Saturday, August 22, 2020
English 103 - Research essay - A Rose for Emily
English 103 - Research - A Rose for Emily - Essay Example ââ¬Å"A Rose for Emilyâ⬠can be drawn closer in a few different ways by the peruser: as a heartbreaking romantic tale which delineates Emilyââ¬â¢s extraordinary love for Homer Barron; as a remark on life in the profound American South as it thinks about the evolving times; as a relentless homicide covered in riddle; and as a mental story of frenzy and separation. Anyway it is drawn closer, the story is without a doubt a grasping bit of fiction which charms the peruser. A few subjects are woven into the story, adding to its wealth. These subjects reflect the attributes of the Old South. ââ¬Å"A Rose for Emilyâ⬠is a story set in the Old South where prejudice, classism and sexism are an indispensable piece of society. As a story which is set in the profound American South, ââ¬Å"A Rose for Emilyâ⬠is unavoidably moved by the inalienable bigotry of the southern manors. The agrarian economy of the south relied upon insensitive slave work for benefit in its cotton and tobacco manors. It is generally recognized that, significantly after the destruction of the South and the annulment of subjection, southern culture kept on being portrayed by solid supremacist perspectives. This bigotry waited on for a considerable length of time and African-Americans remained unassimilated into southern culture. In ââ¬Å"A Rose for Emily,â⬠Faulkner capably features this common bigotry through the voice of the storyteller and through his portrayal of Emilyââ¬â¢s Negro worker, Tobe. The storyteller, speaking to the Jefferson people group, is softly pretentious of Emilyââ¬â¢s hireling. He is seen only as ââ¬Å"an elderly person worker - a joined planter and cookâ⬠(Faulkner, I). He isn't seen to be an individual in his own right, however just as far as being Emilyââ¬â¢s man-of-all-exchanges. He is coolly alluded to as ââ¬Å"the old Negro,â⬠(Faulkner, I) and ââ¬Å"the Negro manâ⬠(Faulkner, IV). The
Friday, August 21, 2020
Case Study of Dell Computer Corporation :: Business Marketing, Case Study, solution
Contextual investigation of Dell Computer Corporation Presentation Michael Dell established Dell Computer Corporation in 1984 with a straightforward vision and business idea â⬠that PCs can be worked to arrange and sold legitimately to purchasers. Michael accepted his methodology had two points of interest: (I) by passing merchants and retail sellers wiped out the markups of affiliates, and (ii) working to arrange extraordinarily diminished the expenses and dangers related with conveying huge supplies of parts, segments and completed merchandise. Its work to-request and sell-direct methodology demonstrated speaking to developing quantities of clients in the mid 1990s as worldwide PC deals rose to record level. In 1998, it was at that point the third producer in the United States with a 12% portion of PC showcase and an about 6% share around the world. The companyââ¬â¢s quickest developing business sector for as far back as a few quarters was Europe. In any event, during the Asia financial burdens in the mid 1998, Dellââ¬â¢s deals in Asia ro se 35%. Its deals at the Internet Web webpage were about $5 million per day and expected to reach $1.5 billion every year constantly end 1998. Since 1990, Dellââ¬â¢s stock cost had detonated from 23 pennies for each offer to $83 per share in May1998 with a 36,000% expansion and was the top performing enormous organization at that point. Dellââ¬â¢s head items included work area PCs, note pad PCs, workstations, and servers. Its items and administrations were sold in excess of 140 nations. The deals of work area PCs alone represented about 65% of Dellââ¬â¢s all out incomes while the rest represented about 33%. In mid 1988, the organization has 16,000 workers. Dellââ¬â¢s Background and Vision Dell Computer was first known as PCs Limited in 1984, selling PC parts and PCs under the brand name PCs Limited. Dellââ¬â¢s methodology was to sell legitimately to end clients; by dispensing with the retail markup, Dell had the option to sell IBM clones at about 40% underneath an IBM PC cost. By 1985, the organization was gathering its own PC structures and had around 40 workers. Deals had reached $33 million constantly finishing 1986. Michael Dell tried to refine the companyââ¬â¢s plan of action, include required creation limit, and construct a greater, more profound administration staff and corporate foundation while at same time minimizing expenses. It first worldwide workplaces were opened in 1987 and was renamed Dell Computer. In 1998, Dell turned into an open organization, brought $34.2 million up in its first contribution of regular stock. Michael Dellââ¬â¢s vision was for Dell Computer to get one of the best three PC organizations.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
This Is A Reflective Essay About Android Applications - 550 Words
