions and Limitations of Liability.

• DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, STUDENT BRANDS AND ITS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, VENDORS, LICENSORS, LICENSEES, CONTRACTORS, CUSTOMERS, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS (COLLECTIVELY, “STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES”) PROVIDE THE SERVICE, CONTENT, STUDENT BRANDS LICENSED ELEMENTS, OR OTHER STUDENT BRANDS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ON AN "AS IS," "AS AVAILABLE," AND “WITH ALL FAULTS” BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY WHATSOEVER. THE USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES (AS APPLICABLE) DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE SERVICES, CONTENT, LICENSED ELEMENTS, UGC OR OTHER STUDENT BRANDS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WILL: (I) BE UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE; (II) BE FREE OF DEFECTS, INACCURACIES OR ERRORS; OR (III) OTHERWISE MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, LACK OF HIDDEN OR LATENT DEFECTS, SECURITY, MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, QUIET ENJOYMENT AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ARISING BY REASON OF CUSTOM OR USAGE IN THE TRADE OR BY COURSE OF DEALING. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THIS SECTION DOES NOT EXPAND OR LIMIT: (X) ANY EXPRESS, WRITTEN PRODUCT WARRANTY OR RELATED DISCLAIMERS THAT ARE PROVIDED BY BARTLEBY PARTIES OR THEIR SUPPLIERS WITH REGARD TO A PHYSICAL PRODUCT SOLD BY BARTLEBY PARTIES TO YOU, OR ANY WARRANTY ON A PHYSICAL PRODUCT TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW; (Y) STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES’ LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY TO YOU CAUSED BY STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES TO THE EXTENT NOT WAIVABLE OR CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW; OR (Z) ANY CAUSE OF ACTION YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES THAT IS NOT WAIVABLE OR CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
• EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES . TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST OR CORRUPTED DATA, OR DAMAGE TO REPUTATION OR GOODWILL OR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER INDIRECT DAMAGES OR LOSSES ARISING FROM, RELATING TO OR CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SERVICES, CONTENT, LICENSED ELEMENTS, UGC OR OTHER STUDENT BRANDS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION ON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, PRODUCT DEFECT OR MISREPRESENTATION), EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSSES.
• your use of or inability to use the Services, or the performance of the Services;
• any action taken in connection with an investigation by Student Brands Parties or law enforcement authorities regarding your access to or use of the Services;
• any action taken in connection with copyright or other Intellectual Property owners or other rights owners;
• any errors or omissions in the Services’ technical operation or security or any compromise or loss of your UGC or other data or information; or
• any damage to any user’s computer, hardware, software, modem, or other equipment or technology, including damage from any security breach or from any virus, bugs, tampering, fraud, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer line, or network failure or any other technical or other malfunction, including losses or damages in the form of lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss of data, work stoppage, accuracy of results, or equipment failure or malfunction. The foregoing limitations of liability will apply even if any of the foregoing events or circumstances were foreseeable and even if the Student Brands Parties were advised of or should have known of the possibility of such losses or damages, regardless of whether you bring an action based in contract, negligence, strict liability, or tort (including whether caused, in whole or in part, by negligence, acts of God, telecommunications failure, or destruction of the Services).

EXCEPT AS MAY BE PROVIDED IN ANY APPLICABLE ADDITIONAL TERMS, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE STUDENT BRANDS PARTIES’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU, FOR ALL POSSIBLE DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES AND YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE TERMS, EXCEED AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID STUDENT BRANDS IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION(S) THAT UNDERLIE THE CLAIM(S); PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THIS PROVISION WILL NOT APPLY IF A COURT OR TRIBUNAL WITH APPLICABLE JURISDICTION FINDS SUCH TO BE UNCONSCIONABLE. FOR PURPOSES OF CLARITY, THE PRIOR SENTENCE DOES NOT EXPAND OR LIMIT ANY EXPRESS, WRITTEN PRODUCT WARRANTY THAT IS PROVIDED BY STUDENT BRANDS OR A MANUFACTURER OF A PHYSICAL PRODUCT.

