Must-Dos For Improving Your Essay Writing Skills

Most writers could stand to improve their essay writing skills. Thats because essay writing is an art honed over time and with practice. Though some people may be naturally good at writing, a good essay is more than that. It requires a tight, well-defined thesis, and a developed argument thats simply stated and uses credible research to back it up. And of course, the artistry of writing requires precise vocabulary, transition words and active voice. If youre in need of some improvements in your essay writing, here are some areas to focus on: Read more One of the first things you can do to improve your essay writing skills is dedicate more time to reading. The more you read, the more youll be exposed to different styles of writing. Eventually, youll identify qualities that you want to adopt in your own writing. Do research before you write Its important to do all of your research before you write. You should take notes while doing your research, but the actual essay writing should only come later. Make sure your ideas have had time to mature enough before you start trying to put them together. Be patient and take things one step at a time. If youve done all of your research and taken good notes, the arguments youll use should be fairly easy for you to define. Rushing into the writing process prematurely can mean you have to change your arguments as you come up with more research. This will make for a jumbled essay in the end. Avoid repetition Writers often make the mistake of repeating the same word or group of words too many times in their essays. This causes boring reading. Use a thesaurus to see what other words you can use to capture the same idea. If there is no replacement for the word(s) youre writing, try using third person pronouns more often (he/she/it/they) or abbreviations for long titles. Example: The Council of Elders of the Cherokee Nation met in January to vote on whether or not to allow a mining company do a land survey on their reservation. The Council of Elders of the Cherokee Nation voted against granting permission. The mining company attempted to file a law suit and the Council of Elders of the Cherokee Nation held a meeting at the city hall. A better version: The Council of Elders of the Cherokee Nation met in January to vote on whether or not to allow a mining company do a land survey on their reservation. They voted against granting permission. The mining company attempted to file a law suit and The Council held a meeting at the city hall. Cite facts, statistics, dates and expert opinions Using numbers and statistics gives credibility to your argument as well as creates an impact. Which of the following statements has a stronger impact? There are far fewer polar bears in the Yukon today than there were a few decades ago. Vs. The population of polar bears in the Yukon has been reduced by 1,000% between 1980 and 2010. Citing the opinions of experts in the field also allows the reader to trust the rest of your observations. Example: The devastation of the polar bear population in the Yukon is one of the most severe of any species on the planet. Vs. Dr. Sheffield from the University of Toronto gave a speech at a convention on wildlife conservation where he lamented that â€Å"few places on the planet have suffered such severe loss of a single species as in the Yukon.† Improve your vocabulary The more words you know, the more variety of words you can use in your essays. Simple math. A more ample vocabulary can provide you with the tools to write more interesting essays. It can also help you acquire a higher level of precision in your arguments. For example, if youre writing about bee-keeping, you could use the word â€Å"apiculture† which is the technical word for bee-keeping. If youre writing about religious cults, you could use the word â€Å"indoctrinate† which means â€Å"teach a person or group of persons to accept a teaching uncritically†. Precise language helps you economize on explanations. But know when to keep it simple Writing with precise language is one thing. Showing off is another. Dont litter your essay with sophisticated vocabulary words. Dont use â€Å"insouciant† when you could use â€Å"indifferent† or â€Å"turgid† when you could use â€Å"tedious†. You dont want to force your reader to reach for the dictionary every few sentences. The majority of readers wouldnt bother. You want your essay to be readable to the layperson. The feature of your essay is your argument: if you present it simply, it will be easy to grasp. And thats one of the goals of good essay writing. Use transition words Transition words are key to guiding the reader from one argument to the next. They help improve the essays readability and flow. Some transition words to incorporate in your essays: However Furthermore Moreover Nevertheless Also Including On the other hand In spite of Check out this site for a comprehensive list of transition words and when to use them. Use active verbs Writers often fall into the trap of using passive voice in their essays. Try using active voice instead. Its more direct and gives more life to your sentences. Example: The research done on nuclear energy has left many questions still unanswered. Vs. Nuclear energy research still has many questions to answer. The last surviving member of the Terena tribe had died the year before. Vs. The last surviving member of the Terena tribe died in 2014. Use a writing app Since we live in the digital age, there are apps that can tell you how your essay can be improved. Try one or all of the following: Hemingway highlights problem areas of your essay with color coding for things like passive voice, adverbs, complex sentences and more. Grammarly advanced spell checker and grammar checker as well as plagiarism detector. ProWriting Aid checks for grammar, style and readability.