This Is A Reflective Essay: It Is About Android Applications (Term Paper Sample) Content: NameAffiliationDateSELF REFLECTION ON APP REVIEWThe review of this app gives me very distinctive things between the language structures used by young children and those of an adult. Children like vivid demonstration such as pictures. This is actually of great help to them as they teach them non-verbal communication and farcical expression. On the other hand, adults prefer written instructions on an app. They like reading these instructions as a means of direction. In my own opinion, when creating an app meant for children especially those with SLI and ASD, its very important to consider using a lot of images and videos, which they will just enjoy, and at the same time learning some critical aspects of communication. Very brief and few written directions would also serve a great deal. Adult apps would be awesome to them if it has good directives on how to play the game as reading the instructions is the most effective way of communication to them. Children without SLI and ASD can simply play the game of Monster Pet Shop by simply following the instructions. Adults can be guiding them only when they have difficulties understanding some of the instructions. They will simply understand the language used since by first trying to play, they get a vivid meaning of the language. Children with SLI and ASD as well would simply understand the language used by first trying to play the game and getting meaning out of images and videos in the app. With this, just some simple directions from adults will be needed.Knowledge of language convections is critical in social communication. It is evident from the app review that children get some convection while playing the game and this helps them in their social communication. For instance, when they touch the monster different parts and the monster shows different reactions, the child must identify the parts which make the monster happy. This helps the child to develop a caring habit for others. It is also of grea t help to children with autistic disorders.While creating apps, it is important to understand that children have a lower understanding of language code as compared to adults since they have not developed language skills. Creating apps using gestures and simple words is the solution. Children with SLI and ASD would require more usage of gestures and images. By doing this, technology will be serving a great role in facilitating language development of children. To add on this, if we can have our apps facilitating the children share their resources in the games like in the Mons...
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Legal Data Implications Issues - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 327 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2018/12/14 Category Ethics Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Health Care Essay Did you like this example? Tom Beauchamp and James children discovered health care ethics principles in the year 1985. Ethics principles were established to guide in decision making when health practitioners inevitably encountered difficult circumstances concerning patients. The ethical principles are contained in the data protection Act 1998(DPA1998) besides caldicoff principles of an authentic practice on the additional users of the personal data. The ethical have both legal and illegal impact on both parties involved. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) powers were under justice department and also were under the United States labor department from 1933 to 1940. Its functions ceased when most of its features were transferred to new entities. Uncertainty about legal and authentic requirement has remained unanswered up to date (Danley 2010). The two critical implication to address are confidentiality and quality management. Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Legal Data Implications Issues" essay for you Create order Cases against unlimited data overwhelmed the (INS). Health related information requires a high level of restriction. Records confidentiality through security fixed locks cabins should be the best solution. Moreover, cabin keys should be under one staff member management. As a result, patients will have confidence and visit the hospital when need arises since their data is not exposed to a third party. This practice should be impressed, and in case of a computer system, systems should be fitted with passwords and accessed by only authorized individuals. Besides, despite safeguarding the well-being of patients, the idea will have marketing advantage since most patients prefer information confidence. Similarly, data and documentaries should be safely kept. Anyone or individuals or object engendering misplacement of data should try to evade. The idea aims to enhanceà à accessibility and quick handling when they are required for health care use. Hence, its successful implementing will accord patients trust since it will confirm a high management level. In essence, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ethical data issues should be utilized for our healthcare data management implementations. References Danley, J. V. (2010). SEVIS: The Impact of Homeland Security on American Colleges and Universities. New Directions for Institutional Research, (146), 63-73.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
The Warnock Report Essay - 943 Words
The publication of the Warnock Report in 1978 caused ground-breaking changes to the education system. It changed the way in which society viewed children and young people with disabilities, and, moved towards a philosophy for an inclusive education (Moore 2009). Warnock (2010) states that many reports and a considerable amount of legislation have emerged since then, These include, 1981 Education Act establishing the recommendation s, The National Curriculum 1988, The Education Act 1993, 1994 Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, Excellence for All Children 1997, 2001 SEN and Disability Act, ââ¬ËBarriers to Inclusion (Department for Education and Skills 2004) ââ¬ËSpecial Educational Needs: A New Look (2005). In the 2005 review Warnock suggests that there should be no priority made to mainstream or special schools, only the needs of the child, also, either setting should be considered as long as it has provision to support the needs of the pupil (Warnock, Norwich and Terzi, 2010) HAVE I REF ALL ABOVE