American Revolution Essays

American Revolution Essays American Revolution Essay American Revolution Essay Fearing the French gaining the per hand, the British not only tried to bribe the Iroquois to their side with goods, but also at tempted to create an international confederation, which they hoped would unify the colonies a ND provide a systematic and mutual defense system. As the Seven Yeas War began in America, one of the first British offensives w as an attack on Fort Duquesne by General Edward Bradford and his 2,200 men in 1 755. However, a coalition of French and Indian forces assaulted the British force, and after he ivy losses and the death of Bradford, the British forces retreated. With the retreat, Franchised Indians began attacking the borders Of the colonies, effectively halting both the war effort as well as expansion for three years. The French and Indians took both Fort Owes and Fort William m Henry, and with these gains, they now held a much better position over the British, both n Europe and America. However, the tides turned when the Iroquois began to fear that the French were getting too powerful, and they resigned from fighting, which also caused many of the other Indian tribes to stop and/ or switch sides. Also, William Pit became the leader of the military sect of the British cabinet. Pit rallied the colonists into fighting through offering to pay of r the war debt, which generated over 40,000 new soldiers. With fresh, new soldiers, the tide o f the battle turned, as the British took back their lost lands, and after driving the French out of the e colonies they captured Montreal in 1759. Don 2 These defeats forced the French to negotiate terms for land distribution in No Roth America. However, the French did try to launch a recapture, which failed miserably. Aft rewards, the British and French agreed that France was to give up all of the land east of the Mississippi to Britain. It was not only France and Britain in the talks, however, as Spain was also involved. A series of trades then began. Spain would take all lands west Of Louisiana from the French, and would give Britain control of Florida in exchange for Cuba. At the end of it all, both Britain and Spain had massive land holdings, and the French only had tiny spots of territory rye in the Caribbean and islands in North America. French subjects, who did not support their new British rulers, were forced out, and most of them went to Louisiana, and became Cajuns. 2. Imperial Revenues and Reorganization, 17601766 In the aftermath of the Seven Years War, the British sought a way to strength en and pay for their now much larger empire. The British government passed Acts, such a s the Stamp Act, to generate money. However, the colonists did not like these newfound taxes, and protested, sometimes violently. Throughout the war, there were tensions between British and Colonial troops , with each feeling that the other was somehow in the wrong. The British felt that the cool nail troops were unrecognized and ungrateful, and the Colonial troops felt the British were stuck k up. The British ere also angry that the colonists were free from paying the debts of the war, as the debt in England skyrocketed. However, because colonists were spending so much on British goods, the price of which had risen during wartime, they also fell into debt. With this cam e much suspicion of Britain purposely putting the colonists into this situation. These were not the e only tensions that arose after the war. Many Natives, fearing that the British would take their Ian d and enslave them, attacked British forts and raised an antibiotics sentiment. Pontiac Rebel lion, as it was now, was ultimately a failure, as the the British crushed them with help fro m smallpox and other factors. King George also proclaimed that all of the land west of the App Alsatians was now under royal rule, and that the Indians could either give them up to the British or leave. However, this Proclamation of 1763 angered the colonists in that it felt that the royal c rowan had suddenly taken all of their claims to the west, instead of giving them back to the colonies s. Finally, with this uprising came the governments decision to station 1 0,000 British troops n the new lands. This would cost a heavy amount of money, and Parliament wanted the colonic SST to help pay. This, combined with the colonists idea of the standing army in their lands, g eve way to more tensions between the colonists and the British government. To stop illegal trade with foreign nations, the British government allowed fort heir authorities in the colonies to apply a writ of assistance which allowed for the seizing of illegal goods (basically a search warrant). However, many colonists considered this d comment Don 3 unconstitutional as it did not require any evidence or suspicion, which mean t that anybody, at NY time, could be searched. Smugglers in Boston quickly reacted to this act, and appointed James Otis to argue against it. Otis argued that it was indeed unconstitutional, and thus that made the act void. However, Parliament ruled against Otis, and he lost the case. No nonetheless, this case brought forth a very important point; that the government had no power to in fringe the rights off man under the Constitution. The Sugar Act was passed in 1764 as another way to help raise money for the expenses of the war. The Sugar Act presented a tax on all molasses and sugar entering t he colonies from the West Indies. However, with the Navigation Acts already in play, the colonic TTS still decided to import the cheap molasses from the French. Even though Parliament knew the is, they did not immediately take action. The Sugar Act was also very complicated in its ways. First of all, it basically stated that any good that went through Britain first could then be shih peed to other countries, which effectively