Oprah and Edison essays

Oprah and Edison essays Oprah Winfreys life was far from successful. On January, 29, 1954 Oprah Gail Winfrey was born to teenage parents who werent married. Vernita Lee her 18 year old mother was a housemaid and her father Vernon Winfrey served for armed services at the age of 20. For the first six years of her life Oprah was raised on a farm in Mississippi by her grandmother. Her grandmother taught Oprah how to read at a very young age of three. She started her public speaking at the church reciting sermons. Her grandmother believed in her and constantly said, Youre gifted. At the age of six Oprahs mother decided that she was capable of taking care of Oprah, so she moved with her mother to Milwaukee. She was raped by a cousin when she was nine and later molested by a male friend of her moms and by an uncle. Since she didnt tell anyone about this she rebelled and repeatedly ran away and got into trouble. Her mother couldnt put up with her anymore and was sent to live with her father Vernon. She became pregnant at fourteen and gave birth to a baby boy who was a still born. The death of her baby devastated her tremendously and she vowed to turn her life around. Her father was strict and made her read a book every week and have a report on it. At the age of 19 Oprah had her first job as a reporter for a radio station. Shortly after, she was accepted into Tennessee State University. She studied radio and television broadcasting which she hoped to peruse a career in. During her first year Oprah received several awards including Miss Black Nashville and Miss Tennessee. In 1976, Oprah moved to Baltimore where she hosted a show called People Are Talking. The show was a hit and Oprah stayed with it for eight years. Later after the show stopped she was recruited by a TV station in Chicago to host her own morning show, AM Chicago. The show, ...

Gulf Regional Legal Environment of Business 3 Essay

Gulf Regional Legal Environment of Business 3 - Essay Example Competition law is part of the legal environment of business in Gulf region that requires numerous amendments and enforcement. Competition laws facilitate the entry of foreign firms in the economy and ensure that the economy gains from increased product innovation and high quality products. Fair competition laws also facilitate bilateral and regional cooperation between several states thus strengthening both the economic and political relations. Oman has certain anti-competitive laws that hinder free trade in the economy. Examples of the anti-competitive laws include subsidies to the national companies, exempt of import custom duties for national companies dealing with agriculture and manufacturing and requirement that foreign entities cannot have 100 percent of shareholding of the investment. In addition, Oman grants tax exemptions to local shipping companies and uses discriminative tariffs that hinder fair competition within the Gulf region (Kawai & Wignaraja, 2011). 2. Free trade agreements One of the agreements that Oman has entered with other countries is the Gulf Cooperation Council free trade agreement that consists of other countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar (Ramady, 2012). The free trade agreement is committed to improvement of investments and trade in goods and services. The agreement aims at elimination of both tariff and non-tariff barriers and expediting the movements of goods and services between the two countries (European Commission, 2013). Accordingly, members of the G.C.C acknowledge that anti-competitive practices restrict trade among the countries and each member is required to implement competition laws that ensure free and fair trading practices (European Commission, 2013). The GCC agreement aims at attaining liberalization of trade and promoting competition among the member countries. The parties to the agreement appreciate that anticompetitive trade practices will restrict the trade among the countries and the parties must maintain competitive laws. The agreement also aims at fostering common scientific progress in fields such as economy and trade and setting up of joint ventures. a. Importance and advantages of the agreements The G.C.C free trade agreement is expected to provide new export opportunities for Oman exports within the bloc. The trade agreement also aims at protecting intellectual property through allowing Oman to establish increased protection for copyrights, patents and trademarks (Bilateral.org, 2012). Accordingly, Oman will conduct government procurement procedures in free and transparent manner without any discriminatory practices. The free trade agreement will spur economic growth in Oman and entrench democratic ideals that are essential for peace and stability in the Gulf region (BBC News, 2013). Ramazani & Kechichian (1988) asserts that he G.C.C free trade agreement will increase the competitiveness of Oman exports through improving the access of the global markets. The agreement also will strengthen the role of the private sector in the economic development of the country. The trade agreement will enable Oman to lower the production process and increase the efficiency in the utilisation of the available raw materials such as oil reserves. All the products manufactured within the member countries are allowed to move freely within the member