CORRECTLY Gov.uk (2001) states inclusion is about recognising that every child, irrespective of their background or situation are individuals, and they have the right to access a curriculum that is planned to meet their different requirements. It can be their personal, social, emotional and academic development that may be affected if the work they are given is not differentiated for their individual needs. The Equality ActShow MoreRelatedHow Can An Early Years Setting Support The Needs Of Children With Speech Language And Communication Needs1116 Words à |à 5 Pages(EYFS) with a focus on Speech, Language and communication needs (SLCN). This will be researched by having a brief look at the History of SEN including Legislation and the Warnock Report 1978 and the 1981 Education Act as according to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee Special Educational Needs review ââ¬Å"The Warnock Report in 1978, Followed by the 1981 Education Act, Radically changed the conceptualization of Special Educational Needsâ⬠(The Stationery Office (HMSO), 2006b; pg.11). MovingRead MoreThe Development Of Education During The Uk Since 19941678 Words à |à 7 Pagesattaining the same goals. The 1960ââ¬â¢s was the period of consolidation with the regard to SEN. The Plowden report (1967) recommended that slow learners should be paid greater attention. Similarly, in 1968, the Summerfield Report recommended an increase in the number of educational psychologists and extended testing and assessing of children. Looking legally with in the 1960ââ¬â¢s, the Plowden report also stated the end of corporal punishment in Primary schools. Research has shown that physical punishmentRead MoreThe Carter Review Of Initial Teacher Training952 Words à |à 4 PagesIn recent provision changes, the ââ¬ËCarter review of Initial teacher training (ITT)ââ¬â¢ (Carter, 2015) highlights how ITT can be improved in order to enhance support for students. Issues concerning ITT raised by ââ¬ËHOC: Third Reportââ¬â¢ in 2006 that criticised the ââ¬Ëlack of training on SENââ¬â¢ due to the ââ¬Ënon-compulsory modules in initial teacher trainingââ¬â¢ (HOC, 2006, p.69). For example , evidence reported by Hartley (2010, p.2) suggested that students were underperforming, as ââ¬Ëpupils aged 11 in 2008, 84.5% withRead MoreContrasting models of disability Essay913 Words à |à 4 Pagesabout children in special education. In 1978 the Warnock Report (DES, 1978) created the terms ââ¬Ëspecial educational needsââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëlearning difficultiesââ¬â¢ (E214, Unit 2, p. 84), two phrases which are still in use today and one of which is illustrated in Appendix A when discussing possible accompanying learning difficulties associated with Asperger Syndrome such as Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. However it could be argued that today, although the Warnock Report wanted to remove the stigma of being labelled (E214Read MoreEssay on Legislation1889 Words à |à 8 Pagesdiscuss the beliefs and social and political influences that have shaped contemporary service provision for children and young people This essay will give information about different pieces of legislation including Education Act (1944), The Mary Warnock Report (1978), and ââ¬ËEvery Child Mattersââ¬â¢ (2003). The essay is also going to discuss The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2007. In May 1940 Britain had been at war and shortly after Neville Chamberlain who was conservative Prime Minister was forcedRead MoreInclusive Education: Laws and Policies3095 Words à |à 13 PagesInclusive education INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: LAWS AND POLICIES FOR INCLUSIVE LEARNING LEVEL 3 ADVANCED BTEC Learning outcome 1: Demonstrate understanding of what is meant by the term Inclusive Education and its relationship to the Warnock commission of 1981. Inclusive Education is a philosophy which challenges the traditional approach to regard disability and disabled people as an after-thought stating that disability is a part of common experience of humanity. It is the approachRead MoreWhat Constitutes High Quality Education for Early Years provision? 1321 Words à |à 6 Pagesneed for state provision of early years childcare the importance of the home was highlighted in the statement; The home affords advantages for the early stages of education which cannot be reproduced by any school or public institution. Acland report (1908) It was further recognised however that home was not always the best place for young children to develop. Serious concerns were highlighted surrounding the options to state offered provision. Children could be left unattended or in the handsRead MorePublic Presence Of Prostitution : Public Stigma And Moral Taint Essay1440 Words à |à 6 Pagesbut give territorial authorities power to make by-laws concerning the location of brothels (Abel 2014). There have been reported some cases where local authorities have attempted to severely limit the placement on brothels (Barnett Casavant 2011; Warnock Wheen 2012). Nevertheless, by-laws found to place an unreasonable restricting on brothel location are often abolished by higher authorities as territorial authorities are not allowed to prohibit brothels overall (Abel 2015). According to Abel (2015)Read MoreIdentify a Policy and Evaluate Its Impacts on Your Practice, Reflecting on the Effect the Policy Has on Outcomes for Children and Young P eople.5815 Words à |à 24 Pagesdistinction should be due to medical or educational concerns. Inevitably it was decided that a child should be selected for special education when recommended by a doctor. This is still apparent to the present day a child has to have a doctorââ¬â¢s report to have a statement of special educational needs (Messer and Meldrum 1995). It is vital to understand the historical development of SEN and disability if we are to fully comprehend the continuous development of inclusion as a contemporary policyRead MoreSpecial Education Needs3359 Words à |à 14 Pagesleading some-what normal lives. I will also write about the medical and social model, what they are and how they relate to SEN, I will then write about the SEN Code of Practice and special educational needs coordinators and touch upon the 1987 Warnock report. The definition of SEN according to the 1996 Education act is, a child has special educational needs if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational requirements to be made for them (Farrell, 2003). A child is said to
