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Book review writing: how to criticize the book/author and what structure to follow

24 May 2013 15:36:00 GMT

A book review is a way of evaluating the merits of any work of literature. The purpose of the book review is to form an argument about the validity of the work, either for or against it, and then to defend it using valid points and proof to substantiate it. A book review is not just a summary of the literature, nor does it retell the story or information contained within it, it is a way to either agree or disagree with a statement that you make about the writing itself. Any book review must begin with the originating statement , or thesis statement about your opinion, which is followed by the body, which supports of your thesis statement, and then a conclusion, which reiterates the major points made throughout the review.

There are three major components that must be included in any valid book review. They are:

There must be a clear summary of the book which outlines the objective of the book, what the content of the book is, and the overall intended purpose of the book itself
Included in the review must be an assessment of what you thought of the book. This is where you make your assertions and defend them with evidence from the text to substantiate your claims
In the conclusion there must be a statement of who the book was targeted toward, and who would enjoy reading the text.

How a book review should be structured

Introduction

The beginning of any review must be interesting enough, and entertaining enough, to captivate the audience and to make them want to read more. The first statements of the introduction must grab the attention of the reader and make them want to read more. Using your creativity is important in the introductory paragraph. When writing a book review the most important component of it will be the introduction section which will contain the thesis statement.

In the introduction you must include a summary of the book. This will include the intention and content of the text. It is a brief overview of why the book was written, who the book was written for, and the major content of the book. Also, within the introduction, you will include your thesis statement. The thesis statement, in this context, will be your argument about the work.

It is the basis of the thesis statement which will be the framework for your book review. Being concise about the statement itself is important, as it will be the cornerstone of your entire book review. It is within the thesis statement that you will be forming your argument about what you thought of the book. You will define in the thesis statement your opinion about what you thought of the book and then will be using evidentiary proof to back up your thesis statement throughout the rest of the book review.

The basic components of the introduction are:

Opening statements to captivate the audience
Summary of the content of the book, or author, you are reviewing
Thesis, a statement of your argument

Body

The body is the "meat" of the argument. This is the section where you will be using proof and evidence to back up your thesis statement. The body is the main section of the review where you will, not only extrapolate and form your argument, but will also provide the evidence to back it up. When you form your thesis you will be making a statement about your opinion of the book's content. Although it is an opinion, it is important that you not just make claims, but that you have the proof to back it up. If you make a statement about the book, it is important within the body to use examples, concrete examples, to justify your assertions.

Before beginning the body of your book review it may be beneficial to formulate key components of your argument, making an outline of it, to make it coherent and flowing. An outline is a guide that you will use to write your book review that will keep you on task, and make sure that you complete the components of your argument, step by step, so that it is easy to follow for the reader. By formulating an outline, you can breakdown the argument into sections where you can make a claim and then use evidence to prove it.

When writing the body of the book review it is important that you use both negative and positive points to prove your opinion. After all, if the book were not worthy of positive praise, there is no reason to review, or read, it at all. Likewise, if it were all positive, there is no reason to write anything but how outstanding it was. Stating not only the good, but the bad, is an important component within the body of the book review.

The major components of the body are:

Components of your argument
Evidentiary and concrete proof to substantiate your argument

Conclusion

The conclusion is where you tie the ideas of your book review into one cohesive argument. It is a restatement of the thesis, followed by the steps which you took to prove your opinion or argument. It is important that within the conclusion you restate your position and hit on the key points that you used to prove it. It is a brief restatement of the entire book review and the argument that you formulated.

When writing your conclusion it is important to go step by step through your book review to highlight the points that you believe are most relevant. It is the section where you conclude your opinion of the book. In the conclusion you should also let the reader know who the book would be enjoyed by, and who the target audience is.

Original story about "Book review writing: how to criticize the book/author and what structure to follow" at Book Report, Review Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Persuasive essay vs critical writing essay

23 May 2013 14:43:00 GMT

How a persuasive essay differs from a critical writing essay

The best way to discern the difference between a persuasive essay and a critical writing essay is to define them individually and then compare them together. A persuasive essay is an essay whose sole intent is to persuade the reader to one opinion. Although the definition of it doesn't change, the purpose of it changes dependent upon the real life application of it. For academic purposes, a persuasive essay is a short text that is used to show the command of a subject, and the overall understanding of it. Outside of academic practice, it is any material that is used to persuade a reader of the information that is contained within it. Examples of a persuasive essay outside of an academic setting is a presentation that is given in a public arena, or even something as short as a resume or cover letter.

The major differences between a persuasive essay and a critical essay are:

The voice used in the essay - A persuasive essay can be first or third person, a critical essay is third person
Informal versus formal style of writing - A persuasive argument can be informal or formal, a critical essay is always formal
Presentation of both sides versus just one sided arguments - A persuasive essay presents just one side of an argument, a critical essay presents both negative and positive aspects
Evidentiary proof needed - A persuasive argument need not provide concrete evidence and examples, a critical essay needs to have proof to back up claims made
Basis of the essay - A critical essay is based upon another work, a persuasive essay can be on any subject at all

A persuasive essay can be a very informal piece, which can be written in any voice, not limited to the formal third person. Although it helps to be substantiated with proof, since it is based around arguments which can be subjective, it is not necessary to back up assertions or claims with evidentiary proof. It is an essay that only provides one side of an argument, not a summary that includes both sides.

A critical essay is an essay that is in critique of another work. It is an essay that's content is used to critique another author's work, and can be either positive or negative. It is not an essay that is used to sway the reader to one point of view or another, it is just a critical analysis of the context. Unlike a persuasive essay, a critical essay is formal and written only in the third person, never the first. Because it is a critique of another work, it can contain both negative and positive aspects of the work.

Ways that persuasive essays and critical essays are the same

Both are used in real life application and academic arenas
They are both short essays which are structured in the same way
The more evidence you have to support them, the greater the strength of the writing of them
They both are a demonstration of the writing skills of the individual writing them

Both the persuasive essay and the critical essay are structured in the same way. They both have the same major points that need to be included to make the essay relevant. They both consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The information that is included within each category varies slightly. Because the intent of the article is different, the information that needs to be as an integral component to them will be different.

What is the structure of a persuasive essay and a critical essay?

Although they both have the same structure, the content of those categories will vary depending on which essay you are doing.

The structure of a persuasive essay is:

Introduction - The introduction is the component where the audience will want to read more. It should begin with creative and captivating information that will begin to form the argument that will be laid out. Contained within the introduction should be the thesis statement, or the definition of what the argument for the essay is. It is an assertion that sets the tone, and is the reason for, the entire essay
Body - The body of the essay is where the argument is laid out. The body contains the assertions about the argument, followed by supporting arguments for it. It is the area where you will form the argument and give supporting reasons and when appropriate evidence, to your point of view
Conclusion - The conclusion is where you summarize the argument and the information that you have to prove your point. Being the most important part of the essay, it is the place where you finalize the argument and beg the reader to your point of view. Contained within it is the reason the reader should see things your way, and why you are right in your opinion, or point of view

The structure of a critical essay is:

Introduction - The introduction is used to introduce the work that you are critiquing. It is the part of the essay where you state your opinion of the work, and outline the steps that led you to your conclusion about it
Body - This is the section of the essay where you develop your argument and then use concrete facts to support your point of view, or position. Using both positive and negative aspects of the book, you describe what led you to the conclusion about how you formulated your critique. It is important to substantiate your claims with concrete evidence and examples
Conclusion - In this section you conclude the main points of your critique and go through the points made about it, summarizing your position and finalizing your opinion

Original story about "Persuasive essay vs critical writing essay" at Essay Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Aristotle's Rhetoric

22 May 2013 05:22:00 GMT

The art of presenting an argument has been discussed for thousands of years-probably since people first learned how to speak. From ancient Greek forums to the communication department at your university, people love to debate the methods and importance of verbal communication. And while it's still discussed today, many of the oldest ideas about rhetoric-the art of persuading or informing with words-are still the standard when it comes to good communication.

What is Rhetoric?

For many people rhetoric, if it's a word they know at all, means something like trickery or deception. If a salesman pitches a useless product to you or a friend tells you a sob story so you'll lend him money, that's rhetoric. But in the academic definition rhetoric isn't simply using words to change someone's mind. In fact it's not negative at all-it's simply the art of using words to communicate, whether that be to persuade, motivate, or merely inform.

Aristotle's Rhetoric

One of the oldest and best-known studies of rhetoric comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who wrote The Art of Rhetoric in the 4^th century B.C. The book covers a wide range of topics, from the role of rhetoric in judicial proceedings to the use of metaphors, but the most famous sections deals with the art of persuasion. While the entire work is required reading for those interested in the study of rhetoric, the section on modes of persuasion is the one that every student needs to be familiar with.

Why Should You Care About Modes of Persuasion?

Before we start exploring Aristotle's modes of persuasion, it's a good idea to discuss why they're important in the first place. If you're a student sitting down to write an essay or research paper, why should you care about what Aristotle has to say?

The main reason that the idea of rhetorical persuasion is important is that it's at the heart of academic writing. Think about what you're doing when you write a paper about Shakespeare or draw up a lab report for chemistry class: you're making an argument. Maybe you've got a thesis about Hamlet's soliloquies or you want to show that a specific test can be used to determine the concentration of a chemical; whatever you're discussing, chances are that you've gathered evidence and are using your paper to present that evidence to the reader and persuade them that your argument is accurate.

Aristotle's modes of persuasion define the main ways in which we all try to persuade other people to believe what we're saying. Some of them, like logically drawing connections between pieces of evidence, are considered good in academic writing, while others, like appealing to emotion, are frowned upon. When you understand the differences between these modes, you'll understand what makes a good academic paper and what type of writing is best saved for other audiences.

The Modes of Persuasion

Aristotle defines three modes of persuasion, each of which as its own role to play in communication.

Ethos

The Greek word for character, ethos is defined by Aristotle as the character of the speaker or author. Basically, it's the level of credibility that the speaker bring to the conversation just by virtue of being who they are. In modern rhetoric, the idea of ethos centers of the audience's valuation of the speaker. Based on what they know about him or her, how likely are they to believe what his or she says?

According to Aristotle, the speaker (or writer) builds ethos as they speak, but others believe that everything about that speaker can be used by the audience to evaluate ethos. We hear this all the time in our daily lives: every time an "expert from so-and-so university" speaks on TV or a friend tells you that she heard a rumor "from the source," the speaker is relying on ethos to get you to believe her.

There are three main ways that Aristotle believed that a writer could build ethos.

Practical skills or knowledge (you believe your car mechanic when he tells you something is wrong because he has practical knowledge)
Goodness (you believe your friend when he tells you something because you believe him to be a good person)
Goodwill toward the audience (you believe you doctor because you believe he has your best interests at heart).

Of course, all of those ideas can work in reverse as well. You might decide not to believe your car mechanic because you believe he doesn't have goodwill toward you, i.e., he's trying to cheat you, or you might not believe a friend who reports a rumor because you know he is trying to stir up trouble.

The idea of speaker authority is very important to academic writing. When you write, you position yourself as an authority, meaning you have to convince your audience that your word is believable. In academic work, usually this is done by displaying practical knowledge and expertise. When you do your research, and demonstrate to the audience that you understand the ideas you're discussing, then they're more likely to believe you.

Ethos is also important during the research process. Whenever you cite a book or journal article in a paper, you're using that information as a source of authority, which means you yourself have to evaluate the authority of the work you're presenting. If you cite articles or essays with obviously biased authors or mishandled data, that lack of credibility will transfer to you.

Logos

The most important form of persuasion for academic writers is logos, or logical reasoning. When you provide quotes from a text, data from an experiment, or a citation of a journal article, you're presenting evidence; when you are able to logically draw a conclusion from that evidence, then you're using logos to prove your argument.

Unlike ethos, which relies on the character of the author, and pathos, which involves the audience's feelings (more on that below), logos involves only the argument itself. It doesn't matter who you're speaking to or who's reading your work-if you carefully construct a logical argument, then your work will be successful.

Obviously, logos is highly valued in academic work. Of the three modes of persuasion discussed by Aristotle, it's viewed as the most impartial, a trait that's highly valued in research. Theoretically, an argument that relies on logos will be understood by multiple audiences and effective no matter who is presenting it. In academic writing, where the substance of an argument should be the main focus, logos should be the main rhetorical device used.

Pathos

Last up is pathos, which refers to the audience's experiences or feelings. In rhetoric, pathos means an appeal to the audience's emotions. So, instead of presenting facts or evidence to sway the audience, when you use pathos you try to get an audience to feel a particular way. Then, when they're happy, sad, afraid, or nervous, you can use that emotion to bring them around to your side.

Pathos is incredibly common in all sorts of communication, including advertising and fiction. When a salesperson tries to get you to buy diet pills, they're tapping into your fear of being ugly and ostracized; when a fiction writer describes a beautiful scene, they're trying to create a feeling of happiness and serenity in the audience. These tactics can be very effective.

Aristotle didn't necessary view the use of pathos as bad or wrong-as shown above, it's often a useful rhetorical strategy. But many other philosophers and scholars, particularly those who prize logical arguments, view pathos as the least respectable form of persuasion, and that viewpoint has been carried into modern academia.

While it can be very effective to tug at an audience's heartstrings with a sad story or get them all fired up over an injustice, those techniques are not acceptable in academic writing. If you hand in an English paper that tries to make your audience (i.e., your teacher) feel a certain way instead of presenting facts to support your argument, your paper is probably going to be judged pretty harshly.

Using Rhetoric in Academic Writing

At its core, academic writing is an exercise in persuasion. Particularly if you move forward in academia and start presenting original research, persuading the audience to listen to you and believe in your work is an key part of the job. But even for high school and college students, the papers you write will be persuading your teacher (usually to give you a good grade!).

When working on essays and research papers, it's important to keep all three of Aristotle's modes of persuasion in mind because it's likely that these papers will rely on a mix of all three. Clearly logos should be the foundation for any academic argument, but that doesn't mean you won't sometime rely on ethos or even pathos in your work. The key to any good rhetoric is being able to identify which mode of persuasion will work best and being able to apply that to your own work.

Original story about "Aristotle's Rhetoric" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Research Paper Writing: What Is Considered As A Relevant Source And How To Find It

21 May 2013 14:15:00 GMT

All the rules seem to be continually changing about what are credible sources for research and what are not. It is hard to know, when doing research, where to find the best sources to document any in-depth analysis of a subject. There are several ways in which you can get the information that you need to research any subject, but that does not mean that they all hold the same wealth of validity. There are times when you will need to find varying opinions on a subject which will lead to subjective literature, and times when you will need concrete evidentiary findings. Where you find the information is just as important as the information itself. Although in recent years getting information is easier from remote locations, for some subjects, going to a traditional library may be warranted.

When using the internet you have to be careful

When you use the information found on the internet you have to be very careful. The internet is full of useful information, but it is also plagued by mistruths and falsities. Unfortunately, just about anyone can post to the internet without having the credentials, or the knowledge necessary to do so.

- If you are going to use sources that are found on the internet you must know the originating source. A source on the internet can be used exhaustively, which means that it is quoted across many different articles. Each time it is used, it can be quoted from a different source.
For example, if an article uses a source, it cites the source. If then, another article uses it, they may site the source that used the originating one, instead of the actual source itself. Being that there are no governing body for internet information, there are times that a source is not cited, as it should be, at all.

- If you want to use the internet to do your research, the best place to find credible information is by using journals that are published. Journal articles will often have abstracts on the internet that will give you an survey of the literature to allow you to discern whether they are useful to you or not. The abstract will give you an analysis of what the article is about, the findings, and the results. Journal articles are credible sources to use as evidence in your research writing, and are cited in simple APA format, as you would any journal you read.

- Another way to find credible information on the internet is through using literary sites, or library sites. Many schools and colleges will have their own link to library resources. These are useful because they weed through the literature available and only supply you with the sources which have academic validity. To use any college or university library site, you will most likely need to have a log in and password. Colleges reserve their literary sites for students and faculty, so you will need to use your own institution's website. There are other sites which you can pay a fee for use. Many association sites will have their own compilation of literature that needs to be certified through specific guidelines for publication. They are highly credible sources to use. Once you pay for a membership to them you will likewise be given a log in ID and a password for use.

What are the advantages of using internet information?

Although there are many incredulous statements made online and information which has no credible proof, there are some advantages to getting information on the internet. Often times the internet will have current information that will not be found in traditional published articles. Because of the scrutiny of publication, the process takes time for approval. The information contained within, therefore, may not be the most current available. Doing a search of the information on the internet is a good starting point to finding the recent research on any subject. From the results of the search, you can extrapolate to find the most relevant information for your needs. Like playing operator, one source leads to another and so on.

Advantages of using internet:

you will get varying opinions on a subject
If you have some academic leeway in your research, or need opinion pieces, they can be a good source to give you many different points of view.
you will get the links to further information on your subject.
Whether it will be credible enough to use as a cited works in your paper or not, sometimes it is just worth the read to add more confidence to your point of view.

There are some authors who will never reach the journal publications or the library. Self publishing has become more popular over the past couple of years. Those who do online publishing, or self publishing, will never make it to the library shelves. It does not mean that there work is any less credible, it just means that they chose a different avenue to display their works. If you discount the internet for your research, and restrict your research to traditional library books, you will be missing out on a wealth of information and sometimes the most current research findings available.

Don't stop till you find the right sources for your paper

Finding relevant and credible sources to do research is both easier, and abundant, but at the same time risky. The internet has brought to the average student the ability to view hundreds of sources with the click of a button. Unfortunately, many things that are found on the internet are not credible, nor correct. Anyone intending to use the information from the internet needs to proceed cautiously and chase down the original source before using it. Being both a blessing and a curse, it can supply the student with more data than they can possibly read, but also with everything they need to become expert on any subject. Using the internet is a viable alternative to traditional ways of researching a topic, but the value of frequenting a good old fashioned library should never be discounted.

Original story about "Research Paper Writing: What Is Considered As A Relevant Source And How To Find It" at Research Paper Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

How Not to Start an Introduction

20 May 2013 17:08:00 GMT

Introductions are often one of the hardest part of essays. Students may know exactly what they want to say in the body of their paper-after all, there's a pretty straightforward format for those-but when it comes time to write the introduction, they're at a loss. One simple explanation for this writer's block is that there's no set guideline for what goes in an introduction.

Because of this uncertainty, students often fall back on a number of standard introductory sentences and ideas. But just because these cliches are easy to use doesn't mean that they'll be improving your paper. Writing an essay is about presenting your own unique ideas, and starting with the same introductory device as every other student isn't going to make your work stand out. If you want to make sure your introduction really captures the reader's attention, you need to avoid these hackneyed and over-used introductions.

1. Grand, sweeping statements

Teacher's often encourage students to start introductory paragraphs with statements that link the theme of their paper to issues out in the wider world. If you're writing about Romeo and Juliet, that might mean talking about the role the idea of love has played in art throughout the ages; or, if you're writing about The Great Gatsby, you might talk about how wealth is portrayed in the media today.

All of that is fine and good, but when that introductions start to get grandiose is when your teacher or professor is going to lose interest. Starting with sweeping statements like "throughout history, people have written about the idea of young love" or "the disparity between the wealthy and the poor is the biggest issue facing society today" isn't going to hook the reader-it's just going to tell them that your paper isn't going to be very good.

There are a couple of issues with using these types of introductions. One is that they are just too broad. You're not going to be discussing the entire history of young love in literature, so don't start your paper suggesting that you will. And, by starting so broad, you're probably telling the audience something they already know. We all know how important the idea of love is to plays and novel; it's a waste of time to tell the reader.

The second, and larger, problem with these types sweeping, declarative sentences is that they are likely to put your audience on the defensive. What if your reader doesn't believe that the disparity between the wealthy and poor is the biggest issue facing society? If that's the case, then you've already got the reader arguing with you before you even present your main thesis. And, even if they agree, setting yourself up in the very first sentence of your paper as an unquestionable authority on big issues probably isn't going to endear you to your teacher.

2. Dictionary definitions

Every teacher has seen papers that start this way. Instead of making a sweeping statement about the idea of love or money, the writer starts by providing its definition: "According to Merriam-Webster, love means..." or "the dictionary defines money as...." This might seem like a good way to introduce the main topic of your paper, but it's not going to hook or impress your reader.

Firstly, think about the word you're defining. Probably it's something related to the theme of the book, like family, discrimination, or death. Do you think that readers don't already know what those words mean? Your teacher or professor likely has a pretty good vocabulary, and doesn't need to be told what Wikipedia says about the meaning of family. So, when you start your paper this way, you're basically telling the reader something they already know, which isn't going to make his or her want to read more.

If, on the other hand, you want to start your paper with the definition of a more obscure word-maybe you want to define a foreign word like schadenfreude or explain a technological concept like RAM-you should consider whether you really want to start your paper with that definition. Remember, the introduction is where you present your topic for the reader; it shouldn't be a place where you introduce lots of new ideas or terms. If the definition of the word actually is important to the main argument of your work, then it belongs in the body, not the introduction.

3. Well-known facts or statistics

For the same reasons that you don't start your paper with the definition of a word everybody already knows, you also shouldn't start your paper with a fact or statistic that everybody will recognize. Saying something like "many lives were lost during World War II" or "parents are an important part of a child's life" isn't giving the reader any new information and will seem silly or maybe even condescending.

4. Quotes without context

There's nothing wrong with starting your paper with a quote, but the key is to remember that you need to provide some context for the quote. Keep in mind that, when they start your introduction, the reader doesn't know what your paper is going to be about. They've seen your title, and that's it. So, if you start with a witty quote about love or a line from a play you'll be discussing, your reader isn't going to know how that relates to your thesis. This uncertainty means they'll likely have to go back and reread the introduction once they've read the thesis-something you definitely don't want.

Also keep in mind that you should never use a quote without first providing some context. If the first words the reader sees in your paper is a quote, they're going to be left with more questions than anything else. Who said it and why? When and where is that quote from? Instead of leaving the reader confused, start your introduction with a simple line like "Nineteenth century Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov is famous for having said..." With just that little bit of extra information, you've gotten your paper off on the right foot.

Original story about "How Not to Start an Introduction" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Academic writing difficulties: time management tips

19 May 2013 15:48:00 GMT

Time management is vital to be successful at academics. Planning time for assignments and other work helps one to focus appropriately and spread the tasks throughout the academic year. This reduces the stress and helps one to cope with the pressure of deadlines. When it comes to deadlines, many of them for academic work are scheduled around the same time and if not planned properly, it is almost impossible to meet all the deadlines efficiently. So first work out on what and when it needs to be done and how efficiently your available time can be used.

Many students loose on their academic papers or research papers as they tend to complete them just before the deadline. The extreme pressure of the due date for submission takes over the work. Many also tend to repeat the information to make sure the paper does not fall short of the required number of pages. A last minute work definitely is not impressive. You can avoid such situations by realizing the importance of managing time wisely and effectively.

Plan and Prioritize

Time management process starts with planning and prioritization. Planning involves making a list of all the to-do tasks according to their deadlines. This gives a clear picture of the short term, mid-term and long term work requirements. And according to the scheduled time, you will have to prioritize the tasks and complete the short term plans first. This kind of planning helps students in organizing their study most effectively. Planning ahead definitely reduces stress and saves lot of time and energy.

Reduce Stress By Planning Ahead

Writing a research paper can take a lot more time than you plan or think. Writing a research paper is a combined effort of many steps and each phase or step takes time. By planning ahead and starting the paper earlier, you can reduce the stress and come up with a quality paper. Smart ways of doing things is a wise way of spending time.

Determine on a Topic Early

The first step of academic writing is selecting a topic. Instead of searching for a suitable topic, you could think or relate to a possible topic for research while reading your textbooks. Another smart way of getting ideas for a research topic is jotting down topics that interest you during a class lecture. This way you can reduce the exploration time to narrow down on an interesting topic.

Gather Information and Indulge in Research

The next step of academic writing involves gathering the background and relevant additional information on your topic. As known by all, library is the best resource for reference books, journals, maps, guides and online reference. A library is the best place to start a research. It offers most of the information like the overview of the topic, context, statistical and historical information, maps and images associated to the topic. One might think, university library is close enough and ready resource for research. The point to consider is that the books and reference journals may not be available when you need most. So one should be prepared to start the research earlier so that the required books, journals, encyclopedias can be requested from other libraries and resources if not available. This might take some time, so you don't want to wait till the due deadline. For current information, you can look out for article databases which offer subjective, combined, comprehensive and focused search.

It is wise to gear up and manage time to avoid academic writing difficulties. Let us discuss few tips for good time management when it comes to writing research papers.

Prepare an Academic Calendar

Make an academic calendar with details of the due dates of all upcoming assignments and projects. This may sound ridiculous and a time waste task, but it will help you remain focused and organized on the assignments. Your schedule might get crazier by the time. And writing all projects in one place will help you keep track of all your scheduled assignments and there is little chance or no chance of missing out on any of the tasks. This is also a first step that initiates prioritization. You might not want to sit and write a paper if your calendar shows that you have a test the next day.

Never Lose Track of Time

Keep track of the time while writing an essay to confirm efficiency. Many a times, we spend hours on exploring and researching for the required paper. At the end of all the hard work, you might feel you did not find relevant information. If you are doing an online search, there are higher chances of getting deviated. When you start using a time tracker, there are less chances of wasting time as you keep track of what you have been doing every hour. And you can immediately change the approach and get back on track with more focus and attention if it is not productive without wasting further time.

Retain Determination

Retain your determination. Once you decide on starting your assignment early, it is more important that you actually start it early. Be determined to continue the organized approach that you start. Mental toughness is what is required. Many students talk about it, but very few actually focus and work on it. Some might find it difficult to follow the writing goals; it is completely fine to find it hard. You should not lose your self-discipline and try to develop your stability. There are many articles and books written by experts on how to build self-discipline and determination that can help you develop your personality. Try to remain optimistic and develop self-discipline around positive thoughts and not negative thoughts.

The above are just few very simple tips to get started on efficient academic writing. By following the above, you can reduce the writing difficulties. Bottom line is that time plays an important role and by using good time management techniques, you can write a good research paper with less stress and present. It is important that you do not strain yourself at the end of the semester while wasting most of the valuable time in the beginning.

Original story about "Academic writing difficulties: time management tips" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Showing the Way: Signposting in Academic Writing

18 May 2013 12:03:00 GMT

There are all sorts of writing guidelines that go into creating the academic writing style. Every field has rules about issues like tense, citation format, and paper structure, and learning those rules is part of the academic process. But there are also conventions that, while not as strict as those just listed, play just as important a role in academic writing as footnotes and methodology sections. One of these conventions is signposting-a writing technique that lets readers know what to expect from your work.

What is Signposting?

Signposting, like the name suggests, is the process of posting sign throughout your paper in order to help the reader make sense of your work. Like the symbols on a map or a freeway exit sign, the signposts in your writing will tell the reader where they are and where they're headed.

Think of your writing as being like a road. As they go from word to word and paragraph to paragraph, readers are travelling down that road, and, just like out in the real world, readers are going to have an easier time navigating if you give them some signs along the way. Of course, it's possible for readers to make their way through your paper without any signposting. But, just like it would be annoying to try to find your way to a friend's house by simply driving in circles, your readers don't want to have to work hard to figure out what's going on.

In academic writing, signposting is the process of putting in words and phrases that act like road signs for the reader. These words tell the reader what to expect from the paper, i.e., they tell readers where they're going and what they'll see when they get there. Signposts are important because they make papers easier to read and understand. Instead of readers having to go back and reread sections of your paper, you'll be highlighting and repeating the important ideas for them.

Why Use Signposting?

In addition to the benefits signposting provides for the reader, it's also an important part of academic writing. While advertising what you plan to write about can seem repetitive and unnecessary in other types of writing, in academic writing it's an important part of the style. In fact, although it's not often discussed, it's one of the most important stylistic aspects to academic writing. When you're writing papers for classes or for publication, the professionals reading your work will expect you to include signposting.

Remember, academic writing isn't about being flashy or fancy. The goal of any piece of academic writing is to effectively communicate your ideas, and signposting is integral to that process. If you feel like you're spending too much time telling readers what you're about to talk about, then you're probably doing it right.

How to Use Signposting

So just how do you insert these signposts into your writing? It's actually an easier process that it might initially seem. In fact, you're probably already including some signposts as part of your regular writing process, and the key to good signposting is learning out to expand those signs and use them well.

Linking words and secondary signposts

The most basic signpost is something you probably already think about when you're writing: transitions. When you move from idea to idea and paragraph to paragraph you should be using linking words and phrases like on the other hand, furthermore, similarly, or as a result. These transitions help the reader understand the relationship between the ideas in your paper and will tell the reader what to expect from a sentence or paragraph even before they've read it.

When you use good transitions, you're doing the heavy lifting for the reader. Instead of having to guess what point you're trying to make or having to reread previous sections, readers are being guided to the conclusion you want them to reach. Without these signposts, your readers will have to put in a lot more work-and that's never something you want in academic writing.

Another set of common secondary signposts are list words. Especially when you're including a complex list or discussing a list over a long span of text, it's important to include words like first, second, and lastly. These words will help the reader remember not only that they're reading items in a list but also where they are in that list. As the writer, the items in a list will seem obvious, but remember the reader doesn't want to get lost in the middle of big block of text without a sign to tell them where they are.

Here's a list of some common secondary signposts that should appear throughout the main body of your text:

Transitions:

for example/for instance
on the other hand
as a result/consequently
also/in addition/furthermore
because of/due to
however
in other words

Lists:

first(ly), second(ly), third(ly)
finally, lastly
primary, secondary, tertiary

Directions:

in the previous section/paragraph/chapter
as was discussed/outlined/explained above
having looked at ____, it is now important to ____.

