Can I ask for your assistance?

[ahi]

Very good advice, cassidym. Though I would point out that, in part, it is good advice in no small part due to the current (medium- to long-term) trends of English.

In many languages--and indeed in English too before the mid to early 20th century or so--simplification is not expected to be a primary concern/aim of the writer, and succinct spartan sentences are eschewed in favour of purposefully complex compound sentences and other devices that in modern English writing would be perceived as unnecessary and undesirable complications.

I point this out for the sake of interest. As noted in my first sentence, your advice obviously makes sound good sense for contemporary English writing.

- Ahi

[ahi]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Try to avoid calling the examiners poopy-heads, as well.

Or, at least that's what I've heard...


There's a lot of good advice above. If you post some samples, I am sure you will get kind and productive feedback.


Along with occasionally being called a poopy-head, since some people never learn that lesson...

You!



You're back!

Does that mean I'll soon find out what Zelda's regular avatar looks like?

Hope you enjoyed your vacation!

- Ahi

[MickeyC]

One of the best pieces of advice I ever ran across was from Dwight Eisenhower who, in describing how to write effective orders in the military said, "Your goal is not to write an order that can be understood. Rather your goal is to write an order that cannot possibly be misunderstood!"

Thus short sentences, active verbs help a lot.

Problem with English is that 40% of the vocabulary is French, including most of our 'tion' words. This thanks to the results of 1066 and all that. Whereas the French language structure makes noun forms of verbs very clear and effective, English structure (which is essentially Germanic) makes a hash of it.

[ahi]

Agreed all around.

Originally Posted by cassidym

Problem with English is that 40% of the vocabulary is French, including mots of our 'tion' words. This thanks to the results of 1066 and all that.

And yet the Old Girl has life in 'er yet.

[Alphapheemail]

::sigh::

:: putting on glasses... taking out pad:::

::jotting a note::

To Do List:
Get bottle of wine for tonight

On a serious note:
I have printed this thread and will start on this tonight I'll pick the subject and post the essay that i find... "good enough for gre's"


Thank you all for the tips...

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by cassidym

"Your goal is not to write an order that can be understood. Rather your goal is to write an order that cannot possibly be misunderstood!"

I liked that!!

Thus short sentences, active verbs help a lot.

this is a problem for me. I always try to cram as much as i can in one sentence and I think i can do it just bc i have a button on my keyboard that has a ","...

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by ahi

Very good advice, cassidym. Though I would point out that, in part, it is good advice in no small part due to the current (medium- to long-term) trends of English.

In many languages--and indeed in English too before the mid to early 20th century or so--simplification is not expected to be a primary concern/aim of the writer, and succinct spartan sentences are eschewed in favour of purposefully complex compound sentences and other devices that in modern English writing would be perceived as unnecessary and undesirable complications.

I point this out for the sake of interest. As noted in my first sentence, your advice obviously makes sound good sense for contemporary English writing.

- Ahi

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by ahi

You!



You're back!

Does that mean I'll soon find out what Zelda's regular avatar looks like?

Hope you enjoyed your vacation!

- Ahi

heehee ! actually, my "regular avatar" (i should modify my signature to say that it will return "when i get around to changing it" ) has no one appearance... as you can discover here.

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

::sigh::

:: putting on glasses... taking out pad:::

::jotting a note::


On a serious note:
I have printed this thread and will start on this tonight I'll pick the subject and post the essay that i find... "good enough for gre's"


Thank you all for the tips...

well, alphapheemail, you definitely had the right idea posting for advice here ! a lot of excellent tips, which i also will try to keep in mind when writing ! useful info for many many situations. good idea for a thread.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

My comment was not meant to influence you in any way, Alphapheemail. Just me babbling away like a brook.

If you have specific points of confusion that you'd like me to try to clarify, just ask and I shall do my best!

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

heehee ! actually, my "regular avatar" (i should modify my signature to say that it will return "when i get around to changing it" ) has no one appearance... as you can discover here.

