Presentation : Seven Steps for Writing an Academic Essay :: Composition

Seven Steps for Writing an Academic Essay Abstract: Many students do not understand that there is a process to writing. This lesson provides students with seven steps for writing an academic essay at the first-year university level. It can be easily modified for grade 11-12 students. 1. pick a topic * often a teacher will assign you a topic, but if you have a choice, pick something that you are personally interested in. 2. brainstorm (or research) * benefits of brainstorming: it will indicate if you have enough information to write a full paper & it will generate new ideas for you * ask yourself, "what are the connections between these ideas?" * topics for brainstorming o discuss the effects of global warming o should animals be used for cosmetic testing * Types of Brainstorming a. web brainstorming b. compare/contrast brainstorming c. Burke's brainstorming target o I would suggest using Burke's target for literature papers o http://web.educ.ubc.ca/marileef/Burke'sTarget.pdf∞ o source∞ d. clustering - jot down only words or very short phrases. Use different colored pens as ideas seem to suggest themselves in groups. Use printing or longhand script to suggest that ideas are main thoughts or supportive ideas. Don't bother to organize too neatly, though, because that can impede the flow of ideas. Don't cross anything out because you can't tell where an idea will lead you. When you get a few ideas written down, you can start to group them, using colored circles or whatever. Draw linking lines as connections suggest themselves 3. develop a thesis statement/sentence * a university level academic essay usually requires you to take a position in an arguement and then support your position. Arguement doesn't mean you are fighting. It means that you are trying to convince your readers of an idea or persuade them to act. * you will want to pick something that reasonable people will disagree over and that you are interested in.

Comparative Essay on Mid Term Break and Death of a Naturalist Essay

Read the poem Mid Term Break in which Heaney writes about life and loss. Choose one other poem written by Heaney which also deals with these themes. Compare how the two poems deal with Heaney’s thoughts and feelings. In the poem â€Å"Mid Term Break† Heaney deals with his thoughts and feelings on life and loss. These ideas are also addressed in â€Å"Death of a Naturalist†. The poet utilises a range of poetic techniques to convey the demise of his childhood and the disruption of natural order. The portrayal of death in the poems connote the poet’s feeling that life is futile; these themes combine to present Heaney’s feelings on life and loss. Primarily, Heaney portrays the demise of his childhood in â€Å"Mid Term Break†, clearly presenting his dejected, sullen and resigned feelings towards life in the event of loss. The image of time and death in stanza one, â€Å"I sat all morning†¦counting bells knelling†¦at two o’clock† clearly show his sense of logical reminiscence during a particularly morbid time in his life. The juxtaposition of the morning and the symbolic death bells represent the premature end to his brother’s life and the destruction of his own childhood. This shows sullen resignation towards the event of loss in his life. This childhood demise is also presented in DOAN. However, Heaney presents this in a more dramatic manner. Stanza one is longer than the second stanza, presenting how the poet revelled in his days of innocence. It also contains a tone of mystery and natural wealth, â€Å"bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles/wove a strong gauze of sound†¦Ã¢â‚¬  through the use of synesthetic verbs to personify nature, Heaney portrays his nostalgic feelings towards this period of childhood innocence. This is emphasised through enjambment, which creates a sense of freedom. The demise of this is seen through the tonal shift, â€Å"then one hot day† in stanza two, moving the reader into the harshness of his adulthood. The contrast in language is also evidence of this, it becoming grotesque and fearful, â€Å"gross bellied†¦ obscene threats†¦farting heads†¦mud grenades.† Connotations of war, vengeance and threat are apparent, depicting his childhood demise through his negative perceptions of nature. Thus, it is clear from both pieces that Heaney has varied views on life and loss. In MTB the reader learns of his confusion and resignation as a result of his experience of death. However, DOAN presents a metaphorical depiction of how childhood is lost as a result of the harsh and oppressive adult world.

Independent Evolution vs Cultural Diffusion

Since the beginning of development, many different cultures came into existence. Civilizations began and of course empires grew. Several reasons lead to the evolution of large, powerful empires. Some include cultural diffusion, great leaders, inventions, and more. The main reasons were independent inventions and cultural diffusion. The best explanation for the evolution of the large powerful empires was cultural diffusion. Cultural diffusion is when a culture spreads from one group or empire to another and therefore the empires cultures are diverse and the more the diverse a community is the more stable it is. Independent inventions is when a culture invents new methods of life on their own, such as methods of gathering food, hunting, creating weapons, wood work, and as well as ceremonies. Culture diffusion was seen all through many civilizations. In Document 1, Confucius speaks about the importance of parents and how you piety and your reasoning in life is to first serve your parents. Confucius then says after serving the parents you serve the ruler. Cultural diffusion causes this asset to spread. In Document 2, Seng Du, states the serving the king is the assistance in the ruling of one’s country. Many civilizations followed the same moral. In Documents 6 and 7, the details in which the structures were built are very similar. Cultural diffusion is portrayed in the documents. The Romans began using columns just like the Greek. In Document 8, the trade routes were the main reason in cultural diffusion. Traders began meeting with others and began developing there languages and soon they brought them back to there own civilizations and the cultures spread. The evolution of large powerful empires was caused by independent inventions. In Document 4, In the Bhagavad-Gita the Hindu came up with there own way they saw the universe. The Hindus believed in spirits and the multiform world. The document describes the appearance of the deity. In Document 4, Ashoka practices morality and the once war machine ended. Since he is the ruler he believes in all men to be his children. Ashoka desires that all his children be happy in this world and in the after as he wishes for the men also. Ashoka believes that there should be growth of spirit of morality. Independent inventions are portrayed because there are different eliefs and different morals. In Document 5, Julius Caesar defeats enemies and then celebrates with five triumphs. Independent inventions are shown in the document because Romans came up with their own ceremonies. Julius celebrated five triumphs. The celebrations were after the war ended. Many civilizations had their own ceremonies and methods of life. Cultural diffusion also played an important role. Some additio nal types of documents that would help asses the development of empires are primary documents like journals. Journals from traders or citizens would be the best. Trading was the main reason of expansion and evolution. Traders were the reason new languages and cultures spread. With the spreading there were expansions and the empires evolved. As you can see, cultural diffusion and independent inventions were some reasons for evolution is the great empires. With cultural diffusion and independent invention a gradual change occurred in the empires. Beliefs and traditions spread and ceremonies evolved. Diversity became an important role and the more diverse a community is the more stable it is.