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struan80 |
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struan80 World Chat Champion
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Riejufixing |
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Riejufixing World Chat Champion
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A100man |
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A100man World Chat Champion
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Posted: 23:58 - 05 Mar 2019 Post subject: Re: English Ignorant |
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struan80 wrote: | I left school 35 years ago with a D O-level. Most of my career was spent writing various procedures and reports. This was easy as everything had a step. It was easy to write one sentence.
How can I learn to write an essay?
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Lots of sentences, one after another... ____________________ Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750
Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600 |
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
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Sister Sledge |
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Sister Sledge World Chat Champion
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Grubscrew |
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Grubscrew Scooby Slapper
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Posted: 10:07 - 06 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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Crikey you got a D, lucky you. I took my English 6 times, and got 3 E grades and 3 U’s, ( which for those wanting to know the meaning of a U it is Ungraded!
Never passed it. ____________________ FJR1300/CBR1000F |
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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
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Jewlio Rides Again LLB |
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Jewlio Rides Again LLB World Chat Champion
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Baffler186 |
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Baffler186 World Chat Champion
Joined: 31 May 2013 Karma :
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Posted: 16:42 - 06 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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Firstly, why do you need to write an essay now?
Secondly, I work with a lot of people with PhDs, Masters degrees etc. They are often quite thick when it comes to managing people and actually getting stuff done. It's the administrators with no degrees that can usually be relied upon to sort stuff out, whilst the clever bods throw their ideas around and generally make life a misery for everyone else because they are so disorganised and don't know how to interact with people.
Horses for courses, but if your course is grafting and/or getting stuff done, I would not worry about what qualifications you have. ____________________ Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic |
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hellkat |
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hellkat Super Spammer
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hellkat |
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hellkat Super Spammer
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hellkat |
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hellkat Super Spammer
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asta1 |
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asta1 Scooby Slapper
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Posted: 18:59 - 06 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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Essays are easy enough, the key is in the structure, not the writing.
If I'm to do an essay, I start with a spider diagram. Write down every topic you want to cover in 5 words of less, then add in the supporting info off those points. You can also chuck in figures, references etc of these main topics to support your argument.
Next, look at the info you've compiled. This is what you are going to say, so what do you want the reader to take away? You should be able to summarise the 'point' of the entire thing in one, maybe two sentences.
Now you know where the thing is going, or what you're trying to communicate, go back to the spider plot.
You have say 10 main points, those are your main topics or sections or headings or whatever. Organise them in the best order to get your point across and write down these as bullet points. Underline them.
Now look at the supporting points of each one. Write down 2 or 3 of the most relevant ones under each underlined 'section' as defined, again as bullet points.
What you now have is a single introductory sentence communicating the point of the essay, say 10 main topics points, and 2 or 3 sub-points to make on each topic. These sub points are your paragraphs.
Now comes the easy bit. All you have to do, is take each individual sub-point and turn it into a short paragraph. Turning a bullet point into 200 words or so with a bit of exposition, some data, an opinion on the topic or whatever is easy enough to do.
Repeat for each topic.
Finally, go back to the underlined topics and turn these into a paragraph each as well. This should cover the top level info for that topic and explain how it ties into the main body of the text.
Your essay is now written. Add the original one or two sentence summary and bung it at the start of the piece. This is now your intro. Flesh it out a bit with some background on the area, the topic, why you care about it and why the reader should too.
Now take the same 2 sentence summary and do the same at the end. This is your conclusion. Flesh it out by supporting your original statement by referencing back to your main topic points from the body. The conclusion should basically tie the points together into a cohesive whole, but less is more. No more than 300-500 words or it gets confusing.
And that's it. A quick skim through to ensure it flows and check for continuity and you've won. If you're short on content, select a couple of the extra sub-points on the spider plot that didn't make it into the original plan as the top 2 or 3 sub-topics and ad them in. Too long, back to the plan and cut whichever is least useful to the overall argument.
As a side note, for a technical topic, I'd expect the initial building of the spider plot and structure to take roughly 2 or 3 times longer than writing up, so don't be too disheartened if it seems to take an age.
Once you know exactly what to say, you'll see the word count grow really fast.
So there you go. Essay writing for the OCD afflicted 101. ____________________ CBT Acquired: 09/07/2015
A2 Licence Passed: 12/02/16
Current Bike: Yamaha MT-07 bought 02/07/16 |
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hellkat |
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hellkat Super Spammer
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Posted: 19:07 - 06 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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There ya go: Asta made some nice straightforward steps for ya to follow to essay-writing glory ... ____________________ Not nearly as interesting in real life. |
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Lord Percy |
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Lord Percy World Chat Champion
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waffles |
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waffles World Chat Champion
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Posted: 11:10 - 10 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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Fishbones.