Major signposts

While secondary signposts should be placed throughout the paper, major signposts generally belong is the introductory and concluding sections of a paper or chapter. These words and phrases are used to directly address readers and steer them through your work. In the introduction, signposts will usually tell the reader what your main argument is going to be and how your paper is organized; in the conclusion, signposts will tell the reader that you're starting to wrap up your argument.

The exact wording of major signposts will vary by field. Some disciplines allow writers to use first person and directly address the reader ("In this essay, I will argue that...") while other fields require authors to use third person and passive voice ("The purpose of this study is to..."). Either way, the main goal is the same-you want to tell the reader exactly what is going to happen in your work. Also keep in mind that signposts should appear every time you start a new section or chapter.

Phrases like "this essay will argue that..." and "the purpose of this study is..." might seem dry and obvious, but they're an important part of the academic writing style. Students often want to leave these types of phrases out of their work because it they seem awkward, but with practice you'll get used to seeing and using them.

Major signposts:

the purpose of this essay is...
in this thesis I will argue that...
this paper will include X number of sections...
in this chapter...
in conclusion...

Original story about "Showing the Way: Signposting in Academic Writing" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Book Review - Create a Writing Plan

17 May 2013 13:46:00 GMT

Book review is all about description, analysis and critical evaluation of the content and importance of the book. It is not a retelling, it is a reaction to a book in which the weakness and strength of the book is examined. A critical evaluation of the book is not simply writing a report or summarizing, it should be a statement of what the author is trying to convey through the book. Basically there is no right way to write a book review, as book reviews generally reflect the opinions of the reviewer and are very personal. Depending upon the purpose of the review, review varies from 50-100 words short or long as 1000 words.

There are many genres to consider when reviewing books, some of the specific genres are: Fiction, Biography, History, Poetry.

In the same way, on the basis of the style of reviewing, book reviews can be characterized into two types:

Descriptive - Descriptive review gives the important information about the book. This review elaborates description, by stating the purposes of the author and also by quoting passages from the book.
Critical reviewing - Critical review is about evaluating and describing the book, by accepting the terms of historical standards and supporting with evidence from the text.

Before writing any review, a reviewer should thoroughly read the book. Following are few important steps to follow before starting to read a book and before writing a review:

Carefully understand the title and know what it suggests.
Read the preface that provides essential information on the purpose behind writing the book.
Observe index contents as the index throws light on how the book is organized.
Go through the summary of the book if possible as it helps in understanding the author's ideas.

As you start reading the book, there are many aspects to think about, especially if you are committed to write a quality book review.

After getting familiarized with how the books are classified into various genres, access the book by checking how well it is appropriate to the genre as defined.
Try understanding the tone of the author in the book, is it negative or positive or humorous or critical, etc.
Trying to understand the author's style of writing.
Try grasping the concepts defined by the author and knowing how well the ideas of author are developed. This helps to raise the book's authority.
If it is work of fiction, try understanding the various fictional plots around the book and how well they are connected or described to get an idea of the book.
The characters in the book should be well introduced and portrayed for readers' clarity. Keep a check on it.
If there are any facts mentioned in the book, try validating them by other sources available.
Check how clearly the concepts are explained, review the book accordingly, and let people know if a layman can understand the book or should we have some prior knowledge on which topic the book is written, when a person is planning to start reading the book.
Check for originality in the book.
Last but not the least; keep an eye on the appendix and bibliography page too. Keeping a track of the primary sources used by the author, as it will help you understand how he/she made use of these sources while you read the book.

Once you are done completely analyzing the book and author skills, you are ready to write the review on the book.

Start your review with an introduction by stating what you felt about the book in a catchy and attractive way. The introduction should not be too long.
An outline should be prepared when writing a review; this will be like a statement describing the purpose of the review. Arguments should be there to support the review.
Prepare a draft with:
1. By comparing the work of author with work of others within the same genre.
2. Development of the review depends upon the outline prepared.
3. Conclusion adds or restates the review or it may be the final judgment of the book. There should not be any new information or ideas introduced in the conclusion.
Follow on with the tone you set in your introduction and facilitate the readers with more details that support your statement with reasonable references.
You may quote the sentences or cite the page numbers for reference, to explain the flaws and highs in the book.
Do conclude your review by summarizing the review and its main points.
Finally revise the review. This helps in finding grammatical mistakes and correcting them and checking the unity of the review. If needed, don't falter to make revisions in the review. Quotations should be verified for accuracy.

There are some rules and considerations for reviewing different genres; some of them are as follows:

For Fiction

Do not reveal the story.
Consider the sources of the different characters described in the story.
Examine the various elements of plot. For instance, introduction, suspense, climax, etc. that are handled by the author.

For Biography

Check whether the book is giving full picture of the subject.
Know and explain the point of view of author.
Explain if any new facts about the person's life are revealed in the book?
Compare other works of same author.

For History

Know the particular period that the book is dealing with.
Check if the resources genuine and thorough.
Know the point of view of author.
Differentiate what group the book is intended such as textbook or scholarly etc.
Check whether the dates used by the author are correct or not.
Maps and charts used in the book should also be evaluated..

Majority of the readers start reading a book because of a referral from a friend or from a book reviewer. So book reviews play a major part in influencing a person to read the book. A book review must be effective and should not have any flaws. Authors do not write books overnight; few spend their lives into writing their books, so do write a transparent and fair review of book giving your genuine opinion.

Original story about "Book Review - Create a Writing Plan" at Book Report, Review Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

High school writing: do you need help with your scientific paper?

17 May 2013 10:29:00 GMT

High school writing: do you need help with your scientific paper?

Many parents are concerned about the load of homework their children have to do every day. But it is understood that homework has been an essential part of the standard educational program since it was invented and it still remains. Homework may include a chapter in the book, a math problem but high school writing is often the most daunting task for students.

The traditional point of view is that homework assignment allows students to review and use what they have learned in class and prepare for the next day. It provides a more practical approach to study and explore the subject in more depth in terms of projects, researches, reports, etc. Doing homework children become more self-disciplined and responsible. Also it is useful to improve their memory and creative thinking. But what to do is a person can not do the homework and write a scientific paper in a timely manner?

Why do students need help?

According to the latest research from the National Research Council (NRC) students get high grades if they have family support and parents help them with their assignment. This is especially important when the task is to combine your science knowledge and writing skills. Of course, no parent wants to miss their children's life and they try to be a big part of it. Unfortunately, lack of time is a common problem for many parents today and this is where professional help with writing a high school paper comes in handy. Especially when both parents work every day, what is quite common these days.

Inform your audience

Scientific papers are necessary to show your own researching work, describing important facts or review researches conducted by scientists. To reach this goal, the papers should inform the readers and be written in a clear, precise and concise style. Your first step is to choose a relevant topic, because your scientific paper should include a topical problem. You should be able to answer the question "Why did you choose this problem?" and explain your conclusion.

The structure of the scientific paper

Keep in mind that your audience will be readers with similar knowledge regardless of the field. Your main task in this type of high school writing is explaining them what you have done and why it is important. That is why your research paper should be divided into four main segments:

Introduction;
Materials and Methods;
Results;
Conclusions

Though these sectors form the central part of your paper, you need to think about the title and include a bibliography and literature cited. Choose a title suitable to present the contents of the work, but not so technical that other students will not understand.

Please do not make a mistake assuming that good English is not crucial in scientific papers. Actually, it is important to be so concise that your writing should be better than in other disciplines!

Consult your teacher and experienced writers

Writing assignments always take time and attention, so stay after and consult with your teacher in order to ask every question you have about content or formats. Don't rely on your own editing skills or witty humor to write a high school essay. If you realize you can not accomplish this task, it is better to turn to qualified and experienced writers.

Is homework a burden?

Today it looks like people are ready to look at the big picture. Alfie Kohn, a well-known author, discusses the problem of modern education in his book "The Homework Myth," convincing readers that the importance of homework is overestimated. One of his points is that children may even lose the interest of learning if high school work is too difficult for them.

The right amount of homework

So what is the bottom line, then? Well, it goes without saying that assignments are undoubtedly an essential component of the student's life, but when the pressure is too much, it may lead to many problems. It is important to keep in mind that the amount of homework should correspond to the age and abilities of a student. Parental involvement in children's education can really inspire them for learning. If their working schedule is not flexible enough, parents can take the help of professional high school writing services.

Original story about "High school writing: do you need help with your scientific paper?" on BestCustomWriting.com

Peeling Back the Onion: Layers of Meaning in Academic Writing

16 May 2013 13:57:00 GMT

For many student, the process of learning to write thoughtful, well-argued essays is a difficult task. Not only do you have to be able to read and understand primary and secondary texts, but you also have to be able to analyze those materials and formulate your own idea about what all those words really mean. Then, finally, you need to be able to articulately explain those ideas on paper. To students used to writing personal essays or book reports, this type of nuanced writing can be a real challenge, and many will find themselves wondering how to master this new writing style.

What We Mean When We Talk About Research Papers

The terms research paper can mean many different things depending on who's using it. In the sciences, a research paper is usually a specially formatted analysis of the writer's original research; in the humanities a research paper will be a more loosely structured essay that articulates the writer's original ideas about a topic. While the formatting is very different, what ties this types of papers together is the research-namely, the idea that you, the writer, need to know enough about your topic to accurately place your own ideas among the many others out there.

The Layers of a Research Paper

Think of a good research paper as being like an onion. At its center is a core of information, and then you have to add your own interpretations and analysis on top, layer by layer, until you finish with a well-rounded argument.

Descriptive

The core of any good research paper is going to be made up simply of facts and information. Basically, you need to start by making sure that the reader knows everything they need to know to understand the arguments you're going to make. If you're going to be talking about a novel, you need to give the reader the basic outline of the plot and characters; if you're going to be talking about the affect an insect has on a specific tree, you need to tell the reader a little bit about both that insect and that tree.

Think of this layer as the foundation that the rest of your paper will be built on. Without this information, the reader can't be expected to evaluate or appreciate your ideas, and the rest of your paper will fall apart.

Analytical

Once you've laid out a topic for the audience, it's time for you to start adding your own ideas. The first step in this process is to analyze what's out there and organize it all in a way that both makes sense for the reader and highlights the important points you want to make. For an English class essay this might mean collecting critical commentaries on a novel, dividing them up into thematic areas, then restating their main ideas for the reader. In the sciences, you might be reading up on a particular species, then organizing the information in such a way as to show the reader where there are holes in the current research.

The key to doing this sort of analysis is to look for trends or patterns. You aren't adding anything that's entirely new yet; instead, you're looking for connections between ideas or patterns in the research that will build the foundation for the next layer of your work.

Persuasive

Once you've taken stock of all the currently available research, it's time to stake out your own territory. What do you have to add that's new or different? What are you going to try to prove in your paper? Now that all the facts and current research have been laid out, you can use that information to start developing your own argument and also offering your own interpretations of the all the research you've read. This section shouldn't be about explicitly proving anything yet-you just want to make your claim.

Critical

The last-and most important-layer of a research paper is critical engagement with other people's work. You've carefully built a foundation that demonstrates you understand the nuances of your topic and the scholarship surrounding it, and now's the time to step into that debate as an equal. This is where you look at the work of others and evaluate it. Are there certain theories you agree or disagree with? Why? Are there holes in the research that you think you can address?

An important part of engaging in critical debate is recognizing the many different positions occupied by others in your field. If you just attack a single journal article or use one author to prove a point, you haven't done a thorough enough job of really evaluating the research. Instead, you should be balancing many different viewpoints and offering a thoughtful, well-supported argument for or against them.

How Can You Use the Onion Model?

When working on research papers, the onion model can be used to help build a solid, well-supported argument. Every layer is important-you can't have analysis without factual information, and you can't make a critical argument without first laying out what other scholars have already said. So, as you're writing, you want to make sure that you build up these layers carefully. Start with descriptive, and add more depth until you've reached your critical argument. When making a persuasive argument, make sure that you've included all the groundwork the reader will need to understand it. If you're having trouble with your paper, try making an outline or other visual aid that helps you analyze the purpose of each paragraph or section in your work to see where it fits within the onion.

In more complex papers, particularly those divided into sections or chapters, these layers might not be so literal-you may work your way through the onion several times or circle back around to a particular idea repeatedly throughout your work. But in general, no matter how complex your work is, you want to be sure that every layer is in there somewhere.

Original story about "Peeling Back the Onion: Layers of Meaning in Academic Writing" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

How to Edit Someone Else's Rough Draft

15 May 2013 16:10:00 GMT

At one time or another we've all had to edit somebody else's rough draft. Maybe a friend asked you for advice, or maybe as part of a class you had to comment on another student's work. Whatever the occasion and whoever the author, you probably found that editing was a pretty daunting task. But, just like any other skills, editing is something that you can learn, practice, and improve at.

Why Makes a Good Editor?

It's often easy to criticize a piece of writing, particularly if it's not your own. Inconsistencies and logical errors will leap off the page, and mistakes in grammar or spelling can stand out like they're under a spotlight. But while spotting errors is an important part of the editing process, it's usually not the main reason you're proofreading. Instead, the end goal you should pursue as an editor is to help improve the text you're working on.

Think about the last time somebody criticized your work. Maybe it was a teacher or classmate who wrote comments on an essay you'd spent days laboring over. If your paper was covered in comments like "this doesn't make sense " or "this is wrong," you probably came away feeling pretty bad about yourself, and, possibly even worse, without any idea of how to fix your paper. But, if you got back a paper with remarks like "you need to tie this idea back to your thesis statement" or "fix this run-on sentence," you likely headed into your next draft with a clearly idea of what you needed to do to improve your work.

When editing, it's important to keep this distinction in mind. A good editor won't just point out weaknesses; he or she will also try to help guide the writer toward a way to fix those weaknesses.

What to Look for

Whether you're a helpful friend or an expert in your field, there are several key issues that you should try to address when providing feedback on a paper.

1. Grammar, spelling, and continuity errors

It's always good to start with the easiest editing task: finding mistakes in grammar, spelling, and consistency. Many students trust spellcheck to handle these issues, but this usually means early drafts will be full of misplaced punctuation, homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently), and grammatically suspect sentences. These mistakes can be hard for writers to spot in their own work, but as an outside observer you'll likely find a lot of the things they missed.

When checked for these types of errors, keep an eye out for issues of consistency as well. If the writer uses abbreviations or chooses to use one particular term over another, that choice should be consistent throughout the paper. Problems of this type can often result from writers changing their minds partway through their work or just plain forgetting a decision they made several paragraphs earlier. Again, as an outside observer you can do a better job of identifying these errors.

2. Formatting issues

As with spelling and grammar mistakes, problems with formatting that also easily slip by writers will be more obvious to outside editors. These include issues like missing or incorrect citations, strange spacing, or an incorrectly done title page. For this part it's important to be familiar with the style guide the writer is using. For example, MLA and Chicago have different requirements for things like citations and running heads, so it's important to give the advice that's right for this particular assignment.

Again, as with spelling and grammar, it's important to look for consistency in the formatting. If the writer is using one space between sentences, that should be the same throughout the paper. Same for the choice of font, heading style, and margins. Citations are an especially important place to examine for formatting troubles. Every in-text citation needs to have a corresponding entry in the Bibliography, and vice versa, and all those references need to be formatting the same way.

3. Consistency across the work

In addition to consistency in formatting and grammar, you also want to check for consistency in the work as a whole. Does the author do what they say they are going to do in the introduction or abstract? If not, where do they go off track? Does the conclusion fit with the evidence provided in the rest of the paper?

Because ideas and arguments will evolve as we write, it's not uncommon for our paper not to end up where we thought it would. And there's nothing wrong with this, except that it's then important to make sure that that change is reflected in the rest of the work. So, when you're editing, be on the lookout for sections that don't fit within the larger framework of the paper, claims that are dropped later in the work, or conclusions that aren't supported by the rest of the paper.

4. The reader's viewpoint

If you've ever worked on a paper you know that it's easy to get lost in the details of your research and leave out crucial details that the reader will need. Sometimes this is a reference to a study or theory that seems like it should be obvious but actually won't be for the reader, or maybe an idea you though didn't need more explanation is actually pretty confusing.

By definition, a writer can't really see his or her work from the prospective of the reader, and that's where you, the editor, come in. As someone who's probably not familiar with all the research the writer has done, you can hone in on areas that are confusing or poorly explained. Just remember, when you're giving feedback it's important not just to point those spots out, but also to provide advice on what could be done to improve them.

6. What's working

When you're editing you don't have to limit yourself to pointing out the flaws in the paper. Writers also need to know what they've done well. If there's a particular paragraph or section that does a good job of supporting the work's thesis or if there's just a sentence that you really like, don't hesitate to point that out. Not only will this help the writer feel a little bit better about all the other stuff you've commented on, but it will also let them know which parts of the paper they should keep or expand.

5. Ask questions

Sometimes there will be parts of the paper that you simply don't understand. This might be because the writing is poor, or it might just be that you don't have the background necessary to analyze the writer's argument. When this is the case, don't be shy about just asking questions; after all, the writer isn't going to know how easy or hard his paper is to read unless you tell him.

Giving Advice

The key to good editing is to help the writer see his or her paper through the reader's eyes. This means pointing out confusing sections or continuity problems that the writer can't see, but it also means that you should be guiding the writer towards a way to fix the problem. Don't just say "This paragraph is confusing" - that's not going to help the writer make it better. Instead, try to address why you think it's confusing and what could be done better. "This paragraph doesn't have enough evidence to support its claim" is a better than "This paragraph is too short." Think about how you would like editors to help you with your work and try to do the same.

Original story about "How to Edit Someone Else's Rough Draft" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Finding the Right Tense in a Research Paper

14 May 2013 11:02:00 GMT

When you're writing a research paper, verb tense is something you might not initially worry about. If you weren't giving it a lot of thought, you might have just started with a specific tense and stuck with it the whole way through, or maybe you haven't even noticed what tense you're using. When you're worrying about content, the rules of grammar aren't necessarily at the front of your mind. But there are lots of conventions and guidelines out there for specifying how tense should be used, and if you're writing a research paper you need to know them.

What Is Tense?

Put simply, tense describes when the action being described by a verb took place. In English, we divide time up into three simple categories-past, present, and future-and we can conjugate verbs to indicate when an action is taking place (remember, conjugation means either changing the spelling of a verb or adding helping verbs).

Before we start talking about which tense to use, it's important to understand the basics of tense. The topic of tense can get pretty complicated; for example, English has dozens of tenses that cover a wide range of situations, from two events both happening at different points in the future to an event that might have happened but is has continued into the present. For our purposes here we're going to focus a few fairly simple verb tenses. These include:

Present. Events occurring at the current moment in time.
Past. Everything that occurs before the present.
Future. Everything that will happen after the current moment.

To understand tense, first you have to understand the relative position you'll be using. Remember, tense is relative-past and future only exists in regards to a specific "present," and the present can be different depending on the situation. When you're writing, you may think of that particular moment as the present, but a person reading that paper days, weeks, or years later is going to think of their moment as the present, and the moment you're writing in as the past. As with many things in grammar, there's no necessarily "right" way to look at this issue, but for our purposes here we're going to imagine the person reading your paper as being in the present tense.

Finding the Right Tense for Your Field

Every field has its own rules about verb tenses in academic writing. Some are fairly firm while others can be bent or mostly ignored if the writer so chooses. The advice here will be general and won't get into the specifics for any one field. Instead, we're going to go through some general advice that will help you understand how to think about tense and should help you get started off on the right foot.

Rules of Tense

The conventions of tense in academic writing are complicated, but most of the time it all boils down to a simple question-do I use past or present tense? The answer is usually that you need a mix of both. Below is a section-by-section breakdown of when to use past and present tense.

Introduction/abstract

When to use present tense: Use present tense throughout the abstract and introduction. (The hormone ghrelin is one of the many biological factors that control appetite; this study looks at how ghrelin can be used to manipulate feeding behavior in mice.) By using the present tense you directly involve the reader in your work and let them know that it's ongoing instead of something that's already moved into the past.

When to use past tense: Use the past tense to discuss specific aspects of your work that have already been completed (the data was gathered from several sources) or when discussing the specific work done by others in the past (McIntyre showed that hormone levels rose steadily throughout the day). Basically if it's an action tied to a specific moment in the past, then it should be described in past tense.

Literature review

When to use present tense: Present tense is generally used in the literature review to discuss general ideas that can be considered part of the current research landscape (critics group Shakespeare's plays into two distinct categories)

When to use past tense: Use past tense when discussing specific studies that are linked to a particular time period in the past or are attributed to people who are known to be dead, i.e., famous dead people, not just regular dead people. (Darwin argued that evolution was a slow-moving process; several early studies showed that hormone levels remained constant.)

It can also be a good idea to use past tense if you're discussing studies or papers where there has been controversy or changes in position by the authors. For example, Lopez stated that ... but has since proved that .... If you use the present tense in these cases, you can unintentionally be implying that a person currently believes something when in fact they've since changed their opinion.

Methodology

When to use present tense: Present tense is rarely used in the methodology section. Pretty much the only time it's needed is if you include a general discussion of particular methodology (the Western blot is the standard test used to determine the presence of the hormone).

When to use past tense: Use past tense to describe any experimental or field work you've done. (The mice were then tested for the presence of the hormone).

Discussion

When to use present tense: In general you want to use the present tense throughout most of your discussion. This includes discussion of your results (The data suggests that ghrelin levels can be easily manipulated) and limitations of your research (It is possible that the results were the effect of factors other than those being studied).

When to use past tense: The use of past tense in the discussion would be similar to the introduction, i.e., when you're talking about studies from a particular past time period.

When to use the conditional tense: When discussing future possible avenues for research, a critical part of the discussion, you'll likely use the conditional (e.g., could, should, would) tense. (In light of these results, future research could investigate the link between the two.)

Active Vs. Passive Voice

First of all, remember that active voice is when the subject is performing the action of the sentence, e.g., The boy ate the cake. Passive voice is when the subject is receiving the action of the verb, e.g., The cake was eaten by the boy. In general the sciences prefer the use of the passive voice, while other disciplines encourage the use of active. The question of whether to use active or passive voice gets wrapped up questions about tense, although it is actually a separate issue.

Choosing the right tense, however, can sometimes make it easier to use the correct voice. If you're trying to stick with the active voice, you'll likely do better with present tense, but if you're using the passive voice you'll probably find you use the past tense more often.

The Bottom Line

It should also be noted that all the guidelines given here are only recommendations. Even professional writers and editors argue about which tense is correct, and style guides usually aren't much help. If you're unsure, try copying the style of a journal in your field or ask your teacher or advisor what they prefer. And, if all else fails, just go with your gut about what makes sense for what you're trying to say.

Original story about "Finding the Right Tense in a Research Paper" at Research Paper Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Common Verb Usage Errors

13 May 2013 15:44:00 GMT

Conjugating verbs is a tricky business. As soon as we learn to talk we start to learn the basics of singular and plural verbs, but often when writing we come up against conjugations that are a little more complicated that he is and they are. Below you'll find a guide to helping you sort out some of these common conjugation issues.

1. Confusing singular and plural pronouns

The problem

All of the dogs needs to be fed.
None of the information are up to date.

Most of the time it's pretty easy to make subjects and verbs agree in English. Singular subjects get one conjugation (I talk, he is) while plural subjects get another (we talk, they are). For most nouns it's clear whether they're singular or plural, making conjugation pretty straightforward, but there are also times when it's not so easy to tell.

Some of the most common words to create this problem are pronouns like any, all, some, most, and none which will change from singular to plural depending on the prepositional phrase or noun that follows them. But while these pronouns can switch back and forth, it's actually pretty easy to identify whether they should be considered singular or plural. Basically, if the prepositional phrase refers to a singular noun, then the verb should be singular; if it refers to a plural noun then the verb should be plural. For example, in the examples above, dogs is plural and information is singular, so the sentences should read "All of the dogs need to be fed" and "None of the information is up to date."

2. Ones, things, and bodies

The problem

Everybody need to listen.

Another set of pronouns that cause trouble are the ones (everyone, someone, etc.), things (anything, everything, etc.), and bodies (everybody, nobody, etc.). Because these words can often be followed by prepositional phrases, it might seem at first like they follow the same rules listed above, but actually the rules for ones, things, and bodies is even easier-they're always singular. Therefore, the above example should read "Everybody needs to listen."

3. Conjugating for collective nouns

The problem

The class are going to get out early.

Collective nouns pose a similar problem to the pronouns listed above, which is that it's not always clear whether they're singular or plural. If you talk about a family or a class, you're using a singular noun to describe a group of people-so how can you tell if whether to treat it as a singular unit or a plural group?

In general, if all the component parts in a group noun are acting as one then you should treat that noun as singular. For example, in the example above, because the entire class is going to be getting out early, the noun class is singular: "The class is going to get out early." However, if we talk about the members of a group acting separately, then we treat them like a plural noun. In the sentence "The band are arriving on different buses," we can make the band plural because we're clearly talking about the members acting as individuals.

More often than not collective nouns will take a singular verb, and even when you have the option of making them plural you'll likely still be correct if you conjugate them as singular. There's no hard and fast rule here, so its best to use whatever fits with the spirit of each particular sentence.

4. Misidentifying the subject of a sentence

The problem

Her shoes, especially the green pair, is very pretty.
There is no apples left in the bag.

Sometime the problem isn't that you can't figure out whether the subject is singular or plural, but instead it's that you can't find the right subject in the first place. This usually happens when there are appositives or other syntax devices that separate the subject from the verb. For example, in the first sentence above it looks like the green pair is the subject since it's right next to the verb, but in fact the subject is her shoes, so the sentence should read "Her shoes especially the green pair, are very pretty." Likewise, in the second example the subject (apples) comes after the verb. The sentence should read "The are no apples left in the bag."

5. Identifying subjects joined by conjunctions

The problem

Her phone and her wallet was stolen.
Either the couch or the table have to go.

In these two example, the conjunctions and and or confuse the question of subject, but in fact the rules for these are pretty simple. Subjects joined by the conjunction and are always plural because you're necessarily talking about more than one thing. So, the above example should read "Her phone and her wallet were stolen."

When subjects are joined by the conjunction or, the verb should be singular because you're talking about either one thing or another, not both. So, the example should read "Either the couch or the table has to go." The only time these types of subjects have to take a plural verb is if both of the subjects are plural. If one subject is plural and one singular, the verbs should match the subject closest to it. So, you would write "The student or her parents have to attend the meeting" and "The parents or the student has to attend to attend the meeting."

6. Being tricked by odd words

The problem

Economics are my favorite class.
My pants is new.

Sometimes you'll mess up a conjugation not because you've broken some confusing grammar rule, but just because the subject of your sentence is a tricky word. English is full of nouns that, because of history or convention, seem singular or plural but are actually conjugated as the opposite. For example, words like economics, mathematics, and news look and sound plural, but are actually singular. So, the example above should read "Economics is my favorite class."

Similarly, there are also words that refer to a singular object but which are still conjugated as if they were plural. These include words like pants, scissors, and glasses. So, the sentence above should state "My pants are new." Unfortunately, there's no other way to deal with these words than to memorize them.

The problem

Original story about "Common Verb Usage Errors" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

How to Write a List

12 May 2013 13:59:00 GMT

Lists are an important part of academic writing. Almost every paper will include a series of related ideas that can be grouped together, and creating lists is one of the most efficient ways to signify relationships to the reader. But just because they're useful doesn't mean their easy-putting together a good list means following the rules of academic writing closely.

Options for Writing Lists

There are a number of ways writers can choose to group information into lists in writing.

In-text

The most common type of list in academic writing will be in-text lists. Although you might not realize it, something as simple as "Factors that affect growth include sunlight, water, and soil composition" is actually a list. In-text lists can also include more grammatically complex phrases, for example: "In The Great Gatsby, Nick moves to the West Egg, meets Gatsby, and witnesses Gatsby's downfall, all in one summer."

Numbered in text

Authors can also choose to include numbering or lettering within the text to separate the items in an in-text list. Usually this done when the items in the list are long or to indicate that the items occurred in a particular order. For example: "Subjects were asked to 1) identify the areas which they thought needed improvement, 2) detail what improvement they would chose to implement, and 3) explain how those improvements would benefit the team."

Bullet points

We're all familiar with bullet point lists; most of us use them regularly when doing things like

taking notes
making PowerPoint slides
drawing up shopping lists.

But while they're useful for these activities, they're generally not included in any kind of formal writing.

Numbered lists

Numbered lists look similar to bullet points but have numbers instead of shapes to delineate the points. And, much like bullet lists, they're usually something to be avoided in formal writing.

Deciding on a Type of List

By far the most common type of list used in academic writing will be in-text lists. As stated above, using bullet points and numbered lists will make your paper look more like an outline than a formal piece of writing. Remember, in your paper you want to spend time explaining every idea separately, not just dumping a list in front of your reader without any context or interpretation.

When grouping items together, it's also important to consider whether you actually need to use a list or whether it would be better to discuss each item separately. Keep in mind that readers are going to process all the items in a list as belonging together and will expect you to continue to address them as related ideas.

Parallelism

One of the most important grammatical rules for lists is that every item should be parallel, which means that each item should have the same form and function. Let's look at an example:

"In order to prepare for the paper, students need to focus on researching their topics, preparing outlines for their papers, and ask their teacher for advice."

While the first two items are parallel, the last item isn't in the same form. Since the first two start with researching and preparing, the last item also needs to start with an -ing verb. The sentence should read:

"In order to prepare for the paper, students need to focus on researching their topics, preparing outlines for their papers, and asking their teacher for advice."

Here's another example:

"I need to clean the kitchen, bathroom, and vacuum the carpet."