Whoa!

- Ahi

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by ahi

If you have specific points of confusion that you'd like me to try to clarify, just ask and I shall do my best!

i did! i put it in the quote box!,
mainly the second paragraph...
but then again its friday 4pm, for me here... so that might have something to do with it...

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

i did! i put it in the quote box!,
mainly the second paragraph...
but then again its friday 4pm, for me here... so that might have something to do with it...

In Russian (based on what I read) and Hungarian (based on what I personally know/perceive) compound sentences are not uncommon, and in many cases where in English you would have two (or more) separate simple sentences in those languages the points are tied/brought together into a still coherently self-contained but more complex whole.

A very plain way to see this is to pick random paragraphs from good quality Dostoevsky or Tolstoy translations. Evidence that the same thing was more the way with English too long enough ago is abundant in many books as late as in the 1800s. The Memoirs of Casanova (the Project Gutenberg translation) has a style that is far closer to Tolstoyian complexity than the nowadays encouraged simplicity and conciseness in contemporary English.

Basically, whether simple-as-possible or entire-paragraph-spanning sentences are "correct" depends more on the prevalent literary tastes of a given language's speakers than on much else.

- Ahi

Ps.: Russian and Hungarian have nothing to do with each other. They are not similar, not related, not even in the same broad language family. Russian being Indo-European and thus being closer to English than Hungarian, which is Finno-Ugric and is very close to basically no present-day languages. (Distantly related to Khanty and Mansi languages still spoken in Siberia [by exceedingly small populations that are assimilating into Russian society] and as distantly [if not more] related to Finnish and Estonian as Russian is to English.)

Pps.: I really can't confuse you any worse after this--methinks.

[Peverel]

I was always advised by one of my Tutors to pick the argument I least agreed with, then write a piece backing it up. He said that if you could understand what you agreed with countering it would be easy.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

One of my old lecturers said that all you have to do to write an essay is remember three words: CQC. He said, at a fundamental level, all essays are built upon the CQC foundation.

1. Make a CLAIM

2. Back-up claim with a QUOTE

3. Now COMMENT on the above QUOTE

4. Repeat until conclusion.


Don't know if that helps, but when I was involved in academia the CQC principal got me through a lot of otherwise boring essays.

You know, that is not unlike learning mathematical proof writing. A good basic book on proof's does exist, as an undergrad before my first math degree I once owned several copies as I kept lending mine out to "friends". And we ALL know how friends are with books. It was not a long text at all, around 100-150 pages max. Still it changed my approach to not just mathematical proofs but in how I wrote any reports or papers in all subjects as well.

It was a thin book, which any math major will tell you is the scariest thing on the plant because you will realize they really left all the detail out and we needed to teach it all to ourselves (not a bad thing just freaking SCARY as an undergrad in math). Still this book was not designed that way, it boiled it all down to using the correct style for the correct problem then adding in the support for the premise and supporting conclusions. The thing was amazing.

But your comment pretty much give the perfect way to argue a position. Variations exist but all can be derived from your outline...nice!

I would add that is the OP has the time, find a resource which covers developing logical arguments around a premise or position. As well as basic logic, often as long at the techniques you attempt to us are sound and astute reviewer can see what you are trying to convey, even if you fail to do so in a convincing fashion. It would show you have the knowledge of how to form cogent arguments even if you are not in complete possession of sufficient facts on understanding of the topic.

I wish the OP good luck!!

[sirbruce]

I love complex-compound. And commas. But that's just me.

[cjcherryh]

Good advice above, for sure. First, several deep breaths.
Then figure out at least three points you want to make in your piece.
Start with the simplest. Explain that.
Finish with the hardest point, and then do a fast summary of how these things fit together and the use you hope they will be to the reader, for instance. Or sum it up by something that unites these 3 concepts in your mind and makes you believe this paper will help someone.