Introduction - set your scene, define any key terms, state the main points or questions that you are going to talk about but do so briefly. If you are going to use evidence or examples then outline them in your intro. This is the head of your fishbone essay.
Main body - your central theme (spine of your fishbone) will run through and your points must be connected to it. One paragraph per point. Follow PEEL to structure your paragraphs; Point, Evidence, Explain, Link. Your paragraphs should link together and then back to your central theme.
Conclusion - summarise your key points, clearly state your opinion(s), make sure that you have either answered the original question or shown evidence to support your central theme. Tie everything together to form the tail of your fishbones.
Anyone reading your work should be able to read the introduction and conclusion without the main body and still understand your position. ____________________ Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125 |
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steve the grease |
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steve the grease Crazy Courier
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Hetzer |
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Hetzer Super Spammer
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
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Posted: 23:28 - 25 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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Read lots of books. You'll pick it up.
I always maintained (and still do) that English as a subject is an exercise in applied bullshit with a heavy dash of elitist snobbery.
I got 95% overall in my English Higher. I spent most of the year being thrown out of the class for being disruptive and did the literature exam on a set text I hadn't read.
I can thank the study of English for totally removing any enjoyment I may once have derived from a) Poetry (all of it) and b) the plays of shakespere.
There is nothing quite like being forced to analyse something line-by line to create a loathing of it.
It's like trying to make you enjoy riding a bike by making you sit down and calculate the compression ratio and exhaust compression wave dynamics. Yes, there is perhaps something to be learned about a bike by doing so but it does nothing for your appreciation of riding it.
I light my fire using pages torn out of second hand copies of novels by 19th century female authors (I'd use copies of the collected works of Phillip Larkin - now there was a grade A tosser if ever one existed- but you don't see them very often).
There is so much snobbery on the part of the "literati" I'm surprised they don't disappear up their own arses. "Oh, you're reading FANTASY? Why don't you try a proper book. Then hand you some piece of dreary nonsense where nothing at all happens other than the author self fornicating about how well their iambic rythm flowed.
The head of my school English department once told me that plot was the least necessary ingredient of a novel... Like there is ANY other reason for a novel to exist other than to tell a story to the reader. No plot, no-point. Not that a book with an amazing plot can't be really badly written to the point I put it down but the best written fiction in the world where nothing happens is just pointless.
I do not understand to this day why English is considered a "core" subject. The way it's taught, it gives little to no understanding of communication and structure and a whole boatload of extraneous bullshit that does nothing to further your understanding of other people or your ability to communicate with them. I swear it's been made mandatory so all the Eton-Cambridge-civil service set can feel their english and social sciences MA is actually worth something. If it was taught like foreign languages are taught, there might be some point to it. But even then.Who the hell are they to say the way I speak and write English is wrong. It's MY language.
Anyway. Good luck in studying your pointless subject. My advice is to read books. Read lots of them. If you want to get good at writing. Sit down and write. If you find you are not enjoying it, put it down and try another one. It's how you get good at English in the same way that you get good at riding motorbikes by riding motorbikes, not by measuring valve clearances.
Ooh.I got a bit ranty there eh? ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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Diggs |
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Diggs World Chat Champion
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Posted: 23:42 - 25 Mar 2019 Post subject: |
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To echo Stinkwheel, my kids are taught that it is more important to understand how a sentence fits together than its actual message, which I think is the wrong way of looking at English.
When I was at school many decades ago our old English teacher taught us that the best way to get a message across is to write down the main points in any order, then sort them into a logical sequence. Write an introduction that repeats the question or task so the reader is in no doubt about what you intend to communicate, then write a conclusion stating that you've achieved it so the reader is left in no doubt. A bit of filler so the main points flow and Bob's yer' uncle - you have an essay. ____________________ Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting... |
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Ribenapigeon |
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Ribenapigeon Super Spammer
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kawakid |
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kawakid World Chat Champion
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Jewlio Rides Again LLB |
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Jewlio Rides Again LLB World Chat Champion
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Posted: 00:23 - 02 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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Do a law degree. You'll soon be fucked off with essay writing. ____________________ Mpd72: I can categorically say i’m Brighter than that, no matter how I come across on here.
HAHAHA HAHAHA Blew Chilly MyCrowSystems |
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Diggs |
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Diggs World Chat Champion
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Posted: 10:08 - 02 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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Kawakid, we didn't do Simon's dad's drive together years ago, did we? Its a long shot but given your name and location it is just possible. ____________________ Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting... |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 5 years, 19 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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