What Is Content Writing?

Content writing is a very generic term that can refer to many different things. Content writers contribute to blogs, social media posts, email blasts, advertising campaigns, and technical documents. As a consequence, it encompasses all types of writing, from complex and formal to simple and informal.

Some examples of content writing include:

  • Marketing emails for subscribers to an email list
  • Social media posts for brand awareness
  • Instruction manuals for products
  • Product reviews for websites
  • Political commentary
  • Travel guides
  • Restaurant reviews
  • “How-to” guides

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What Is a Haiku? | Format & Examples

A haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic form that, when written in English, typically consists of seventeen syllables arranged in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively.

Haiku poems characteristically draw images from nature and often include seasonal references. Poets around the world have embraced the haiku format for its simplicity and economical use of language.

Japanese haiku example 
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.

“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

If you are experimenting with haiku yourself, QuillBot’s Paraphraser can help you refine your word choice and keep your language as precise and concise as the form demands.

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What Is a Sonnet in Poetry? | Definition & Examples

A sonnet is a tightly structured 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter and adhering to specific rhyme schemes. The two most common sonnet variations are the Italian sonnet (also called a Petrarchan sonnet) and the English sonnet (also called a Shakespearean sonnet). Sonnets were primarily focused on unrequited love, but also explored other themes, such as the passage of time and human nature.

Sonnet example 
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

—“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet 18) by William Shakespeare

Because sonnets rely heavily on precise wording, rhythm, and rhyme, writers often revise their drafts multiple times to capture the perfect balance of form and feeling. Tools like QuillBot’s Paraphraser can help refine your wording while keeping your original meaning intact— ideal for polishing the compact, expressive language sonnets demand.

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Point of View | Definition & Examples

The noun phrase point of view has several common uses. It is used in everyday language to indicate a person’s position or perspective (e.g., “I tried to see things from his point of view”). In literature it is used to describe the standpoint of the narrator of a work (e.g., “The novel relies on the third-person narrative point of view for its sense of balance”).

Point of view in a sentence examples
From the consumer’s point of view, the online shopping experience can be positively Kafkaesque.

In trying to see my opponent’s point of view, I realized I had lost sight of my own principles.

The Waste Land’s working title was “He Do the Police in Different Voices,” which accurately reflects how rapidly and often the point of view changes in the poem.

Note
In the world of modern social media, the abbreviation for point of viewPOV—is often used at the beginning of a video clip (e.g., “POV: You have a brother”). This refers to the idea that the video clip uses the narrator’s point of view.

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What Is an Acrostic Poem? | Definition & Examples

An acrostic poem uses specific letters from each line to spell out a word or message when read vertically. Typically, the first letter of every line creates the hidden word, which often relates to the poem’s theme.

Acrostic poem example
Sunshine warms my face today
Under bright and cheerful skies
Nature wakes from winter’s gray

Stuck finding the right words for your acrostic? Use QuillBot’s Poem Generator to help you discover fresh ways to express your ideas.

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100 Writing Prompts for Kids

Writing prompts are an effective way to nurture children’s literacy skills. They inspire young minds to think creatively, expand their vocabulary, and improve their writing fluency. By turning skill-building into an enjoyable activity, writing prompts encourage kids to see writing as a form of self-expression rather than just another assignment. These simple tools can transform learning into an engaging and playful experience.

Tip
AI tools can be a catalyst for kids’ creativity. Ask QuillBot’s AI story generator to write the beginning of a story for kids about dinosaurs, aliens, or princesses, and let kids finish the story.

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50 Creative Writing Prompts

Whether you’re a teacher looking to spark students’ creativity or a writer searching for inspiration, creative writing prompts offer a solution when ideas run dry. While writing daily remains solid advice, everyone faces moments when the words just won’t flow. For educators, these prompts provide alternatives to formulaic assignments, while for writers, they can serve as a playful and low-stakes writing practice.

To participate in a 30-day creative writing challenge, download our free PDF of prompts.

Writing Challenge PDF

Tip
Interested in exploring AI writing? Try one of these prompts with QuillBot’s AI story generator.

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What Is a Stanza? | Definition & Examples

A stanza is a group of lines forming the basic unit of a poem. Like paragraphs in prose, stanzas separate ideas in a poem, and they are typically set apart by line breaks or indentation. A stanza can vary in length; it can be two lines or more. Below you can see the first two stanzas of “The Tyger” by William Blake.

Stanza example 
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

If you’re looking for some inspiration to write your own stanzas, use QuillBot’s free AI Poem Generator to get started!

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Iambic Pentameter | Definition & Examples

Iambic pentameter is a term describing the rhythmic structure of a line in a poem or play. Each line written in iambic pentameter consists of ten syllables in a specific pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Iambic pentameter example 
So long as men  can breathe, or eyes  can see

Iambic pentameter is the most common rhythmic pattern in English literature. Many renowned writers, such as William Shakespeare, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and John Milton, have used its rhythm and flow to pace their poems and plays.

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What Is a Rhyme Scheme? | Definition & Examples

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. This pattern is notated by labeling the lines that rhyme with each other with the same letter; for example, an ABBA rhyme scheme indicates that the first line rhymes with the fourth one, and the second line rhymes with the third.

Rhyme scheme example
Roses are red (A)
Violets are blue, (B)
Sugar is sweet (C)
And so are you. (B)

This nursery rhyme follows an ABCB rhyme scheme, with “blue” and “you” rhyming.

Rhyme schemes help poets create rhythm, structure their thoughts, and make their work more memorable.

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