In this example, the first two items are nouns, while the third item is a verb phrase. A good way to check for parallelism is to try the sentence with each item individually. So, "I need to the clean the kitchen" and "I need to clean the bathroom" both sound fine, but "I need to clean vacuum the carpet" doesn't. The sentence can be rewritten a number of ways:

"I need to clean the kitchen, bathroom, and carpet."

"I need to clean the kitchen and bathroom and vacuum the carpet."

"I need to clean the kitchen, clean the bathroom, and vacuum the carpet."

List Dos and Don'ts

Make sure all the items in a list belong together

The most important question you need to ask yourself when you're editing lists is whether the items in that list really belong together. It's not unusual for writers to group ideas together when they write only to realize later on that those items don't actually fit together. If you find that the ideas in your paper have changed as you've been writing or you simply thought three things fit together when they didn't, you may need to edit or remove that list.

Make lists easy to read

Don't string together long lists that include lots of complex phrases and punctuation that will just confuse the reader. A list should be straightforward-if the reader has to go back and read the sentence again to understand it, then it hasn't done its job.

Also note that you should always try to put the most grammatically complex item in the list at the end. It's not technically incorrect to put the items in a different order, but in general readers will have an easier time processing the list if you save the item that requires the most effort until the end.

Punctuation correctly and consistently

Most style guides will devote at least a small section to punctuating lists (although some do not). Because punctuating lists isn't always a matter of following specific rules, it's important that you're consistent with your punctuation. Choose a style that fits somewhere within the standards set by the style guide you're using, then stick with that throughout the paper.

Don't become dependent on lists

Part of good academic writing is learning to express your ideas in complete sentences and then fully explain their significance in a way that flows smoothly from sentence to sentence and paragraph and paragraph. And, as much as you might like lists, it's hard to accomplish that goal when your paper is nothing but bullet points or long in-text lists. When you rely too heavily on lists, your paper will stop being a paper and will instead look more like a summary or a PowerPoint Slide. Remember, it's your job as a writer to eloquently draw connections between words and ideas, not to just slap down a list and let readers draw their own conclusions.

Original story about "How to Write a List" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Common Adjective and Adverb Usage Errors

11 May 2013 16:56:00 GMT

Adjectives and adverbs are an important part of any writing style. Used well they can elevate boring sentences and help writers clearly state their ideas, but when used badly they can distract the reader or even change the meaning of a sentence. Below you'll find a guide to some of the most common adjective and adverb problems along with simple guidelines to help you use them correctly.

Just a reminder: An adjective is a word that modifies a noun, and an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, preposition, or other adverb.

1. Unnecessary modifiers

The problem

The problem was going to be very impossible to solve without help.
She was actually happy to see her brother.

One of the most common problems with adjectives and adverbs is simply putting them in where they don't belong. These words-known as unnecessary modifiers-pop up all the time in academic writing, in part because they're so common in conversational English. We insert extra words like really or kind of into our speech all the time for emphasis or as slang, but these unnecessary modifiers have no place in formal writing.

There are two main types of unnecessary modifiers you should be on the lookout for when you're doing academic writing. The first is adjectives or adverbs that modify a word that technically can't be modified, that is, a word that expresses a singular idea that does not have degrees. Think of these words as being like yes or no questions. For example, something can be or not be impossible, pregnant, fatal, or unique, but they can't be kind of pregnant or very impossible. When you see these words in your writing, you should cut them; so, the example above should read "The problem was going to be impossible to solve without help."

The other main type of unnecessary modifier is adjectives and adverbs that don't add any real value to the sentence. Words like actually, really, and definitely aren't changing the meaning of a word or sentence. And while we use these words in conversation all the time, they have no place in formal writing. In the example above, cutting the word actually doesn't change the meaning of the sentence, so there's no reason to leave it in: "She was happy to see her brother."

2. Linking verbs

The problem

When he plays the piano he sounds badly.

Adjectives and adverbs are closely related. Obviously, both sets of words modify other words, and usually adverbs are formed by adding -ly to adjectives (e.g., quick becomes quickly and slow becomes slowly). The similarities between the two groups of words can lead to trouble when it comes time for writers to choose either adjective or adverb.

While the general rules of modifiers will get you most of the way (remember, adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify everything else), there are a few special cases that tend to cause problems. One of those is when the sentence has linking verbs like is, sound, feel, and taste that are followed by a modifier. Even though it looks like the modifier is addressing the verb, and hence should be an adverb, it's actually describing the subject of the sentence, which means you should use an adjective. In the example above, sounds is a linking verb, so the sentence should read "When he plays the piano, he sounds bad."

3. Mixing up adjectives and adverbs

The problem

She runs good and fastly.

Another source of adjective/adverb mix-ups is the group of modifiers in which it's not clear whether words are adjectives or adverbs. For example, there are some adjectives that end in -ly (e.g., friendly, lovely, silly) and plenty of adverbs that don't (e.g., fast, loud, far; these are known as flat adverbs because their form is the same whether they're acting as adjectives or adverbs). In the example above, fast is an irregular adverb, and its form doesn't change when it goes from being an adjective to ad adverb. So, fastly should be fast.

It's also true that some adverbs don't look anything like their adjective form (e.g., well is the adverb form of good), and, if that wasn't enough, the meaning of some adjectives changes entirely when the -ly ending is added (e.g., hard means firm or difficult; hardly means not very much). In the above example, good is modifying runs, which means you actually need to adverb form: "She runs well."

Unfortunately, the only way to learn all these irregular adjectives and adverbs is to memorize them and practice using them.

4. Misidentifying the modified word

The problem

o matter how quick she finishes she'll probably lose.

One of the easiest adjective/adverb mistakes to make is simply to misidentify which word is being modified. This often happens in sentences with complex syntax or where the modifier and the word it modifies are separated by other text. For instance, in the example above, the word quick looks like it's modifying the word she, but in fact it's changing the word finishes (i.e., how will she finish-quickly). Thus, it should be an adverb, not an adjective: "No matter how quickly she finishes, she'll probably lose."

5. Misplaced adjectives and adverbs

The problem

Jessica brought dinner.
Only Jessica brought dinner.
Jessica only brought dinner.
Jessica brought only dinner.

One of the things that makes adjectives and adverbs hard to use is that they can be moved almost anywhere in a sentence. But while they might technically make sense in any number of places, changing their location can also change the meaning of the sentence, which means it's important to understand how the location of modifiers impacts what you're trying to say.

In the above example, the modifier only is added to the sentence in three different places. In the first, it modifies Jessica and tells the reader that no one else except Jessica brought dinner. In the second, it modified brought and tells the reader that Jessica did nothing except bring dinner. And, in the final sentence, only modifies dinner and tells the reader that Jessica brought nothing except dinner. Other words that can change the meaning of a sentence depending on where they're placed include just, even, almost, and nearly.

Original story about "Common Adjective and Adverb Usage Errors" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Researching for a Literature Review

10 May 2013 16:32:00 GMT

Literature reviews are often one of the toughest sections for students working on research papers. Not only do you have to do all the actual research, but you also need to be able to summarize all the reading you've done in a way that both makes sense to the reader and sets the stage for your own work. It might seem like this second task is much harder-particularly if you're not a strong writer-but taking the time to do your research right is actually the best way to make the writing process as easy as it can be.

There are, of course, as many ways to do research as there are people out there actually doing it. Everyone's method is going to be a little bit (or a lot) different, but everyone has the same goal: to develop a thorough understanding of the history and current understanding of their topic. In order to do this (and thus write a great literature review), you need to have a good research plan.

Get Organized

The most important part of writing a literature review actually comes before you ever sit down to type: you need to get organized. If you just read and read without implementing a system to keep track of all the ideas you're encountering, your literature review will undoubtable turn out to be a mess. You'll likely found that you've missed key articles or given too much space to research that's already fallen out of favor out in the real world. The only way to avoid these problems is to stay organized.

There are a number of ways you can choose to organize that big pile of articles, books, conference proceedings, and other paperwork. If you have hard copies of your resources, it's important that you keep them filed in an orderly system (more on that in a second) so that you can quickly and easily find things when you're anxiously looking for some particular quote or idea (which you will likely find you need to do a lot). If you are keeping everything on your computer, use a Word file or reference management software to keep track of all the research you've collected.

Staying organized doesn't just mean keeping all your research in one place-it also means you need to have a system that will help you make sense of all those words. How you choose to do this is obviously up to you, and what works for you might not work for somebody else. Here are a few organization options:

Location

If geography is important in your field, it might make sense to organize your research by location. This can be a literal location (e.g., a country, university, or state), but location could also mean something more abstract. You might group paper according to how they are located in relation to each other; for example, are some more mainstream or on the fringe, or are some practical while other are theoretical?

Alphatecially

This one is probably pretty obvious, but it bears repeating. Putting your research in alphabetical order is probably one of the easiest way to keep track of everything. However, if you simply keep everything in alphabetical order, you'll probably need to use another system to keep track of how all the research is related.

Time

If your literature review is going to focus on how a particular idea, theory, or methodology has changed over time, then you might want to consider keeping your research in chronological order. This can help make resources easy to find when you're writing about a particular time period and will also help ensure that you haven't missed anything crucial.

Hiearchy

This style of organization requires a little bit more work than the others and also requires you to already be familiar with most of the research. When you already have a feel for your research, you can start ranking articles and books in a hierarchy, i.e., you can decide which ones are most important and which ones have the least value. Keep in mind that everyone's measure of what's "important" will be different, and you want to focus on what's going to be valuable for your paper in particular.

Often you'll find that you need to combine several of these methods. For example, you might group your research by category, then file things alphabetically within those categories; or, you might divide your research into a hierarchy with several levels of importance, then organize chronocially within those groups. Again, it's important to find a system that works will for you.

Once you've develop a system it's important you stick with it. When you read new papers, immediately file them in the correct place in your system so you'll be able to find them when you need them.

Look for Patterns

One of the main benefit to staying organized (in addition to being able to easily find stuff when you need it) is that it will help with another vital part of the literature review writing process - spotting trends and patterns. A good literature review won't just regurgitate a hundred studies one by one, but will instead attempt to illustrate for the reader the relationship between all those individual papers.

To do this job well, you need to be able to analyze your research and identify trends and patterns. When do particular ideas, theories, or methodologies first appear and how do they change over time? Do certain kinds of studies report similar or dissimilar results? You also want to look at the relationship between studies. How are researchers influencing each other? Do you see evidence of a debate around a particular issue?

One of the best ways to look for trends and patterns is to use a diagram or other visual aid. If you're just looking at individual papers one after the other, it's going to be hard to see connections between them. However, if you're able to create a picture of how these studies relate to each other, the trends and patterns become much clearer. Below are two examples of mapping techniques.

Spider diagram

A spider diagram is a way to visually map out the relationship between lots of different categories. Start by putting your main concept in a central bubble; for example, if you're going to be reviewing literature on The Great Gatsby, you'd put the novel's name in the center. Then, draw lines out from there to circles that represent the sub-areas you'll be covering in your review. From those circles you can draw lines to sub-sub-areas, or, when you get to the smallest concept area you're working with, draw lines to particular papers you want to cite. Below is a (very simple) example:

Obviously, spider diagrams can get a whole lot more complicated, but the basic idea will be the same no matter how big it gets: to visually describe the relationship between ideas and individual research papers.

Citation maps

If you're using reference software like Endnotes or a database like Ebsco, you can create citation maps, which are graphical representations of citations. Basically, a citation map will show you all the papers a particular study cited (also known as going backward) and also all the papers that cite that study (known as going forward).

You can easily create citation maps in software packages that are tailored to your needs. For example, you can select only certain authors to show and also color-code specific entries. In addition, most programs will let you map citations backwards and forwards several generations, meaning you can easily trace the impact of certain papers and authors.

Citation maps are one of the best ways to spot trends and patterns in the literature. For instance, you can quickly identify papers that link certain research areas together. You can also use citation maps to make sure that you haven't missed any important studies; e.g., if there's a study that has been cited by hundreds of other researchers, than you probably need to figure out why it's so important.

Have an Position

The goal of a literature review is not to provide a balanced, unbiased view of all the research out there. Just throwing out dozens of references isn't going to impress your readers and also isn't going to help them understand what's going on in your particular paper. Instead, the literature review needs to present to the reader a view of the research landscape that highlights why your work is important.

In order to do this job well, you need to be clear about what position you're going to take in your literature review. In general terms, a literature review should 1) give an overview of the current research landscape, 2) identify gaps or holes in the literature, and 3) explain how you're going to fill those holes. So, before you start writing, you need to have a very clear plan that details which resources you will need to fully explain those three points.

Note that this doesn't mean that you should omit references that don't fit with your study or otherwise try to fudge the literature review to make your work seem important. Rather, you should address those studies and explain how why the problems they present have been addressed in your work. Remember, you're not trying to trick the reader-your teacher or professor is probably already familiar with a lot of your resources already-but rather present the information in such a way as to convince the reader what you're doing matters.

Know When to Stop Researching and Start Writing

Once you get started with your research you may find that you have trouble knowing when to stop. Every paper you find will lead you to five or ten new ones, and just when you're ready to call it finished you can run into one paper that changes your whole thesis. In addition to the problem of the overwhelming amount of resources out there, there's always the concern that you've missed something really important. Nobody wants to hand in a literature review only to have a teacher tell you that you've left out a well-known, vital study. And, on top of all that, it's also a fact that the rest of the world isn't standing still around you. Even as you work on your research, new papers are being published every day.

So how can you know when it's time to step researching and start writing? The answer, sadly, is that there's no clear answer. There's always going to be more resources out there, more studies you haven't read, and more studies that have just been published. You can, however, follow some general guidelines that will help you decide when it's time to put down the reading and get started on work of your own.

Balance your time. Unless you're working on just a literature review for a class, it's likely that your review will be part of a larger research paper. And, while it's tempting to keep researching, it's also important to remember that you are going to need time to work on the rest of your paper as well. Think about how much time you're going to need to devote to the other aspects of your project, and if your research has started to cut into that time, then you need to move one.
Get comfortable with feeling incomplete. There's never going to be a time when you feel like you've seen all the research there is to see, and the sooner you can get comfortable with that fact the better off you'll be. Instead of trying to cover each and every single source out there, accept that at some point you'll need to work with what you've got.
Don't lose focus. Part of the reason that the research process can drag on so long is that students often stray into areas that are only tangentially related to their work. It's easy to follow a trail of citations only to find yourself neck-deep in papers that, while interesting, aren't related to the central focus on your work. If you find that you've amassed a long list of resources like this that aren't going to be used in your literature review, you need to either refocus or start the writing process.
More isn't always better. There's often the sense among students that the more sources you can pack into a literature review, the better it will be. After all, you want to be thorough, right? But after a certain point you'll likely find that including more sources is really just obscuring the main focus of your paper. When you bury yourself and your audience in citations, it becomes harder to find what's really important.

This probably all sounds a like a lot of work to put into the research process-all this and you haven't even started writing yet! But keeping your research organized from the very beginning is guaranteed to help you write a better paper. Not only will these research techniques help you develop your ideas and spot patterns you might have missed otherwise, but it will also save you lots of time and hassle when you actually sit down and start writing.

Original story about "Researching for a Literature Review" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Getting It Right From Top to Bottom: An Essay Writing Checklist

09 May 2013 14:42:00 GMT

Throughout the years you've probably heard tons of advice on how to write an essay. From teachers who advise you on how to craft the perfect thesis statement to websites that want to help you fix your grammar mistakes, everybody has something to say about how to write. So, when it comes time to actually sit down and work on an essay or research paper, the process can feel a bit overwhelming. With all those guidelines, rules, and advice, how can you make sure that you've gotten everything right?

Why Use a Checklist?

For anyone who isn't a great organizer (and really, that's probably most of us), checklists are a great way to make sure that everything that needs to get done actually does. We all use them from time to time, from to-do lists to shopping lists. And while it might not seem like you can apply the same idea to something as complex as writing, in fact a checklist can improve your work and make the whole process less stressful.

The Essay Writing Checklist

The following checklist is designed for free-form essays and research papers (i.e., not papers that use the IMRAD model or that present new data). It's purposely vague so that it can be used with any type of academic writing assignment, from a history paper to an in-class essay on Shakespeare. Notice that the list starts with big picture concerns that address the paper as a whole, then narrows focus to issues like paragraph structure and grammar.

Big Picture Questions

Is there a clear thesis statement?

For most papers, the thesis statement should be a one- or two-sentence summary of your argument that is placed at the end of the introduction.

Does this essay effectively answer the prompt or research question?

If you were given a specific prompt or question to answer, you need to make sure that you're paper fully addresses that topic. It's not uncommon for papers to meander or change course while you're writing, so once you're done double check that you've stayed true to the original prompt.

Who is the audience and does the paper address their needs?

Are you writing for a class or a particular publication? If you're writing for a teacher or professor who's graded your work before, ask yourself if you've met their particular standards.

Are you successful in proving your argument?

It's not enough to just give your thesis statement - you also have to prove it with evidence and sound analysis.

Organization Issues

Is there a clear introduction, body, and conclusion?

If not, then you need to have a really good reason for not using this tried-and-true formula.

Does the overall structure of the paper make sense?

In other words, there needs to be an obvious organizational structure in your work that the reader can easily follow.

Does each paragraph add to the argument put forth in the thesis statement?

Make sure that every paragraph has a purpose and that that purpose ties back in to your thesis statement. Any sections that don't address your thesis or add to your argument need to be rewritten or cut out.

Are the transitions from paragraph to paragraph logical and well-written?

Transitional words and phrases should be used to seamlessly move the reader from one paragraph to the next.

Paragraphs

Does each paragraph have a topic sentence, evidence, and analysis?

In most essays, the paragraphs should fit the PEAL model: Point (the topic sentence), Evidence (a quote that backs up the point), Analysis (your analysis of the evidence), and Link (how the point connects to the thesis).

Can you identify the role each paragraph plays in your argument?

Go through your paper paragraph by paragraph and identify how each one fits without your paper. A reverse outline can be a helpful way to look at the relationship between paragraphs.

Are there any paragraphs that are too short or too long?

While there's not set length for a paragraph, in general if a paragraph is too short or too long that means it's not doing its job well.

Sentences and sentence structure

Are all your sentences complete and grammatically correct?

Be on the lookout for fragments and run-on sentences.

Do you vary sentence length and structure throughout the paper?

Good writing has sentences that vary in length and structure instead of repeating the same simple structure over and over.

Grammar and word choice

Does your word choice fit with the level of formality required by the assignment?

If you're writing a formal academic work, you need to avoid jargon, slang, and casual idioms.

Have you checked for common grammatical mistakes like misused pronouns, subject/verb disagreements, and misplaced modifiers?

When you're editing you should always be on the lookout for common grammatical mistakes.

Did you check for spelling, including issues like homophones, author's names, and technical vocabulary?

There are a lot of spelling issues that spellcheck will miss, so don't rely on your computer to catch every mistake.

Formatting

Is your paper the correct length?
Do you have the correct margins, font size, and spacing?
Are your sources formatting correctly?

Creating Your Own Checklist

Once you get used to using a checklist, you can start creating your own and tailoring them to specific assignment. For example, when you have specific instructions from a teacher, you can include questions like "do I have X number of sources?" or "is the title page formatted correctly." You can also tailor the list to meet your needs. For instance, if you know that you tend to turn in papers that are organizationally sound but that have lots of grammatical mistakes, you can expand on the grammar section to include issues you commonly make.

Remember, the checklist isn't there to scare you-it's there to help you make sense of all those rules and guidelines you need to follow. When you use them regularly, you'll find your writing getting better and better.

Original story about "Getting It Right From Top to Bottom: An Essay Writing Checklist" at Essay Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Phrasal Verbs

08 May 2013 12:38:00 GMT

Every language has its own idiosyncrasies, and English is no different. From adverb placement to pronoun usage, there are lots of little rules in the English language that can make learning to speak and write formally a challenge. One of the biggest of these issues is idioms-a combination of words that have a culturally specific meaning that can't be figured out from the words alone. In other words, when you see an idiom there's no way for you to figure out what it means by just looking at it; instead, you have to learn them all one by one.

Some of the most common idioms in English are what's known as phrasal verbs, which are verbs combined with other parts of speech. While many idioms aren't used in formal, academic writing, phrasal verbs are very common, so it's important to understand what they are and how they work.

Terms

Before we get started, here are some of the terms you'll need to know:

Verb

Describes an action or a state of being (She ran quickly; I am hungry).

Preposition

Describes how nouns are related to each other in space and time (the cat is under the table; eat breakfast before you go to work).

Particle

In grammar, a particle is a catch-all term that describes words that don't fit into one of the eight parts of speech (noun, verb, article, pronoun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, and interjection). Usually particles are helpers to other words or space fillers in conversation.

What Is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb that is followed by a preposition or particle that changes the meaning of the verb, usually in a way that is not obvious just from the words themselves. For example, by itself the verb "to play" means to do something for fun or entertainment. But, when you add the preposition "down," you get an entirely new meaning: "to play down" means to minimize something (e.g., He played down the chance that we would win so we wouldn't get our hopes up.).

There are two main types of phrasal verbs. In separable phrasal verbs, the noun and the particle/preposition can be separated with a noun or pronoun placed in between them (e.g., They're going to close the store down.) Inseparable phrasal verbs, as the name suggests, can't be separated (e.g., it's not correct to say "He broke the house into." Instead, you'd say "He broke into the house."). Unfortunately, there's no clear rule about whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable-it's just a matter of convention. So, if you want to use phrasal verbs correctly, you just have to memorize them and get used to using them.

Common Phrasal Verbs

Below you'll find a list of common separable and inseparable phrasal verbs along with definitions and examples that will help you know if you're using them correctly.

Separable Phrasal Verbs

back up - to support

Example

Will you back up your boss at the meeting?
Will you back your boss up at the meeting?

bring about - to cause something to happen

Example

We are going to start a petition to bring about change.
We are going to start a petition to bring change about.

bring on - to cause

Example

If you don't finish in time, you'll bring on the teacher's anger.
If you don't finish in time, you'll bring the teacher's anger on.

bring up - to raise or care for from childhood

Example

She brought up three daughters all by herself.
She brought three daughters up all by herself.

call off - to cancel

Example

The school called off the dance because of the storm.
The school called the dance off because of the storm.

carry on - to continue

Example

It's not polite to carry on with a cell phone conversation during the speech.
It's not polite to carry a cell phone conversation on during the speech.

carry over - to continue at another time

Example

There was so much to do that the meeting carried over to the next day.
There was so much to do that they carried the meeting over to the next day.

clear up - to clarify

Example

Can you clear up your argument in the second paragraph?
Can you clear your argument up in the second paragraph?

cut out - get rid of, delete

Example

You should cut out the third paragraph of your paper to make it shorter.
You should cut the third paragraph out of your paper to make it shorter.

dress up - to put nice clothes on; to adorn

Example

We should dress up the room with more decorations.
We should dress the room up with more decorations.

figure out - to come to understand

Example

Did you figure out what the song means?
Did you figure the song out?

fill out - to complete a form

Example

You need to fill out this form before you see the doctor.
You need to fill this form out before you see the doctor.

hand over - to give something; yield control

Example

She handed over the class to the substitute.
She handed the class over to the substitute.

keep up - to maintain pace; to continue

Example

If you keep up the good work you'll be promoted
If you keep the good work up you'll be promoted.

let out - to release

Example

I let out the dogs to play in the yard.
I let the dogs out to play in the yard.

make over - to redo; to make better

Example

We need to completely make over the house before we move in.
We need to completely make the house over before we move in.

point out - to highlight or indicate

Example

Once I pointed out the mistake they were able to fix it quickly.
Once I pointed the mistake out they were able to fix it quickly.

put off - postpone; delay

Example

If you put off your work you'll be sorry tomorrow.
If you put your work off you'll be sorry tomorrow.

rule out - eliminate as a possibility

Example

The sister has been ruled out as a suspect.
We've ruled the sister out as a suspect.

run off - to make leave

Example

The girls ran off the boy from their slumber party.
The girls ran the boy off from their slumber party.

shut off - to stop something from running/being on

Example

Shut off the hose before the yard floods.
Shut the hose off before the yard floods.

spell out - to explain in detail

Example

Spell out exactly what happened or you'll be in trouble.
Spell what happened out exactly or you'll be in trouble.

tear up - tear into small pieces

Example

I tore up the report so no one could read it.
I tore the report up so no one could read it.

think over - to consider

Example

I need to think over the proposal before I accept.
I need to think the proposal over before I accept.

wear out - to use something until it is no longer usable

Example

She wore out the tires on her car and now they need to be replaced.
She wore the tires out on her car and now they need to be replaced.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

back out of - to quit; fail to keep a promise

Example

I'm mad because she backed out of our agreement.

break into - to enter a building unlawfully

Example

They broke into the store to steal the cash.

catch up with - to cover the distance between two things

Example

She left a few minutes late but was able to catch up with the group.

come down with - to become sick with

Example

She came down with the flu right before finals.

do away with - to get rid of

Example

The committee voted to do away with the tests next fall.

drop out (of) - to quit or leave

Example

She dropped out of school in order to start a new job.

fall back on - to use for emergencies

Example

If the babysitter can't come we'll have to fall back on your parents.

fall out (with) - to fight or disagree

Example

My friend and I fell out over the cost of her wedding.

get down to - to become serious about

Example

We need to get down to the real issue here, not argue about trivial concerns.

hold out against - to resist

Example

If we hold out against their demands they'll have to surrender.

keep to - continue

Example

If you keep to it, you'll figure out the problem.

keep up with - to match pace with

Example

Keep up with the group or else you'll get lost.

make up for - to compensate

Example

She sent cookies to make up for the fact that she couldn't come.

put up with - to tolerate

Example

He puts up with his sister because he loves her.

run for - to campaign

Example

He is running for class president.

stand up to - to not back down; resist

Example

You have to stand up to bullies.

touch on - to mention briefly

Example

The teacher touched on the topic, but said she'd discuss it more later.

Original story about "Phrasal Verbs" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Go Your Own Way: Writing Conventions Versus Self-Expression

07 May 2013 17:22:00 GMT

The writing process if often intensely personal because, at its heart, writing is an act of self-expression. Whether you're working on poems in your diary or a research paper for your chemistry class, the words you put down on the page are an expression of who you are and what you are thinking.

Because writing is an extension of the writer's personality and style of thinking, writers can run into trouble when their personal vision bumps up against the strict rules of formal writing. When you feel strongly about the content and style of your work, it can be hard to fit that excitement into the standard format of a literature review or essay. But, while many students try to get away with being daring and new, breaking from the guidelines in as assignment will likely hurt your grade more than it helps. So how can you decide when you need to follow conventions and when you should feel free to just be you?

Know Your Audience

It's common for students to want to fight against standard writing conventions, which can often seem boring and constraining. Sometimes this can be a good decision that will make your paper feel fresh and original, but sometimes these choices will just make your paper look unprofessional. Which category your paper ends up in will usually depend not only on what you're writing, but who you're writing for.

Ultimately, it will be your teacher or professor who decides the fate of your paper, which means you need to tailor your work to fit their expectations. You can write a fresh, daring essay that subverts normal writing conventions by using a question-and-answer format, but it won't matter if your teacher specifically asked you to write PEAL paragraphs. In other words, it won't matter how good your work is if you aren't following the guidelines for the assignment, which means before you make any daring decisions you should always ask your teacher or professor first.

Common Problems

There are a number of common academic writing conventions that students frequently want to change, work around, or just ignore.

Organizational structure

Once they get comfortable with standard paper formats like IMRAD and introduction-body-conclusion, students often want to break away and try something new. Maybe you want to experiment with something simple like building to the thesis slowly instead of putting it in the introduction, or maybe you want to do something more complex like write your paper from the viewpoint of a character in a novel.

Often these sorts of organizational choices can lead to interesting papers, but you want to make sure that you're still making a sound argument. Remember, the whole point of writing a research paper is to put forth an idea and provide evidence for it. As long as your accomplishing that goal you can feel free to try all sorts of new ideas (usually with your teacher's permission). However, if you get so wrapped up in doing subverting the format that your argument gets lost, then you probably want to stick with the conventional structure.

Another important point to keep in mind about structure is that you can get away with more in classes like English or history. In these classes it's more common to be assigned a free-form essay, while in the sciences you might be asked to write something specific like an IMRAD paper or a literature review. For these specific assignments, there isn't any wiggle room: if you're assigned an IMRAD paper, you need to write an IMRAD paper.

Style

There are a lot of elements that go into a writing style. Elements like punctuation, length of sentences, literary devices (e.g., alliteration or metaphors), person (e.g., first, second, or third), and even capitalization all come together to create the individual style of a writer. In academic writing, there are conventions that govern all of these issues. For example, most essays are written in the third person, and variable sentence lengths are considered a sign of good writing.

All of these issues, however, present an option for personalization. You can choose to write an essay in second person or include lots of short sentences for emphasis-while not conventional, these choices won't necessarily sink your paper. Again, what you need to focus on is whether they improve your argument or whether they're just a gimmick.

Sentence structure

The rules of sentence structure are pretty rigid, so it's not unexpected that as a writer you might want to push back against those rules. Maybe you think starting lots of sentences with conjunctions or using fragments is a great way to create a unique style and make your paper interesting. After all, those techniques are commonly used (very successfully) in fiction, poetry, and opinion essays, right?

Unfortunately for those of you wanting to try out something new, academic assignments aren't the place to experiment with sentence structure. While run-ons and fragments are great for other arenas, when it comes to formal writing it's important to stick with those formal grammar rules. So, if you're writing an essay on Shakespeare you need to make sure you follow proper writing conventions and save those experimental 70-word sentences for your next story or poem.