voided the Navigation Acts. Parliament saw this as beneficial to Britain, as they believed it would bring in more trading out of British ports rat her than say French ports. Also, because there were newfound requirements, such as a m altitude of papers and forms that a captain had to fill out, many ships could be searched due to a technical error, not necessarily for the captain doing anything wrong. Because the Sugar Act was enforced so heavily, many ships were searched. In the end, Parliament lowered the tax to I sees than a penny, which helped to deter some smugglers. The impact of the Stamp Act was that many colonists were now aware of the growing number of policies and bills pushed onto the m by Parliament. Although the Sugar Act did raise some revenue, Britain was still in massive De bet. So, to try to relieve more debt they passed the Stamp Act in 1765. The Stamp Act WA s an act that required any colonists who wanted to create or sign a document (newspaper, licenses, buying land etc. ) to buy a stamped paper. The Stamp Act immediately had a much liar egger impact on the colonists as compared to the Sugar Act, as it applied to almost all of the colonic SST, instead of just merchants and traders. William Pit argued that Parliament couldnt tax British h subjects who did not have representation in Parliament. George Greenville, the British Prime Mi mister, agreed, but also stated that they had Virtual representation in Parliament, and thus cool d be taxed. Colonists agreed that this act infringed on their political autonomy. Obviously Parliament and the colonists had different ideas about the sloganeering of the colonies. Note heelless, the Stamp Act caused much backlash within the colonies. Many colonists had similar opinions on the Stamp Act. The majority of colonic TTS were upset by the tax itself, and the trivial idea of Virtual representation. Patrick H energy, a lawyer out of Virginia, sparked more support against this act. Henry requested that the Vi ragging House of Burgesses to deny parliaments taxation Of the colonies through a series Of w ell worded resolutions. Henry drafted some of these resolutions, and passed them to Par lineament, but he did Don 4 not have much success. Parliament was unimpressed and somewhat offended d by Henrys strong language towards them. However, to the everyday man not involved in politic s, Henrys resolutions sounded very strong. In Boston, where common people were in a poor situation, these resolutions brought forth a revolutionary fire. Many of the citizens of Boo stone had seen dramatic decrease in profits and overall wealth, due to numerous factors. So me of these factors were taxes, like the Navigation and Sugar Acts, as well as the loss of industry t other colonies. Bostonians heavily, and sometimes violently, resisted the Stamp Act. Through out the colonies, groups of men, known as the Sons of Liberty formed to help foster more pr tests, although they did keep the protests from getting too violent. In 1765 some colonial rep restoratives met at the Stamp Act Congress, to discuss the authority of Parliament over the colonic sees. They agreed that Parliament did lack authority to tax the colonies. As riots continued, royal agents as well as stamp distributors were rejecting to do their jobs. Colonial elites, fearing a ever y violent outcome, ride to restore businesses and local trade to how it was. Many colonists tried to force the Stamp Act to be repealed, as was seen in New York, where merchants decided to not buy any British goods. These boycotts and riots caused panic in Britain. In Parliament, the prime minister was reluctant to repeal the law because so many of the British elites were furious at the colonists refusal. Parliament attempted to s WAP out the Stamp Act for a Declaratory Act, which stated that Parliament could in fact legislate f or the colonies. In Parliaments eyes, this was an affirmation of their power over the colonies. Ho waver, the colonists interpreted this Declaratory Act as that similar to Ireland, where the y could be exempt of taxes. However, Parliament argued that it should not be taken so literally. I n the end, most colonists were simply happier at the repellent of the Stamp Act than the pa sing of the Declaratory Act. In the wake of the chaos caused by the Stamp Act, many colonists began to q question the authority of Parliament. Because of the common mans involvement in govern meet affairs during the Stamp Act, many of these common people began to actually pay at attention to the government. The writings of En lightened thinkers, such as John Locke, and the ideas in his writings, became more common and widespread throughout the colonies. A g roof called the opposition sits arose, who questioned the motives of Parliament, and argued t hat they did not adequately embody the ideals of government. The combination of Enlighten meet ideas as well as the hatred of the British helped to spread antibiotics feelings around the cool nines. Samuel Adams combined the ideas of republicanism with religion, which bolstered his following. Puritan Church leaders cried for God and liberty which further boosted the message f revolution. With almost every colonist surrounded by these constant ideas about the Tara any of the British, it was hard not to be sucked into the revolutionary feel. Don 5 3. Resistance Resumes, 17661770 As the resistance to the Stamp Act died down after its repeal, more problems were instigated by other acts. For example, the Quartering Act required the colonies s to pay for housing and goods for soldiers. Because the colonial assemblies had agreed that only they could create unreasoning ventures, this act furthered the idea of Britains tyranny, as Bruit main was forcing another act upon the colonies. New York in particular boycotted this act, but P reliant was swift to pass the New York Suspending Act, which