Compare and contrast the actions Essay Example For Students
Compare and contrast the actions Essay Compare and contrast the actions, characteristics and language of Romeo and Juliet before they meet and at the end of the play, with particular reference to act 2 scene 2 and act 5 scene 3 In Romeo and Juliet there are two main changes in character, most definitely until they met each other they seemed to be much different than they are later on in the play. Before they met at the banquet Romeo was in Love with Rosaline and he is disheartened and depressed and he used to feel sorry for himself sad hours seem so long because Rosaline didnt feel the same way about him. Juliet was a rather immature child and was under strict supervision of her parents, she was kept from the outside world, and didnt really have much of a life outside her home. She couldnt really have a proper relationship because she was only to have a lover if her parents agreed with them or chose them for her. They definitely wouldnt have agreed with her to marry Romeo because he is a Montague and she was a Capulet. As soon as Romeo and Juliet meet each other they share a sonnet with, and this really shows signs of maturity. In act 2 scene 2, this is only a few hours after the banquet we can see from Juliets proposal of marriage that she is willing to follow throughout the world This shows how Juliet matured in the space of one evening, after falling in love with Romeo she now feels much more independent and now she can even see her life in a different perspective, and maybe even parted from her family. On the other hand Romeo realises he has found the woman he wants to do be with for the rest of his life and uses such language to demonstrate his love for her there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords he would prefer to die by 20 of the capulets swords rather than living without her love. Romeo uses such language to emphasise that she is worthy and angel like, two of the fairest stars in all the heaven he is comparing her eyes to the bright stars of the night, and he also us es other imagery to express his opinion of her beauty The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars her cheeks are even brighter and more attractive than her eyes. Romeos has a sudden change of heart from Rosaline, he realises Juliet is the one from him and he was more in love with being in love before, but now he is no longer love sick and he has changed and he does love her and believes its not just a crush. In act 5 scene 3 Romeo has a sudden change of character when he meets with Paris, Paris acts very aggressive and full of hatred towards Romeo for killing Tybalt and blames him for the suicide of Juliet, but Romeo doesnt want to kill Paris all he wants his to die next to Juliet, put not another sin upon my head Romeo begs Paris not to fight. In Romeos death speech there is an extended change of character from Romeo, He apologises to Tybalt With that hand that cut thy youth in twain to sunder this that was thine enemy he wants the man who killed tybalt to die and that is himself so he is dedicating part off his death to tybalt. In Juliets much shorter and rushed death speech we learn that all juliet wants now she has seen Romeo dead is to kill herself o happy dagger, this is thy sheath. This is a very brief speech by Juliet but she thinks there is no aim in living if Romeo isnt alive.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Prepare a Report Essay Example
Prepare a Report Essay How to Write a Project Report 1. Why is the report important? If you wish to secure a good mark for your project, it is absolutely essential that you write a good report. It is the report which is marked, not the program or anything else you might have constructed during the project period. No matter how significant your achievements, if you do not write up your work, and write it up well, you will obtain a poor mark. It is essential to understand that the report will be read and marked by a number of examiners (normally 2 4), only one of whom your supervisor will have any familiarity with the work which the report describes. Examiners are not mind-readers, and cannot give credit for work which you have done but not included in the report. 2. What are the examiners looking for? Each project report is marked initially by two examiners, one of whom is the supervisor. Each examiner fills in an onlineà mark form, giving marks for various aspects of the report and an overall mark. Studying the mark sheet will give you a good idea of what aspects of the report are important. The notes to examiners which accompany the mark sheet use the terms perfect, quite good, abysmal and so on to describe the attributes of a particular numerical mark (e. . 