Word choice

Much like the strict rules for sentence structure, the guidelines for word choice in formal writing can seem constricting. Often we can easily think of how we'd communicate something in everyday language, but when it comes time to translate that thought into academic speak it gets muddled. But, as much as you might dislike academic diction, when it comes to formal writing assignments you don't really have much choice. You might think that tossing in idioms or slang will make your paper seem edgy or conversational, but it will really just make you look unprofessional.

The Bottom Line

The writing you do for classes and academic assignments is an expression of you and your unique ideas, which means it's up to you to decide whether you want to follow the rules or forge your own path. If the result of a creative decision creates a piece of writing that you think is interesting and original that's great, but just be sure to always keep your teacher (and your grades) in mind. In the end, how you choose to walk the line between self-expression and academic conventions is up to you.

Original story about "Go Your Own Way: Writing Conventions Versus Self-Expression" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Writing PowerPoint Slides

06 May 2013 13:59:00 GMT

Nobody likes giving presentation (or at least, not very many people). It's nerve-wracking to get up in front of a classroom or conference audience and talk about your ideas. To combat this nervousness, many students rely on visual aids like PowerPoint slides to engage the audience and make their talks more memorable. But just as with other writing assignments, there's an art to writing slides for presentations. Done right, a slide will inform your audience and improve your talk, but when they're done wrong PowerPoint slides can actually do more harm than good.

When to Use Slides

First things first: not every presentation needs to have slides. While they're great for showing pictures or graphs that enhance your talk or for helping the audience keep track of complicated information, they're not always necessary. If the only thing you're going to be using that projector for is putting up an outline of your speech, then you may want to think about skipping the technology and just giving the speech on your own.

Writing Text on Slides

When used correctly, text on slides can improve a presentation, but it's important to make sure that your slides are informative and easy to read.

Write your speech first

Before you start writing slides, first you need to actually write your speech. After all, you can't use visual aids to enhance your ideas if you don't know exactly what those ideas will be. So, if you have a presentation to give, start by sitting down and drawing up an outline or a speech you'll give word-for-word. Remember, the slides should be secondary to your oral presentation, which means they should be in the background, not dictating the content or pace of your presentation.

Keep the text to a minimum

Putting up a slide that's crammed with nothing but text is just going to overwhelm and confuse your audience. They likely won't bother reading the whole thing, and if they do it means they won't be paying attention to what you're talking about. So, when you're doing slides, try to keep the text to a minimum. Distill that whole paragraph down to a few key words, then use your speech to elaborate on those terms. A good rule of thumb is to have less than four lines per slide and fewer than eight words per line, but you can usually make do with even less than that.

Use the three Rs

If you find yourself with too much text on your slides, use the three Rs-rank, reduce, and rephrase-to cut the clutter. For example, if you have a slide with ten bullet points, you're going to need to shorten that list. Start by ranking each point from most to least important, then reduce the number by removing the lower-ranked points. Finally, rephrase any points that have more than 8 - 10 words to remove even more of the clutter.

Tailor your text to the timing of your talk

At any given point during your talk, what's up on your slide should be related to what you're talking about. Keeping your talk and your slides in sync will help you audience stay focused, and they'll likely remember more of your talk.

In order to match the text on your slides with your talk, you should design each slide to go with a particular part of your speech. This means you shouldn't leave up slides that cover material you've already moved past, and you also shouldn't but up a slide that covers material you haven't talked about yet. For example, if you include a summary slide that goes over the next three points you plan to address, your audience will already several steps ahead of you when you start talking about the first point. Instead, you can make a slide that addresses each point individually or reveal the points one-by-one as you go.

Proofread your slides

As with any other writing assignment, spelling and grammar mistakes will hurt your work and your grade. Even worse, instead of being stuck on the page, those mistakes will be blown up and projected on the wall behind you for everyone to see. Those mistakes will distract your audience and will also likely throw you off your game, since you'll have to either acknowledge them or risk looking unprofessional for not noticing them.

Dos and Don'ts

Don't use your slides as a crutch

Your slides should not double as your notes for a speech. Their purpose should be to provide graphics and summaries to your audience, not to remind you what you need to say. Those slides full of text that just repeat what you're saying will bore the audience and distract from the content of your speech.

Do keep the audience focused on you

Anytime you put up slides you're going to be taking the audience's attention away from you and pulling it toward the screen. While this is helpful if you want to make sure the audience understands a graph or picture, it's also important that you're able to bring their attention back to you once that slide has served its purpose. You don't want your audience just staring at text on a slide-you want them listening to what you have to say.

A good method for recapturing the audience's attention is to include blank slides in your presentation when you want to audience to be focusing solely on you. There's no need to have text or pictures behind you at all times, so when you're directly referring to the slides, just put up a blank one.

Do pay attention to font and colors

The content of your slides won't matter if nobody can read them, so you need to be careful when designing your presentation. Use a sans serif font that's easy to read, and pick colors that contrast enough to make the text visible without being too bright or distracting. Also stay away from fancy animation that will distract from the content of your presentation.

Original story about "Writing PowerPoint Slides" at Power Point Presentation Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Done my homework: how not to forget to write an effective conclusion

06 May 2013 11:19:00 GMT

Done my homework: how not to forget to write an effective conclusion

Well, there is no guaranteed method to get an 'A' on the college assignment, but you should work hard and feel confident. What to do if your professors do not explain what they expect from your paper? Some will repeat many times what to read, ask to think about it, and explicate how to write an essay, but others will give a list of topics to choose from, just to see how students can survive. Some professors prefer to stimulate their creativity; others have a set of very strict rules. It may seem like excessive load, but this is your new life. When you think, "I've done my homework finally," you feel like a hero, don't you?

If you understand what you have read, then this is a starting point for analysis and argumentation. But it is quite difficult to write about something you are not interested in. So, find a topic that you will like to research. By jotting down some thoughts on paper, you will build your ideas. Your thesis statement would be formed from these words, so make sure you researched the topic.

Information is the key

To start writing you need to have notes, so it is time to collect information, such as facts, numbers and references that you may use in your essay. Each person chooses a unique approach to the writing process, but usually it is recommended to create a plan. This is an easy way to organize your gathered information and some useful ideas. If you are not good at researching, you can use "done my custom essays" services for collecting and organizing the information.

When you have written a few pages of text, this is your first draft consisting of several scribbled notes with links or references to sources that you used. Do not judge yourself too much, it was time well spent! Drafting is a part of the creative process, so it works as a jumping-off point. If you do not know how to start, there are many useful "done my homework" services available online that will help you create the first draft.

Declare your position

You start your paper with an overview of the main topic by describing what points you want to prove. This section is called 'introduction,' because you introduce your readers to your work. When you move from one point of view to another, these pieces must be divided by headers to avoid confusion on the audience. It is better to explain all arguments in a logical and clear manner, when they are supported by evidence. If you can present a few well-known examples, it will strengthen all the points that you suppose to declare. To create a snowball effect, when it transforms into an avalanche, you should start with the least impressive argument and end your presentation with the most convincing one. The "written my papers" services may be able to refine the formulation of arguments, but the student must prepare the suitable ground.

Why is conclusion so important?

The role of the conclusion in every paper is to reaffirm the main idea. It strengthens the effect, when your readers remember what you want to prove. The conclusion is a perfect opportunity to repeat your thesis statement convincingly and concisely after all the facts and examples, you mentioned on the subject. Now try to stay away from thoughts like "I've almost done my homework" and concentrate!

The conclusion must conform to the introduction regarding the questions asked and ideas described. It is not a rare situation, when students slightly change their opinion during the writing process, so check the introduction. And keep in mind that it is too late to present new details and facts, because this is what the body of your text is for. After all this hard work, you can finally relax and think, "I've completed my writing tasks and breathe freely."

The effective conclusion will be the last thing your readers will remember. That is why it is very important not to spoil it.

When you have written a few pages of text, put it away for one-two hours, because you should look at your work with fresh eyes. In addition, it is recommended to ask another person to examine your essay closely. This is where you can turn to professional "done my homework" services, because the process of editing and revising is crucial.

Original story about "Done my homework: how not to forget to write an effective conclusion" on BestCustomWriting.com

Writing a Paper for Reading

05 May 2013 14:45:00 GMT

Conferences are an important part of the academic process. Scholars, professors, graduate students, and even undergrads all come together to display their work and discuss their ideas, and presentations are a key part of the experience. But even for seasoned professionals, the process of preparing and giving a presentation is a daunting task. Not only do you have to write a clear, well-organized talk, but you then have to actually get up on a stage and give it. And, unfortunately, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to get your great ideas off the page.

Presenting in the MLA Format

For most conferences in the humanities (e.g., English, literary criticism, foreign languages), presentations are in the format of read papers. Presenters prepare a "listener-friendly" version of published or to-be-published paper, then they simply read that paper to the audience. This reading is usually followed by a question and answer session or a discussion among members of a panel. Sometimes presenters can use visual aids, but more often than not, if you're presenting at an MLA-style conference, it'll just be you and your paper.

Writing a Paper for Reading

The easiest course of action for presenters is just read something you've already written. For more experienced students this might be a paper you've published or are trying to publish; for younger students it might be an essay or thesis you've done for a class. But while this might be the easiest thing to do, just reading a paper without any alterations isn't likely to wow the audience. Instead, if you want to provide a memorable, engaging talk, then you need to rewrite your material for the stage.

Think about the last time you sat in a lecture or listened to a presentation from someone who just read off a piece of paper. It probably wasn't very exciting right? It was also probably hard to follow the speaker's argument without any sort of visual aid. Unfortunately, these kinds of problems are going to be hard to avoid when you're reading a presentation, but that doesn't mean you can't make an effort to improve your material.

Write for listeners, not readers

There are obviously a lot of differences between listening and reading, but the most important for conference presenters is that your listener isn't going to be able to refer back to things you've already said. While readers can take time to think about the meaning of a sentence or flip back a few pages to review a particular paragraph, your listeners aren't going to have the same luxury. Once you've read one sentence it's on to the next. Think of your talk as a one-way street, and your listener is along for the ride.

This difference means that, if you want to read from an already written document, you're going to need to alter the text to make it easier for listeners to understand. When you're writing a paper to be read, you can move quickly through your ideas because you're counting on the reader to take all the time they need to understand the material. But when you're audience is listening instead of reading, they're going to need more help. When you're reading to the audience, you need to be absolutely sure that everyone understands each point you're making before you move onto the next.

In order to help your audience keep up with your ideas as you move through your paper, it's important to provide signposts and summaries along the way. As with any presentation, to ensure that the listener will remember what you're saying, you want to 1) tell them what you're going to say, 2) say it, and then 3) summarize what you've said. This technique might sound repetitive, but remember your audience can't ask questions or refer back to early moments in the talk if they're confused, so you have to do that task for them within your presentation.

The same idea applies if you bring up a point you made earlier in your talk. If it's an idea you haven't referenced in a while, then you need to repeat earlier ideas so you can be sure your audience has them fresh in their minds. Again, this might seem repetitive to you as you read, but your audience will appreciate it.

Lastly, try to simplify any overly complicated sentences or paragraphs that are going to be hard for the audience to understand. If there are any sentences that take more than one reading to understand, then you can be sure that listeners aren't going to figure it out. So, go through your paper and rewrite any sections that are likely to go over your listeners' heads.

Write for time

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a presenter is to go over your allotted time. Not only does this make you look unprofessional, but it also means that the audience won't get a chance to hear your entire paper. Instead, a moderator will likely boot you off the stage mid-paragraph or even mid-sentence.

So, when you're rewriting a paper for a presentation, make sure you time yourself so you know how much you need to cut. Reading almost always takes longer than you think it will (unless you're a very fast talker, which is a different problem), so don't rely on word or page count to estimate your time. And, most importantly, don't be afraid to cut material in order to meet the time limit.

Write for readability

Your audience isn't going to be reading your work, but you are, which means you need to be sure your paper can easily be read aloud. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to make a few simple physical changes to your text that will improve readability. For example, you can enlarge the text and double space it so that it's easy to see, and you can put page breaks at the end of paragraphs or sections so you don't have to pause mid-sentence to turn the page.

It's also a good idea to write notes for yourself on your paper. For instance, if there's a particular point you want to stress you can underline it, or you can write reminders for yourself to pause or look up at the audience in particular spots. These kinds of things might not seem worth writing down, but when you're nervous up there on the stage it's easy to forget simple things like taking deep breaths and looking up. When you write it down and follow through, it will help you look calm and focused.

Read with style

All that hard work will be wasted if you just stand up in front of your audience and read in a monotone for 20 minutes. After all, if people are dozing it won't matter how often you repeat your main ideas. To keep the audience interested, work on speaking with inflection and excitement like you're telling an interesting story to a friend. Remember, the audience won't get excited about your work if you clearly aren't.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The key to producing a paper that's easy to read and easy for the audience to follow is simply to practice. All the issues listed above-from overly complex sentences to time management-are easier to identify and fix if you read your paper out loud again and again. Then, when you think you have it all ready, read it some more. This practice will help you identify problems areas where you have difficulty reading and will also make you more comfortable once you get up on stage.

Original story about "Writing a Paper for Reading" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

The Art of Giving Conference Presentations

04 May 2013 13:54:00 GMT

Conferences are one of the most important stepping stones for those looking for a career in academia. Just attending gives students the chance to meet people who share their academic interests and to find out what's going on in their field. But, if they're lucky, students aren't just watching presentations-they're also giving them. While this is a big opportunity for undergraduates and graduate students alike, the task of preparing and giving a talk is usually difficult.

What Goes in a Conference Presentation?

The exact style of a conference presentation or talk will vary from discipline to discipline, but the general idea is the same. Presenters have a short amount of time-anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, usually-to tell the audience about their work. In some fields it's common to just read from a research paper, but often the presenter will need to write a talk that's specifically designed for that conference.

Conference Proposals

In order to have to the opportunity to give a conference presentation, first you need to submit a proposal, which is a short (500-1500 word) summary of what you would talk about in your presentation. While it might seem like this step isn't a big deal, a well-written proposal is absolutely necessary if you want to present at conferences. There will likely be dozens or hundreds of other people all vying to present, and your proposal is what will get your foot in the door.

A good conference proposal will capture the reader's attention quickly and use that short amount of space to succinctly explain why your work deserves the chance to be heard. You should explain your research question and how it fits into the current research landscape and also your primary results. Make sure you're very clear about what your results are and why they're important-if you want you can even use that as the very first sentence of your proposal. Remember, you want to stand out, which means you should wow the reader without making them work hard.

You've Been Accepted - Now What?

Once you've been accepted it's time to write your talk. Focus on keeping your paper focused and easy to understand. It's always better to take a narrow topic, for example a single result you've found, and take the time to really explore it deeply than to give a talk that just brushes the surface of a lot of different topics. Below are some tips to help you prepare a successful presentation.

Keep it simple, stupid

This age-old acronym, KISS, is especially apt for conference presentations. Because people are going to be listening to your speech, not reading it, it's important that you keep your information simple and straightforward. If you ask the audience to follow along with complex sentences or keep up with overly intricate figures, they'll get confused and not pick up the main ideas of your talk. Also keep in mind that you're likely to have a range of expertise in your audience, so not everyone is going to understand if you immediately jump to complicated ideas without laying the foundation first.

Forecast, explain, and summarize

Because people listen differently than they read, it's your job at the presenter to make it as easy as possible for the audience to understand and remember your work. To help them along, use the forecast, explain, and summarize model. Start your talk by telling them what you're going to say (forecasting), then say it (explain). Finally, sum up what you've just told them (summarize). On paper this can look overly repetitive, but to those listening it will reinforce your ideas and make them easy to remember.

Organization

In general, talks should be organized a lot like a research paper. Start by giving a (brief) overview of your topic, then introduce your research question and methodology. Finish by giving a (brief) overview of your results and discussing their importance. Once you're comfortable with speaking about your work, you can vary move away from this style if you want, but always keep in mind that you want the organization of your work to be as straightforward as possible.

Know your audience

Tailor your talk to fit the needs of your audience. If you're presenting at an interdisciplinary conference or to people outside your field, make sure you explain terms and concepts clearly. On the other hand, if you're attending a conference devoted to a particular niche or subfield, it's safe to assume that your audience will already be familiar with most of the terms, which means you don't need to waste time explaining them.

Slides

These days it's common for speakers to have PowerPoint slides that accompany their talk. These visuals can help you hold the audience's attention and explain complicated idea, e.g., using graphs or illustrations. However, slides shouldn't be used a crutch or to help you remember what you plan to say. If you need notes, keep them on the computer screen or on index cards, not on your slides. A good rule of thumb is that you should have one main point per slide and no more than ten words of text. This means no long quotations or extensive bulleted lists. If you put lots of text on the slide, no one is going to read it, and you're going to lose the audience's attention.

Practice, practice, then practice some more

Students often think that just writing their talk down is enough preparation, but getting up on that stage without having practiced will likely end in disaster. For one thing, there's no way to know how long your talk is going to be unless you practice, which means you run the risk of ending up too short or, more likely, going over your allotted time. Plus practice will make you more comfortable with your material so that, if something goes wrong, you're prepared and can make needed adjustments.

Be prepared for questions

If you've done your job well, the audience will be engaged with your ideas and want to ask questions when the talk is over. Prepare for this as part of your practice sessions. Think about what people are likely to ask or have a colleague do a practice Q & A with you.

Giving the Talk

The same rules that apply to any kind of public speaking will also hold true for conference presentations.

Always introduce yourself

Get your audience's attention right from the beginning by clearly stating who you are, what institution your with, and what topic you'll be covering. Even if you were introduced beforehand, it's important to reinforce this for the audience.

Speak slowly and clearly

It won't matter how good your speech is if you're nervous and rush through the material, since no one will understand you. So, take your time. If you think you sound too slow, then you're probably speaking at just the right speed. And remember to take pauses-they'll give you time to think and will help guide the audience.

Don't fidget

This one is hard for everyone, particularly if you're a nervous public speaker, but it's also one of the most important public speaking rules. Don't rock back and forth, twirl your hair, or tap a pencil-all of those things will distract the audience and prevent you from getting your point across.

There aren't very many people out there who really enjoy this type of public speaking, so don't feel bad if you're uncomfortable or nervous. Those feelings are perfectly natural, and the only way to get rid of them is simply to do lots of public speaking. With practice you'll find your conference presentations will improve and impress.

Original story about "The Art of Giving Conference Presentations" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

The Literary Present Tense

03 May 2013 12:27:00 GMT

By the time we start writing papers in high school and college, most of us know the basics of verb conjugation. We constantly move between past, present, and future tense in our conversations, and those skills translate onto the page. But when it comes to research papers and essays, students will often find that knowing how to conjugate isn't enough. When you're working on academic papers, you have to know the conventions for using tense as well as the actual rules of conjugation.

Terms

Before we start going through the ins and outs of working with tense, first we need to go over a few terms that everybody thinking about tense needs to know.

Present tense

The present tense describes events happening in the current moment in time (I talk, he thinks).

Past tense

The past tense describes events that occurred prior to the present moment (I talked, he thought).

Future tense

The future tense describes events that will happen after the present moment (I will talk, he will think).

Simple tense

The simple tense describes discrete events that have a distinct beginning and end.

Continuous/progressive tense

The continuous tense (also called the progressive) describes actions that take place over an unspecified time period or are ongoing (I am talking; he was thinking). Both the simple and continuous tenses can be combined with present, past, and future tenses.

Perfect tense

The perfect tense describes actions that have already been completed. Like continuous, the perfect tense can be combined with the past, present, and future tenses.

Conventions of Tense

Every academic discipline has its own guidelines about using tense. You'll find some of these rules in style guides or textbooks, but many of these aren't official rules. Instead, they're conventions that most, but certainly not all, professionals in the field follow and which can be bent or broken depending on the writer's style.

Literary present tense

When writing about works of art like novels or paintings, it's convention to use what's called the literary present tense. The nuances are shown in the examples below, but the basic idea is that you should assume events happening in a piece of art exist in an eternal present tense; no matter when you read The Great Gatsby or Hamlet, you should assume those events are always in the present tense. The literary present tense is used in historical writing as well.

Accordingly, when you write using the literary present tense, you use the present tense to discuss fictional events (e.g., things happening in a novel or short story) while the past tense is used to discuss historical events (e.g., things that happened in the life of the writer).

Example

Early in the novel, Mrs. Cunningham declares that Willoughby "is not a man one would consider marrying. - Both the introductory text and the verbs in the quote are in present tense.

Nick states early in the novel that he excuses Gatsby's behavior, but he shows no sympathy for Tom and Daisy. - When describing events from a novel, the present tense is used.

Fitzgerald completed the novel in 1930, but it was not published until after his death. - The verbs here are in the past tense because they are describing real, historical events.

There are a few times when it's acceptable to use the past tense when describing literary works, usually when doing so will make the meaning of the text easier to understand or when a quoted passage contains several different tenses.

Example

When Marlow first appears, he is a mysterious figure. He tells the story about what happened in Africa while shrouded in darkness on the ship deck. - Here the present tense is mixed with the past tense because the text is describing two layers of time (Marlow on the ship deck (the present) and the story Marlow is telling which is set in the past).

You should also leave verbs in quotations in the tense as they appear in the text.

Example

Fitzgerald goes on to say that Gatsby "never knew, nor cared" about the details of that night. - Here the present tense is used to introduce the quote, but the past tense is left inside the quotation marks.

Note that when using the past tense to discuss historical events or the present to discuss works of fiction, you may need to use progressive and perfect tenses to indicate ongoing events or the order of events in the past.

Example

While Mrs. Bennett is scheming to get her daughters in front of Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy on the dance floor. - Here, the simple and progressive present are mixed to show that two events are happening at the same time.

In the 1930s, Churchill had advocated against the Nazi regime, and in later years his staunch refusal to compromise with Hitler defined the British war effort. - Here, the progressive past is used to show an ongoing action (had advocated), while the simple past is used to show a discrete event (defined).

Research papers

In the sciences, many writers use guidelines similar to those for literary present tense when writing research papers, although it's important to keep in mind that the conventions for research papers are much less strict. While these guidelines can help you write a research paper that's consistent and makes sense, it's often not necessary to strictly follow these rules.

Much like the literary present tense, when writing research papers you can think of your research (e.g., the articles and books you're citing) as being in an eternal present tense. This means you should refer to them in the present like you would works of art. However, when referring to historical events, such as when a book was published, those will be in the past tense.

Example

In their 1965 paper, Jules and Veerland describe the effects of sleep deprivation on older patients. - The present tense is used to discuss a particular study even though it happened in the past.

When the book was published in 1997, it caused a stir in academic circles. - The act of being published is a historical event.

There are times when it's acceptable to use the past tense to discuss the research of others. For example, if the writers of a particular study have since changed their mind or published work that contradicts their earlier position, it can make more sense to describe their work in the past tense.

Example

Jones and Wollstone's early work (2003) presented the theory that the hormone was secreted in response to stress, but later research (Jones and Wollstone, 2007) suggested that this was not the case. - Here, the verbs are in past tense to stress the fact that Jones and Wollstone no longer believe the theory they put forward in their older work.

As was stated above, there's no clear rule for when to use past or present in research papers. Often what's best is an issue of style and will depend on what point you're trying to make in your work. For instance, if you want to discuss the current state of thought about a particular issue, you would want to use the present tense, but if you want to stress that a certain idea is no longer commonly held, then you would use past tense.

When writing about your own experiments, any work that you have completed should be considered a historical event, i.e., a completed event that occurred in the past. Accordingly, you should discuss your work in the past tense.

Example

At six weeks, the seedlings were divided into two treatment groups. - The past tense is used because the experiment was done in the past.

Original story about "The Literary Present Tense" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

An In-depth Look at Adjectives

02 May 2013 15:27:00 GMT

The eight parts of speech are the building blocks of the English language. Every word we use when we write or speak can be grouped into nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions, prepositions, or verbs, and understanding how each of these groups work is an important part of learning to write well. Here, we're going to take an in-depth look at adjectives.

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun (which is a person, place, thing, or idea). Basically, it's a word that tells you something about that noun: it's a way to take a general noun (bed) and make it specific (my old bed). If I say that I've bought "a new, green car," the words new and green give us more information about the noun car. Most adjectives answer one of three questions:

Which one? - our cat, the next house
What kind? - the glass table, a sharp pencil
How many? - three chairs, many hours

Note: In all the examples given here, the adjective is in italics, and the noun being modified is underlined.

Using Adjectives

Compared to other parts of speech, the rules for using adjectives are pretty straightforward. With a just a few key guidelines it's easy to make sure that your grammar is correct, but, as with everything in English, there are a few sticking point that can cause trouble for writers.

Where to place adjectives

In English, adjectives are placed immediately before the noun they modify.

Correct

I'm going to wear a red dress to the party.
The blue house is where my friend Rebecca lives.

Incorrect

I'm going to wear a dress red to the party.
The house blue is where my friend Rebecca lives.

The only exception to this is when an adjective is being used with the verb to be or a linking verb like smells or seems. In that case, the adjective follows the verb.

Correct

The wet dog smells terrible.
She is pretty.

Coordinate adjectives

When two or more individual adjectives are used together they're known as coordinate adjectives and should be separated by a comma. The key to coordinate adjectives is that they're acting separately. Each adjective is modifying the noun, and the sentence would make sense with either adjective on its own. If you can add an and between the adjectives, they're coordinate adjectives.

Correct

That wet, hairy, smelly dog needs a bath. (or: That wet and hairy and smelly dog needs a bath.)

There's a big, scary bear outside our tent. (or: There's a big and scary bear outside our tent.)

Cumulative adjectives

Sometimes, however, when two or more adjectives are being used together they're not coordinate adjectives. If the words aren't working separately, they're known as cumulative adjectives; these types of adjectives don't need a comma.

With cumulative adjectives, the adjective closest to the noun acts as a single unit with the noun. For example, in the phrase "dark chocolate," the adjective dark is modifying chocolate, but they act as a single unit. If you add another adjective, its modifying the phrase "dark chocolate," not the word chocolate by itself. So, the phrase "tasty dark chocolate" doesn't need a comma. A good way to the difference between cumulative and coordinate adjectives is that if you add an and to cumulative adjectives it doesn't make sense or changes the meaning of the sentence.

Correct

We're having some tasty dark chocolate for dessert. (not: We're having some tasty and dark chocolate for dessert.)

There's a big, scary black bear outside our tent. (or: There's a big and scary black bear outside our tent.)

In the second example, big and scary are coordinate adjectives, but black is cumulative because it's acting with the noun bear to form a single unit that tells you what kind of bear it is (because a black bear is a particular kind of bear). If you wrote "There's a big, scary, black bear outside our tent" then you're saying the bear is black, not that it's a black bear.

The distinction between coordinate and cumulative adjectives can be a gray area, and often you can make an argument that a pair of adjectives can be interpreted as coordinate or cumulative.

Adjective order

When we're using coordinate adjectives, there's a particular order in which we list all our modifiers, which is why it's correct to say the "new, green car" but not "the green, new car." This order is usually second nature to long-time English speakers, but it can be confusing to those learning English because there isn't a real pattern or reason behind it.

1^st - Determiners (the, a, an, or any other word that tells the reader which item or how many of something)
2^nd - Observations (e.g., adjectives that have a personal bias)
3^rd - Size and shape
4^th - Age
5^th - Color
6^th - Origin (e.g., American, French)
7^th - Material
8^th - Qualifier (an adjective that functions as part of the noun, e.g., rocking chair)

So, if you're were buying a car, you'd say "I'm getting a beautiful, huge, new, blue, American, all-steel, pickup truck."

Degree of adjectives

We use degree to compare adjectives, meaning we can show whether a noun is more or less something than another noun. If I say "I'm smarter than my brother," the adjective smart has been modified to show that when you compare the two of us, I'm the one who comes out on top.

Adjectives with only one syllable are modified using the suffixes -er and -est. The first is used when comparing two items, and the second is used when comparing three or more things. Note that the suffixes only go up-that is, you can only use them when one thing is more or greater than the other.

Correct

I'm rich.
He's richer.
She's the richest.

When comparing two things, it's important to remember that you should only use the suffix -er. If you have two daughters, you would say "This is my older daughter," not "This is my oldest daughter."

For words with more than one syllable, degree is indicated by using the words more and most. As with the suffixes above, which one you use depends on how many things you're comparing: more is used to compare two items, and most is used to compare three or more things.

Correct

He's beautiful.
She's more beautiful.
I'm the most beautiful.

Incorrect

He's beautiful.
She's beautifuler.
I'm beautifulest.

Unlike the suffixes -er and -est, with multi-syllable words we can also compare things down-that is, we can show that something is fewer or smaller. To do this, we use the words less and least. Again, less is used when comparing two things, and least is used to compare three or more.

Correct

I'm beautiful.
She's less beautiful.
He's the least beautiful.

Note that the article the is used with the superlative (the most or least). When comparing two items, the word than is often used.

Correct

She is more intelligent than he is.
My brother is less intelligent than I am.

The only exception to this is when the multi-syllable word ends in the letter y. In that case, the y is dropped and the -er and -est suffixes are used.

Correct

I'm happy.
She's happier.
He's happiest.

When using comparative adjectives, it's important to be careful about modifying words that can't be modified. Many adjectives imply an absolute state, which means the noun either is or isn't that thing; it can't be sort of or kind of that thing. For example, a woman can either be pregnant or not; one woman can't be more or less pregnant than another. Often in casual conversation modifiers are used with these sorts of words as a kind of shorthand (for instance, if you say something is "very pregnant," it usually means that she is obviously pregnant or far along). However, in academic writing you want to avoid this kind of casual constructions.