said that New York would n to be able to pass laws. Although New York did come to terms with the Quartering Act, it shows d that British officials were becoming much more stern in how they would enforce these AC TTS. Britains problems with taxes and debt posed problems for the colonies too. B cause Britain still wanted to raise more money to soothe their debt, they tried once more to take advantage of the colonies demands. Parliament passed the Revenue Act in 17 67 which taxed the imported goods to the colonies. Earlier, the colonists were more concerned a bout direct internal taxes, but had not stated much regarding import taxes. The colonists saw this Act as similar to the Stamp Act in that it acted simply as a way to increase prices to get more m none. However, the main point of the Revenue Act was a way to pay for royal officials in the co Monies, so that they would be exempt of the colonial assemblies power. This would then tip t he balance of power from the colonial assemblies to the relationships officials. At first, the colonists had little resistance to this act, until John Dickinson wrote e a number f points saying why it was unjust. He stated that it was unjust to tax something nag simply to make revenue. Following Dickinson writings, James Otis urged the Massachusetts c nuncio to oppose the Revenue Act. The resolutions were drafted by Samuel Adams, and stated t hat taxation without representation was unjust and that there was a threat to sloganeer once by the independence of royal officials. This was then passed to the Virginia assembly , which also agreed to the points. However, a new British official, Lord Hillsboro, was a appointed to get the assemblies to destroy the letter. This backfired, as many of the other cool sees assemblies took up the letter as a sign of protest against Hillsboro. To get Parliament to repeal the Revenue Act, Bostonians once again boycotted, this time against importation. As this non importation agreement? spread, more and more people backed the repeal NT of the Revenue Act. The Sons of Liberty also resumed in their efforts. Ultimately the boycott o f imports pushed colonists to resist more and more British policies. Merchants and traders in Britain were very upset with the American boycotts, as around 40 percent of their exports to America were effectively nullified. Now that Poe pale in England ere affected, a movement against the policies Of King George arose, and was led by John Don 6 Wilkes. Wilkes wrote his newspaper which shamed and defaced King Georges policies, and multiple warrants went out for his arrest. Wilkes fled England, but when he re turned, he ran for Parliament. After a series of escapes from the King, Wilkes was elected to Partial amend but then arrested. People in America, after hearing what he did, raised money to pay f or his debts. He became famous in America for his defense of liberty. As the colonists upheld their policy of non importation, white women and thee r role in society began to change. Because the number of white women in churches o outnumbered the men, the Church was a great area for women to gather spread ideas. Women also s purported their husbands in their endeavors, such as boycotting drinking tea. Women enforce d the boycotts of the colonists within their own households, which helped the spread of these ideas. When the colonists began to boycott English clothing, women took charge to make their own clothing, with one example being that they organized spinning bees. It was evident that the us port of women behind men really bolstered the feeling of resistance within the colonies. Apart from the Revenue Acts, the British Parliament also sought to further Neff Orca the Navigation Acts. Parliament passed an act that allowed for more customs office ills along the docks, and these officials, along with informers, were given quite a bit of pop err over the merchants. Because these port officials could simply search and seize any s hip, many merchants, who were trying to boycott English goods, found it hard to smuggle e any foreign goods in. Merchants looked down upon these informers and commissioners, as they received heavy fines if they were caught smuggling. In Boston, merchants rebelled gaga SST these commissioners after John Hammocks ship was searched. 4. The Deepening crisis, 17701774 Hammocks backlash against the Acts provoked a worse response from Britain. Later on, Britain sent 4,000 troops to occupy Boston, and the citizens frowned at their a arrival. Bostonians now did not feel independent, rather like prisoners of war. Soldiers looked do win upon the citizens, and vice versa. Tensions grew between the two sides, and at one poi NT a child was shot by a customs informer. This escalated tensions to the point of the Boston Mass sacred, where Crisps Attacks led a group to protest at the customs office. Attacks and four other people died after the guards fired upon the crowd. Afterwards, the guards who had killed the citizens only received a slight punishment. The colonists began fabricating ideas that the the e British government would begin to suppress their freedom through brute force. With a change Of prime ministers, Britain tried to ease tensions with the colon sits a bit more. The new prime minister, Lord North, offered to repeal most of the Tow unshed Acts, but Don 7 would keep the tea tax. The colonists, however, still boycotted the tea. Partial meet decided to pep the tax on tea despite the continual resistance of the colonies. To try to fund the paychecks Of the relationships ambassadors, parliament t decided to fund them through the money made off customs. The colonists knew that have ins independent governors was not beneficial for their own internal governments, which is who y they created committees of correspondence which exchanged information regarding cool animal rights with one another.