5 is satisfactory). There is a separate document which goes into great detail about what precisely satisfactory means in particular contexts, but Im not sure that these definitions are widely used: most examiners believe that they have an accurate and objective understanding of what is satisfactory. Note that supervisors might specify on the mark sheet that a particular aspect of the project is to be assessed for example, a review of the project area even if that area is not covered in the project report. We will write a custom essay sample on Prepare a Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Prepare a Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Prepare a Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Decisions on what is to be assessed are the supervisors responsibility, but you should be aware of the standard headings, think carefully about what you present (or do not present) under each, and discuss and agree it with your supervisor. Remember that your report is an academic dissertation, not a popular article or commercial proposal. For example, rather than describing only a series of events and a final product, try to establish criteria, present arguments, derive principles, pose and answer questions, measure success, analyse alternatives nd so on. Where a project has been undertaken with industrial support, the significance of that support for the project, and the relevance of the project to the supporting industry, should be discussed. 3. The mechanics of writing The problem you have to solve is this: to transfer your own experiences of doing the project, and the knowledge you have gained, from your brain onto paper in a coherent, logical and correct form. There are several ways of achieving this. Different authors have different techniques. My own method, which I think is quite common among technical authors, is to write as quickly as I can, without regard for coherency, structure or order, until I have written down (or rather, typed in) all the points I can think of. If my brain is running faster than my fingers and a thought pops into my head which belongs in another part of the document, I skip to the end of the page and insert a few words there to remind me to expand that point later, then resume where I was. The aim is to transfer as much relevant material from brain to paper as quickly as possible. This method has been called the brain dump. It is practised, I think, by some writers of fiction as well as by technical authors. After three hours of brain dumping I might have four or five pages of disorganized text. I then spend perhaps six hours putting the text into order and tightening up the prose, after which I might have three pages of good-quality prose. This method of writing is an iterative process, with periods of brain dumping alternating with periods of tidying-up. At the rate of three pages of polished text every nine hours, a typical 60-page PR3 project report will take you about four weeks to complete, working full-time. You must allow time to prepare the appendices (e. g. program listings) and illustrations. Good-quality illustrations, in particular, take a long time to prepare. You should therefore allow at leastà six weeksà to write the report. If you kept a note-book during the project period, you will find the writing-up process much easier. 4. How to write well Many students appear not to realize how difficult it is to write well. Any type of writing (except perhaps advertising copy) is difficult, but technical writing is particularly hard. There are many books which address the subject of good technical writing. By far the best among those which I have seen isà Scientists Must Writeà by Robert Barrass (1982). Though published over twenty years ago, this superb little book is still in print. There are several copies in the J. B. Morrell library, but since it costs only ? 11. 19 (from theà Internet Bookshop), you would be well advised to buy a copy and to read it from cover to cover. 4. 1. Precision You must strive first to be absolutely precise. When you write, it is not sufficient thatà youà know what you mean; neither is it sufficient that your writing admits of the meaning which you intend: it must admit of no other meaning. What you write must not be capable of misinterpretation. Take exceptional care to choose the right word for the occasion. Do not, for example, write optimum if you mean good. Approximate means close, so very approximate means very close which is not what many people seem to think it means. 4. 2. Vigour Precision in writing is mainly a matter of taking sufficient care. Good writing is not only precise, however, it isà vigorous, and that is much harder to achieve. It helps if you have read widely, especially novels. Here are some hints which might help you to write forcefully and vigorously. Prefer short sentences to long sentences. Prefer short words to long words, provided that the short word has the meaning you need. Terseness is a great virtue in technical writing. (But dont go too far; remember Horaces observation: Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio. ) Avoid circumlocutions. In almost all sectors of the computing marketplace can be replaced in most contexts by almost everywhere. The question of whether to use the passive voice in technical writing is a thorny one. Most older writers still write a program was written rather than I wrote a program . Many of your examiners might share this preference for, or prejudice in favour of, the passive voice, but this style is passing out of favour in all technical writing, and I advise you not to use it. Whatever you do, do not use the royal we (we wrote a program when you mean I wrote a program). There is general agreement that Latin phrases are best avoided in technical writing (but the occasional Latin quotation might lend a spurious air of erudition! ) Nevertheless, many careful writers have their own favourite Latin phrases which find occasional use. The best rule is that a Latin phrase is acceptable if it abbreviates a circumlocutionary English phrase. Mutatis mutandis, for example, one of my own favourites, is permissible in place of making the appropriate changes, since any English gloss seems to be ugly and unwieldy. I. e. (note the roman font and punctuation) is often useful in place of in other words or that is, and is widely understood. Quite often, however, X, i. e. ,à Y can be replaced by Y, because the writer realized while writingà Xà thatà Yà said the same, only better. E. g. is overused and best used sparingly; prefer for instance or for example. 