Other adjectives that should be given a degree include:

absolute
complete
entire
fatal
impossible
principal
unanimous
unavoidable
unique
universal
whole

Adjective Phrases

Sometimes entire clause can act as an adjective. These clauses will be dependent (meaning they can't stand alone as their own sentence), and they answer the same question as regular adjectives (Which one? What kind? How many?).

Correct

The player who scores the most goals will get a trophy.
(The clause who scores the most goals tells us which player.)

The table that we found at the new furniture store was cheap.
(The clause that we found at the new furniture store tells us which table.)

We need a dog that doesn't pee on the floor.
(The clause that doesn't pee on the floor tells us what kind of dog.)

You can spot an adjective clause because they start with relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, that, which) or relative adverbs (when, where, and why). However, other types of clauses, including adverb clauses, can start with some of these words, so in order to be sure it's acting as an adjective you need to identify what it's modifying.

Original story about "An In-depth Look at Adjectives" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

An In-depth Look at Adverbs

01 May 2013 14:20:00 GMT

Most of us don't enjoy the tedium of long grammar lessons. Those blackboards or slide shows full of long, complex sentences that need to be broken down and analyzed word by word can make the head of even the best writer spin. But unfortunately, understand all those guidelines and rules is an important part of the writing process, particularly when it comes to academic writing, where even the smallest mistakes can make your work look bad or even lower your grade. To help you with your grammar woes, here's an in-depth look at adverbs.

What is an adverb?

Like adjectives, adverbs are modifiers that give the reader more information. They take a generic description or action (he ran) and add more detail to make it specific (he ran quickly). Adverbs modify any word that isn't a noun, including verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and prepositions: (note that here and throughout the rest of the article the adverb is in italics and the word being modified is underlined):

verbs - she asked quietly, we eat there frequently
adjectives - the movie had a wonderfully surprising twist, dinner was quite expensive
other adverbs - he jumped really high, the car moved very fast
preposition - He closed the store immediately after the last customer left

The extra information that adverbs give us can answer a number of different questions:

How? - The girl talked quietly to her friend. (How did the girl talk?)
When? - We'll be singing tomorrow at the concert. (When will we be singing?)
Where? - He lives nearby. (Where does he live?)
Why? - He bought a new car to drive to work. (This adverb phrase answers the question "Why did he buy a new car?")
Under what conditions? - We played in the dark. (Under what conditions did we play?)

Using Adverbs

Because they're both modifiers, adverbs follow many of the same grammatical rules as adjectives. However, there are a few areas in which the two parts of speech are handled differently. Below are the main rules to know when it comes to using adverbs correctly.

Adverb placement

Unlike adjectives, which are always placed immediately in front of the nouns they modify, adverbs can often go several places in a sentence. The can go at the beginning or end of a sentence or on either side of the verb being modified. For example, all of the sentences below are grammatically accurate:

Correct

She quietly talked to the teacher.
She talked quietly to the teacher.
Quietly she talked to the teacher.
She talked to the teacher quietly.

There are few hard and fast rules for adverb placement, so using them correctly is often a matter of getting a feel for style conventions. If you're unsure it's always a good idea to try to keep the adverb as close as possible to the word it's modifying in order to avoid any confusion or extra work for the reader. So, in the above example, either of the first two sentences would be preferred (but again, any of the four would be technically correct).

Adverb form

Many adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -ly to the end of adjectives. Slow becomes slowly, happy becomes happily, etc.

Correct

She easily answered the all the questions on the test.
He stormed off angrily when he didn't get what he wanted.

However, just because this is often the case doesn't mean you can assume that every word that ends in -ly is an adverb. Many adjectives, including friendly, lovely, and silly, also end with this suffix, and some words ending in -ly can be either adverbs or adjectives:

Correct

The early start time meant that many of the students were late. (adjective)
We left early so we wouldn't miss any of the show. (adverb)

There are also many words that don't end in -ly that function as adverbs If you're unsure whether a word is functioning as an adverb or adjective, the only way to check is to identify the word it's modifying.

Correct

The race is starting now.
My mother usually answers the phone in the evenings.
She jumped high to avoid getting her feet wet.

Degree

As with adjectives, the endings -er and -est can be used to indicate degree, which means these suffixes indicate that something is more or greater than something else. -Er is used when comparing two things, and -est is used when comparing three or more items. Remember, these endings can only be used on words that have one syllable.

Correct

I can sing louder than my sister.
Out of all the kids in the class, I run the fastest.

Incorrect

I can reach highest than my brother. (Should be higher since you're comparing only two things).

I dance beautifulliest out of all the girls on the team. (The suffixes -er and -est can't be used with the word beautiful because it has more than one syllable.)

When adverbs have more than one syllable, like in the example above, the words more (for two items) or most (for three items), can be used to indicate degree going upward (i.e., bigger or greater). To indicate degree going down (i.e., fewer or smaller), you can use less (for two items) and least (for three items).

Correct

I dance the most beautifully out of all the girls on the team.
She worked less quickly when she was distracted by her friends.

Notice that the word than is used when comparing two things, and the article the is used to refer to a superlative (the highest or lowest in a group).

Intensifiers

Adverbs are often used not to add new meaning to a sentence but instead to emphasize or highlight what's already there. These types of adverbs are known as intensifiers because they strengthen (or sometimes weaken) a certain word or phrase in the sentence without substantially changing the meaning of the sentence. Examples of intensifiers include really, completely, absolutely, so, mildly, and almost. Intensifiers are usually placed immediately in front of the verb they modify (but not always).

Correct

I really need to find those shoes.
She absolutely believed that she had done the right thing.
I almost cancelled the party because of the rain.
He wanted to win so much.

Adverb order

Adverbs can more pretty freely throughout the structure of a sentence, but when you're using several adverbs together there is a particular order they need to go in:

1^st - Manner: she happily talked, he swam quickly
2^nd - Place: she walked through the town (this is an example of an adverb phrase, which will discussed later).
3^rd - Frequency: he runs often, she never listens
4^th - Time: he got up early, I arrived late
5^th - Purpose: he opened the door to let more air in (this is another adverb phrase)

So, if you wanted to write a very long, complicated sentence with lots of adverbs, you could say: "She ran quickly through the field once that morning to find her dog." Obviously, that sentence is a bit clunky, but the order is technically correct.

Disjuncts

Most of the time, adverbs will fit seamlessly within a sentence, meaning there aren't any pauses or jumps for the reader (most of the examples so far have been like this).

Sometimes, however, adverbs don't fit neatly in with the rest of the sentence and instead stand apart, usually because they are offering some sort of commentary on what's being said in the main clause. These types of adverbs are known as disjuncts and are set apart by commas.

Correct

Fortunately, we were able to find someone to replace her in the play.
Honestly, I don't know how we'll find the time to make breakfast.
She wants to play, too.

Other disjuncts include frankly, luckily, interestingly, unfortunately, clearly, and seriously. As you may have noticed, these are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Adverb Clauses and Phrases

Clauses and phrases

Often an entire phrase or dependent clause will function as an adverb. (Remember, a phrase is a related series of words, and a dependent clause includes a noun and verb that won't stand alone as its own sentence). Like regular adverbs, adverb clauses and phrases answer the questions how, when, where, why, and under what conditions.

Adverb clauses are dependent clauses that start with subordinating conjunctions such as because, before, if, that, than, since, unless, until, where, and while. These clauses can appear anywhere within a sentence.

Correct

I made a cake while you were sleeping. (When did you make a cake?)
Unless the rain stops, we won't be able to play. (Under what conditions will we be able to play?)
Let's go where the food is cheaper. (Where are we going?)

Phrases can be groups of words such as infinitives (an unconjugated verb) or prepositional phrases (words that describe direction, time, or orientation) that answer this same set of questions.

Correct

We left in a hurry. (How did we leave?)
She took a bus to visit her mom. (Why did she take a bus?)

Original story about "An In-depth Look at Adverbs" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

How to Write a Conference Proposal

30 Apr 2013 13:14:00 GMT

Conferences are a big part of the graduate student experience. Attending is an important opportunity to network and learn more about what's happening in your field, and presenting gives many students their first opportunity to put their work out there and to express themselves as real academics. But, in order to have the chance to take advantage of these professional opportunities, you have to convince somebody that you have something worthwhile to say.

What is a Conference Proposal?

All academic disciplines have conferences-conventions where professionals in the field get together to share information. The main way researchers spread the word about what they're working on is in presentations, which are short (usually 15 - 20 minutes) talks in which the presenter gives a brief outline of his or her research. These presentations are a great way for graduate students to gain experience and get exposure.

In order to be selected to give a presentation, first you have to submit a conference proposal. Basically a conference proposal is a short summary of the talk you would give at the conference. It highlights your research questions and results and also provides a brief explanation as to why your research is important. A good conference proposal will help you get your foot in the academic door, while a bad one will leave you out in the cold.

What Goes in a Conference Proposal?

There are as many types of conference proposals as there are conferences. Every conference will have its own guidelines for submissions, and the number one rule of writing proposals is to follow the submission guidelines for the particular conference you're applying too. Some will ask only for a short abstract (which, if accepted, is often printed word-for-word in the program), while others allow for longer submissions that are read only by those who are selecting papers.

Most conference proposals will be only a few hundred words long, which means you need to fit a lot of information into a pretty short amount of space. Remember, a conference proposal is meant to sell your paper to the people who are in charge of selecting presenters, so don't waste time with information that isn't vital to that task.

There are lots of ways you can structure a conference proposal, but the most straightforward is to simply mimic the organization of a long research paper. Start with a sentence or two of introduction that establishes your topic, then explicitly state what gap in the research landscape your work fills. Remember, you want to convince the reader that your work is important, so this first step is an absolute must. Next, briefly discuss your methodology, then move into your results and conclusions.

Dos and Don'ts of Conference Proposals

Do follow the rules

This was said earlier but it bears repeating: every conference has its own guidelines, and you need to follow those guidelines to the letter if you have any hope of being accepted as a presenter. The people reading applications will probably see hundreds or even thousands of similar proposals; if yours is the one that goes over the word limit or has incorrectly done citations, it'll be the first paper to go on the reject pile.

Do proofread

Papers with spelling and grammar mistakes will end up in the same place as those that don't follow conference proposal guidelines. Remember, there are hundreds of other people who have also submitted proposals, and if you look like you don't care enough to proofread your work, those other people are (rightfully) going to get picked ahead of you.

Don't bite off more than you can chew

When working on your proposal, keep in mind how much time you'll have to do your presentation. Most conferences will give you to 15 - 20 minutes, but you might have even less. If in your proposal you outline a talk that would take you significantly more time, it's likely to be rejected. The conference organizers don't want somebody up there who's obviously going to run out of time or give a rushed presentation; they want somebody who can use those 15 minutes wisely to give a structured, nuanced talk.

Do find the balance between ego and fear

As with all academic writing, conference proposals require you to strike a balance between tooting your own horn and noting the work of others. So, don't claim to be blowing up a long-held theory in your field but also don't just reiterate the work of others. If you're going to give a presentation, you should have an original idea, no matter how small, to talk about.

Don't quote too much

Conference proposals are short, and if you spend too much time rehashing the work of others there won't be time to get to your own ideas. The people reading applications don't want to waste their valuable time reading stuff they've seen before in books or other papers. This is your time to express your ideas, so don't write a proposal that looks like nothing more than a literature review.

Don't use jargon

On the other hand, it's sometime important to explain concepts in your proposal. Particularly if you're attending a cross-disciplinary conference or you're presenting to a general audience, you may need to explain theories and terms. Just like the reader will get tired of reading stuff they already know, they'll also get annoyed if they're reading stuff they don't understand. It's a difficult balance to strike, and it will be different for every conference.

Do specialize your paper for the conference

Many conferences have a theme, and even if your work doesn't fit that theme very well, it's in your best interest to make an effort to try. Also make sure to focus your paper if you're applying to conferences that cover a narrow sub-topic or area of your field. Just sending out the same proposal to a dozen conferences is probably going to get you rejected by every single one.

Do plan your talk

It's not necessary to write out your entire talk before you do your proposal, but you need to have a solid outline of what you plan to discuss before you apply to present. The conference organizers are going to expect you to actually discuss what's in your proposal, and if you discover that your proposal isn't going to work after it's already been accepted, you'll be in real trouble.

Do stick with one main idea

The best presentations provide a meaningful, in-depth look at a narrow topic, while less successful talks will just skim the surface of larger topics. When you're planning your talk, pick just one idea from your research to focus on. It will ensure that your talk isn't rushed, and your proposal will reflect that attention to detail.

Do start strong

Often in conference proposals it can be a good idea to state your main results clearly in the very first sentence. If you save them to the end the reader will likely have to go back and reread your work, and with hundreds of papers to read, they'll probably just toss it in the "no" pile. But, if you tell the reader what to expect from the beginning, they're more likely to be impressed.

Do get a second opinion

Nobody's perfect, and your first attempts at a conference proposal won't be either. So, before you start sending your proposal out into the world, have an advisor or fellow student look them over. They'll be able to point out weaknesses you might not see and can help you avoid simple spelling and grammar mistakes as well.

Original story about "How to Write a Conference Proposal" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Getting the Job Done: Tricks to Keep You Writing

29 Apr 2013 13:10:00 GMT

Writing is often one of the toughest academic assignments for students. Unlike a math problem or physics lab, there's no one right answer you're searching for, and no one path that is guaranteed to lead you towards a finished project and away from your desk. Instead, as writers you have to forge your own path, and, no matter how good you are or how well you've prepared, getting all those words on the page is a daunting task.

Fortunately, if you're struggling with a writing assignment, you're not alone. We've all sat down to work only to open up Facebook or turn on the TV instead. But, if you're serious about writing and getting the job done right, there are plenty of tricks and techniques out there to help you stay focused and on task.

The Pomodoro Technique

Sometimes it isn't the writing itself that's so difficult - it's the task of actually sitting still long enough to do it. Particularly if you're not working with a tight deadline, it's awfully tempting to browse the internet or hang out with your friends instead of painstakingly writing two thousand words on the idea of fate in Hamlet.

If your main problem is just staying focused, the pomodoro technique might be right for you. The main idea is pretty simple: you set a timer for a certain period of time (usually 25 - 30 minutes), and work until the timer goes off. Then, you get a 5 minute break before starting the process all over again. If you want, every three or four sessions you can take a longer, 15 - 30 minute break.

The idea behind the pomodoro technique is that most people focus best in short bursts. If you sit down for 4 hours of aimless writing, you'll likely write for a few minutes before wondering over to another activity, then wondering back again. But if you set yourself a strict time limit it will be easier to focus on what needs to be done. Think of it as imposing an artificial deadline on yourself. We've all had the experience of putting off a big project for weeks only to knock it out in the half hour before it's due. By setting a timer, you're recreating the intensity of that last frantic half hour but without the fear that you won't be done in time.

Timeboxing

Timeboxing is a trick that similar to the pomodoro technique, but with a bit more flexibility. Instead of just always setting your timer for a certain period, with timeboxing you start by making up a list of tasks you want to complete. Maybe you want to finish a particular section of a paper or format all your references correctly. Once the list is complete, you decide how much time each task should take; for example, you might think it will take you an hour to finish your introduction or 30 minutes to redo your references. Then you simple set the timer for that length of time and spend that entire period focused only on that one task.

Timeboxing is perfect for people who find themselves easily distracted when writing. Maybe you start writing but then notice editing changes that need to be made, or you decide there's a particular book you need to read before you can go on. Timeboxing will cut away those distractions: until the timer dings, you can only work on one assigned task and nothing else.

If you want to use timeboxing for larger projects, try breaking the project down into smaller tasks. Work on a single paragraph or read one chapter from a book, then cross that task off your list and start on the next one. As with the pomodoro technique, you should take short breaks between session to relax and re-energize yourself so that when you turn to the next task you're ready to go.

Other Tricks and Tips

When it comes to time, aim for quality, not quantity

Sometimes it can actually be better to sit in front of your computer for less time, not more. Spending all day trying to write is probably going to lead to a lot of procrastination and work that isn't very good. After the first few hours you're probably just going to want to get away and won't be really focusing on the work you need to do.

So, if you've got a project to work on, set aside two or three hours to really work, then move on to something else. You'll find that the time you spend working will produce better quality work and you'll probably enjoy having some time off to do something else (even if it's just other assignment). The key to making this work, though, is that you have to plan ahead. If you wait until the last second you'll have no choice but to write for eight hours straight, but if you start earlier you can get away with a just a few quality hours a day.

When it comes to word count, aim for quantity, not quality

There are lots of perfectionists out there who think that their writing should be complete the minute it makes its way onto the page. But there's no reason to spend hours agonizing over the perfect sentence or paragraph. When you're trying to write, you'll probably find that you get more accomplished if you just write - don't stop mid-paragraph to revise, rewrite, or spend ten minutes trying to find the perfect synonym for a word you think you've used too much. Instead, just barrel forward and get as many words as you can down on the page.

Once all that work is done, you can start the process of revising. All those bad sentences and poorly organized ideas can be rewritten and reorganized-a task you'll find much easier once everything has been written and you're not trying to keep all your ideas organized in your head. Remember, nobody's rough draft is perfect, so there's no point in wasting time trying to get everything right on the first try.

Start in the middle

Introductions and conclusions are often the most difficult sections for students, in part because they try to write these sections at the wrong time. You can't introduce your work if you don't know what you're going to say, so why would you write that section first? Similarly, you can't wrap up your paper until the body is finished, so don't start work on the conclusion until you've got your main arguments all laid out.

If you're having trouble gettting started, try working on the middle part of your paper. There's nothing wrong with picking up mid-section or even mid-paragraph, and often these are the parts you'll feel most comfortable working on. Once the main ideas are on the page, then you can start working on introductions and conclusions. And remember, if you start in the middle don't worry about getting things out of order-that's a problem to be handled in the editing stage.

Get rid of distractions

We all know this is a good idea, but that doesn't necessarily make it any easier to do. If you want to get your work done, though, you've got to get rid of all those distractions. Of course this is especially difficult in the age of the Internet, when a seemingly infinite number of websites are just waiting to draw your attention away, and cutting out these distractions can be even harder if you need the Internet for research or help with writing. But if you're constantly finding yourself on Facebook or Twitter, you need to find ways to keep yourself on task. Block the sites if you have to, or use one of the time-keeping techniques discussed above to limit the time you spend on non-work tasks.

Distractions can come from outside your computer as well, so when you sit down to write make sure to limit those as too. Don't work in front of the TV (no matter how much of a multi-tasker you think you are) and don't try to work with chatty friends or in a place that you know will be distracting.

Work in public

That being said, sometimes writing in public can be one of the best moves for those struggling to keep focus. Particularly if you're with a group of friends who are also working, the social pressure to keep typing away at your paper can often be enough to keep your nose to the grindstone. After all, if you're fooling around on Twitter at home there's no one to see it, but at coffee shop or library people will be able to see what you're doing. Even if they're people you don't know, you'll still feel accountable. For this plan to work, however, you need to make sure that the people and things around you are going to be helping you focus, not keeping your attention away from your work.

Original story about "Getting the Job Done: Tricks to Keep You Writing" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Getting Your References Right

28 Apr 2013 16:57:00 GMT

Citations have a lot of weight to carry in a research paper. When your references are well-done, they provide credibility to your work and demonstrate that your research is current and important. Badly done references, on the other hand, can drag down an otherwise good paper and give the reader the impression that your work is shoddy and not to be taken seriously.

So how can you make sure that your references are elevating your paper instead of dragging it down? The key is to make sure that all your references meet these three key requirements.

1. Value

The first issue you need to address when you're gathering resources for your bibliography is whether those sources add value to your paper. It might be tempting to just gather up a whole bunch of resources and throw them all into your paper-that's sure to make your paper look impressive, right? But anyone who is familiar with your topic (like a teacher or professor) or a reader who digs a little deeper into your bibliography will quickly see that you haven't put a lot of thought into your work. As you're going through your resources ask yourself these questions:

Is this resource unique and necessary?

While you may sometimes wish to cite several books or articles to reinforce an idea, in general you don't need to pile on the citations to prove a point. Instead, go through your resources and make sure that each one is adding an idea or piece of data that hasn't already been addressed by a different source. You should also be asking if this source is actually vital to your argument. If your paper would be just fine without it, then it doesn't need to be there.

Does the source of this information provide value?

You should also think about how much value your sources adds in terms of its credibility. An unverifiable website article isn't going to help out your argument, which means you're not adding much value by citing it. On the other hand, citing well-respected journals or authors will add more weight to your ideas. Sometimes citing information from a questionable source can help your paper; you just need to be sure to weight the value it's adding against the hit your credibility will take.

Can the reader access this resource?

Always keep in mind that lists of references are there to help the reader evaluate your paper and learn more about your topic. This means that if you include references that the reader doesn't have access to, such as personal communications or outdated materials, that resource isn't adding any value to your paper. If you really want to include sources like this, make sure to note their problems for the reader and to offer other sources where relevant information can be found.

2. Accuracy

More than anything else, your references need to be accurate. If you're not citing the right papers or you're citing papers incorrectly, then it's going to be hard for readers to take your work seriously. There are a few key issues you need to be on the lookout for when including references in your work:

Does the work you're citing say what you claim it says?

When you cite an article, book, or website, you're promising the reader that the claims you're making in your paper can be validated by that particular work. In order to keep this promise, you need to make sure that the works you cite actually say what your claim, both literally and in general spirit. That means if you include a direct quotation or statistic, the reader should be able to find those exact words or values in the original text. If the reader goes searching for them and can't find them, then your whole paper is in jeopardy.

Did you use the original author's words correctly?

This promise also means that you shouldn't use specific sentences or ideas that might support your argument but go against the original author's intentions. For example, let's say there's a study that found that students on high school soccer teams have lower grades than those who don't, but that those on other sports teams all had higher than average grades. If you choose to cite that paper to show that students who play sports have lower grades, you'll be technically correct (the soccer team did have lower grades), but you won't be accurately citing the work as a whole (which showed that other sports-playing students did well in school). If you want to use a citation this way, it's important that you explain any inconsistencies or problems in a footnote or in the main text of your work.

Is the work you're citing the original source of the information?

When citing ideas or data, it's always important to find the original source of that information because you never know how that information has been distorted along the way. Writers and researchers are constantly citing the work of others-it's how the academic world works-but unless you've looked at the original work you have no way of knowing if the way those writers are citing the work is accurate. If you cite a researcher who has misinterpreted somebody else' work, then their mistake has now become a mistake in your own work. (The only time this is acceptable is when the original resource is old or extremely difficult to locate, and even then you can include both a reference to the original source and a newer one).

Did you get the details right?

We all know that it can be a huge hassle to get all the details in a citation correct. Issues like the spelling of the author's last names, the page number in a book, or an up-to-date URL might seem small, but when you get them wrong they can make your paper look bad. Remember, that list of references at the end of your work is a way for readers to find more information about your topic. If you've done your job well, those readers will want to consult the books and websites you've cited, but they'll have trouble doing that if you've listed the wrong publication year or listed the wrong journal title.

3. Clarity

The last referencing issue you need to be sure to address is clarity. As the writer, it's your job to make sure that your readers can quickly and easily understand what you're references are referring to. If the reader has a question about your work and can't figure out which reference to consult, then you haven't done your job well.

Part of making sure your citations are correct is putting them in the right place. This is an issue addressed by most style guides, so you need to be sure to check the guide you're using to ensure that your in-text citations are placed correctly. But no matter which guide you consult, the general idea will be to get the citation as close as possible to the material being cited.

In most style, the in-text citation should immediately follow the cited material, either within the text or at the end of the clause. Where the citation goes can affect the meaning of your reference: in the examples below, the information attributed to the source changes depending on where the citation is placed in the sentence.

Example

Seedlings treated with PCD grew an average of 6 cm shorter than untreated seedlings, which is likely the result of the blocked nitrogen pathways (Waller, 2006). - Here, both the data (6 cm shorter) and its interpretation (that it's because of a particular pathway) are attributed to Waller.

Seedlings treated with PCD grew an average of 6 cm shorter than untreated seedlings (Waller, 2006), which is likely the result of the blocked nitrogen pathway. - Here, only the data and not the interpretation are attributed to Waller.

Some citation styles require you to put all the references at the end of a sentence. If that's the case, you may need to rewrite sentences to ensure clarity.

Example

Studies have shown mice treated with the antibiotics before surgery were significantly less likely to suffer localized infections during recovery but were less resistant to aggressive, systemic infections (Smith, 2005; West, 2007). - Here the reader will likely assume that the Smith citation goes with the first half of the sentence and West with the second, but for he or she can't be sure. For clarity's sake it should be rewritten.

Smith (2005) showed that mice treated with the antibiotic before surgery were significantly less likely to suffer localized infection during recovery. However, these mice were less resistant to aggressive, systemic infections (West, 2007). - Now it's clear which piece of information goes with which citation.

Working on references can seem like a chore, but remember they're there to enhance your paper, not just to make your life more difficult. If you take the time to get them right, the quality of your work will definitely improve.

Original story about "Getting Your References Right" at Research Paper Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Common Pronoun Usage Errors

27 Apr 2013 06:55:00 GMT

Here are three common pronoun mistakes that every student should look for in their writing.

Terms

Noun

A person, place, thing, or idea (sister, park, table, freedom, etc.)

Pronoun

A word that replaces a noun (I, she, he, they, we, it, etc.)

Subject

The thing in a sentence that's performing the action. In the sentences "I walked to school" and "Jessica ate cake," the subjects I and Jessica are performing the action.

Object

The thing in a sentence that receives the action of a verb or preposition. In the sentences "My brother kicked the ball" and "I passed the book to Abby," the ball and Abby are objects receiving the action of the sentence.

1. Using a plural pronoun for a singular noun

The problem

If a writer replaces a singular noun with a plural pronoun, they have made a mistake.

This is a common problem for professional writers as well as students, and as a student you shouldn't feel too bad if it crops up in your papers every now and again. That's because this mistake isn't really the writers fault-instead, it's a problem with the English language itself. Unlike many other languages, English doesn't have a gender-neutral pronoun, that is, a pronoun that you can use to refer to a person without indicating their gender. You can say that "he did something" or "she said that," but there's no word to indicate that you're talking about someone who's not specifically male or female. (While the pronoun it is gender neutral, it's only used to refer to things, not people.)

The lack of a gender-neutral pronoun can cause problems for writers when they want to replace a gender-neutral, singular noun like "student" or "guest" with a pronoun. Writers have several options, none of which sound particularly good. To be technically correct, you can use "he/his" or "she/her."

Correct

Each student needs to bring his own lunch.

If a guest wants to order room service, she needs to have cash.

As you might have noticed, this construction implies that the student or guest is necessarily male or female, which is why most style guides recommend using "he or she" or "his or her."

Correct

Each student needs to bring his or her own lunch.

If a guest wants to order room service, he or she needs to have cash.

In order to avoid this awkward construction, many writers have picked up the habit of using "they" in place of "he or she." The problem with this is that the noun being replaced is singular, so the use of "they/their" is technically incorrect. However, it is usually accepted in informal writing.

Incorrect

Each student needs to bring their own lunch.

If a guest wants to order room service, they need to have cash.

Another way to get around the awkward "he or she" construction is to simply make your singular noun plural. This won't always work, but in many instances it can be a good way to avoid mistakes or clunky writing.

Correct

Students need to bring their own lunches.

If guests want to order room service, they need to have cash.

2. Misusing subject and object pronouns

The problem

Between you and I, I find it very annoying when subject pronouns are misused.

Pronouns can cause more problems when writers need to decide between the subject and object cases. Remember, a subject is a noun that's performing the action of a sentence, and an object is a noun that receives that action. Because pronouns replace nouns, they come in two different flavors: subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, and they) and object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, and them). If the noun you're replacing is a subject, it's replaced with a subject pronoun, and if it's an object it's replaced by an object pronoun.

Correct

We are going to the game tonight. (We are performing an action.)

My parents gave us new coats for winter. (The jackets are being given to us.)

You'll get your dessert after me. (Me is part of a prepositional phrase, which also takes an object pronoun.)

There are several ways these can get mixed up, but the most common mistake is mixing object and subject pronouns together in the same phrase, often with a preposition. This is usually done because students think it sounds more formal or correct.

Incorrect

Between you and I, this dinner just isn't very good.

They gave the highest grades to my friend and I.

In both these examples, the "I" is part of a prepositional phrase, which means the object pronoun should be used instead.

Correct

Between you and me, this dinner just isn't very good.

They gave the highest grades to my friend and me.

3. Myself, himself, and herself

The problem

Because she gave the money to myself, I can decide what to do with it.

The incorrect use of the reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, herself, yourself, itself, ourselves, themselves) is another mistake that often comes about because students are trying to sound proper or formal. Like the use of "between you and I," the practice of adding "myself" or "himself" has crept into common usage, but there are in fact only a few narrow circumstances in which it's ok to use reflexive pronouns.

The first, and main, use of reflexive pronouns is to take the place of the object of a sentence when it's the same as the subject.

Correct

Elizabeth injured Elizabeth on the trampoline
becomes Elizabeth injured herself on the trampoline.

I write poetry only for me.
becomes I write poetry only for myself.

Sometimes reflexive pronouns can be used to add emphasis. You should be aware, though, while this is technically correct, it's not a construction commonly used in academic or formal writing.

Informal

I myself have never read that particular book.

Note that the sentence still makes sense without the reflexive pronoun (I have never read that particular book). If you find places if your academic writing where removing the reflexive pronoun leaves behind a sentence that still makes sense, then you should take it out.