A Modern Family Essays

A Modern Family Essays A Modern Family Essay A Modern Family Essay A Modern Family The situation comedy on television that I choose to study, which I believe highlights family values and functions, is ABC’s â€Å"Modern Family†. As the title suggests this is based on what we might perceive as the current, everyday family. I have watched this show with mixed emotions since its inception but these are only my observations about the show, no one can know what the writer’s background is and from what mindset they are coming from. The show is about the â€Å"New† version of your basic family tree, but being a modern version there are several differences from an â€Å"Ossie Harriett† family show. They give us as many of the different types of family dynamics as possible in a thirty minute program. We have the patriarch of the family as a divorced older man with a second marriage to a younger woman. It doesn’t hurt that the younger women is a Latin bombshell with a young son. This shows to me the almost typical family with divorce being common place in our society. Then you have the patriarch’s married daughter with an adolescent acting husband and several children living at home. Last but not least, we have the patriarch’s gay son and life partner with their adopted Asian daughter. Sadly this just shows to me that society accepts this behavior as normal, not the abomination it is according to the Bible, adoption is a beautiful thing but why do they ruin it by having a to portray a gay couple. Just as an example, one episode reflects on the family’s reaction to the children of the married daughter walking in on their parents having sex. Of course the kids freak out and claim they are scared for life and the parents freak out because they remember being scared by seeing the same thing with their own parents but the kids come to the realization that at least their parents are together and still â€Å"doing it†, unlike many of their friends whose parents are no longer together. The married daughter talks with her father about the reasons why he never spoke with her about the same situation when she was young. He admits that they just didn’t communicate with their kids like parents do today. This sitcom does try to deliver the concept of togetherness in family, support for one another and the tightness that family bonds can bring. A unique use of confessional interviews gives us an insight into what the individuals are really thinking. They talk to an unknown cameraperson about what they were really thinking or doing instead of what we actually saw on camera. The â€Å"mockumentary† style gives the viewer the real skinny on what’s happening. This mocking part of the show does give a little negativity to the program, because it shows how the family member might not actually like what just happened or was said but they truly did not confront the other family member. â€Å"Modern Family† seems to focus more on how the families interact with one another, more so then how they interact with the outside world. They do cover some if not all your typical family values but unfortunately they are worldly based not Godly based values, so we have all the worldly negative influences. They have â€Å"good† messages each program but not â€Å"Godly† messages. I wouldn’t say that this program has had a positive or negative influence on my personal view of what a family is, it’s just shown me more so how callous we as a society have become to many of the Biblical teachings, in the name of entertainment.

Controlling Project Performance and Project Closure Essay

Controlling Project Performance and Project Closure - Essay Example This is advantageous in that the facility can procure latest technology without having to undergo renovation of the facility. The facility also doesn’t have to provide financing for the equipment without generating income(Daniel 2014). This is helpful especially to those that want to use top notch technology while controlling costs. Fast tracking also has its own down sides. Late release of documents, increases chances and frequency of mistakes and conflict in information provision in specification and plans. The contractor needs periodic adjustments due to reliance on incomplete documents to provide schedules and pricing. This means that both change orders and contingency funds must be utilized in a bid to offer compensation to the contractor. By using fast tracking, all parties; the contractor, owner and architect engage in a flexible and open relationship. The owner must not expect cost cutting and saving in both construction and design(Daniel 2014). Fast tracked projects arrive over budgeted and are late than other procurement strategies. It hence becomes prudent for the owner to access both the risk, relationships with both architects and contractors and sophistication levels of the project. This project with a S.P.I of 0.8 means that its below the mount level thus will experience a normal range of losses and profits. The project therefore is viable to prosper depending on the actions of project management team to oversee that all factors such as shares, dividends and investments all contribute to the growth of the project(Daniel 2014). The project having a C.P.I of 1.2 means that it is way above supernormal profits. therefore this project will make unrealistic sense hence could lead to much anticipation for growth then end up in collapsing. The monitoring of performance on projects is based on indices. While Cost Performance Index usually represents the amount of work completed on a project for each spent unit. Schedule Performance

Emerging Application of Technology Technical Review 1 Coursework