The liability limitations in this Section 8 are not intended to limit any express warranties from applicable product manufacturers of physical products sold via the Services, or any express warranties by Student Brands that are included in applicable Additional Terms.

• APPLICABLE JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS . CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS, SUCH AS NEW JERSEY, DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. AS SUCH, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
• ESSENTIAL PURPOSE .UNLESS LIMITED OR MODIFIED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS APPLY, EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

9. Arbitration and Dispute Terms.

• Forum Selection/Jurisdiction . Jurisdiction and venue for any controversy, allegation, or claim arising out of or relating to the Services, the Content, your UGC, these Service Terms, or any applicable Additional Terms, (collectively, “Dispute”) shall be in New York, New York. Each party submits to personal jurisdiction and venue in New York, New York for any and all purposes.
• Pre-Arbitration Notification . Student Brands and you agree that it would be advantageous to discuss and hopefully resolve any Disputes before formal proceedings are initiated; provided, however, that Student Brands need not do so in circumstances where its claims of Intellectual Property rights are concerned (“IP Disputes,” with all other disputes referred to as “General Disputes”). The party making a claim – whether you or Student Brands – shall send a letter to the other side briefly summarizing the claim and the request for relief. If Student Brands is making a claim, the letter shall be sent, via email, to the email address listed in your Student Brands account, as applicable. If no such information exists or if such information is not current, then we have no notification or delay obligations under this Section 9(b). If you are making a claim, the letter shall be sent to: Learneo, Inc. Student Brands, Attn: Monique Ho, General Counsel, 2000 Seaport Blvd, Floor 3, Redwood City, CA 94063 US. If the Dispute is not resolved within sixty (60) days after notification, the claimant may proceed to initiate proceedings as set forth in this Section 9. Either you or Student Brands, however, may seek provisional remedies (such as preliminary injunctive relief) subject to Section 9(d) before the expiration of this sixty (60)-day period.
• Arbitration of Claims . Unless you give us notice of opt-out within five (5) business days of your first use of the Services, addressed to: Learneo, Inc. Student Brands, Attn: Monique Ho, General Counsel, 2000 Seaport Blvd, Floor 3, Redwood City, CA 94063 US. all actions or proceedings arising in connection with, touching upon or relating to any Dispute, or the scope of the provisions of this Section 9, shall be submitted to JAMS (www.jamsadr.com) for final and binding arbitration under its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures if the matter in dispute is over $250,000 or under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures if the matter in dispute is $250,000 or less, to be held in New York, New York, before a single arbitrator. If the matter in dispute is between Student Brands and a consumer, the matter shall be submitted to JAMS in accordance with its Policy on Consumer Arbitration Pursuant to Pre-Dispute Clauses Minimum Standards of Procedural Fairness. The arbitrator shall be selected by mutual agreement of the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, then by striking from a list of arbitrators supplied by JAMS. We may have the right to pay the JAMS fees if required for arbitration to be enforceable. The arbitration shall be a confidential proceeding, closed to the general public; provided, however, that a party may disclose information relating to the arbitration proceedings to its and its affiliates’ lawyers, insurance providers, auditors and other professional advisers. The fact that there is a dispute between the parties that is the subject of arbitration shall be confidential to the same extent. The arbitrator shall issue a written opinion stating the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator’s award is based. Neither party shall be entitled or permitted to commence or maintain any action in a court of law with respect to any matter in dispute until such matter shall have been submitted to arbitration as herein provided and then only for the enforcement of the arbitrator’s award; provided, however, that prior to the appointment of the arbitrator or for remedies beyond the jurisdiction of an arbitrator, at any time, either party may seek pendente lite relief (subject to the provisions of these Service Terms waiving or limiting that relief) in a court of competent jurisdiction