Original story about "Common Pronoun Usage Errors" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Article critique - what should be the writing style and why

26 Apr 2013 14:56:00 GMT

The article critique has a well-respected place in academia; along with helping students to develop and strengthen crucial critical thinking skills it also allows them to participate in an ongoing conversation or debate with an author or topic in their field. In addition, it also pushes the student to actively engage with a text, observe it with a critical eye, and carefully evaluate what has been presented to them.

And as with any paper or essay, many questions may come to mind when preparing a critique. Aside from the specific areas that need to be covered in the review, other questions may also arise such as; How should I format my paper? And is there a particular style that I need to adhere to?

Formatting the critique

In terms of format the critique follows a similar pattern to that of other essays whose body is organized based on the points to be discussed or the unique progression of the argument. And the points pertaining to the critique will likely be the different aspects of the author's argument that the writer has chosen to analyze (which they may agree or disagree with).

So in all, a completed article critique would entail an introduction that provides; basic background information on the title to be evaluated, the writer's thesis statement, and a few sentences outlining the organization of the essay or paper. A body that is structured as mentioned above, and a conclusion that restates the writer's opinion of the title, any significant points as well as a possible connection to broader issues in the field or discipline.

A word about writing style

Along with the discussion on format, issues of style may also be raised when working to compose a critique. The term writing style itself may carry slightly different meanings based on who you ask, but essentially its the way a writer chooses to write (including how they approach the subject, their selection of words, and overall means of expression). Likewise, its what sets the writer apart from other writers. So based on this definition it becomes clear that it would be very difficult to outline an exact writing style for an article critique; as each writer has their own. But what can be mentioned is how you can make your style known in your writing.

Establishing your writing style

You can distinguish yourself from others in the manner in which you present yourself on paper. This may include;

word choice
sentence structure
references made; examples provided
or the use/absence of literary or poetic devices

These items among other things will distinguish a relaxed tone from a formal one, or a colloquial word choice from a scientific or technical word choice; a combination of many elements that all point towards the specific style or personality of the writer.

Your style reveals much about you, and even though there is a lot of freedom involved in writing, a balance should be made considering the type of work you are constructing and who you are writing for. Article critiques for example are usually written for an academic audience, with a formal and/or scholarly tone.

Maintaining style expectations

Though creativity is definitely welcomed in almost all forms of writing, it may be wise to exercise a bit caution if you decide to throw some of your 'wittiness' into your article critique. Simply because the article critique is not exactly known for its diversity and excitement when it comes to style. Unlike a personal essay or narrative, that may be executed in a variety of ways, an article critique is generally a more restricted document with a long relationship with structure and precision (basic attributes of academic writing).

Often times the articles that are critiqued are scholarly ones that usually connect in some way to a student's coursework in terms of theory or relevant topics and discussions. Considering this it would be a little risky to try anything too experimental in terms of composition.

Baring this in mind, its also worth it to mention the characteristics of an article critique. Really knowing these characteristics will hopefully help you to better understand how a critique should be composed in light of the points just mentioned.

Characteristics of the article critique

provides an analysis and evaluation of one article
is written objectively
may combine both positive and negative reviews
puts the article in the context of other similar works
explicitly states the author's ideas and views
provides sufficient supportive evidence
asks critical questions in order to properly examine the author's argument

Safe ways to deviate

If you are still considering presenting your article critique a little different then what's expected, you may want to either force yourself to conform (especially if you have a grade riding on it) or consider some safe ways to deviate. Even though all professors may not encourage this, people often do enjoy a nice change from the norm from time to time; which also includes writing styles.

So how can you safely add some spice to your critique?

Well there really aren't too many options available but you may want to consider the following;

delay your thesis - Sometimes saving 'the best part for last' is a nice way to add flavor to your essay. In this case 'the best part' would be your final opinion or verdict on the article; delaying it may add some suspense to the critique (i.e.instead of telling it outright you can gradually lead the audience to it)
choose an alternative perspective - Instead of going with the first few things that come to mind after putting down the article, or examining the obvious points, try to think a little deeper about the text and extract alternative or rare concepts that most people would not think to consider.

A note concerning both of these is that usually when you 'go off the beaten path', this means more work for you. Even though the results are usually worth it, if you're concerned about conserving time or just want to 'get through' the critique you may want to save your adventurous ambitions for another round of papers.

Original story about "Article critique - what should be the writing style and why" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

The Hierarchy of Writing Rules

25 Apr 2013 15:12:00 GMT

The rules of writing can often seem arbitrary and confusing. You spend years in school learning how to use commas, conjugate verbs, and write sentences, but even after all that work it still seems like there's always stuff that you haven't learned. Sometimes it can even feel like the rules themselves are changing right in front of you, and you just can't keep up.

All that confusion isn't necessarily your fault, though. While in school it might have seemed like the rules of writing were set in stone, out in the real world there's a lot of debate about the "proper" way to write. In fact, part of the reason that it might feel like the rules for writing are always changing is that they actually are. English is constantly evolving, and this means that usage rules are never set in stone.

The Hierarchy of Writing Rules

Because English is always growing and changing, it can be hard to keep track of what is a "real" writing mistake and what is a case of ambiguity in the writing rules. In order to understand which is which, you need to understand the different types of rules that we all follow when we write. Once you understand this hierarchy, you can decide which rules you need to follow and which ones you can leave behind.

The Rules That Really Matter

While nothing in a language is set in stone, there are some rules that might as well be. Things like conjugating verbs and the structure of complete sentences are firm grammar rules that we're all taught from a very young age, and making mistakes in these areas is a big no-no when it comes to writing. It will make your writing look unprofessional and will likely result in a pretty bad grade.

For native speakers, many of these rules cover things that we don't consciously think about when writing and speaking. Because the basic parts of speech and rules of grammar are drilled into students from the minute they start talking, you probably don't have to stop and think when you want to conjugate a verb-at this point you probably just do it by instinct.

For non-native speakers, these rules might require a little bit for effort. If you're worried that you're getting basic grammar wrong in your papers, you should ask for help from a teacher or tutor. Remember, these are the rules that form the foundation of the English language, and if you get them wrong your work won't stand up.

Examples of Rules That Really Matter

Conjugating verbs (I am, she is, they are)
Independent versus dependent clauses (e.g., every sentence needs a subject and a verb)
Pronoun usage (She ate the cookie; I gave her the book.)
Ending sentences with the correct punctuation

The Rules That Most People Get Wrong

While most of us have been facing down grammar lessons since we were kids, there are still lots of grammatical issues that plenty of people get wrong. These are the rules that are confusing for almost everybody and that even professional writers will need to look up from time to time. Often they are rules that get ignored during conversation or informal writing, but which still need to be obeyed in academic work.

While it's best if you can fix these sorts of mistakes before you hand in a paper, it's also probably true that making these mistakes won't completely sink your writing assignment. Even teachers understand that the rules of English are complicated and that no one is perfect, which means they'll likely have some sympathy if you occasionally trip and fall over common grammatical issues.

Examples of Rules That Most People Get Wrong

Who versus whom
Lay versus lie
Which versus that
Punctuating sentences that start with however
Conjugating singular nouns such as each, every, and nobody

The Rules That Aren't Really Rules

There are lots of people out in the world who love to correct grammar. They'll get angry at incorrectly punctuated street signs and tell you that you should never end a sentence with a preposition. Unfortunately, this desire to constantly correct everyone's writing has led to the creation of a lot of grammar myths-rules that people love to cite but that aren't actually rules at all.

Some of these are simply mistakes or myths that have been made popular by people who don't know any better. For example, that rule about prepositions at the end of sentences comes from a single guide to style published in a 19th century by a bishop who believed English should follow Latin structure. However, this isn't actually a rule that appears in most standard English textbooks.

Many of these are rules that at one point actually were real at some point, but have since evolved or become obsolete. For example, the meaning of phrases like "beg the question" and "literally" have slowly changed over time, and what used to be considered the an incorrect usage is not considered commonplace. If you find yourself in trouble for breaking some of these "rules," all you have to do is break out a style guide or grammar textbook to show that you're in the right.

Examples of Rules That Aren't Really Rules

Never end a sentence with a preposition
Never start a sentence with a conjunction
Never split infinitives

The Rules That Nobody Agrees On

When your teacher is telling you how to conjugate verbs in elementary school, it might seem like grammar is this monolithic force that is never wrong, but in fact there are lots of grammatical rules that people don't agree on. There's no central authority that writes the rules of English, so when writers, editors, and educators don't agree on a particular issue, it can turn into a real mess. Often these rules address issues that are in the process of evolving-when things used to be done a certain way, and that way is now changing, there's going to be a period when nobody agrees on what the right way is.

If you have a question about one of these rules, it's always a good idea to ask your teacher or professor. Because there's no technically "right" answer, often it's best to simply go with whatever the person grading your paper prefers. If, however, you want to stand your ground on a particular grammatical issue, you'll probably be able to find a style guide or textbook that's on your side (just keep in mind that there will likely be books that argue against your side as well).

Examples of Rules That Nobody Agrees On

What to do when you need a singular, gender-neutral pronoun (e.g., do you say "he or she" or "they")
Less versus fewer
Whether or not to use the Oxford comma

The Rules of Style

When it comes to style and formatting, there's usually not a "correct" answer. Instead, issues like spacing, writing out dates, and punctuating lists are codified in style guides that are specific to publications or academic disciplines, which means how you format your paper will vary depending on who you're writing for. What's right in an English paper might be wrong for a chemistry lab and vice versa.

For most students, the issue of style is most obvious when it comes to do in-text citations and bibliographies. Every field has its own rules about doing references, and you'll likely be looking at a guide like the Chicago Manual of Style or the Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers to make sure you get your reference page right. Remember, style rules will vary widely between different manuals, but every style guide will be exacting about its own particular set of guidelines. If you are supposed to be using MLA style, you'll be in the wrong if you violate the rules in that guide, even if your formatting might be right for other styles.

Examples of Rules of Style

Citations and reference formatting
Title pages
How to write out numbers, dates, and foreign words
Punctuation issues like serial commas and where to place quotation marks

The Rules That Vary By Location

Sometimes rules of grammar or spelling are particular to a certain country, dialect, or region. This issue isn't likely to come up very often, but it is one that writers need to be aware of. The most common example is the difference between American and British English, but other regions can also have their own way of speaking and writing that may not fit with traditional grammar rules.

Writers may sometimes need to vary their writing to match the needs of their audience. For example, if you're an American writing for a British publication, you will need to make certain changes in your spelling and punctuation.

Examples of Rules That Vary By Location

Spelling (e.g., Americans write "gray" and "center" while the British write "grey" and centre.")
Punctuation
Colloquialisms

Original story about "The Hierarchy of Writing Rules" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Powerpoint presentation as a part of your research work

24 Apr 2013 15:19:00 GMT

Whether your research project is a modest undergraduate endeavor, a graduate thesis, or a professional pursuit, chances are if a presentation is involved than PowerPoint will be also. Its no secret that this program has become a standard in the professional world and is a very efficient means of presenting information to small and large groups alike. And along with this popularity comes plenty of advice; both available on and offline on how to effectively use PowerPoint for presentations.

But there are some limits to this advice. Much of the information provided usually covers the basic tenets of presenting (visual and technical concerns) without a lot of material on how to present research material in particular. Which is problematic, as this area definitely needs special consideration. Research is not like a marketing product or training; it requires a different approach which takes into consideration the audience and the research that has been conducted.

Common approach

When presenting to colleagues, a professor, or a review committee the approach often used to present combines a bit of persuasion (marketing) and education (teaching). The persuasion aspect often comes in as the researcher works to convince the audience that their findings are worth talking about, and the education component is generally all throughout as the presenter enlightens the audience regarding the several aspects of his or her studies (ex. stating the problem, providing background information, key evidences and support etc.).

Presenting your research

So how do you condense all of a week's, month's or even year's worth of research into a 15 minute presentation? Well even without sacrificing the juicy details, this can easily be accomplished by preparing a dedicated outline; one that primarily works to answer the question So What? Which is one of the most important questions to be addressed in your presentation.

*Be mindful that even colleagues or peers in the same field will not be too concerned about the intricacies of your research initially; like any other audience they want a presentation that is informative, interesting, and capable of sustaining their attention.

Where to begin? Designing your blueprint

As with most things, the key to a successful presentation is planning. Before preparing even one slide, make sure you have a solid outline in place.

Sample research presentation outline

State your problem; research question
Provide a brief background on the problem based on the audience (try to avoid any extra information; if the audience is familiar with the topic than there is no need for a long introduction)
Acknowledge previous research that laid the foundation for your studies
Share a line or two on what led you to this issue (optional)
Discuss the significance of the problem (why it needed to be addressed and why they should care about it)
Provide the main research findings in simple terms; explain unclear vocabulary or jargon (avoid any over technical information or mathematical writings unless necessary)
Note how the findings have contributed to the field
Sum up the presentation in a few lines and share any future plans to extend the research

In addition to providing an outline for yourself it may also be helpful to provide a small outline for the audience to follow in the top or bottom corners of your slides. If you know that you have a lot of information to cover and are afraid that you may 'lose' some people along the way, this may help to keep them on track and abreast to what is currently being discussed.

Next, Golden rules to design

Another issue that is hard to avoid when mentioning any type of PowerPoint presentation is design. The visual presentation of material is just as or more important than its verbal presentation. Lack of concern in this area can not only distract audiences but also hinder the overall goal of the presentation.

Major areas to address

There are many issues that can be covered on 'how to design great presentations', but a few of the main points stand out above the rest. These include;

present one idea per slide
avoid overcrowding; use bullet points in lieu of a paragraph
provide consistency with fonts, colors and sizes (try to limit to 2 or 3 colors, 2 fonts, and the same sizes for small, medium, and large)
use a plain or simple background that provides a sharp contrast to the font colors being used (i.e. a blue font on a white background)
limit graphics, skip animations, and incorporate aids such as charts, graphs and diagrams
show emphasis from time to time with bolding and color change (without overdoing it)

Delivering your presentation

Lastly, a major point to consider when working with presentations in general, is that the prepared slides alone should never be the end-all to the presentation; meaning that if there were no slides then there would be no presentation. PowerPoint slides are meant to be an aid, and therefore you should be able to get through the presentation without directly reading from them much at all. Likewise, in the event that something happens and a slide doesn't appear on the screen, you should also be able to easily move on with the presentation with minimal disruption.

Along with this point there are a few other things that should be considered when speaking;

Examples: Remember to use a sufficient amount of examples and illustrations throughout your presentation to help 'paint' an accurate picture to your audience. *Small anecdotes may also be useful.
Timing: When presenting you need to not only time your entire presentation but also the length between each slide. Try to stay on each slide for only about a minute or two (considering that you keep one point per slide) and practice your entire presentation to ensure that you do not go over.
Backup slides: Backup slides are useful to have just in case you get through the material faster than you thought or as additional information to respond to possible questions.

And finally, promote your work with a positive and enthusiastic approach during your speech. If you want your audience to be excited about your work then you need to be as well! A little bit of energy goes a long way and can be easily executed with seeming overzealous or artificial; a few smiles here and there, a light step when walking, and an upbeat tone should suffice.

Original story about "Powerpoint presentation as a part of your research work" at Power Point Presentation Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

A+ Paper: the importance of final drafts

24 Apr 2013 10:31:00 GMT

A+ Paper: the importance of final drafts

In today's life most Americans are stressed at work and do not have enough time for traditional parental activities when they come at home. However, with busy after-school schedules most students start doing their homework only after 6 pm. Being a parent means being multi-tasking, so you need to know how to solve math problems, write like Hemingway and help with many other assignments. Unfortunately, sometimes after a long day at work, this task seems overwhelming and you may need some assistance to write an A+ paper and help your child.

Help the children enroll in college

You may be wondering if your kids really need your help between their duties. Of course, they need it, because we can not forget about the amplified importance of standardized tests, such as the SAT, and the strong competition for college admission. The amount of studies that are needed to be learnt can not be covered by a given school day. The results are the children must do more on their own which means more homework. This is where a well-written paper could become an unachievable goal.

Is using a computer helpful?

There are several ways to help students with homework. With today's technology the easiest way is to use a computer connected to the Internet. The Internet is an incredible source of information. Professional help they need to complete their duty is only a few click away. However, parents should monitor almost all the time the student is on the Internet. Children today do not understand that cutting and pasting from the web is plagiarism. So, if the homework includes writing an essay, you as a student or as a parent should consult a qualified expert who can help you to make it an excellent A+ paper.

The last step in writing an essay

When you start writing an essay, you spend a lot of time planning, preparing and looking for information. This is the first stage. The last step in the process of writing a paper is to edit the final version and this step is the most crucial. Despite this, many students skip this step because of time constraints. A final draft not only helps minimize serious errors in spelling and grammar, it also offers the opportunity to identify any break in the logic of your argument. More importantly, you can check if you really fulfilled the requirements and answered all parts of the question.

No errors

The high-quality paper must be carefully presented, largely free of common errors such as spelling or punctuation, include a cover page with the title, and a list of reference at the end. Awkward errors are distracting your teacher and audience from ideas you present in your essay. They will also cost you high grades.

Proofreading is essential

While editing is primarily a form of "quality control", it can also be used to make sure you have checked all errors of logic in your work. It is always worth to ensure that your argument is logically structured. Sometimes, small adjustments can greatly improve the paper, or make your ideas clearer. In your haste to complete your homework, you should not compromise quality for speed!

No matter how good you think your final draft is, you should always edit and proofread the brilliant paper once more time before you submit it.

Many ways to help

When your child is working on written assignments using the computer, make sure that the study time is used for work and not to contact their friends. While writing a paper on the computer, there is a huge temptation to send instant messages and read blogs.

Try different ways to help your children with writing an A+ paper. One of them is giving a lot of positive feedback. Praise your child for all the work that has been done correctly. With children this age, it is particularly important to emphasize what they have done and are doing well. Often, they may understand the corrections as disapproval, and it can be discouraging. If a one hour assignment is not ready after a whole evening, this is a sign that your child does not cope with the homework and needs some help. If this problem is not a one-time thing, it is recommended to consult specialists and hire a tutor.

Original story about "A+ Paper: the importance of final drafts" on BestCustomWriting.com

Is the IMRAD Model Right for You?

23 Apr 2013 17:52:00 GMT

When it comes to writing research papers, many students fall back on the tried-and true IMRAD method. After all, it's the first (and sometimes only) way that students are taught to organize research papers, and being able to fit your work inside a pre-made structure is a whole lot easier than having to think up a plan of your own. But just because it's the most common method doesn't mean it's necessarily going to be the one that's right for you.

What is IMRAD?

Before we talk about alternatives to the IMRAD method, we need to talk about this common paper structure. IMRAD is an acronym for the sections of a traditional research paper:

Introduction - provides background on the topic and introduces your research question.
Methodology - describes how you gathered data.
Results - presents the data you've collected.
Discussion - analyzes the data and explains why it's important, i.e., how it applies to your research question.

Obviously there can be some variation within an IMRAD paper. For instance, many research papers will contain a literature review as part of the introduction, or, for work where there is no new data being generated, the results section might be shortened or left out. But even with these changes the overall structure of the paper remains the same: introduce the idea, explain how you've gathered data, present the data, then discuss what it all means.

Is IMRAD Right for Your Paper?

If you're working in the sciences, this method is likely seems tailor-made for your work, and there's a good reason for that. As you may have noticed, the IMRAD method closely mirrors the scientific method. It starts with a specific research question and hypothesis that are already known, explains how question will be tested with an experiment, then presents the results of that experiment. It's a fairly rigid structure that places a lot of emphasis on gathering and analyzing data.

So, if you're writing up a traditional scientific experiment, then the IMRAD method will likely be the best (and possibly only, depending on the class requirements) option for organizing your paper. Looking through published articles in a scientific field, e.g., chemistry, biology, physics, etc., you'll find that almost all of them use the IMRAD method. Those doing experiments in the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc.) will also often find that the IMRAD structure works well for their papers.

What these fields have in common is that they're experiment-driven-the researcher is going out into the world and collected data in order to answer a question. And if you've collected data this way, the accepted paper structure is the IMRAD method.

Alternatives to IMRAD

So what do you do if your research doesn't fit this kind of experimental model? If you're writing in the humanities you almost certainly won't be collecting any sort of analyzable data, and research papers in arts, mathematics, and engineering are also hard to fit into the standard IMRAD structure. Often student try, either because their program requires them to or because they've never been taught that there are other ways to go about this process.

The answer to the question of structure is, unfortunately, pretty complicated. In short, there's no one set organization structure that addresses the needs of every research paper from such a wide array of disciplines. What works for a thesis on the Catholic church in the 16th century might not be the best choice for somebody writing about educational practices in rural Australia. (In fact, this problem is part of the reason that the IMRAD model has crept out of its original home in the sciences and spread to other disciplines-it's a simple, straightforward model that can fit a range of needs.)

There might not be one "right" way to organize a research paper, but there are several different options out there for people looking to break away from the IMRAD model.

The "Big Book" Paper

This method is commonly used for graduate dissertations/thesis in the humanities and social sciences, but it can be adapted to shorter papers as well. Basically, you want to think of your paper as being like a book that's divided into thematically-coherent chapters or sections. Instead of focusing on data to answer a question, the sections of your paper will work together to build a solid argument.

How chapters will be divided depends on your particular research. For example, historians might address certain time periods in each chapter, while a sociology student might tackle a single theory in each section. It really is up to you, but whatever you decide it's important to remember that you want the section breaks to occur naturally. That is, you don't want to force material into a certain number of sections or put a break in the middle of a particular idea. Every chapter should have a clear central idea that sets it apart from the rest of the paper.

While the "big book" method doesn't follow the IMRAD model, it should still adhere to a basic "introduction, body, conclusion" structure, both for the paper as a whole and for individual sections. One common organization method is to have an introductory chapter and short, focused literature review that is then followed by the body of your paper. The body should be the bulk of your paper and should focus on your original ideas, then the paper closes with a discussion that addresses your ideas in the context of your field and looks forward to future areas of research.

Creative papers

Students working in the arts may be asked to complete a paper or thesis that accompanies their original artistic works (e.g., paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.). Obviously, these papers won't look anything like a traditional research paper, but they should still follow some of the same conventions.

Like all good papers, they should have an introduction that gives background-for example, on a particular theory or movement that influenced the work-and also provides a cohesive theory or thesis statement that clarifies the purpose of the paper for the reader. The body of the paper will consist of text that explains and discusses the accompanying art, usually in order to demonstrate that the writer understands the place of his work in the wider context of his field. Finally, the discussion will draw together all the ideas from the work.

Field-specific models

There are many fields out there in academia that encourage the use of organizational models that are specific to those fields. These models often follow a pattern similar to IMRAD, but with changes that are designed to meet the particular challenge of that discipline. For example, many classes in engineering will require students to write papers that incorporate theoretical models along with real world testing of those models, while a paper in computer science will introduce a research problem then spend the body of the paper addressing how the writer solved that particular problem. Mathematical papers, which rely on proofs and logical arguments, also have their own strict conventions.

In the end, how you organize your research paper will depend on your individual research. Those doing experimental work in the hard or social sciences likely won't have to look any further than the IMRAD model, and students in fields like engineering or mathematics will likely find that their research niche has its own IMRAD-like model. For humanities and arts students, how you organize a paper is often up to you, which can be both a great freedom and a big challenge.

Original story about "Is the IMRAD Model Right for You?" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Sleepy students guide: how to cope with the tasks load

23 Apr 2013 07:00:00 GMT

Sleepy students need to have useful tips on dealing with stress and work load. How many times have you dreamed to spend the whole night just sleeping? How many tutors made comments about your sleeping at the classes? time is never enough and sleepy students know it so well. Stop following your emotions, don't party much and have really good rest. Sleepy students cannot succeed in studying since memory and skills are no longer at the highest level. Get some fresh air for your brains and follow the schedule.

Original story about "Sleepy students guide: how to cope with the tasks load" at Infographics category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Literature review chapter writing - how to format it and what should be the order of the sources used

22 Apr 2013 17:50:00 GMT

The literature review, common to coursework found in both the humanities and social sciences, may be prepared as a stand-alone document or as a portion of a larger document such as a dissertation or research proposal. When written as a separate chapter the literature review may still be considerable in length (based on the total size of the paper) and is generally in place to defend or justify a particular research endeavor.

the research in a particular field is necessary and how it would aid and build upon the research that is currently available.

Formatting your review

The beginning process of the literature review is pretty straightforward and generally begins with identifying relevant sources for a topic and then carefully reviewing each one. But the remaining steps, such as organizing gathered information and presenting it in a logical, coherent format (that supports the thesis statement) is usually where things get a little fuzzy.

So how exactly should you go about formatting your literature review?

Though there are different approaches to writing the literature review (some more specific to certain disciplines than others) essentially your review will be formatted based on the organizational approach that is best suited for your sources. For example, considering the notes that you have taken on each source, you may conclude that the best format may be either chronological, by theory, process, model etc.; all depending on the prominent patterns and themes presented in each work.

*In most cases the formatting stage comes at the very end (when much of the work is already done), but for the purposes of the literature review the steps of formatting should begin a bit earlier; during the notetaking stages of research.

Step 1: Get organized

As you take notes on each source you may find it helpful to create a chart or table to help you sort through all of the collected data. This process can begin as soon as you are able to determine a type of pattern or organizational method present in the literature. So for instance, if you start to see that things on this topic are organized by theory, you may want to create a chart accordingly. Or even if you don't notice anything right away you still may want to consider utilizing some type of graphic organizer later on down the line.

Step 2: Synthesize; don't just summarize

The main difference between synthesizing and summarizing is usually made apparent when looking at the paper as a whole, rather than in chunks and pieces. The idea is that, when you merely summarize a source you force it into isolation, separating it from other relevant sources and fail to indicate how it is actually part of a greater scheme (or interconnected with other concepts and ideas). With synthesizing you're able to properly fuse sources and have a better chance at effectively presenting your main argument.

And if you're still having trouble hashing out the difference between synthesizing and summarizing, consider this;

When synthesizing your information it's important to first think of things on a macro level (by envisioning the 'big' picture, or exactly what message you want the review to convey) and then to think and prepare things on a micro level (as if each source is the individual piece to a puzzle).

A few other things to keep in mind when putting everything together

If the purpose of your literature review is to justify your own research, then your argument should be carefully built around this (each discussion of a source leads the reader one step closer to realizing why your research is needed)
Always mention the groundbreakers or major players in your field or discipline (i.e. researchers or scholars that have made a significant impact in the literature) to help illustrate your understanding of the research that has been conducted thus far
Write as if you are holding your reader's hand and be sure to include guiding sentences in different places within each paragraph. Connect each source to the other and provide transition sentences to ensure coherence and unity throughout

Next, is there a set method for ordering sources when synthesizing?

As you discuss each source, the order that you choose to place them in should be in accordance with the point you are attempting to make or the 'picture' you are trying to paint. This may simply require first categorizing your sources under appropriate title headings and then placing them in an order that will make sense for each paragraph. Which is usually going from the broad to the specific.

For instance, you may begin writing about more general theories, models, or ideas, and then work your way down to the more detailed ones; this should provide you with a common ground to work with before addressing complicated issues.

Step 3: Spend time crafting your conclusion

Lastly, unlike in other essays or writings where the conclusion may not appear to play a very significant role, in the literature review the conclusion should be seamlessly connected to the rest of the essay. Because as you develop it you are also bringing your reader to a final concluding point regarding your sources, rather than simply reflecting or restating what was already mentioned. In other words, your review should be somewhat of an extension of your argument, ending with why your research is necessary, how it fills a gap in the current research, and similarly how the information presented supports your initial thesis statement.

*A more traditional ending may also be considered for stand-alone literature reviews. This includes restating the thesis, summing up the the major sources mentioned, addressing any problems or flaws in the research, and connecting or extending the specific subject matter to a larger area of thought. And though this may be more suitable for reviews that are not connected to a larger paper, some of this information can also be easily incorporated into a literature review chapter of a thesis or dissertation.

Original story about "Literature review chapter writing - how to format it and what should be the order of the sources used" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Rethinking Your Discussion

21 Apr 2013 12:07:00 GMT

There's no doubt that every part of a research paper is important. From the title to the acknowledgements, every section of an IMRAD (Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion) paper has a role to play, and messing up one can reflect poorly on your entire paper. But while every section matters, there's one that rises in importance above all the other: no matter what kind of results you get, your paper is only going to be as good as your Discussion section.

Your Closing Argument

Anyone who's ever watched a cop or legal drama on TV has seen a closing argument, which is a lawyer's final speech at the end of a trial. Usually the lawyer's big moment comes at the end of the episode. Witnesses have been called, evidence has been presented, and all that's left is for the main character to tell the jury (and the audience) what it all means. The lawyer summarizes everything that we've seen, and then, over swelling music, makes an impassioned plea for the jury to really understand what's going on and do the right thing. In real life, of course, it's much less dramatic, but the idea is the same: the closing argument reminds the listener of the facts and provides a cohesive interpretation of those facts that helps the listener understand the significance of every detail.

If you've ever written a research paper discussion, that description might sound familiar to you. Just like a closing argument, your discussion is where you make your case to the reader. While your research paper may not be as exciting as a TV courtroom drama, there are lots of parallels that can be drawn between a lawyer's closing argument and the discussion section of a paper.