Emerging Application of Technology Technical Review 1 - Coursework Example The term can either be connected by and large or to particular areas: cases incorporate development technology, medicinal technology, and information technology (Gattiker, 2004). We have chosen a report which is based on is energy consumption diminishment and carbon footprint lessening utilizing distinctive interest reaction advances. Brilliant home and shrewd apparatuses here allude to those streamlined force uses focused around power estimating information, climate condition, inhabitant inhabitancies, furthermore different conditions. They automate the techniques of planning gadgets operation time and the determination of energy source (power transmission line/neighborhood renewable energy/battery). As indicated in Figure 1, a theoretical keen home has information of power valuing information by means of the Advanced Metering Base (AMI), or web/FM radio. Taking into account this information, a shrewd home shrewdly plans the savvy appliances‟ working time. Under suitable conditions for neighborhood renewable energy sources, for example, sun based boards and wind process, a shrewd home productively uses those energies. Upon power blackouts, a brilliant home switches the energy source to renewable sources or the batteries, for example, Also, if there is surplus energy produced by regional standards, a keen home pushes energy once again to the force framework to serve the individuals who are in need. Different issues, for example, mass era, power transmission, conveyance, and security wont be secured in this report (Xiang, St-Hilaire & Kunz, 2011). Numerous endeavor results and new imaginative results are continuously created or have as of now been promoted over the recent years. Cisco created the first brilliant framework working framework, and showcased Google has acquired a permit to make a web application to permit clients to get to their energy consumption information through the Internet. Talkingplug has created a

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Essay - 6

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Essay Example It is important to consider financial, legal, marketing and other related business considerations in order to keep an enterprise organised in every aspect of it to survive the competition. Competition is everywhere and there are various ways made by business organisations that try to make them a cut above any other. It is in this reason that there is a need to completely set everything prepared and ready before an enterprise can keep going. Hence, a business plan. Idea Generation As the familiar adage puts it, ‘Knowledge is power’. Everything that comes to be created must start with an idea and all generated ideas can be combined together to form a substantial knowledge on certain things, issues or activities. In business activities, there is a need to consolidate all the necessaries and this would include basic data, the business details, financial data, financial reports, supporting documents and more (Cross and Richey, 1998). Therefore, understanding the basic compone nts of each of these will lead to the generation of better ideas. Placing it in the context of business plan making, all of these mentioned basic components can be substantially included in the outline. ... ctives From the idea of Porter (1980) on competitive strategy in reaching competitive advantage, everything about this whole process starts with an objective. The objective itself encompasses everything about formulating strategies. Strategic objectives are very important in business plan since these would determine the right actions to take in order for the business to keep going, competitively above any other. The objective simply starts with knowing what the business owner desires most which might be in line with profit, stature, satisfaction, security and many more (Cross and Richey, 1998). In knowing these desires, the right objectives are obtained and it is through knowing them one may be able to strategically formulate objectives that will ensure competitive advantage. It is impossible therefore to formulate strategic objectives if the business owners do not have complete idea on what they really want to achieve. It is therefore clear that the strategic objectives in any busin ess plan must be able to integrate all the desires and wants of the business owners in order to carefully select the right target to be set for the venture. Market Analysis and Research Here is another important consideration in any business plan. Market analysis and research are widely discussed aspects in every business. This is the reason why there is a growing body of knowledge in marketing particularly on its detailed aspects such as market analysis and research. A business plan therefore must be able to have market analysis and research considering that the whole business process includes marketing activities and part of these is to understand the interaction between the enterprise and the market in general (Kotler et al., 1999; Boone and Kurtz, 2006). The market is a broad area since

Improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences

Improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences Exercise name: 1 Exercise type Input Copyright info Instruction In this module you will: learn about how to revise your argument through re-outlining, learn how to improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences, learn how to eliminate wordiness review where the passive voice is appropriate, reflect on your word choice practise proofreading your text for punctuation. Module 15: Revising academic writing Exercise name: 2a Intro Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Many students think of writing as a process that ends when they take the last sheet of paper out of the printer. This is not entirely true. Good writers make thorough, and, when necessary, radical revisions. There are three steps to be carried when revising your paper: Reoutlining, that is re-examining the structure of your argument Re-examining thestyle of your prose Proofreading, that is checking the check the correctness of your paper Exercise name: 2b Reoutlining Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction Reoutlining You may have begun your project with an outline. Re-outlining, that is, writing an outline on the basis of what you have written, helps you see if you have achieved your goal. Compare your two outlines, and ask yourself the following questions: Have I made the thesis or focus clear? Are the ideas and details arranged in the most effective order? Have I divided the text into appropriate segments? Have I made clear the connections between the segments? Do I use appropriate cohesive markers to relay the connection of thoughts? Do I have sufficient support, sufficient evidence for my assertions? Do I have any irrelevant information? Do I need to rewrite my introduction or conclusion? Exercise name: 2c Removing tangents Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Removing tangents Every sentence in your paper should advance your argument, whether by presenting your thesis, introducing subsidiary points, explaining logical relationships between points, presenting and explaining textual evidence, or drawing conclusions. In other words, if you elaborate on an interesting idea, which does not, however, directly advance your argument, you are going off on a tangent. Tangents may be acceptable in some forms of informal writing, e.g. letters, but they are inacceptable in academic English. Here, arguments have to be linear. Anything else is a filler and should be removed. For example, in a paper on Shakespeares imagery, you would not include biographical information about his family, unless this information is directly and clearly related to your argument about Shakespeares imagery. Exercise name: 3 Removing tangents Exercise type MC V1 Copyright info NA Embedded Pop-up text included. See next page! Instruction Click on â€Å"Read Text† to view the results of a history students re-outlining of a paper on the origins of the World War One. Then, decide which entries below are tangents to the students thesis. [C] Platos political theories [] Bank failures in Germany [] French democracy vs German autocracy [C] Economic repercussions of World War I [] Naval race between Great Britain and German [C] Pre-War European Art Embedded Pop-Up Text to 3 Outline: History dissertation proposal The Origins of World War I I Introduction Thesis: World War I was started by a number of factors which had their origin in the natural rivalries between the European countries II Economic rivalries A. Grain tariffs in Germany and France B. Economic repercussions of World War One III Political rivalries A. French Democracy vs German autocracy B. Platos political theories IV Military rivalries A. The â€Å"naval race† between Great Britain and Germany B. Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance V Pre-War European Art A. Impressionism B. Expressionism VI Conclusion war was inevitable Exercise name: 4a Re-examining at the sentence level Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA The overall structure of your paper is very important. So, too, is the organization at the sentence level. As you become an experienced writer, the more you will develop your own prose style, your own distinctive patterns of sentence length and structure. While you are developing your style, remember that there are two bad habits to watch out for: Too many simple subject-verb-object sentences in a row Though a few such sentences can be useful to punctuate longer ones, long strings of them tend to sound unintelligent. If you spot a long sequence of simple, short sentences, try to link sentences together by relating their ideas to one another. Spaghetti sentences At the opposite extreme, some writers write overly long and complex sentences in the belief that this is a convention of academic writing. A few very long sentences can be effective in an argument. However, if most of your prose is made up of very long sentences even if they are carefully structured your argument will be weakened. Exercise name: 4b Using the active voice over the passive voice Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Using the active voice over the passive voice Study the two sentences below. Which sentence do you find to be clearer? Passive: The survey was returned by the subjects by email. Active: The subjects returned to survey by email. Most readers would prefer the second sentence as sentences written in the active voice are generally easier to understand. This is because the actor and the action are clearer. This does not mean that one should avoid writing in the passive voice entirely. The passive important when putting an emphasis on the object in a sentence or in situations where the subject is not known. For example: The subjects were observed over an eight year period. The test dogs were given three large doses of the chemical. Exercise name: 4c Avoiding impersonal â€Å"it† Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Good writers avoid sentences with phrases that begin with â€Å"it†. Instead, they attempt to clarify the action and focus on actors and actions. Phrases like â€Å"It is suggested† or â€Å"It may be recalled†can often be deleted in favour of the known subject. For example: In the report it is suggested that good nutrition is the key to happiness BETTER: The report suggests that good nutrition is the key to happiness It may be recalled that this topic is discussed in Chapter 2 in greater detail. BETTER: Chapter 2 discusses this topic in greater detail. Stopped here need to replace an exercise Exercise name: 5 Sentence structure extremes Exercise type MC V1 Copyright info Instruction [] Paragraph contains too many short sentences. [] Paragraph two has too many spaghetti sentences. [C] The first sentence of paragraph 1 would be better as: â€Å"As a result of the Prime Ministers remarks, the audience, composed exclusively of diplomats, believe that this governments position would be similar to that of its predecessor † [C] The first sentence of paragraph 2 would be better as: A greenhouse is a building made out of glass where plants grows. [C] The last sentence of paragraph 1 would be better as: â€Å"The Prime Minister failed to understand the gravity of the situation. He acted as if this problem could simply be ignored.