in New York, New York or, if sought by Student Brands, such other court that may have jurisdiction over you, without thereby waiving its right to arbitration of the dispute or controversy under this Section 9; provided further, however, that the losing party shall have fifteen (15) business days after the issuance of the arbitrator’s decision to fully comply with such decision, after which the prevailing party may enforce such decision by a petition to the Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County or, in the case of you, such other court having jurisdiction over you, which may be made ex parte, for confirmation and enforcement of the award. To the extent there are any challenges to the arbitrability of a claim, the arbitrator shall determine any and all such challenges.
• Limitation on Injunctive Relief . AS PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IF YOU CLAIM THAT YOU HAVE INCURRED ANY LOSS, DAMAGES, OR INJURIES IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, THEN THE LOSSES, DAMAGES, AND INJURIES WILL NOT BE DEEMED IRREPARABLE OR SUFFICIENT TO ENTITLE YOU TO AN INJUNCTION OR TO OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF OF ANY KIND. THIS MEANS (WITHOUT LIMITATION) THAT, IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR CLAIM, YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL NOT SEEK, AND THAT YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN, ANY COURT OR OTHER ACTION THAT MAY INTERFERE WITH OR PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OR EXPLOITATION OF THE SERVICES, CONTENT, UGC, PRODUCT, OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNED, LICENSED, USED, OR CONTROLLED BY ANY STUDENT BRANDS PARTY (INCLUDING YOUR LICENSED UGC) OR A LICENSOR OF ANY BARTLEBY PARTY.
• Governing Law . These Service Terms and any applicable Additional Terms, General Disputes and IP Disputes, and any other claim brought by you against the Student Brands Parties or by Student Brands against you pursuant to this Section 9, or otherwise related to the Services, Content, Licensed Elements, UGC, products or Student Brands Intellectual Property, will be governed by, construed, and resolved in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without regard to its conflicts of law provisions that might apply the laws of another jurisdiction. This Section 9 shall be governed solely by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §1, et seq., and not by the law of any state, and is enforceable pursuant to its terms on a self-executing basis. You and Student Brands agree that we intend that this Section 9 satisfies the “writing” requirement of the Federal Arbitration Act. This Section 9 can only be amended by mutual agreement. Either party may seek enforcement of this Section 9 in any court of competent jurisdiction.
• Class Action Waiver . As permitted by applicable law, both you and Student Brands waive the right to bring any Dispute as a class, consolidated, representative, collective, or private attorney general action, or to participate in a class, consolidated, representative, collective, or private attorney general action regarding any Dispute brought by anyone else. Notwithstanding any provision in the JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures to the contrary, the arbitrator shall not have the authority or any jurisdiction to hear the arbitration as a class, consolidated, representative, or private attorney general action or to consolidate, join, or otherwise combine the Disputes of different persons into one proceeding. Notwithstanding the arbitration provision set forth above, if the provision regarding waiver of class, collective, representative, and private attorney general claims of this Section 9 is found to be void or otherwise unenforceable, any such class, collective, representative, or private attorney general claims must be heard and determined through an appropriate court proceeding, and not in arbitration.
• Jury Waiver . AS PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL WITH RESPECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND ISSUES ARISING UNDER, IN CONNECTION WITH, TOUCHING UPON OR RELATING TO THE TERMS, THE BREACH THEREOF AND/OR THE SCOPE OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT OR TORT, AND INCLUDING ANY CLAIM FOR FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT THEREOF.
• Small Claims Matters . Notwithstanding the foregoing, either of us may bring a qualifying claim of General Dispute (but not IP Disputes) in small claims court, subject to Section 9(f).
• Survival . The provisions of this Section 9 shall supersede any inconsistent provisions of any prior agreement between the parties. This Section 9 shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any termination of your use of the Services or the Terms.