Interpret the facts, don't just state them. The Results section is where your lay out the facts of the case. In figures, tables, and text you tell the reader exactly what your found, but not why any of it is important. When you get to the discussion, that's the time to start explaining to the reader why all your evidence builds a solid case. Every result needs to be given context and fleshed out with information about what exactly it means in the grand scheme of thing.
Tell a story. The human mind loves a good story, and just like jury wants to be able to see the whole tale from beginning to end, your readers will also find your paper more memorable if you're able to present a strong narrative. Obviously, a scientific paper won't read like the tale of a bank robbery, but you can still take the basic parts of a story-the beginning, rising action, climax, and conclusion-to structure your discussion so that it captures the reader's attention and paints a clear picture of what you think happened in your experiment.
Finish strong. There's a reason closing argument are the climax of every courtroom TV show and movie-that lawyer's big speech makes the perfect strong finish. After an hour of examining evidence and fighting with criminals, finally the main character gets to stand up and tell it like it is. When working on a research paper, your discussion needs to finish in much the same way. After carefully laying out your introduction, methodology, and results, you need to finish strong in the conclusion. Make your case so that the reader leaves your work with a clear idea of what you accomplished and a strong understanding of your work. Every discussion should end with one or two sentences that clearly state what the reader should take away from your paper.

The Triangle

Discussion sections should always have a certain flow: unlike the introduction, which flows from broad to narrow, the discussion should start narrowly then gradually expand. You want to start narrowly, with the focus on your particular research question, then slowly broaden your discussion until it encompasses the larger issues in your field. Think of this shape as a triangle: the first paragraph of the discussion should have the narrowest focus, like the very tip of the triangle, and the section should widen until, at the base of the triangle, you're addressing the big research issues in your discipline.

The top of the triangle: your research question. Way back in your introduction, you likely ended with a statement of your research question. As the writer, this question is obviously front and center in your mind, but for the reader it's been awhile since they've seen it (remember, they've just gone through the methodology and results). So, when it comes time to discuss your results, start out very specific by restating your research question and then plainly stating the answer you obtained. It's as simple as that. You can even reuse the same language you used in your introduction to remind the readers of what you said earlier in the paper.
The middle of the triangle: explaining your results. Once you've given the reader the answer to your research question, you need to be explicit about how your results back up your claims. The point of that triangle can't just be there on its own-it needs to have a solid foundation to support it. Connect the dots for the reader so he can see exactly how the findings you described in your results section lead to your conclusions.
The bottom of the triangle: the rest of your field. Finally, at the very bottom of your triangle, you want to talk about how your results fit within the research landscape. Do they support or contradict the findings of others? Do they fill in holes in the current research? Think of the work being done by other in the field as the base of your triangle-it provides the foundation for all of your work. And once you've explained what you've discovered, it's important to also explain how those discoveries will impact your field.

Discussion Dos and Don'ts

The previous two sections gave you some idea of how to shape the style and content of your Discussion, and below are a few more hints to help you along the way.

Do give credit where credit is due. You won't gain anything by claiming your work is original or novel when it really isn't. Other professionals in your field will quickly be able to spot if you've used a particular methodology without citation or claimed a theory as your own. So, to avoid looking like the bad guy, always make sure to cite your sources. Research never happens in a vacuum, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging the hard work of others that paved the way for your research.
Don't cover up your problems. Nobody's research is perfect, and it's likely that during your experiment you ran into a problems. Maybe your data collection methods failed or the results were wildly different than you predicted. Whatever your troubles, it's important that you acknowledge them in your discussion. Your work will be stronger and stand up to criticism much better if you're able to address your own shortcomings and then explain why your results still matter.
Know your limits. Along with speaking to potential problems in your study, you also need to directly address the limits of the work you're doing. Obviously your experiment isn't addressing every question there is to ask about a huge, diverse topic, so at the end of the discussion acknowledge what your limitation are. Tell the reader how your results can be understood and how far they go in addressing a particular question. It's always tempting to stretch this point, but a good discussion will intentionally keep the focus narrow and precise.
Don't give just one explanation. Any good debater will tell you that being able to anticipate your opponent's argument is the key to winning, and that's true in academic writing as well. Your discussion is basically one long argument that's trying to convince your reader that your idea is the best one, which means you need to acknowledge and refute counterarguments. Think about other possible explanations for your results and detail in the Discussion why your interpretation is the correct one.
Transition smoothly. Discussion are like any other part of academic writing in that you want to transition smoothly from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Transitions are particularly important in this section, however, because they help create the narrative structure that's so important in discussion results. A good transition will help the reader figure out the connection between each of your results and between your results and the larger research landscape.

Discussions are, and should be, the most difficult section of a paper to write. It's here that you have to focus on what exactly your results mean and make the case that the work you've done actually matters. But the strain of this task doesn't have to weigh you down. Remember, the discussion is difficult, but it's also your chance to shine.

Original story about "Rethinking Your Discussion" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Analyzing Literature

20 Apr 2013 16:13:00 GMT

Learning to analyze literature is one of the main focuses of any good English class. Before you even start to think about how to write an essay or research paper, you'll likely have to sit down in front of a novel, play, poem, or short story and try to decide just what it all means. Obviously, this is a complex and challenging task, and for any text there are dozens of topics you could choose to study. But literary analysis doesn't have to be overwhelming. If you ever find yourself staring at the page without a clue about where to begin, try focusing on one these six areas.

Theme

The theme of a piece of literature is simply what it's about. This doesn't mean plot or characters; instead, the theme is a description of what ideas or concepts the author is discussing in the work. For example, one of the main themes of Shakespeare's play Macbeth is that unchecked ambition is corrupting: Macbeth starts the play as a noble man, but quickly spirals into murder in his attempt to take the crown of Scotland.

It's important when analyzing a text to separate the subject or topic from the theme. Notice in the above example that the theme not only states what Macbeth is about (unchecked ambition), but also includes a description of what message the author is sending about this topic (that unchecked ambition is bad and will corrupt those who have it). This type of sentence is known a theme statement. In general, when asked to identify a theme, your answer should be given in a complete sentence that encapsulates the entire meaning of the work. Below are some more examples to help you see the difference between the topic of a work and its theme.

Work: Brave New World
Topic: happiness versus knowledge
Theme statement: It's impossible to know the truth about the world and also be happy.

Word: The Great Gatsby
Topic: the American Dream
Theme statement: The American Dream is an illusion and those who chase it will only find unhappiness.

Works will often have more than one theme, and it's up to you to identify which themes are most prominent.

Moral

Sometimes the author of a novel, play, or poem is trying to teach the reader a specific lesson. This lesson is what's known as the moral of the story. It's slightly different from the theme in that the moral is a lesson that the reader is supposed to take away from the book, ideally in order to apply it to his or her own life. Themes, on the other hand, are more nuanced and present only the author's viewpoint on a topic. For example, the moral of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is that you should always try to be kind and generous to those around you, while one possible theme might be "Generosity is an important part of living a good life." While all texts will have a theme, not all with have a moral.

Symbols

At its most basic, a symbol is simply something that represents something else. We use symbols often in our everyday lives: traffic signs are symbols that tell us to do things like stop, yield, or turn, and black is a color that in American culture represents death or mourning. In their writing, authors will often use specific objects or people to stand in for larger, more complex ideas. For example, in William Butler Yeats's poem "The Wild Swans at Coole," the swans represent a flawless, idealized version of nature.

When writing about symbols, start by looking for objects, colors, or other physical items that have a place of importance in the story, then try to determine what it is they're supposed to represent. Next, you need to put that symbol in the context of the theme of the work. For instance, in Brave New World, the drug soma is a physical part of the plot and also represents the power of the government and how they use science and technology to pacify the world's population. At the end of the novel, when people riot because their soma is taken away, it offers a powerful image of just how beholden the citizens are to the government because we know the drug soma is so much more than just a pill.

Motifs

Motifs are literary devices that occur repeatedly throughout a work. Often they are symbols that appear in several version in the story, but they are usually more complex and layered than a simple "X stands for Y." Instead, authors weave together several symbols into elements like plots and characterization in order to build a more nuanced story. For example, blood is a symbol in Macbeth (e.g., when Lady Macbeth has blood on her hands, it symbolizes her guilt), but blood is also a motif. It's referenced many times throughout the play and represents several different ideas in difference scenes. Shakespeare uses all this imagery of blood to build character and create suspense.

Motifs can also include literary devices other than symbols; really, any construction or device the author uses repeatedly is considered a motif. In Macbeth, many of the characters have hallucinations, and these ghosts form a motif that runs throughout the play. They're used to remind the characters of their guilt and to show the reader how haunted the Macbeths are by their actions. Other examples of motifs include the use of geography to explain social classes in The Great Gatsby and the use of Shakespeare by the characters in Brave New World.

Plot

Sometimes it seems easiest to start your analysis with a straightforward reading of the plot, but plot is actually more complicated that just saying "First A happened, then B, then C..." The first step in analyzing plot is to identify all the major elements.

The exposition gives the background necessary to understand the story.
The complication or rising action is the catalyst for conflict in the story-it's what happens to set the characters in motion.
The climax is the height of the action where the characters attempt to resolve the conflict.
The resolution or falling action is what happens after the conflict has been resolved. It's like the conclusion of the story and wraps up all the loose ends.

Most novels, plays, and short stories will have these basic plot elements, but some will not have them in that particular order. So, when you start looking at plot, try to identify different sections and determine what the conflict is and how it is resolved. If the story isn't set up in a traditional way, ask yourself why the author chose that particular way to organize their work. It's also often the case that there will be several separate plot lines woven together throughout the text. If that's true, drawing a map or other visual aid that captures the flow of the plot can be helpful.

Characterization

Building a complex character in a novel or play is a difficult task. Unlike in movies or television, the author can't use any visual clues to tell the reader what kind of person he or she is encountering. Instead, the author has to build the characters using descriptions as well as the character's own words, thoughts, and actions, a process called characterization. There are two main ways an author can present information about a character. The first is explicit characterization, which is when either the narrator or the characters directly tell the reader what a character is like. For instance, when a person is described by the narrator as "timid and quiet," that's explicit characterization. The author can also indirectly tell the reader something about character by showing how they interact with other figures and by the choices that character makes. This method is called implicit characterization. For example, in order to show that a character was timid and quiet, instead of just stating that, the author might describe how she makes up an excuse to avoid going to party.

Part of the process of literary analysis is being able to identify how authors build characters. This task can be difficult because authors usually want their characterization to be subtle: you should gradually learn about a character throughout the story instead of just being told up front what kind of person he or she is. If you're having trouble finding examples of characterization, start by identify traits that you associate with characters, then ask yourself why you feel that way about the character and what pieces of evidence can be found in the text to support your thoughts. Look for specific actions or words from that character that reveal deeper truths about who they are.

Remember, a good English essay will tackle not only the meaning of a piece of fiction or poetry, but also how the author constructed the text. Every word in a novel, play, short story, or poem was chosen for a specific reason, so you should always be thinking about how the words you're reading are helping to build an interesting story.

Original story about "Analyzing Literature" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Coursework writing: what is the most important part of the paper?

19 Apr 2013 08:45:00 GMT

For just as many papers a student is assigned in highschool or college there is likely just as many pieces of advice on what section should be given the most attention when writing. You may notice that some tips will focus on the introduction (drilling home the unparalleled importance of the thesis statement), while others may provide multiple tools and guidelines for producing strong and convincing body paragraphs (with only a select few giving much attention to the conclusion section). So with a red flag being thrown around to different sections of a paper, how do you determine the absolute most important part?

Knowing the components: The introduction

Its well known that most papers can be broken down into three key components; the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Here we will focus on the introduction and the body as the conclusion is rarely mentioned as a crucial part (even though it is still relatively important).

The introduction. This portion undoubtedly holds a lot of weight for every paper; it serves as a bridge from the reader's world to the writer's and is essential for almost all forms of writing. And in some cases it may also be a deciding factor in whether or not a person will decide to continue on with a piece or just leave it on the shelf.

Some things to consider about introductions:

introductions are essential for all papers; no matter how big or small
if the introduction is poor its a good chance the paper will not be read (though this is not written stone as many people do continue reading articles with bad introductions)
the introduction sets the stage for the rest of the paper by providing guiding details such as the thesis statement
the background information provided in the introduction prepares the reader for what is to come and therefore has the capability of improving their comprehension of the text

So from this we can see the significance of the introduction and the important role that it plays in all papers. But even considering this momentous role, its obvious that the introduction is not a stand alone document. Without its supporting body and conclusion, it is no more than a few paragraphs that deliver an unfinished thought-at best.

The body

The body, by simple means of proportion, has no choice but to be the most crucial part of a paper; because without it you have no paper. And even the greatest introduction cannot overshadow a poorly constructed body. But the term 'body' can sometimes be a bit obscure when being used, as it doesn't actually indicate what it does (as the introduction introduces and the conclusion concludes). So in order to gain a better understanding as to why this section is so important let's briefly analyze the role that it plays and that parts that comprise it.

Parts of the body

Exactly what is provided as the 'substance' or 'meat' of your paper may differ slightly based on the type of paper you are composing, but in general your body should present a series of paragraphs that supports your thesis statement. And how you go about supporting, whether providing a series of evidences that lead to a dramatic conclusion, or seamlessly providing points (each immediately followed by examples, statements, or illustrations) is up to you and will likely be influenced by your own style of writing, purpose and audience.

Paragraph structure

Since a body is made up of paragraphs, knowing the structure of each paragraph is crucial to understanding how to properly format and develop your paper.

Part 1: Topic Sentence
Part 2: Restatement or elaboration of the topic sentence (may not be required for all paragraphs)
Part 3: Supportive evidence (may come in several forms, such as; examples, illustrations, statistics, empirical studies, theories or analogies)
Part 4: Connecting and/or transitioning statement

*Note*

The second part, restatement or elaboration, is often done to provide somewhat of a bridge to the supportive evidence, and it in itself may provide an example or illustration as well.
The connecting statement is sometimes written as the transition statement or separately (that is a transition and a connecting statement) based on the preference of the writer. The main idea is just to provide a sentence at the end of the paragraph that relates what was stated (a few summary words) back to the main topic sentence and prepare the reader for the next paragraph that is to come.
All the statements provided in the paragraph collectively, should be directly related to the thesis statement and the overall theme or purpose of the paper. This is an important point as doing so will help to facilitate unity and coherence throughout the entire paper.

Keys to a successful body

In summary, a successful paper, and therefore a successful body is comprised of paragraphs that are (a) organized (b) developed (c) and coherent.

A. Proper organization

An organized paragraph is one that follows a logical train of thought. The reader can easily follow along and the details to support the topic sentence are sensible and structured. In some cases this structure may be as simple as going from the general to the specific (that is, providing a general statement about the topic and then providing detailed support sentences), or by following a writing method such as TRI (topic sentence, restatement sentence, illustrative sentence).

B. Proper support and development

Just as the body is what makes your paper, proper support and development is what makes your paragraph. Usually because whatever you provide to support and develop your paragraph is what will be scrutinized the most by professors or critics. So in order to adhere to this point, it's important to remember that when working to develop your paragraph you are working to provide details for your topic sentence. This can be done by; elaborating, explaining, clarifying, backing-up, supporting and proving.

C. Proper transitioning (to facilitate coherence)

This last point plays a major part in the 'readability' of any paper. A paper that goes from one idea to the next (even if in a logical order) without guiding the reading with transitional statements will be difficult to read and/or understand. So in addition to providing transition sentences at the end of each paragraph you may also find it necessary to provide transitional paragraphs as well to prepare the reader for a new subtopic or point to be discussed (*transitional paragraphs are usually small and only consist of a few sentences).

Original story about "Coursework writing: what is the most important part of the paper?" at Coursework Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Finding Themes

18 Apr 2013 14:10:00 GMT

Identifying themes is often a tough task for English students. First of all, the very idea of a theme can be hard for students to understand-what does it even mean to write about the human condition, anyway? And then, even if you see a theme in a book, finding a way to analyze and write about that theme can be a whole new challenge. But this process doesn't have to be a challenge, and with a little bit of practice anyone can be an expert on finding, analyzing, and writing about themes.

What Is a Theme?

Put simply, the theme is what a novel, short story, play, or poem is about. This doesn't mean the story; things like character and plot will help build the theme, but they aren't the theme itself. Instead, you want to focus on the ideas behind the story. What is the story trying to say about the world and what it means to be a person trying to live in it? The plot of The Great Gatsby revolves around a man trying to win back his long-lost love, but the novel is really about the idea that no one can truly escape their past. Gatsby thinks that with enough money he can bury the person he used to be, but in the end that only gets him killed.

Notice that our theme here-that no one can truly escape their past-is a complete sentence. It's important when writing about theme to separate it from the subject or topic of the work, which is just a simple word or phrase. The topic of The Great Gatsby is the past and the American Dream; the theme is what the author is trying to say to us about those topics. When analyzing literature it's important to say not just the subject, but a full theme statement that encompasses what the story is saying about that subject.

Finding Themes

There are a number of techniques you can use to help identify the themes in a novel, short story, play, or poem. Most of these boil down to simply reading the text closely; often, it doesn't take more than a cursory reading to see the main topic of a work. Once you've identified the main topic-an idea like ambition, innocence, the dangers of technology, or family-you need to decide what message the author is trying to say about that topic.

If you're having trouble determining the theme of a text, try looking out for these common writing tricks.

Repetition

If a subject is important to the writer, it's going to come up again and again in the story. Often different characters will be tackling the same issue throughout the story, and how each character handles this topic will tell you something about the theme. For example, in The Great Gatsby, the idea of ambition shows up throughout the book. Many of the characters are trying to improve their situations, and their various failures tell us what the book's author thinks about ambition (namely, that striving for material wealth gets you nothing but trouble).

In short works like stories or plays you might look for words or actions that are repeated throughout the text. If a poem uses a lot of nature imagery or the characters in a play keep repeating the same phrase over and over, it's a good bet that those words are key to understand what that work is about.

Symbolic language

Authors often use metaphors, allusion, symbols, and other literary devices to draw the reader's attention to the themes in their work. Going back to The Great Gatsby, the geographic location of the characters-from the East Egg to the West Egg to the ash heap-is a metaphor for the issues of class and lifestyle that separate them. As the characters struggle to connect and understand the each other, the physical gulf between them becomes an important comment on the themes of class and ambition. When you're looking for themes, keep an eye out for literary devices like this that recur throughout the text.

Shifts

Another good device to key in on when you're looking for themes is shifts in the work. This might be something small-for example, at the end of the poem "I Wandered Lonely as A Cloud," the tone shifts and the author finishes with several lines that sum up his feelings about what makes nature important to him. Shifts like these should immediately draw your attention and let you know that something important is happening. In longer works, look for shifts in characters or unexpected plot developments that challenge your expectations or beliefs-these types of changes are the author's way to telling you something important.

Compare and contrast

Often authors will use characters or settings in their stories that are designed to specifically stand in contrast to other elements in the work. In The Great Gatsby, part of why the audience knows Gatsby's dreams are doomed to fail is that we've seen Tom, who represents the worst parts of what Gatsby wants to be, and we know that Gatsby can never really win against him. When you're looking for the subject or theme, try to find strong differences or similarities between the characters and examine how those element impact the story.

Part of the reason writing about themes is difficult for students is that there's no one right answer. Most of the texts that get studied in classes are a complicated mixture of ideas that present layered, nuanced views that aren't easy to capture in one or two sentences. So, if you're having trouble identifying a single unifying theme or getting a handle of just what an author is trying to say, don't think that's it's necessarily your fault. As with so many things in English class, themes are often a matter of interpretation. If, instead of focusing on finding the right answer, you try to find a theme that you can back up with evidence from the text, then you'll be just fine.

Original story about "Finding Themes" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Annotated bibliography help - where to find reviews on your sources

17 Apr 2013 15:42:00 GMT

In most cases, when preparing an annotated bibliography, the primary goal is to create a first-hand response for each consulted source (such as book or journal article). And these responses may come in several different forms; from short phrases and partial statements, to full-out paragraphs and essays. Similarly, depending on the situation students and researchers may benefit tremendously from secondary accounts of these sources (rather than first-hand ones). These secondary accounts, generally referred to as reviews, help produce comprehensive and reliable annotations as well as determine whether or not a particular source is even worth consulting.

Are secondary accounts sufficient?

A good question to consider when composing annotations. As previously mentioned, when someone prepares an annotated bibliography its generally assumed that they themselves have read and consulted the source personally, and likewise created an annotation based on their own interpretations of the work (not someone elses'). But in certain situations people may rely on reviews to formulate their annotations; this may be done when dealing with a large amount of sources, or when working with a tight deadline and a baseline of sources needs to be obtained quickly.

If unsure if reviews are right for you, consider the following;

Are you preparing your annotated bibliography for yourself or for an assignment?
Obviously if its just for you than you can conjure up your own rules, but if for a professor then you need to check to make sure that a review is just as good as the real thing.
How comfortable are you with other peoples opinions and interpretations?
Some people welcome useful insights from others (and considering that reviews are often written by people who are learned in a particular field, many of the points discussed are relevant and beneficial), others simply do not. Due to the natural biases that are present in all writings, some people may feel the need to consult a source on their own regardless if the reviewer is a learned person or not.
What details need to be included in your annotations?
Usually annotations include the main argument and purpose of the work, the audience, significant highlights, and a comparison between it and similar works. If this is all you need than a lot of reviews should provide this information for you. But if for instance, you need to evaluate if its relevant for your paper topic or not, a review alone may not give you the 'full picture' that is required.

*So if reviews are in fact right for you then your next step is to locate the good ones.

Finding good reviews

Depending on the scope of your work, a book review from a literature club, or reading circle may not be what you need to fill up your annotated bibliography. Though obviously some general book titles may fall into your sources for a paper, in most cases the sources that you will need reviewed are academic or scholarly works-those connected to a specific field or discipline. With that in mind you will likely have to turn to networks that specialize in just that.

A few places to obtain scholarly or academic reviews

Book Review Index Online: This database has millions of book reviews from 1965 to present, covering a range of topics from various publications.
Book Review Digest Plus: This service is provided by Ebscohost and has over 200,000 full-text reviews, and over 2 million review citations. Thirteen main subject categories are also included.
JSTOR: This popular digital library offers many full-text articles, including reviews. Reviews may be obtained by searching directly for a particular review or selecting the "Limit: review" option on the search page.
H-Net Reviews: Unlike the other places mentioned, this service is free of charge but only covers the Humanities and Social Sciences. Discussion logs are also available along with each review.The reviews are competent and appear to be written by degreed writers.

In addition to collections with a range of articles, there are also opportunities to obtain book reviews under databases that provide archives of subject-specific articles or abstracts. If working through a school library website for instance, this option (i.e. "book review") can simply be selected when searching a subject-specific database such as PsychInfo or History Abstracts.

Other options

Its worth it to mention that if these indexes are not available to you, or even suitable for the sources you'd like to explore, you can always set out on your own to search for specific reviews. Often times if the book or other source in question is a scholarly or academic piece, the reviews about it will also be of a similar caliber. And though poorly constructed reviews do exist, the main thing to remember is that all of the databases listed above obtain their reviews from somewhere-and their sources can be your sources with a little searching effort.

Is it a review or a critique?

Lastly, a good point to highlight is whether or not what you've gained access to is actually a review or critique. This is an increasingly important issue when it comes to academic and scholarly circles. Many book critiques as well as reviews are written all the time and sometimes regarding the same titles; the question is, what would work best for your annotated bibliography?

Its safe to say that both works may provide you with the information needed to produce an annotation, but the more cautionary alternative would be to focus on reviews rather than critiques. Simply because most reviews are written considering that the reader is unfamiliar with the work as well as the intricacies of the topic being covered. That is, they are written for a general audience.

Critiques on the other hand, are often written assuming that the reader has read the material and is also knowledgeable of the particular jargon associated with the discipline as well as other information that may be unknown to outsiders. For this reason you may find thumbing through a critique a little more difficult than getting through a review. Likewise, the information provided in the critique may be too detailed or technical to be of any real benefit for you or your annotations.

Original story about "Annotated bibliography help - where to find reviews on your sources" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

JSTOR for research paper writing

16 Apr 2013 14:55:00 GMT

Shortly after beginning the research process many take to the world of online databases to initiate the literature review. Whether working as a sole individual or connected to an institution, there are numerous sites available for obtaining, credible, scholarly information. One of which is a well-known, digital library referred to as JSTOR.

Developed in 1995, JSTOR is undoubtedly one of the world's most frequented online databases for scholarly and peer-reviewed journal articles. And in addition to its reputation for being a periodical home, JSTOR also provides access to over 15,000 books under the Books at JSTOR program (a recent addition to the site).

Accessing JSTOR

Most access to JSTOR's content is done via subscriptions, either through an academic institution, library or research organization. Users can either access information onsite (through linked computers at the subscribing institution) or remotely (by securely logging in to the system from elsewhere). Likewise, individuals not connected to an institution can also access publications through the site's Register & Read program (created for scholars and researchers in order to provide them with limited free access to older publications). But as for students, the most common access is generally through a school subscription.

What are JSTOR's limits?

When weighing-out options for your research information, it's important to know what each source has to offer and any limits on the information they provide. As mentioned earlier, JSTOR works primarily with journal publications, and in the interest of these journals and their subscribers, JSTOR does not generally provide very up-to-date or current articles (though there may be some exceptions to this rule). So in most cases there is a 3-5 year lag in publications, therefore anything written within the last three years or so would not be available through JSTOR.

So what does this mean for you? Well if you're researching a time sensitive topic (perhaps current business models or economic trends) then this may pose a problem. But even in such situations you may find older articles to be very useful.

Utilizing older articles for current topics: You may find it helpful to use old articles to...

to provide the basis of a particular concept or theory (thoughts and ideas on the way things work are usually as old as the field itself; so older articles can be very helpful when you need to provide theoretical backing for a particular topic)
to help kickstart interest areas and subtopics (many of today's writings and research is nothing more than a revamp of yesterday's, so in outlining issues to discuss on your current topic you may find it beneficial to peruse older articles for ideas)
to establish trends or patterns (if working to prove that a particular pattern or trend is present, you'll need to backtrack a few years to obtain the evidence you need; and though primary evidence is usually best, you may find a good secondary source that sums it all up for you as well)

*Its also important to note that many other online databases will likely present a similar lag in publication dates to preserve relationships between themselves and publishers. So the only other alternative to receive up-to-date articles would be to go to directly to the journal's website for access (some of which may be offered through a school subscription or simply free to anyone for a limited time).

And aside from this one limitation, the only other concern may be the subjects covered by JSTOR. But considering that it offers articles in over 50 disciplines, unless a topic is very rare, the hope is that it will be covered within the database.

JSTOR and your research plan

Every good paper begins with a good writing plan. And when it comes to research papers this begins with outlining a great research strategy. A research strategy is simply a roadmap to how you intend to obtain the information needed for your paper. It should start off by indicating the best places to go to get the information and then how best to search for items once you've arrived there.

In addition to having JSTOR in your list of online databases there are several other collections that also include thousands of articles that may not be available through JSTOR such as Academic Search Premier or Ebscohost. And as you develop your research strategy you'll want to list all of the useful places that come to mind, whether for journal articles or other data. A sample list can be seen below.

Sample research list

General information on my topic...

Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Subject-specific encyclopedias

Specific information on my topic...

Library catalog for book titles (ex. school library or local public library)
Online journal databases for articles (ex. JSTOR, Academic Search Premier)
Government websites for documents and statistics (ex.The US Census Bureau website)
News or magazine articles for interviews and first-hand accounts (ex. The NY Times website)

So after you've provided yourself with a narrow list of places to obtain information you'll want to develop a fast and efficient way to gather all of your sources. This can be done by creating a keywords list. Your keyword list should be comprised of all the possible words connected to your topic (to aide you in obtaining the best matches for your search).

If you've ever done any type of research in the past, you know how frustrating it can be to not find the results you want when you type in your keyword phrase. And in many cases its not that the information is not available, its simply that you're not using the right keywords to locate it. So having a list handy when you're at the keyboard can save you tons of time and frustration.

Sample keyword list

Topic: Education laws in America; The No Child Left Behind Act

Thesis: The No Child Left Behind Act fails to provide a sufficient means of assessment for children with disabilities.

Keywords: No Child Left Behind, NCLB, ESEA, education law, annual testing, children with disabilities, learning disabilities, instructional accommodation, state education report, student testing, student assessment, state guidelines

*After conjuring up a good keyword list the final step would then be to actually navigate your way through JSTOR's system. And considering that the interface is extremely user-friendly this should not be very difficult at all (though assistance pages are readily available if a problem does arise).

Original story about "JSTOR for research paper writing" at Research Paper Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

A Guide to Figures

15 Apr 2013 17:41:00 GMT

Figures are a tricky part of any research paper. When done right, a graph or chart can condense a lot of information into a small amount of space and help readers better understand your work. When done poorly, though, figures can lead to confusion and end up hurting your paper. So how can you make a figure that will get the job done?

What Is a Figure?

In general terms, a figure is just any sort of visual aid. It can be a pie chart, an illustration, or a map. In this article, we're going to be focusing on figures that are representations of data, specifically line and bar graphs, scatter plots, and pie charts. These type of figures are essential to science writing and allow writers to present complex data in a way that's easy for readers to understand.

If you need help understanding why figures are important, think about a website or textbook that you recently read. Maybe the website had a particularly striking photograph or the textbook had a well-done diagram that explained a complex concept; whatever was on the page, chances are you remember the graphics better than you remember the text. Images are powerful, and most people gravitate toward them. If you include good figures in your work, you can take advantage of this fact to capture the reader's attention and communicate your ideas in a way that's memorable.

Types of Figures

We're going to talk about four different types of figures here: line graphs, scatter plots, bar graphs, and pie charts are the main types of figures used in scientific writing. With these four graphics you can cover a range of different types of data, and each is well-suited to a particular type of information. In the sections below, we'll look at each one individually and discuss what makes them successful as well as when each one should be used.