† [C] The last two sentence of paragraph 2 could be better if combined to â€Å"The retained radiation heats the earths atmosphere and keeps the planet warm.† Not a very challenging exercise, since all of the reformulated sentences are supposed to be better. Rollover Text 1 Impressions formed from the remarks of the Prime Minister, difficult enough as they were to understand, only confirmed the audience, which was composed exclusively of members of the diplomatic corps, in its belief that the government, which had only been in office for a short while, would not take a stance differing from that of the previous administration, which most of the diplomats found depressing, although they had not liked the previous government. The Prime Minster, however, failing to grasp the gravity of the situation, acted as if this problem, which will certainly accompany his administration for the duration of its term, could simply be ignored. Rollover Text 2 A greenhouse is a building where plants grow. A greenhouse has transparent glass. The glass allows the sunlight to enter, but does not allow the heat inside to escape. The same effect occurs on the earth. The earths atmosphere functions like the glass. The suns radiation passes through the atmosphere to heat the earths surface. The earths surface then produces infrared radiation. This radiation has a longer wavelength than that of sunlight. This radiation rises into the atmosphere where gases such as carbon dioxide, prevent the infrared radiation from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases. They control how much infrared radiation escapes the atmosphere. The retained radiation heats the earths atmosphere. This radiation keeps the planet warm. Exercise name: 6 Passive and active sentences Exercise type Drag to Category Correct answers in bold. Copyright info NA Instruction Drag the sentences where it would be appropriate to rewrite in an active form to the appropriate box (passive voice, active voice) [The water was poured into the test tube.] [Nuclear power plants are opposed by many voters.] [Reductions of up to 80% in heat and mass transfer coefficients were measured.] [In my department the advice on clear English has been disregarded.] [In the 19th century a fundamental belief in God was taken for granted by most people.] [A reduction in nuclear weapons was proposed by a number of states.] [Each subject was given three injections] [The rats were fed a protein-free diet for 21 days.] [Appropriate use of passive voice] [Sentence should be reformulated in the active voice] Exercise name: 7 Removing impersonal â€Å"it† and â€Å"there† Exercise type Copyright info Instruction In the text written by Giddens it is said that peer pressure among teenagers can lead to violence. [According to Giddens peer pressure among teenagers can lead to violence. This does not mean that it should be prohibited to write about or to show pictures of the celebrities in the mass media. [Writing about or showing pictures of celebrities in the mass media should not necessarily be prohibited.] It is guaranteed that there is freedom of expression in Germany. [Freedom] [of] [expression [ [is] [guaranteed] in [Germany] It certainly seems that Shakespeare intended to suggest that Macbeth was weaker than his wife. [S. certainly suggested that Macbeth was weaker than his wife.] Are we allowed to design connect it exercises where you have almost twice as many options on the right-hand side than on the left? All the other exercise types dont really work with these sentences. My first association was a missing words or text checker exericse, but that wouldnt work here. What did Jeffrey originally want the learner to do here? Exercise name: 8 Find the actor and agent Exercise type Text MC (Là ¼ckentext mit DropDown) Correct answer always bold. Copyright info NA Instruction Find the actor and action for each sentence below. Actor Action In several books it is described how Mahler screamed at the musicians in his orchestra. [books, Mahler, musicians] [describe, scream, play music] It will be beneficial for the Physics Department to expand its internet facilities as more and more communication is web-based. [Physics Department, internet, web-based] [benefit, expand, communicate] It is hoped by both parties that further delays can be avoided. [It, both parties, delay] [hope, delay, avoid] It has been decided by the government of Great Britain that it should make an approach to the World Bank with a view to the possible granting of a loan. [Great Britain, government of Great Britain, World Bank] [decide, approach, grant] It is now incumbent on the United Nations to focus its attention on tasks of the highest priority in order to achieve success within the parameters of its goal expectations. [The United Nations, tasks, goals] [focus, achieve, expect] A recommendation was made by the European Parliament that consideration be given by the Member States to a simplification of the award procedure. [recommendation, European Parliament, Member States) [recommend, consider, simplify] The foregoing table is intended to assist readers in understanding the costs and expenses that the university will bear directly or indirectly. [Table, readers, costs] [intend, assist, understand] Exercise name: 9 Reformulate the sentences Exercise type Unscramble sentences Copyright info NA Instruction Unscramble the improved version of sentences from the previous exercise [Several books] [describe] [how] [Mahler] [screamed] [at] [the] [musicians] [in] [his] [orchestra]. [The United Nations] [must] [now] [turn] [to top-priority] tasks] [in order to] [reach] [its] goals]. [This table] [describes] [the] universitys] [costs] [and] [expenses]. [The European Parliament] [recommended] [that] [the member states] [consider] [simplifying] [the award procedure]. [The Physics Department] [should] [expand] [its] [internet facilities] [to meet] [the growing need]. [Both parties] [hope] [to avoid] [further] [delays]. [Great Britains] [government] [has] [decided] [to ask] [the World Bank] [for] [a loan]. Exercise name: 10a Selecting the right words Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA In 1944, George Orwell came up with a number of rules for writing well. One of these rules is: â€Å"Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.