10. General Provisions.

• Student Brands’ Consent or Approval . As to any provision in the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms that grants Student Brands a right of consent or approval, or permits Student Brands to exercise a right in its “sole discretion,” Student Brands may exercise that right in its sole and absolute discretion. No Student Brands consent or approval may be deemed to have been granted by Student Brands without being in writing and signed by an officer of Student Brands.
• Indemnity . As permitted by applicable law, you agree to, and you hereby, defend (if requested by Student Brands), indemnify, and hold the Student Brands Parties harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs, investigations, liabilities, judgments, fines, penalties, settlements, interest, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) that directly or indirectly arise from or are related to any claim, suit, action, demand, or proceeding made or brought against any Student Brands Party, or on account of the investigation, defense, or settlement thereof, arising out of or in connection with: (i) your UGC; (ii) your use of the Services and your activities in connection with the Services; (iii) your breach or alleged breach of the Terms or any applicable Additional Terms; (iv) your violation or alleged violation of any laws, rules, regulations, codes, statutes, ordinances, or orders of any governmental or quasi-governmental authorities in connection with your use of the Services or your activities in connection with the Services; (v) information or material transmitted through your Device, even if not submitted by you, that infringes, violates, or misappropriates any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent, publicity, privacy, or other right of any person or entity; (vi) any misrepresentation made by you; and (vii) the Student Brands Parties’ use of the information that you submit to us (including your UGC) subject to our Privacy Policy (all of the foregoing, “Claims and Losses”). You will cooperate as fully required by the Student Brands Parties in the defense of any Claims and Losses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Student Brands Parties retain the exclusive right to settle, compromise, and pay any and all Claims and Losses. The Student Brands Parties reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any Claims and Losses. You will not settle any Claims and Losses without, in each instance, the prior written consent of an officer of Student Brands. This section is not intended to limit any causes of action against us that you may have but are not waivable under applicable law.
• Operation of Services; Availability of Products and Services; International Issues . Student Brands controls and operates the Services from the U.S., and makes no representation that the Services is appropriate or available for use beyond the U.S. If you use the Services from other locations, you are doing so on your own initiative and responsible for compliance with applicable laws regarding your online conduct and acceptable content, if and to the extent laws apply.
• Export Controls. You are responsible for complying with all applicable trade regulations and laws both foreign and domestic. Except as authorized by U.S. law, you agree and warrant not to export or re-export the software to any county, or to any person, entity, or end-user subject to U.S. export controls or sanctions.
• Interpretation . Headings used in the Terms are for reference only and shall not affect the meaning of any terms. "Including" means "including, without limitation." The singular includes the plural and vice versa. The Terms, and the applicable Additional Terms, are binding upon each party and its successors and permitted assigns.
• Entire Agreement . Except for any Additional Terms that apply to your use of the Services as we may notify or make available to you, this is the entire understanding between you and us regarding the use of the Services, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings between you and us regarding this subject matter.
• Severability . The provisions of the Terms are intended to be severable. If for any reason any provision of the Terms is held invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part in any applicable jurisdiction, such provision shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without in any manner affecting the validity or enforceability thereof in any other jurisdiction or the remaining provisions hereof in that or any other jurisdiction.
• Our Affiliates, Suppliers and Licensors . Our affiliates, suppliers, licensors and other Student Brands Parties are intended third-party beneficiaries of these Service Terms.
• No Waiver . Our failure or delay to exercise or enforce any right, remedy or provision of the Terms or by law will not operate as a waiver of such or any other right, remedy or provision.
• Notices . Where we need to send you notices under the Terms or in connection with your use of the Services, you hereby consent to receive electronic notices from us, whether addressed to the email address associated with your account or another email address that you provide to us. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you acknowledge and agree that any communication via email or by postings on the Services satisfies any legal requirement that such communications be made in writing. All legal notices to us must be sent to: Learneo, Inc. Student Brands, Attn: Monique Ho, General Counsel, 2000 Seaport Blvd, Floor 3, Redwood City, CA 94063 US.
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I really liked the personalized support for my essays and how my consultant took the time to understand me as a person to know how to best reflect myself in my essay. She was also very understanding when I needed more time to work on the draft before another round of revisions

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Regions Riding Forward® Scholarship Contest

Their Story. Your Voice.

Your voice is your own. But it's also been impacted by others. Who, we wonder, has inspired you? Let us know by entering the Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest. 

You could win an $8,000 college scholarship

For the opportunity to win an $8,000 scholarship, submit a video or written essay about an individual you know personally (who lives in your community) who has inspired you and helped you build the confidence you need to achieve your goals.

The details

The 2024 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest consists of four (4) separate Quarterly Contests - one for each calendar quarter of 2024. Regions is awarding four $8,000 scholarships through each Quarterly Contest.

Each Quarterly Contest has its own separate entry period, as provided in the chart below.

The entry deadline for each Quarterly Contest is 11:59:59 PM Central Time on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date (set forth in the chart above).

No purchase or banking relationship required.