Introduction to Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Introduction to Business - Essay Example This paper reviews the importance of communication channels in business organizations. In addition, it looks into the ways through which communication channels can help business organizations to improve on their performance and gain competitive edge over their competitors. An effective communication channel will ensure that information reaches the intended persons. It should be noted that communication channels enables managers as well as other individuals within an organization to send information and receive feedback. Therefore, effective communication channels will ensure that a given message is sent to the target audience and the feedback is got. Effective and efficient communication channel within organizations is capable of maintaining excellent relationships between employees and the management of the organization. Through it, employees will be encouraged to share their ideas that may be implemented and this is capable of enhancing an organization’s performance. Through effective and efficient communication channels, employees are capable of submitting their comments, work accounts, grievances as well as recommendations. Moreover, when organizations have effective as well as speedy communication channels, delays will be prevented and results will be achieved. Good communication channels are beneficial to organizations because it will enhance motivation since employees will be informed and clarified concerning works to be conducted as well as the manner in which they are to be conducted very quickly. In addition, it will enable employees to enhance on their performance when it is below the expectations. The productivity of organizations will thus be improved. Similarly, good communication channels will ensure that the individual attitudes of employees are altered since they will be well informed very quickly. It should be noted that proper communication

Psychological Influence of Fashion Essay Example for Free

Psychological Influence of Fashion Essay When one thinks of the identity crisis that plagues people, one is able to discern the connection between fashion and its lure on people. Conformity comes in many forms and affects many aspects of adolescents’ lives. Do adolescents take up a certain way of dressing because everyone else is dressing up that way? Do they let their hair grow long one year and cut it short the next because of fashion? Conformity occurs when individuals adopt the attitudes or behavior of others because of real or imagined pressure from them. Indeed, the pressure to conform to peers becomes very strong during the adolescent years (Santrock, John 1998. p. 211). More than any other outward manifestation of a person’s personality, the clothes has a language all its own. It is a nonverbal system of communication that symbolizes the beliefs and thinking of an individual. In an encounter, before people even speak to one another, their clothing makes a statement that expresses their age, sex, class, occupation and personality (Flynn, Patricia). Clothing has a language all its own. It can range from conventional and traditional to the outrageous and eccentric styles. Dress can identify its wearer with a social group. For example, jeans never go out of style with teens. The difference just lies in the style, cost and labels that identify them as designer. Wearing jeans may symbolize that the individuals are members of the same group (Flynn, Patricia). For example during the 1950’s, teenage clothing styles grew amidst the economic prosperity after World War II. The consumer market targeted those who were pampered and had money to spend on clothes. At the start, the adult designers were the trendsetters in terms of fashion sense. But the teens began to assert their own individuality and sported only the styles they most prefer. To these youth, this was a form of their self-expression (Flynn, Patricia). Image builders give a great deal of thought to the types of images that would have the strongest appeal to the greatest number of people. Merchandisers reason that they could build into their products the same traits that people recognize in themselves. Studies of narcissism indicate that nothing appeals more to people than themselves; so why not help people buy a projection of themselves? That way, the images would pre-select their audiences, select out of a consuming public people with personalities having an affinity for the image. By building in traits known to be widely dispersed among the consuming public the image builders reason that they could spark love affairs by the millions. The sale of self-images expedited the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of clothing, accessories and other beauty products. Thus, the image builders prove again and again that American consumers are becoming self-image buyers. Conclusion Young people, having identified with many models, have incorporated many different characteristics. Now they must integrate, synthesize, and reorganize these, dropping some characteristics and strengthening others. A new, unique and coherent identity emerges, one in which, â€Å"the whole has a different quality than the sum of its parts† (Erikson, 1959, p. 90). Fashion and style exerts a different kind of psychological influence of people, especially adolescents since they are pampered by society. A cast consumer market is bombarded with the advantages of being â€Å"in† a group by adapting a distinctive sense of fashion. It is, therefore, important that people understand the psychological influences underlying this issue. People must be critical in recognizing that merchandisers of many different products connected with fashion probes people’s subsurface desires, needs and drives to find their points of vulnerability. (Santrock, John 1998. p. 211). Among the subsurface motivating factors found on the emotional profile of most of us are the drives to conformity, need for oral stimulation and yearning for security. People must be critical in understanding that once these points of vulnerability are isolated, the psychological hooks are fashioned and baited and placed deep in the merchandising sea for unwary prospective customers, particularly the youth. References Covey, Stephen R. Living the 7 Habits. (1999) Erikson, E. (1959). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton. Fashion. Nationmaster. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2007 at: http://www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/Fashion Flynn, P. (1985). Body Language –The Language of Contemporary Fashion. Accessed 12

The Different Places in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching G

The Different Places in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God It’s amazing that one state can have within it places that differ greatly in all aspects—people, surrounding, weather, and feeling. Zora Neale Hurston exemplifies this phenomenon in Their Eyes Were Watching God. There are a multitude of differences between Eatonville, FL and the Everglades; each place represents a certain theme or feeling to Janie (the main character) and their differences each contribute to the meaning of the novel as a whole. Eatonville is just hours away from the Everglades so it seems that these two places must have something in common, especially if they’re in the same book, but they don’t unless you count Janie living in both places as something similar. While Janie is married to Joe Starks in Eatonville, she loses her sense of self. Joe makes her wear her hair up and she’s treated as if she’s Joe’s servant, not wife. This is much different than the treatment she gets in the Everglades with Tea Cake. Tea Cake allows her to be his peer and be herself. Janie is tied down in Eatonvi...