4. 3. Spelling and grammar You must take exceptional care to spell correctly. Poor spelling is a distraction to the proficient reader. In most cases there is very little excuse nowadays for spelling errors; there are many excellent spell-checker programs which make a good job of finding the errors for you, and excellent (paper) dictionaries which will tell you wh at the correct spelling is. Be especially careful with words whose common misspelling is a correct spelling of a different word, in particular the following pairs: lead/led; loose/lose; affect/effect. It is dangerous to allow the spell-checker to correct a misspelling by itself; many such hilarious corrections have been reported, for example recently inà New Scientist. Believe the spell-checker. Very many people, for example, on finding that the spell-checker questions idiosyncracy [sic], say to themselves it must be missing from the dictionary file, and leave the word alone. It is for a good reason. If you have a medical condition which makes it difficult for you to spell correctly, make sure that your supervisor knows about it, so that it can be taken into account by the examiners. If poor spelling is a distraction which impedes understanding, poor grammar is more so. There are so many potential grammatical solecisms that it would be inappropriate to attempt to list them here. Read Fowlersà Modern English Usageà for guidance. This book has been revised several times since its first publication in 1926. The most recent (1998) edition is probably the best to use, not because its recommendations are more permissive or up-to-date, but because it draws attention to traps which it would not have occurred to Fowler in 1926 that anyone could fall into. The original 1926 edition is famous for its vigorous, fiery language, which has been successively watered down in later revisions. Take care with apostrophes. Historically, the apostrophe denoted the omission of one or more letters: dont = do not, Johns book = John his book. For this reason, careful writers of British English restrict the possessive use of the apostrophe to animate possessors. You may write Johns book but not the programs function, since (so the argument goes) one cannot write the program his function: you must write the function of the program instead. This rule is being steadily eroded under American influence, and will probably soon be obsolete. I mention the animate possessor rule in order to illustrate and to explain a very common blunder. Neverà use an apostrophe with a possessive pronoun. Its means it is (the letter thats omitted is an i),à notà it his, which is plain silly. One never sees spurious apostrophes in his, hers, ours, yours, theirs; so why does one so often see its in place of its, which is the correct possessive pronoun? The brain of the experienced reader, on seeing its, performs a lexical-level macro-expansion, replacing its by it is. This then fails to make syntactic sense in the context, necessitating a backtracking and re-parsing operation, and conscious expenditure of effort. It really does slow down, and consequently annoy, the reader. This crass and ignorant blunder probably does more to distract and to impede the reader of students reports than any other grammatical solecism. Summary: its = it is (needed rarely, if at all, in formal writing). Its is the pronoun (This is my program. Its purpose is to .) You almost certainly mean its. Even if you yourself do not place a strong emphasis on good spelling and good grammar, most of your examiners do, some fanatically. Most examiners will be irritated by poor spelling and poor grammar. It is always worth doing whatever you can, short of bribery, to put your examiner in a good mood. Write well and spell well, for this reason if for no other! 4. 4. Typography When I prepared my own final-year project report, I wrote it with pen and ink and handed the manuscript to the departmental secretary who typed it for me on an IBM typewriter. Modern practice is different, and now you yourself are responsible for producing a computer-typeset report. This means that you must be familiar both with the formal requirements set out in the Students Handbook (restricting the number of pages, type size, width of margins, and so on) and with the rudiments of typography. You will not be penalized severely, if at all, if you violate typographical conventions, but good typography creates a subliminal impression akin to that of good proportion in a painting, and is desirable for that reason. Since it is a matter of simply learning and following the rules, you should try to do so. You should learn at least enough (for example) to know the difference between the hyphen, minus, en-dash and em-dash, and when to use each of them. The best and most famous typographical reference book isà Rules for compositors and readers at the University Press, Oxfordà by Horace Hart, known colloquially and universally as Harts Rules. It is a small book which you should probably read from cover to cover, but you may skip the section on Russian orthography if your report contains no Russian words. This book, like Fowler, has been revised continually since its first publication (in 1904, though it was in use within the O. U. P. ince 1893). The latest edition is dated 1983. It is still in print, almost a century after its first publication, and at ? 