Regions believes in supporting the students whose passion and actions every day will continue to make stories worth sharing. That’s why we have awarded over $1 million in total scholarships to high school and college students.

How to enter, 1. complete an online quarterly contest application.

Enter the Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest by completing a Quarterly Contest application.  The second Quarterly Contest runs from April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. Complete and save all requested information. 

2. Prepare your Written Essay or Video Essay

For each Quarterly Contest, the topic of your Written Essay or Video Essay (your “Essay Topic”) must be an individual you know personally, who lives in your community. Your Written Essay or Video Essay must address how the individual you have selected as your Essay Topic has inspired you and helped you build the confidence you need to achieve your goals.

Written Essay and Video Essay submissions must meet all of the requirements described in the contest Official Rules. Your Written Essay or Video Essay must be (i) in English, (ii) your own original work, created solely by you (and without the use of any means of artificial intelligence (“AI”)), and (iii) the exclusive property of you alone.

Written Essays must be 500 words or less. You can write your Written Essay directly in the application, or you can copy and paste it into the appropriate area in the application form.

Video Essay submissions must be directly uploaded to the contest application site. Video Essays must be no more than 3 minutes in length and no larger than 1 GB. Only the following file formats are accepted: MP4, MPG, MOV, AVI, and WMV. Video Essays must not contain music of any kind nor display any illegal, explicit, or inappropriate material, and Video Essays must not be password protected or require a log-in/sign-in to view. You must upload your Video Essay to the application, and you may not submit your Video Essay in DVD or other physical form. (Video Essays submitted via mail will not be reviewed or returned.)

Tips to Record Quality Videos on a Smartphone:

• Don’t shoot vertical video. Computer monitors have landscape-oriented displays, so shoot your video horizontally.
• Use a tripod. Even small movements can make a big difference when editing.
• Don’t use zoom. If you need to get a close shot of the subject, move closer as zooming can cause pixilation.
• Use natural lighting. Smartphone lighting can wash out your video.

3. Review and submit your Quarterly Contest application

Review your information on your Quarterly Application (and check the spelling of a Written Essay) and submit your entry by 11:59:59 p.m. Central Time on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date. The second Quarterly Contest period end date is June 30, 2024.

4. Await notification

Winning entries are selected by an independent panel of judges who are not affiliated with Regions. If your entry is selected as a Quarterly Contest winner, you will need to respond to ISTS with the required information.

Eligibility

For purposes of this contest:

• The “Eligible States” are defined as the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
• An “accredited college” is defined as a nonprofit, two- or four-year college or university located within one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia.

To be eligible to enter this contest and to win an award in a Quarterly Contest, at the time of entry, you must:

• Be a legal U.S. resident of one of the Eligible States.
• Be age 16 or older.
• Have at least one (1) year (or at least 18 semester hours) remaining before college graduation.
• If you are not yet in college, begin your freshman year of college no later than the start of the 2025 – 2026 college academic school year.
• As of your most recent school enrollment period, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in school (and if no GPA is provided at school, be in “good standing” or the equivalent thereof in school).

View Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR BANKING RELATIONSHIP REQUIRED. PURCHASE OR BANKING RELATIONSHIP WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. The 2024 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest (the “Contest”) consists of four (4) separate quarterly contests (each a “Quarterly Contest”): (1) the “Q-1 Contest;” (2) the “Q-2 Contest;” (3) the “Q-3 Contest;” and (4) the “Q-4 Contest.” The Q-1 Contest begins on 02/01/24 and ends on 03/31/24; the Q-2 Contest begins on 04/01/24 and ends on 06/30/24; the Q-3 Contest begins on 07/01/24 and ends on 09/30/24; and the Q-4 Contest begins on 10/01/24 and ends on 12/31/24. (For each Quarterly Contest, entries must be submitted and received by 11:59:59 PM CT on the applicable Quarterly Contest period end date.) To enter and participate in a particular Quarterly Contest, at the time of entry, you must: (a) be a legal U.S. resident of one of the Eligible States; (b) be 16 years of age or older; (c) have at least one (1) year (or at least 18 semester hours) remaining before college graduation; (d) (if you are not yet in college) begin your freshman year of college no later than the start of the 2025 – 2026 college academic school year; and (e) as of your most recent school enrollment period, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 in school (and if no grade point average is provided at school, be in “good standing” or the equivalent thereof in school). (For purposes of Contest, the “Eligible States” are defined as the states of AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN and TX.) Visit regions.com/ridingforward for complete Contest details, including eligibility and Written Essay and Video Essay requirements and Official Rules. (Limit one (1) entry per person, per Quarterly Contest.) For each Quarterly Contest, eligible entries will be grouped according to form of entry (Written Essay or Video Essay) and judged by a panel of independent, qualified judges. A total of four (4) Quarterly Contest Prizes will be awarded in each Quarterly Contest, consisting of two (2) Quarterly Contest Prizes for the Written Essay Entry Group and two (2) Quarterly Contest Prizes for the Video Essay Entry Group. Each Quarterly Contest Prize consists of a check in the amount of $8,000 made out to winner’s designated accredited college. (Limit one (1) Quarterly Contest Prize per person; a contestant is permitted to win only one (1) Quarterly Contest Prize through the Contest.) Sponsor: Regions Bank, 1900 Fifth Ave. N., Birmingham, AL 35203.