Henry V Assignment Essay

Henry V is an impressive piece of literature, which can be read in its entirety to oneself. However, if the full dramatic effectiveness is to be appreciated, it must be seen in its true context as a performance on stage. At the time Henry V was written, theatre played an important part in people’s lives. It was a way of life, and people of all social levels went to see plays by their favourite playwright. Theatres in Elizabethan times took on a conventional style. They are described the Chorus in Henry V as a ‘wooden O’ as they were indeed wooden and ring shaped. At a performance in an Elizabethan theatre the place where you stood depended on your social level. Lower-class people or ‘groundlings’ as they would be called, stood on the ground, surrounding the stage. Here you would not only find people standing to watch the performance, but you would also find family pets and entertainers like Jugglers and Fire Eaters and the richer patrons of the theatre sat in the outer ring. In Henry V there are many scenes, which cannot be acted out on stage effectively. These are mainly the battle scenes, which would involve large armies of men in real life. Shakespeare managed to overcome this problem and keep his audience entertained. The chorus is the first person in the play to speak. He asks the audience â€Å"On your imaginary forces work.† He makes excuses that the stage they are acting on cannot be the same as the battlefields that these events actually took place on â€Å"Can this cock-pit hold the vasty fields of France?† The effectiveness of the play depended on the audience using their imagination to â€Å"into a thousand parts divide one man.† Henry is â€Å"The Mirror of all Christian Kings,† how does Shakespeare build up his character to suggest this and why? Throughout the play, Henry V, Shakespeare gradually builds up a character who is almost perfect in every way. Not only a Christian but a good king. One that future kings should try to mirror themselves on. In this essay, I am going to talk about, first of all how other people in the play help to build up this character and then how Henry’s own actions and words help us to create this image of a perfect king. I will then summarise on the character created and then I will make a conclusion as to whether Henry was actually a good king and whether being a good king makes him a good person. Two of the first people we meet in the play are the Bishops, Canterbury and Ely. They give us the first pieces of information that we need, and that Shakespeare uses, to build up Henry’s character. In Shakespeare’s time, the audience will no doubt have seen Henry IV where Henry is portrayed as drunken and rowdy. Therefore Shakespeare immediately lets the audience of Henry V know that he has changed and is no longer like this. â€Å"The king is full of grace and fair regard.† Canterbury, Act 1, Scene 1, Line 24. â€Å"And a true lover of the holy church.† Ely, Act 1, Scene 1, Line 26. The second of these lines show us that the king is now a Christian who visits church and likes it. Canterbury and Ely plan to use Henry’s Christian conviction to make him drop the tax on the church. So this is our first piece of evidence that Henry is a Christian king. There is a comic subplot that runs throughout the play to detract from the seriousness of the story. If this was not placed in the play, the whole story would seem slightly boring, but there is another reason why this is here. They all give us good pictures of the king and how he has changed. The characters involved in this subplot are, Pistol, Nim, Bardolph and Hostess. Their respect for the king is great, although they feel that their friend John Folstaff died from a broken heart because he lost the friendship of Henry as he became king. â€Å"The King has killed his heart.† Hostess, Act 2, Scene 1, Line 84. It is this loyalty and respect for the king that lets us know that he must be a good king and a good person. He has been a loyal friend but has slipped away as his royal duties have taken over. This does not mean that he is not a good person anymore, or a good king. Although you wouldn’t have thought so, Henry’s enemies, the French, also tell us a lot about him. They know that his power is great and that he is respected in his country. Because they are aware of this power, they feel cautious to feel too confident of victory at Agincourt. They talk amongst one another saying that they think the king is senseless. â€Å"What a wretched and peevish fellow is this King of England.† Orlà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ans, Act 3, Scene 7, Lines 127-128 We can take this into consideration but it didn’t affect my judgement as they are the enemy and so are bound to say things like that. So therefore we did not learn whether Henry is a good Christian king from the French but we did learn that he is powerful and not so weak as to be rejected as an easy victory. There is another instance where the two countries meet. The Dauphin meets with him earlier in the play and then reports back to King Charles. He tells the king HENRY IS â€Å"THE MIRROR OF ALL CHRISTIAN KINGS,† HOW DOES SHAKESPEARE BUILD UP HIS CHARACTER TO SUGGEST THIS AND WHY? that England is ruled by a â€Å"vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth.† and that because of this, they have no fear of going to war. King Charles then tells his princes and knights to beware of Henry, because he doesn’t want France to live its past history again. â€Å"And he is bred out of that bloody strain that haunted us in our familiar paths. Witness our too-much memorable shame when Crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cy battle fatally struck,† King Charles, Act 2, Scene 4, Lines 51-54. The person who I felt told us the most about Henry’s character was Henry himself. One of the first serious actions we see him take is against the three traitors, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, Henry, Lord Scrope of Masham and Thomas Grey, Knight of Northumberland. Their plan was to kill Henry at Southampton before he departed for France. Henry caught wind of this but didn’t straight away order them to be executed for high treason. We see Henry tell the three traitors that a man had been arrested for shouting abuse at him whilst drunk, he then asks them what they think the punishment should be. â€Å"That’s mercy but too much security.† Scrope, Act 2, Scene 2, Line 44. Scrope tells Henry that he should be punished and used as an example. Henry replies, â€Å"O let us yet be merciful.† Act 2, Scene 2, Line 47. Cambridge thinks that Henry should spare his life but punish him never the less. â€Å"So may your highness, and yet punish too.† Cambridge, Act 2, Scene2, Line 48. Thomas Grey thinks that he should be executed. â€Å"Sir, you show great mercy if you give him life, after the taste of much correction.† Grey, Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 49-50. After all this, we still do not see Henry approach the traitors with what they are planning to do. Instead he hands them each a piece of paper, which reveals what he has learned. He then says, almost sarcastically, â€Å"Why, how now, gentlemen? What see you in those papers, that you lose so much complexion? – Look ye how they change: Their cheeks are paper. – Why, what read you there that have so cowarded and chased your blood out of appearance? King Henry, Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 68-73. This told me that Henry wanted to basically make the traitors convict themselves. Henry then makes a speech about how he cannot give mercy to three people who were so quick to decide upon execution for a man who had only spoken out of tone whilst drunk. This made me think that Henry is firm but fair. He did not convict them straight away and send them to be executed. Instead he let them convict themselves and decide their own punishment, which was death. Henry says that he does not seek revenge for himself but for his country. This tells me that he is a good king who thinks for his country and not just for himself. Many more of Henry actions during the play tell us that he is cool under pressure, thinks for his country. When the Dauphin brings the casket of tennis balls to England, Henry does not lash out and explode into a frenzy of anger, the same as when the baggage boys are killed at Agincourt. He combines his aggression with careful thinking and uses his anger in other places where it is needed. HENRY IS â€Å"THE MIRROR OF ALL CHRISTIAN KINGS,† HOW DOES SHAKESPEARE BUILD UP HIS CHARACTER TO SUGGEST THIS AND WHY? Henry’s words also tell us a lot about him. At the end of the play when he woos his bride to be Catherine, he is very romantic and tries to take her mind off the fact that he is a king and make her realise that he is just an ordinary person. This fact is very important to build up this character of Henry, we have to realise that he is just a normal person and I think that Henry’s words throughout the play often suggest this. At the beginning of the battle of Agincourt, Henry makes a speech, which is now probably one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches, the St Crispins Day speech. It is used to motivate team spirit in all kinds of sports. Henry uses it to motivate his soldiers, ready for the battle of Agincourt. â€Å"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.† King Henry, Act 4, Scene 3 Line 60. This line shows us that he has brought himself down from his royal post and is now a brother of all the soldiers who will be fighting with him. Not as their leader, but as a friend, a brother. His speech is enough to make any reader feel patriotic, as it did me and shows that he is a good king, who does not always think of himself as a king. So Shakespeare creates an almost perfect character in this play. Henry is, calm under pressure and doesn’t always regard himself as above all the rest. He can be aggressive when needed but always thinks before he is. He is also certain that he is just a human being, not a God like person who is greater than everyone else, and this shows when he is going in to battle with his soldiers. It is then when his true character comes out, a patriotic person with spirit for his friends. Although Shakespeare has made an almost perfect character, he couldn’t have made Henry so perfect that he wasn’t realistic. Therefore Shakespeare makes Henry have a few weaknesses, one of these weaknesses is when Bardolph, an old friend of Henry steals a pax from a church. Henry has to stand up to his power as a King and hangs Bardolph for his crime. Henry is the â€Å"The Mirror of all Christian kings†; I would find this a true statement. He is a King who should be looked up to and respected for his good qualities. He should also be respected even for his bad qualities, because everyone has a flaw but it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person. Whilst he is a good Christian King, he is also a good Christian person. He is kind, forgiving and calm under pressure and when needed.