† For example: The Ministry of State has reached the conclusion that it should make an application to the Federal government with a view to the possible granting of a loan Could be cut down to: The Ministry of State has concluded that it should ask the Federal government for a loan. and The experiment had to be postponed because of the unfavourable climatic conditions. Could be rewritten as: The experiment was postponed because of the bad weather. Citation: George Orwell, â€Å"Politics and the English Language† Exercise name: 10b Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Finding the right word is one of the most important tasks of good writing. Use words accurately, with precision, and avoid gobbledygook and jargon. When revising, look for phrases and words that dont stand up to scrutiny. Generally speaking, it is a good rule to use the more common and simpler word if no loss in meaning is involved. For example: Stratford is the locality where Shakespeare was born. Better: Stratford is the place where Shakespeare was born. Below is a list from the â€Å"Plain English† website of simpler, more common words which may be used in place of words which may at first sound more â€Å"academic† ascertain find out axiomatic obvious endeavour try expedite hasten, speed up facilitate make easier, help formulate work out, devise, form for the reason that because locality place optimum best, greatest, most strategize plan www.plainenglish.co.uk (The â€Å"Plain English† campaign was begun by a British civil servant inspired by Orwell.) Exercise name: 10c Commas Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA After you have done the work of reorganizing your structure and of editing your style, you need to proofread. It is very important for that first impression that you make no mistakes in spelling or punctuation. Some of the most common mistakes that can be quickly caught are commas after introductory elements and semi-colons between two complete sentences. Remember the rules: A comma is generally used after an introductory element, especially if this element is long or if the speaker would normally pause at this point in speech. Remembering what Berlin was like in spring, she looked forward to returning. When mentioning a word for the first, a comma is placed in front of any abbreviations, acronyms of that word. [Give an example, e.g. with GNP] However, a comma is misplaced if it comes between the verb and its object. This mistake is especially common before â€Å"that† Incorrect: I doubt, that she understands how to use commas correctly. Correct: I doubt that she understands how to use commas correctly. Exercise name: 11 Exercise type Text checker Copyright info NA Instruction It is axiomatic (obvious) that English has become the worlds most spoken language in science, politics and commerce. It was difficult to ascertain (find out) from the corpora whether the women use more deictic expressions than men. Berlin is the capital of Germany for the reason that (because) it was once the capital of Prussia. The optimum (best) advertising strategy is often only discovered after extensive market research. Subjects who utilize (use) †¦ the library correctly will help facilitate (speed up) your work. Adding this chemical will expedite (speed up) the reaction. Exercise name: 12 Comm

Beowulf and the Dragon :: Anglo Saxon Strength Poems Essays

Beowulf and the Dragon Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called â€Å"Beowulf and the Dragon.† A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem. In the scene, â€Å"Beowulf and the Dragon,† a slave guilty of wrongdoing has to steal to earn his freedom and be forgiven for what he has done wrong. The slave decides to steal a beautiful cup to pay off his mistake, which was probably murder. The slave does not realize that he is stealing from the dragon until he actually sees the dragon. The slave immediately knows that it is an enormous mistake to anger the dragon, but he panics and leaves with the cup. When the dragon awakes after three hundred years of sleep, he discovers that his cup has been stolen. The dragon, also known as the worm, fills with anger and rage. Even though he is so angry, he does like the idea of battle: â€Å"Yet he took joy in the thought of war, in the work of fighting† (Donaldson 40). The dragon cannot wait to ravage the land of the people where one man has stolen from him: â€Å"The hoard-guard waited restless until evening came; then the barrow-keeper was in rage: he would requite that precious drinking cup with vengeful fire† (Donaldson 40). The dragon destroys the land and kills everyone around. The dragon even destroys Beowulf’s home. When Beowulf finds out about his home being destroyed, he decides that he is going to kill the dragon himself. Although Beowulf is very old at this point, he still has the confidence to slay the dragon. Beowulf has been king for fifty years, and he knows that all of his experiences in battle is enough for him to defeat the dragon. This is the first scene in where we see Beowulf as an old man. The poem skips fifty years between the first and second parts, and this scene picks up after the fifty-year gap. This scene also sets up Beowulf’s last great battle, which happens with the dragon. This scene also describes Anglo-Saxon beliefs. The scene shows how the people, and the dragon, love to fight. It is their way of life. It also shows a little bit of the law.