© 2024 Regions Bank. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

2023 Winners

High school:.

• Amyrrean Acoff
• Leon Aldridge
• Kharis Andrews
• Colton Collier
• Indya Griffin
• Christopher Hak
• Aquil Hayes
• Jayden Haynes
• McKenna Jodoin
• Paris Kelly
• Liza Latimer
• Dylan Lodle
• Anna Mammarelli
• Karrington Manley
• Marcellus Odum
• Gautami Palthepu
• Melody Small
• Lauryn Tanner
• Joshua Wilson
• Mohamed Ali
• Kayla Bellamy
• Lauren Boxx
• Alexandria Brown
• Samuel Brown
• Thurston Brown
• Conner Daehler
• Tsehai de Souza
• Anjel Echols
• Samarion Flowers
• Trinity Griffin
• Kristina Hilton
• Ryan Jensen
• Miracle Jones
• Shaniece McGhee
• Chelby Melvin
• Lamiya Ousley
• Kiera Phillips
• Gabrielle Pippins
• Ethan Snead
• Sydney Springs
• Kirsten Tilford
• Tamira Weeks
• Justin Williams

2022 Winners

• Paul Aucremann
• William Booker
• Robyn Cunningham
• Kani'ya Davis
• Oluwatomi Dugbo
• Lillian Goins
• Parker Hall
• Collin Hatfield
• Gabrielle Izu
• Kylie Lauderdale
• Jacob Milan
• Jackson Mitchell
• Carmen Moore
• Madison Morgan
• Kaden Oquelí-White
• Kaylin Parks
• Brian Perryman
• De'Marco Riggins
• Brianna Roundtree
• Sydney Russell
• Carlie Spore
• Morgan Standifer
• Ionia Thomas
• Ramaya Thomas
• Jaylen Toran
• Amani Veals
• Taylor Williams
• Alana Wilson
• Taryn Wilson
• Aryaunna Armstrong
• Hannah Blackwell
• T'Aneka Bowers
• Naomi Bradley
• Arianna Cannon
• Taylor Cline
• Catherine Cummings
• Margaret Fitzgerald
• Chloe Franklin
• Camryn Gaines
• Thomas Greer
• Kayla Helleson
• Veronica Holmes
• Logan Kurtz
• Samuel Lambert
• Jaylon Muchison
• Teresa Odom
• Andrew Payne
• Carey Price
• Emily SantiAnna
• Curtis Smith
• Jered Smith
• Mariah Standifer
• Maura Taylor
• Anna Wilkes

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‘Opening Night’ Review: A Stylish Movie Becomes a Sludgy Travesty

Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of the 1977 John Cassavetes film, with music by Rufus Wainwright, turns a taut character study into a corny melodrama.

By Houman Barekat

The critic Houman Barekat saw “Opening Night” in London.

In a London auditorium, a work of art is being desecrated. “Opening Night,” John Cassavetes’s understatedly stylish 1977 movie about an actress struggling with midlife ennui, has been reimagined as a musical by the Belgian director Ivo van Hove, and the result is a travesty.