8. 79 (from theà Internet Bookshop), well worth buying. 4. 5. Illustrations Your report should generally contain illustrations (figures or diagrams), but they must be relevant. Ask yourself if the illustration helps the reader to un derstand the text. If the text is readily comprehensible without the illustration, delete the illustration. If it is not, it is usually better to make the text clearer than to add a diagram. All illustrations should be prepared by an appropriate program, such asà pic,à xfigà orà grap. They should not be hand-drawn. The only common exception to this rule is circuit diagrams: given the current state of the art in schematic-entry packages, a hand-drawn circuit diagram is usually preferable to a computer-drawn one. If possible, include figures close to the text which refers to them, rather than all together in an appendix. Circuit diagrams are, again, a possible exception to this rule. It is normal to list tables and figures at the beginning of the report, after the table of contents. 5. Structure Saepe stilum vertas. Horace 5. 1. Top-level structure At the top level, a typical report is organized in the following way. 1. Abstract. (This is a couple of paragraphs no more which summarizes the content of the report. It must be comprehensible to someone who has not read the rest of the report. ) 2. Introduction. (The scope of the project, setting the scene for the remainder of the report. ) 3. Previous work. (One or more review chapters, describing the research you did at the beginning of the project period. ) 4. Several chapters describing what you have done, focusing on the novel aspects of your own work. 5. Further work. (A chapter describing possible ways in which your work could be continued or developed. Be imaginative but realistic. ) 6. Conclusions. (This is similar to the abstract. The difference is that you should assume here that the reader of the conclusions has read the rest of the report. ) 7. References and appendices. 5. 2. References References must be relevant. A typical PR3 project report might contain about one page of pertinent references, if the initial research period was well spent. Do not include references which you have not read, no matter how relevant you think they might be. If you refer to standard material which is covered by a large number of text-books, choose one or two really good ones and cite those, rather than a long list of mediocre texts. There are many styles for citing references. Although strict standards (e. g. British Standards) for citing references exist, my advice is not to bother with them; instead, find a reputable journal in the library and copy its style. Alternatively, copy the example below. Its important to be consistent, complete and unambiguous; beyond that, it doesnt matter much what you do. Example citation style: Citations in text:Mander, in Notes on a system specification method [Mander 1983], gives the following as described by Briggs [1983a] Thimblebys guidelines [Thimbleby 1983] suggest that Different methodologies have been examined [Tully 1983]. Several recent publications in this field [Wand 1980d, ACM 1971] have been very influential. List of references at end of report: References| ACM 1971. | Association for Computing Machinery,à Second symposium on problems in the optimisation of data communication systems, ACM (1971). | Briggs 1983a. | J. S. Briggs, The design of AIR and its use in Ada separate compilation, inà SERC workshop on Ada software tools interfaces, ed. P. J. Wallis, University of Bath (1983). Downes 1982. | V. A. Downes, S. J. Goldsack,à Programming embedded systems with Ada, Prentice-Hall (1982). | Mander 1983. | K. C. Mander,à Notes on a system specification method, York Computer Science report no. 61, University of York (1983). | Thimbleby 1983. | H. W. Thimbleby, Guidelines for `manipulative text editing,à Behaviour and Information Technology,à 2, 127 161 (1983). | | If you adopt this style, when you cite a reference, you need not repeat the authors name or authors names (Jones and Sanderson [Jones Sanderson 1999] have shown ). Write instead: Jones and Sanderson [1999] have shown , and list the reference as Jones Sanderson 1999. Alternatively, a system of numbered references, such as the default format produced by the Unixà referà tool in conjunction withà troff, is acceptable. I myself much prefer numbered citation styles, which I find much less obtrusive and easier on the eye; e. g. Jones and Sanderson? have shown or Jones and Sanderson [1] have shown . These forms, which are allowed by the regulations in the Handbook, seem to be the two dominant citation styles in academic journals. You may wish to refer to electronic sources, particularly material found on the World-Wide Web. It is not enough to put found on WWW in place of a citation. The web page Bibliographic Formats for Citing Electronic Information gives advice on citing on-line sources. If possible, avoid citing unpublished literature. It is however acceptable to cite university reports, such as this Departments YCS series, and PhD theses (although getting hold of the latter can be almost impossible). References are always cited in the text. Other works youve made use of but not cited should be listed in a section called Bibliography. Note that et al. requires a period after the abbreviation al. (for alia). It means and others, and may be used only to refer to people, typically in lists of references. It is the animate form of etc. , which also requires a period. 