Line Graph and Scatter Plots

Line graphs and scatter plots are used to show the relationship between continuous variables, which are variables that can potentially fall anywhere within a range of values (we'll get to discontinuous variables later on). If I take someone's temperature or measure rainfall, those are continuous variables because the values I measure will fall somewhere on a continuous scale (e.g., a person's temperature is likely to be somewhere between 95 and 104 degrees F, depending on how healthy they are).

In these types of graphs, variables are assigned to one of two axes. The independent variable, which is the variable the researcher is manipulating, goes on the x-axis, which is horizontal; the dependent variable, whose response to the independent variable is being measured, goes on the y-axis, which is vertical. When data points are plotted as individual points, it's called a scatter gram or scatter plot. In the example below, a series of mixtures were made that had a range of percent alcohol, measured as alcohol by volume (ABV), and the corresponding density of the mixture is on the y-axis:

Figure 1.

When the individual data points are joined together, you have what's known as a line graph. In the example below, the temperature of two patients (the dependent variable) is taken every hour over the course of a twelve-hour period (time, which is the independent variable):

Figure 2.

Scatter plot or line graph?

The same set of data can be shown in either a scatter plot or a line graph, and which you choose will depend on what you're trying to illustrate with your graph. Scatter plots are best used when you want to show an overall trend, for example that the data is sloping down or upwards. When a regression line is added, scatter plots can show the mathematical relationship between two variables. For example, the scatter plot above illustrated the general downward trend of the data, indicating that density decreases when ABV increases.

Line graphs, on the other hand, are best used when you want to point out differences between pairs of points. In the sample line graph above, there's no general trend in the data. Instead, what we want the reader to see is how the measured temperature changed from hour to hour. Notice that by including more than one line we're also able to show not only the changes in individual patients, but also how several patients compare.

Parts of a graph

There are a number of elements that line graphs and scatter plots need to have in order to be considered complete:

A title: Graphs should have a title so that readers know what they're looking at.
Axes: Most graphs will have an x- and a y-axis, although more complicated graphs can include a z-axis (for three dimensional graphs), or have more than one x- or y-axis (to include different data sets on the same graph).
Labels: Each axis should be labeled with the name and unit of the variable.
Scales: Include scales on both axis so that readers can easily and accurately read each data point.
An origin: The x- and y-axis should intersect at the origin.
Symbols/lines: The data should be clearly marked either by symbols or a line.
A legend: Include descriptions of the symbols in the legend.

Scale

Scale - the numbers on the x- and y-axis-is one of the most important aspects of a good graph. Many students make the mistake of either just accepting computer program recommendations for scale or just always starting their scale at zero, which can lead to misleading or hard-to-read graphs. For example, in our line graph example above, if we set start the scale for each axis at zero, we get a very different looking graph:

Figure 3.

As you can see, now our lines have been compressed, and it's impossible to see the changes from hour to hour. If we want the reader to be able to see the shifts in the data, we need to change the y-axis scale, as shown in Fig. 2.

While it's important to adjust scale so that data can be seen clearly, it's also important not to use scale to distort the importance of your data. By narrowing the scale, it's possible to exaggerate what are in fact small or statistically insignificant differences-the movement of the line might look huge on the graph, but in reality it only represents a small change. Using this technique, called supressing the zero, in academic writing will discredit your work and will likely cause you a lot of trouble.

Making graphs easy to read

The whole point of using line graphs and scatter plots is to take a complicated set of data and make it easy for the reader to understand, which means keeping your figures clear and simple is an absolute must. Stay away from flashy visuals that distract from the data, and avoid piling extras onto the graph that will distract from what's important (e.g., don't use 3-D symbols or lots of colors).

You also want to make sure that everything on your graph is easy to read. Use a simple, sans-serif font, and make the text big enough. You also need to make the most out of the small amount of text you can squeeze into the axis titles and legends-there should be enough information on the graph for the reader to interpret it without having to look back at the main text (if necessary, you can include other explanatory information in a caption). Let's look at a graph that does a poor job of being readable:

Figure 4.

There are a number of things we could do to improve this graph:

The title of each axis should include units so the reader knows what these numbers mean.
There is lots of extra, wasted space at the top of the graph that has no data points, so the scale of the y-axis needs to be changed.
The title is both too small and doesn't give enough information. Remember, the reader should be able to tell what's going on in a figure without looking back at the main text.
The legends also do not give the reader enough information. What do the numbers 1 and 2 mean here?
The symbols used to mark data points are too similar. If this figure gets put into black and white, the reader won't be able to tell the difference.

Now let's look at the improved version which has all of these changes included:

Bar Graphs

While line graphs and scatter plots are for continuous variables, if you have a variable that's discontinuous, you need a different kind of figure. Remember that a continuous variable can fall anywhere within a certain range. A discontinuous, or discrete, variable doesn't have a range; instead, discontinuous variable fit into categories. For example blood type (O, A, B, or AB), hair color (blond, brown, or red), and age brackets (11-20, 21-30, and 31-40) are all discontinuous variables. Think of these as being like buckets that all the data points are sorted into: every data point going into one bucket, and there are no data points left out or set between the buckets.

Bar graphs are used when you want to provide a visual representation of the relationship between one continuous variable and one discontinuous variable. Usually the discontinuous variable is the dependent variable (although not always), and it is placed on the x-axis. The continuous variable is plotted on the y-axis, and bars are used to plot the data. For example, if I want to show the relationship between GPA (a continuous variable) and the age of students by school year (a discontinuous variable), I can make a bar graph:

Figure 5.

Parts of a bar graph

A bar graph will have the same parts as a line graph or scatter plot, including a title, axes, axis labels, a legend, and an origin.

Scale and readability

As with other types of graphs, it's important to pay attention to the scale on a bar graph. Leaving out the zero or stretching the y-axis too far can distort data, making your findings seem either bigger or less significant than they actually are.

Readability is also an important issue for bar graphs, which, in addition to the issues listed above for line graphs, come with their own challenges. Chief among these problems is sizing and shading the bars. Placing the bars too close together or two far apart can make graphs difficult to read, as can using crazy shadings or colors to fill in the bars. Take a look at how hard this graph is to understand:

Figure 6.

Setting the bars apart and using shading instead of wacky patterns will help make your bar graph easy to read. It's also a good idea to avoid using effects like shadowing or 3-D bars, which won't add anything to the substance of your argument but can easily confuse readers.

Horizontal bar graphs

When you have a large number of bars, it can be easier to put the discontinuous variable on the y-axis. For example, in this graph that shows commute time by city, the names of the cities are places horizontally in order to show the trend upwards:

Figure 7.

Pie Charts

Pie charts are used to show percentages of a whole by dividing up a circle into slices that represent the relative sizes of each data group. Here's an example of a pie chart that shows where high school students go after graduation:

Figure 8.

Pie charts are common in many forms of media, including website and newspaper articles, but are rarely needed in scientific articles. For example, the data in Fig. 8 could easily be included in a table or even in the text (e.g., "After graduation, 42% of student planned to attend college, 32% planned to start non-college training, 14% had job offers, and 12% had no plans.").

Figures are one of the most important tools in an academic writer's toolbox. They allow you to quickly and succinctly communicate data and ideas to the reader in a way that's memorable and easy to understand, but they only work when you take the time to ensure that they're done right.

Original story about "A Guide to Figures" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Writing About: Mathematics

14 Apr 2013 13:47:00 GMT

Writing about mathematics is a unique challenge for students. While all disciplines share some of the same rules of good writing, math papers requires students to tackle both conceptual and grammatical challenges they won't encounter anywhere else.

Here are some of the things you need to know if you're going to be writing about mathematics.

Voice: active

Style guide: Manual for Authors of Mathematical Papers (from the American Mathematical Society)

Person: 1^st or 3^rd

Central argument: research question

Organization: introduction, body, and conclusion

Note: Different style guides will handle the issues presented here slightly differently, particularly when it comes to punctuating and aligning mathematical equations. This article will handle general rules, but if you have specific questions you should consult whichever style guide your teacher has requested you use.

Types of math papers

Most student math papers will be a combination of computations and theoretical explanation. For example, you may be asked to derive a formula that describes a certain population, then use that formula to predict future growth or decay. More advanced students will likely be writing papers that address purely theoretical questions or proofs of theorems.

How to write about math

Tell, don't just show

Students often think that when writing a math paper all they have to do is show their work, i.e., plop down the equations they used, then show the results. But writing about math is about more than just arriving at the right answer; it's also about showing how you got there. Professional mathematicians painstakingly document every step they take in deriving and applying equations, and student writers need to do the same. So, don't just put a formula in your paper and except that to be enough. You need to tell the reader where that formula came from, why you choose that particular formula, what all the parts mean, and how it fits in the larger scope of your work.

Organization

The general structure of a math paper will be a lot like any other essay. You'll have an introduction, body, and conclusion (your paper will also likely need sections like an abstract and references as well).

Introduction: Tell the reader the purpose of your work and explain why it's important. You may also need to give background by citing related papers. Often in math papers the introduction will include a preview of the solution or argument you're about to make.
Body: Unlike a research paper, there's no set style for the body of a math paper. Instead, each will be organized according to the particular assignment. This might mean breaking it down into subheadings that each answer a particular question or, for shorter papers, you might just have one big body section. Whichever you choose, the key to good organization is for the paper to logically flow from one idea to the next.
Conclusion: Wrap up your paper by summarizing what you've found and discussing avenues for further research.

Formal and informal structure

Math papers consist of two main parts working side by side. The formal, or logical, structure of your paper is the definitions and proofs you are using to build your argument. The informal material is any additional text such as examples, analogies, and explanations. Ideally, these two element should be woven together to create a paper that has a solid logical foundation upon which explanatory material is added to help the reader.

Defining terms

Defining terms isn't just a side job-it's an integral part of your argument. How you define terms can determine whether your argument makes sense, and defending those definitions is often part of the paper writing process. Even if you're not being controversial, you still need to clearly and explicitly define every variable and symbol you use before your use them, and make sure that they are used consistently throughout your work.

Know your vocabulary

Just like every field, math has its own terminology, and there are many words that have a meaning specific to the field of mathematics. For example, you should know that the term theory is applied sparingly only to major results, while the terms proposition and corollary refer to minor results derived from other theories, propositions, or corollaries. A lemma is a statement used in a proof. Using these terms incorrectly will call the quality of your work into question and likely lower your grade.

The look of the page

When writing, pay attention to how your text looks on the page. Most mathematical papers are a mix of equations and text, and any paper that has too much of one or the other is likely going to be hard to read.

Style

Voice and person

In general you should use the active voice whenever possible. Unlike in science writing, its acceptable to use the 1^st person (I or we).

Equations and formulas

Equations and formulas should be set apart on separate lines, like this:

Equations should be integrated into the preceding and proceeding sentences, meaning they should never just be dropped onto the page without any sort of explanation.

Equations should also be treated as a part of the sentence. You might have noticed in the example above that the equation ends with a period. That's because it ends the sentence that came before it. When equations don't end the sentence, they don't require punctuation. For example: We use the equation for binomial expansion

to find the coefficient for certain terms (that equation does not require a period). If you're not sure, try reading your work out loud. The formulas and equations should flow seamlessly with the rest of your work.

What to avoid

Lists of formulas

Math papers are not about showing that you've done the calculations, but instead about demonstrating that you understand the ideas behind the formulas. When you just list equations or figures without any corresponding commentary, you aren't going to be showing that you understand the material. Instead, you need to explain what those equations mean, where they came from, and why they're important. If you have a big list of formulas without any commentary breaking it up, then you're doing something wrong.

Inconsistency

Mathematical paper require the use of many symbols and abbreviations, and it's important that these be consistent throughout your work. If you assign a particular variable to a value, make sure that you use that variable the whole time; you also want to be sure that each variable is used only once (i.e., don't assign the same variable to two different values). Also be sure to write equations consistently. If you write "x - 1 = 0, therefore x = 1," don't later write "x - 2 = 0 -> x = 2." In other words, use the same words or symbols that you used earlier to do the same job.

Relying on symbols

It might seem like a good idea to use symbols instead of words. After all, math is all about equations and formulas. But a math paper is just like in other paper in that it's not acceptable to use abbreviations and symbols instead of their corresponding words. So, in the example in the paragraph above, it would be incorrect to use the -> symbol. Instead, you'd say "therefore" or "demonstrating that."

Bad formatting

Formatting all those equations and formulas can be tricky, which means you need to get comfortable with whatever word processor you're using. Learn how to use the equation editor in Word or how to use the various math writing software packages so that your paper is consistently formatted and easy to read. If your equations are all over the page or your variables are different sizes, your work will look unprofessional.

Original story about "Writing About: Mathematics" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Custom Papers solve the problem of Drafting, Editing and Revising

13 Apr 2013 15:16:00 GMT

Custom papers solve the problem of drafting, editing and revising

Professional writers and 'green' novices, everyone feels some tension when it is time to write the first sentence. Some experts, producing original papers, even offer to write the introduction in the last place. It means that after the first draft you can go back and change this part. Do not leave your draft without an introduction at all! This is a trial version of your paper, so it should include all the components.

The benefits of a trial version

Writing a rough draft, try to mention every idea you have. Later you will be able to add citations, improve language and make other useful changes. In fact, creating a good paper means putting together things you already know. Of course, if drafting is your weak point, then many experienced writers offer custom papers of high quality.

A good structure is as important for a college paper as its language and style. Typically, each essay consists of three parts: the introduction, body and conclusion.

The presentation of your ideas

The first part includes the topic of academic papers with a few briefly mentioned points. The presentation can vary in length from one paragraph to several pages or an entire chapter, if this is a dissertation, for example. The introduction is written to declare your thesis statement and explain what you think on the subject. Do not forget to present your topic to the reader and expand it further by using relevant examples on these issues.

At the center of the introduction there is a theory or your personal opinion, it depends on the type of your assignment. You can declare it in the first sentence or at the end of the introduction. This is your opportunity to express your point of view in the short summary. To impress your readers, you can choose a debatable theory or opinion for original assignments. If you prove it and put a lot of thought in it, then you will get a high grade.

Different points of view

The body is the main part of each essay, because this is where you develop the ideas stated in your introduction. You may be wondering how to prove your thesis statement. You will get the answer yourself after thorough research. Now you should play for both teams and in addition to describing your own opinion, you must also give examples of different points of view. This is a good way to improve your essay and demonstrate your excellent researching skills. If you are stuck, get some assistance from custom papers services. Help your readers to understand the work by using a proper structure. Start each paragraph with a clear thought, to give the reader an idea of what information this part will contain.

Impress the readers

From the body of your essay you move to the conclusion. It is necessary to remind the audience of the topic, thesis statement, arguments and examples related to the topic. But if you want to write an effective last section of your paper you should do more than simply reaffirming the mentioned opinion. Take into consideration, this is the part of your work that your professor will be more likely to think about, so using one of custom papers can be very useful. By including an interesting quote that matches your thesis statement, you can easily impress him. So, do not miss a chance to write an effective conclusion that may affect your final grade.

How to improve your paper

You may think that when you finished your paper, the work is done and you can feel relaxed after a period of high tension. It could be a costly mistake. Actually, after finishing the writing stage, you have a lot of work to do. While the high-quality content works to your advantage, there are many other things that will count. Firstly, carefully choose your language, because when the paper flows smoothly, it remains in the reader's mind. Secondly, edit and proofread your paper before submitting it.

After spending many hours gathering and organizing information, writing a first draft and building a strong thesis, you want to produce an A+ paper. And this is where you should turn to custom papers services to make your essay free from errors. This is a smart decision, because when you know nothing about the content, you bring 'fresh eyes' and give the paper an impartial assessment.

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Term paper on Marketing: SEO and Internet ads strategy

13 Apr 2013 11:04:00 GMT

It seems that some of the hottest topics in today's marketing world are any and everything to do with online marketing. Whether a business' primary customer base is online or offline, the pressure to excel in a digital environment is considerable. And with this being the current state of affairs, any term paper that covers something useful such as SEO and internet ad strategies, is likely to be a true crowd pleaser.

So for starters, what areas should be addressed in a research or term paper?

Regardless of whether you are writing for a marketing course or a history one, there are certain components that need to be in place when formulating any term paper. And the most basic of these are an introduction with background information on the topic, a sound research question and thesis statement, and a body that provides supportive evidences in a logical, coherent manner. Here we will focus on the two major items needed to start any paper; the research question and the thesis statement.

Marketing strategy #1: SEO

Search engine optimization is a well-known internet marketing strategy. Several jobs have been created simply to provide this service alone (i.e., helping sites to boost their "organic" rankings on search engine result pages). Also additional evidence of its popularity and demand may be that many marketing agencies have embedded SEO right along with social media and PPC (pay per click ads) services into their sale packages. Suffice to say, its relevance and importance in today's marketing world is an undisputed one.

Presenting your topic in a term paper

When working with a topic for a research paper, its important to narrow down your topic enough to ensure that a reasonable research question can be produced from it. For instance, with our sample topic, SEO as a marketing strategy, we need to identify exactly what it is about this topic that is researchable and interesting to pursue.

Several points may come to mind; a few basic questions are listed below.

Sample research questions for SEO as a marketing strategy

In what major ways has SEO evolved into a marketing strategy since the mid-1990's?
How has Google's panda algorithm update impacted the SEO marketing world?
Is it necessary for businesses to hire SEO consultants? Why or why not?

Forming a thesis statement

After identifying a suitable research question to delve into, your next step would be to provide an answer to that question; which is where your thesis statement comes in. Thesis statements may seem overrated at times, but they are actually very crucial components of any paper. So even if you are not sure what the answer to your research question will be, you can start by providing a preliminary statement in which you make an educated guess on what you believe the answer will be. Your research will then confirm or deny your assumption.

For example, you may reply to the third research question by stating that "In some cases it is necessary to hire an SEO specialist. This is based on three major factors (1) the competency and capacity of a company's current staff (2) the urgency of the SEO needs (3) the marketing budget of the company."

The sample thesis statement provided above fits all the major requirements;

its researchable
its debateable (not everyone may agree with it)
its limited to 1-2 sentences
it focuses on the major points of the paper

Marketing strategy #2: Internet ads

So now that we've reviewed SEO, lets take a look at another dominating internet marketing strategy; online advertising (or internet marketing ads).

The field of online advertising is a pretty vast one; so for the purposes of a research paper it's very important to specify and define exactly what is intended with this particular topic. The umbrella term 'online advertising' can help us understand what is commonly thought of when we use the words 'internet ad.' And though online advertising encompasses other things, in general internet ads can be described as the top or side banners found on websites and blogs, or text displays that appear on certain websites as well as the side of a Google's search result pages. Likewise they are, for the most part, paid advertising by a business or organization, onto a third party website.

And as with SEO, there are several interesting research questions that can be derived from this one topic.

To begin, it would be helpful to label the major types of ads that are popular today. This can be done by considering the method in which they are paid for by businesses. Examples can be seen below;

Three main types of online ads

PPC (pay per click) also known as CPC (cost per click): This is when the advertiser pays when someone clicks on their ad (but they do not pay for listing it)
CPA (cost per action): This is when the business, or whoever publishes the ad, pays only when a customer signs up purchases a product or service
CPM (cost per mille): When the advertiser pays for the amount of impressions that the ad receives, and in this case it is a thousand, considering the term 'mille.'

In addition to the main ways in which businesses pay for their ads, there are several other ways to categorize and describe internet ads; for instance, how they appear (whether floating, pop-up, or discreet) as well as the most cost effective method to use in a varying situations. And from this we can anticipate the many research questions that would be applicable to this topic. A few are provided below.

Sample research questions for Internet ads as a marketing strategy

What advantages does internet advertising have over traditional forms of advertising?
Who are the major benefactors in today's internet advertising industry and how did they obtain this status?
What are the most cost effective types of advertising for small businesses and why?

As with the other example provided, a suitable thesis statement should then be formulated to answer each research question. Its also important to note that these two topics on marketing, internet ads and SEO, can both be easily combined into one term paper. When doing so the student or researcher would simply prepare research question(s) that address both topics as well as a fitting thesis statement to sufficiently cover each point.

Original story about "Term paper on Marketing: SEO and Internet ads strategy" at Term Paper Writing category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Academic papers writing: what is an average number of sources to be used

12 Apr 2013 10:17:00 GMT

Often times when we think of academic writing, the terms scholarly, formal, or peer-reviewed may come to mind (all rightfully connected to published academic articles). Also trailing along this title are the everyday assignments submitted by students. Though they may not be worthy of being published in some circles, if what is being written in them is of interest to the academic world, then its safe to say that they are considered academic writings.

One issue that comes up often when dealing with a variety of academic papers (for several different disciplines, professors, or departments), is how to settle on a set number of sources to satisfy all of them.

The big number question?

In some cases the number of sources needed for a paper will be directly provided to you by an instructor, but in others you may just have to go with your instinct in deciding on a suitable amount. And when doing so you should consider a few things; (a) the many types of sources you intend to collect (based on the type of paper you are writing) (b) your page count, and (c) your discipline.

So for example, a humanities course may require a wide range of sources if it is a heavy literature course, but a paper in the sciences on the other hand, may do quite well with only a handful of sources. Likewise if you'd like to incorporate a variety of materials, such as books, journals, newspapers, media etc. (as long as they pertain to your topic), this will also influence your source count. And lastly the most important factor of all-your page or word requirement-will significantly affect the amount of sources you utilize.

Page counts

Almost all assignments assigned to you will have a requested page or word count. And considering that professors like to see sources "put to work" rather than simply listed on a reference page, it's important to consider how many in-text citations you will include in your document as you weigh-in the need for sources. For instance, you may work towards a goal of one-three citations per page, and therefore maybe one or two sources per page (though this is just a rough estimate, as you may cite one source several times).

Source number suggestions

Option 1: One source per page; i.e., if you have a 5 page paper then you should have at least 5 sources.
Option 2: The 6-8 rule; regardless of the amount, as long as the page count is less than 15 or so, then aim for about 7 sources.
Option 3: Divide between 'solid' sources and supplemental ones; for instance, you may aim to have 5 solid, scholarly sources (that your professor will not be able to argue with), and then add other supplemental or additional sources as needed. *Even though they should still be credible, they may come from less scholarly sources such as a feature magazine article for example.

And if none of these options seem to work for you then don't be shy to just ask your professor. You may feel that you'll be making more work for yourself (if they through a big number at you), but the reality is that most professors will choose quality over quantity anytime. So generally if you turn out a decent paper, by utilizing the sources you have properly (not just cutting and pasting), then hopefully you'll receive a good grade with or without a long list of sources.

Making good use of each and every source

One major blunder that students tend to fall into when it comes to sourcing is creating a 'filler' reference list. Meaning that the sources listed are there to either meet a source requirement or to make the paper appear as if it consulted more sources than it actually did. This may be overlooked at times, but professors have been known to deduct points for this fault.

To avoid 'filler' sources, try to keep these tips in mind

properly evaluate each source to make sure its a good one; if you've scanned it and don't think you can get much use out of it, toss it right away
know when to cite a source; in-text citations and footnotes are not just for direct quotations. If you paraphrase, summarize, or take an idea that is not yours, then you should be citing the source
provide a full argument by citing sources that not only support your claim but also those that go against it (that is, contradictory evidence)

Types of sources for your academic paper

As mentioned earlier, you should aim to bring 'solid' scholarly sources to your academic writing (whether it be a term paper, essay or thesis). Though the meaning of 'solid' may differ from person to person, the term scholarly here simply means material that comes from authoritative sources or is written by knowledgeable people in a particular field or discipline. These types of sources, above all, should fill up the majority of your reference page. This is primarily because the credibility of your sources is also the credibility of your paper; so its always better to play it safe by using sources that you know are reputable.

Also its good to mention that at times you will have other sources that may not be considered as authenticate as the ones just mentioned. They may still be credible but just not referred to as 'peer-reviewed' or scholarly. This is ok, because in the end if the information is necessary for the development of your argument or thesis, then it needs to be referenced; whether it fits the ideal description or not.

*Some examples of these types of sources may include web articles, book reviews, essays or media, such as radio news broadcasts.

Evaluating sources

Finally, when you're in a situation where you need to utilize sources that may seem questionable or that you are a little uneasy about, ask a few questions. These are general questions to ask and can be applied to almost any source.

Who is the author or publishing organization? What are their credentials (if applicable)?
What is the publication date? Is the information current and up-to-date?
Who is the intended audience? Is it written for a general audience or with a specific group of people in mind?
Is there a bias in the writing? And if so how significant is it? Can you still benefit from the writing?

Its important to note here that most authors write with some sort of bias. So unless its an extreme one (that makes it difficult to obtain credible information) you should still consider utilizing it. And similarly information that is up-to-date and current is not a requirement for all writings; history papers for example would not rely on this criteria.

Original story about "Academic papers writing: what is an average number of sources to be used" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

The evolution of TV sitcoms

12 Apr 2013 09:05:00 GMT

Sitcoms have definitely become a part of our life throughout the decades. Every generation was brought up watching sitcoms and we all remember them. Who is not aware of "Friends" now? Watching sitcoms is definitely entertaining, whichever you are watching You can choose among hundreds of sitcoms now: funny, drama, fantasy, etc. You can learn new things from sitcoms since many of them are covering real life topics: hospitals, criminology, law and court, and many others.

Original story about "The evolution of TV sitcoms" at Infographics category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog

Why Do We Use Style Guides?

11 Apr 2013 15:11:00 GMT

We've all had the experience of struggling with style guides. You spent hours working on a paper-your analysis is logical and well-written, and you've painstakingly put together a list of every resource you consulted-but then, just when you think you're done, you have to go back and change the formatting. Maybe your citations right or your title page has the wrong spacing. Whatever kind of paper you're working on, it can be pretty annoying to have to worry about these kinds of details. So why do we bother?

What's a Style Guide?

Some rules of writing are set in stone. For example, you can't splice together two independent clauses with a comma, and verbs always need to be conjugated in the proper tense. But many of the choices we make when we write, from punctuation to word choice to how we write numbers, aren't governed by a strict set of rules. Often there's more than one way to punctuate a sentence or use italics, and when that's the case writers need help deciding what to do. Style guides provide writers with answers to these types of questions and fill in the holes left by grammar books.

Another set of issues that doesn't necessarily have textbook-correct answers is formatting, i.e., how you set up the spacing, margins, and headings in a paper or article. After all, every teacher and every publication is different, and every teacher and publication is going to have their own preference about how papers should be formatting. Style guides codify those rules and set strict guidelines for writers.

Who Writes Style Guides?

The most-used style guides are those published by professional organizations. Groups like the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Languages Association (MLA), and the American Chemical Society (ACS) all publish style guides designed to be used in their respective fields (psychology, English, and chemistry). Other style guides are put out by publishing houses or writing groups. For example, the widely used Chicago Manual of Style started as the style guide for the University of Chicago Press, and the Associated Press (AP), a newsgathering organization, publishes its own style guide which is widely used among journalists.

If you're a student it's likely that you'll be using one of the guides listed above, or another one published by the professional organization that governs your field. If you're looking to get published, you'll probably find that the publications you submit to will also use these guides, although many publications have their own in-house style guides.

What's in a Style Guide?

The issues covered in a style guide will vary and often depend on the specific field that guide is intended for. For example, the APA has a whole set of guidelines that cover how to remove biased language (e.g., how to properly refer to the disabled or to specific ethnic groups), and rules for formatting equations, formulas, and proofs can be found in the ACS guide.

Most guides, however, will also cover many of the same issues, including punctuation, spelling, and how to deal with numbers and foreign languages. Since there's no "right" answer for most of these questions, every style guide will have its own set of rules.

Of course, the reason most students are familiar with style guides is because of references. Style guides designed to be used for academic writing will have very specific instructions for how to format both in-text citations and the bibliography. Everything from journal articles to websites to dictionaries will be covered, and dealing with the minutia of these citations is often one of the more annoying parts of academic writing.

Why Do We Use Style Guides?

Why, then, do we bother with style guides? Does it really matter if only some people use the Oxford comma or if we spell out the numbers at the beginning of a sentence? The short answer is that yes, it does matter. To the people publishing and reading professional journals and other publications, having a formal style makes everyone's job easier. Think about how hard it would be to read an online newspaper or book that switched between fonts or spaced all the paragraphs differently. Issues like this draw the reader's attention and will distract them from the content of the work.

Your teacher likely has the same concerns-he or she doesn't want to have to read dozens of papers that have different citation systems or strange margins. If your teacher is having to spend time trying to figure out if your paper is the correct length or hunting for page numbers, they're not going to be able to focus on the content of your work, and your grade will suffer.

Which Style Guide Should I Use?

Which style guide you use will depend on who you're writing for. If you're writing for a class, it's likely that the teacher will assign a specific style guide for students to use. When there's no clear direction, you should choose the style guide used most commonly in your field:

Biology - The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (published by the Council of Science Editors)
Business - The AMA Style Guide for Business Writing (published by the American Management Association)
Chemistry - The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information (published by the American Chemical Society)
Engineering - IEEE Editorial Style Manual (published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
English and other humanities - MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (published by the Modern Language Association)
History - The Chicago Manual of Style (published by the University of Chicago)
Journalism - Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (published by the Associated Press)
Linguistics - Language Style Sheet (published by the Linguistic Society of America)
Math - AMA Author Handbook (published by the American Mathematical Society)
Medicine - AMA Manual of Style (published by the American Medical Association)
Physics - Style Manual: Instructions to Authors and Volume Editors for the Preparation of AIP Book Manuscripts (published by the American Institute of Physics)
Political science - APSA Style Manual for Political Science (published by the American Political Science Association)
Psychology and other social sciences - Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (published by the American Psychological Association)

Original story about "Why Do We Use Style Guides?" at Writing in General category on BestCustomWriting.com Blog