Its antiheroine, the Broadway superstar Myrtle Gordon (Sheridan Smith), has landed the lead role in a play about a middle-aged woman. But she isn’t feeling it: Though she is about 40, she insists she can’t relate. She stumbles through rehearsals, clashing with the director, Manny (Hadley Fraser), and the playwright, Sarah (Nicola Hughes), then goes rogue during previews, taking liberties with the script.

To compound matters, the actress develops a neurotic fixation on Nancy (Shira Haas), a 17-year-old fan killed in a car crash moments after getting Myrtle’s autograph. Convinced that Nancy is a cipher for her own lost youth, Myrtle intermittently hallucinates the dead girl’s ghost, and even converses with it. Myrtle is unraveling, but the show — somehow — must go on.

It’s a compelling story line, filled with dramatic possibilities, but “Opening Night,” which runs at the Gielgud Theater through July 27, is scuppered by a series of poor choices. Smith is miscast as Myrtle, for a start: Her onstage bearing exudes a homely approachability rather than high-strung poise or inscrutable aloofness.

Benjamin Walker is wooden as Maurice, Myrtle’s stage co-star and ex-partner, who Cassavetes himself played charmingly in the film. The estranged couple’s brittle onstage chemistry is an essential ingredient in the drama; here, they seem like actual strangers. Haas’s spectral Nancy is a disconcertingly cutesy symbol of youthful feminine vitality, a sprite-like figure who scurries around the stage in a short skirt, knee-high socks and platform boots — suggesting not so much a young woman as a pubescent child.

The songs, by Rufus Wainwright, are algorithmically bland. Several address aging, including the unsubtly titled “A Change of Life” (about menopause) and “Makes One Wonder,” a duet in which Myrtle and Sarah realize that, as women of a certain age, they may have more in common than they’d like to admit.

Others are about showbiz: “Magic” is an upbeat cabaret-style number about the wonder of the stage; “Moths to a Flame” is a somber, sentimental paean to the indefatigability of thespians everywhere. There is a brief foray into rock opera during an excruciating scene in which Myrtle, having figured out she must banish Nancy’s specter to get herself back on track, scuffles with the girl-child amid flashing strobe lights and 1980s-style power riffs. It’s so schlocky that it almost feels like a sendup.

Jan Versweyveld’s set is a theater within a theater. The rehearsal space occupies the foreground, and a row of vanity mirrors at the rear of the stage represents the backstage area. As in van Hove’s 2019 adaptation of “All About Eve ” — another story about the emotional travails of an aging actress — camera operators stalk its perimeter, transmitting close-up, real-time footage of the actors onto a big screen above the stage.

The idea is to ramp up the psychodrama by bringing us up close and personal, but there isn’t much intensity to intensify. The multiple angles add little to the experience. (The occasional bird’s-eye view is particularly unnecessary, unless you happen to have an interest in the topography of hairlines.) A screen caption at the start of the show informs us that a documentary film crew is recording the company’s rehearsals — a plot device that is supposed to make this camerawork feel less like a gratuitous gimmick, but so flimsily transparent that it has the opposite effect.

There are one or two good moments, including a tense rehearsal scene in which Myrtle objects to having to endure an onstage slap. She says it’s humiliating, but Manny insists it’s artistically necessary. Smith renders the standoff with a bleak comic pathos: At one point she even slaps herself to forestall the blow. (For van Hove, who is known for pushing his performers to the limit, this material is close to home.) Near the end, as the characters make their final preparations for opening night, the big screen cuts to recorded footage of theatergoers passing through the Gielgud foyer a couple of hours earlier — a clever touch that spurred a ripple of amused murmurs from the audience. But these are slim pickings.

As an artist yearning to take back control of her narrative, Myrtle should resonate at a time when questions of agency — for women and minorities, among others — are on many people’s minds. But van Hove’s corny treatment trivializes her suffering. Cassavetes’s movie had an elliptical quality that drew viewers in through the strength of its narrative artifice and the power of the actors’ performances; here, the story never comes to life, and the themes are labored. Van Hove has transformed a taut, subtly observed character study into a sludgy melodrama.

Opening Night Through July 27 at the Gielgud Theater in London; openingnightmusical.com .