5. 3. Lower-level structure Structure is a recursive concept. A well-structured report has its top-level sections well ordered, and it is easy to get this right; but each section must in itself be well ordered, and that is more difficult. Most paper documents, and many on-line documents, are read linearly from beginning to end. This is certainly true of an examiner reading a project report. Consequently, the writer of a well-structured document avoids forward references wherever possible. Try to avoid writing as we shall see in chapter 10, , especially if the material in chapter 10 is essential to an understanding of the text at the point where the reference occurs. Occasionally such references are unavoidable, but more often than not they are a sign that the text needs to be re-ordered. In the old days, re-ordering text entailed cutting and pasting with real scissors and real paste. Nowadays, the word-processor has made these operations so easy that there is no excuse for slovenly structure. Take your time, and keep rearranging words or phrases within sentences, sentences within paragraphs, paragraphs within sections and sections within the whole report until you have got it right. Aim for a logical progression from beginning to end, with each sentence building on the previous ones. If the chapters are numbered 1, 2, 3, , then the sections within (say) chapter 1 will be numbered 1. 1, 1. 2, . It is permissible to sub-divide a section: the sub-sections within section 1. 1 will be numbered 1. . 1, 1. 1. 2, . Do not however nest sub-sections to more than four levels: sub-sub-section 1. 2. 3. 4 is acceptable, but 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 is not. It is quite possible, with care, to write even a large and complex book without using more than three levels. Footnotes are a nuisance to the reader. They interrupt the linear flow of text and necessitate a mental stack-pushing and stack-popping which demand conscious effort. There are rare occasions when footnotes are acceptable, but they are so rare that it is best to avoid them altogether. To remove a footnote, first try putting it in-line, surrounded by parentheses. It is likely that the poor structure which was disguised by the footnote apparatus will then become apparent, and can be improved by cutting and pasting. 6. The role of artefacts in projects Deep down, all students seem to believe that their project is to write a program (or, to build a circuit). They believe that they will be judged by how much their program does. They are amazed when their supervisor is unconcerned about the inclusion or non-inclusion of a listing in the report. They fear that they will be penalized if their program is small-scale or if they do not make grandiose claims for its power and functionality. This leads to reports heavy with code and assertions about code, but light on reasoning. Students omit the reasoning because they are short of time and think the code more important, and thereby they lose credit they could have had. It leads also to the omission of testing. Hence there are assertions about the extent of implementation, but no evidence (in the form of records of testing) to back them up. In summary, credit for the implementation is not the whole story; you should not feel under pressure to make claims that you cannot support. Your reports should clearly separate specification, design, implementation and testing. The program doesà X should more honestly be I wanted the program to doà X; I designed it to do nearly-X; I implemented it to do most-of-X; my testing shows that it did some-of-Xà (and here is the evidence of that). Taking this advice into account can much improve your mark. 7. You and your supervisor Writing is a solitary pursuit. Whereas your supervisor will guide you through the early stages of your project work, you must write the report on your own. It is a University assessment, and the rules on plagiarism and collusion (do consult the Students Handbook! ), and the conventions which restrict the amount of help a supervisor can give, apply. Nevertheless, most supervisors will be happy to read and to comment on drafts of sections of your project report before you hand it in, if you give them enough time to do so. Its also a good idea to ask your supervisor to suggest some high-quality past projects in a similar field to yours, and to look them up in the departmental library. This will give you an idea of what is required. 8. Summary 1. Good writing is difficult, but it is worth taking the trouble to write well. 2. Leonard was trying to form his style on Ruskin: he understood him to be the greatest master of English prose. He read forward steadily, occasionally making a few notes. Let us consider a little each of these characters in succession, and first (for of the shafts enough has been said already), what is very peculiar to this church its luminousness. Was there anything to be learnt from this fine sentence? Could he adapt it to the needs of daily life? Could he introduce it, with modifications, when he next wrote a letter to his brother, the lay reader? For example: Let us consider a little each of these characters in succession, and first (for of the absence of ventilation enough has been said already), what is very peculiar to this flat its obscurity. Something told him that the modifications would not do; and that something, had he known it, was the spirit of English Prose. My flat is dark as well as stuffy. Those were the words for him.
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