Preparing and Writing Essay

A basic key to producing good essays is to start early and work steadily over an extended period. Build in time for distractions and problems (e.g. illness or disk failure), and allow for deadline bunching. Plan to complete well before the deadline to allow yourself some leeway. As a rough guide, you might allow three weeks for work on a course essay. The deadline is intended to help you with time management – make sure you adhere to it. Reflect on the feedback obtained on your previous essays. What strengths and weaknesses were identified? Think about how best to overcome the weaknesses. For example, if your essays have been criticised for limited knowledge of the literature or lack of depth, this may indicate that you need to devote more preparation time and increase or change the breadth and depth of your reading; if criticised for poor structure or limited relevance, you are likely to benefit from spending more time on careful planning and editing/reorganising the final draft. Using course essays to work on your weaknesses can help you produce a better essay as well as help to improve your general writing skills. Look more:  how to write a process paper Do some preliminary reading to help you choose an essay topic. The reading lists for the essays provide guidance on sources of preliminary reading. Generally it is useful to choose reading that is relatively recent, this is likely to include a summary of earlier work, some of which you may explore in more detail later. It can also be helpful at an early stage to make use of EconLit and the Library catalogue to check on the availability and nature of supplementary reading on a topic. As should be obvious, you should try to choose a topic that you find interesting. This will help motivate you to work on the essay and is also likely to make the end product more interesting for the reader/marker. Note that interest tends to increase as you work on a topic, providing you don’t leave it all to the last minute. Once you have chosen a topic (or even to help you choose from a short-list of topics), use your initial reading to produce a draft outline plan of your essay. The general advice on what makes a good essay, set out below, should help you to produce an effective plan. A basic plan would typically divide the essay/dissertation into a series of logically ordered sections. This skeleton structure can then be filled out by fitting ideas, relevant references, work and information required, into the planned sections (making use of references from preliminary reading, EconLit etc.) Taking time to construct an effective annotated outline plan should help you to: †¢ Produce a well-structured and coherent essay. †¢ Organise the subsequent work on your essay/dissertation and plan your study time more effectively. †¢ Read actively and more effectively – making you think about how further reading fits into your plan and, possibly, adapting your plan in response to new information or ideas. Although the ingredients of a good essay can vary between courses and topics, the following broad guidelines are generally applicable. Structure: †¢ Ensure that your essay/dissertation has a clear logical structure. †¢ Use the introduction to motivate the topic, set it in perspective and outline the structure of the body of your essay to help the reader follow the argument. †¢ Use the conclusions to draw together the argument, provide an overall assessment and, possibly, indicate areas that might be developed further if space allowed. General content: †¢ The primary focus should be on analysis, not description or presentation of information. †¢ Make it clear that you have a good understanding of the relevant basic literature. But avoid devoting too much space to repeating standard textbook material. Generally you can make clear that you understand the basics in the context of presenting a more advanced or deeper analysis. †¢ Be innovative – think of an interesting and different angle on the topic; draw on ideas from other courses (including non-economics courses) or general reading; go beyond the standard literature by making good use of EconLit or other reference sources; be prepared to challenge standard approaches. This is likely to make the essay more interesting for you and the reader/marker. †¢ Remember it is your essay, it should reflect your informed thought and judgements on the topic, not simply reiterate or paraphrase the views of others. Analysis and models: †¢ The appropriate mode of analysis can vary between courses and topics. In the vast majority of cases economics essays will involve the use of an explicit model or models. Formal models help to provide a clear logical structure, which is a major reason for their use in economics. †¢ When presenting a model, you need to make clear that you understand the model. This involves more than simply copying a set of equations from an article or book. To signal your understanding you might for example: provide an intuitive explanation of the overall model or key steps in solving the model; work out some steps in a model’s solution explicitly, when (as is often the case) this is not done explicitly in the original source; develop and work through a variation of the model not developed explicitly in the reading; compare and contrast the model with other related models; assess the assumptions used and the limitations they pose; apply the model judiciously to a particular situation. Presentation and style: †¢ Grammar and spelling matter. Leave plenty of time for editing the final draft to improve grammar. Use a spellchecker, but remember that spell checkers do not pick up all mistakes. Incorrect spelling of names and jargon can be particularly irritating. †¢ Be precise and concise. Conciseness allows you to include more within the word limit. †¢ Think about how to present data or information effectively. Tables or figures can be useful presentational tools. †¢ References should be presented accurately and consistently. See the lists of preliminary readings for a suggested standard style. Citations and plagiarism: †¢ Quotations should be used judiciously, if at all, to support or illustrate an argument. The source of any quotation should be clearly stated, including the page reference. †¢ Data sources should be clearly cited. †¢ When summarising or describing someone’s work the source or sources should be clearly stated. †¢ The University of Edinburgh’s Undergraduate Assessment Regulations state: â€Å"Plagiarism is the act of copying or including in one’s own work, without adequate acknowledgement, intentionally or unintentionally, the work of another. It is academically fraudulent and an offence against University discipline.† (http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/UG_AssessmentRegulations.PDF, para. 14.2) †¢ The University of Edinburgh’s Guidance on the Avoidance of Plagiarism for Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Students states: â€Å"Plagiarism is the act of including in one’s own work the work of another person, without adequate acknowledgement of having done so, either deliberately or unintentionally.† (http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Discipline/StudentGuidanceUGPGT.pdf ) †¢ The Undergraduate Assessment Regulations add â€Å"The innocent misuse or citation of material without formal and proper acknowledgement can constitute plagiarism, even when there is no deliberate intent to cheat. Work may be plagiarised if it consists of close paraphrasing or unacknowledged summary of a source, as well as word-for-word transcription. Any failure adequately to acknowledge or properly reference other sources in submitted work could lead to lower marks and to disciplinary action being taken.† (http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/UG_AssessmentRegulations.PDF , para. 14.2) †¢ The three preceding bullet points avoid plagiarism, by properly acknowledging sources (but would not, on their own, constitute a good essay or dissertation). Most study skills books contain further advice on essay writing. The Main Library Reading Room has an extensive collection of study skills books, which contain advice on essay writing. Several books are devoted specifically to writing skills, for example:

Case Study Geog

Case study: Chances Peak, Montserrat, 1995-97 – an LEDC Plymouth covered in ash from volcanic eruptions on Montserrat Montserrat is a small island in the Caribbean. There is a volcanic area located in the south of the island, called Soufriere Hills. The volcanic peak in this area is called Chances Peak, which had been  dormantdormant:  A volcano is classed as dormant when it is temporarily inactive but not fully extinct. for over 300 years. Then in 1995, the volcano began to give off  warning signs  of an eruption (small earthquakes and eruptions of dust and ash).Once Chances Peak had  woken up  it then remained active for a period of five years. The most intense eruptions occurred in 1997. During this time, Montserrat was devastated by  pyroclastic flowspyroclastic flow:  A pyroclastic flow is a very hot mixture of volcanic debris that flows downhill at high speeds.. The small population of the island (11,000 people) was  evacuated[evacuated:  removed or s ent away  ]  in 1995 to the north of Montserrat as well as to neighbouring islands and the UK. Despite the evacuations, 19 people were killed by the eruptions.This is because a small group of people chose to stay behind on the island and watch over their crops. Volcanic eruptions and  laharslahars:  A lahar is a destructive volcanic landslide or mudflow, consisting of a mixture of volcanic debris, mud, rock and water. have destroyed large areas of Montserrat. The capital, Plymouth, has been covered in layers of ash and mud. Homes and buildings including the only hospital, the airport and many roads have been destroyed. The graphic shows the progress of the eruption and its impact on the island. Montserrat – eruption progress and impactShort-term responses These include evacuation, money for compensation and redevelopment from the British government, unemployment due to the collapse of the tourist industry, and abandonment of the capital city. Long-term responses These include a volcanic observatory to monitor the volcano, the building of new roads and a new airport, an expansion of services in the north of the island, an exclusion zone in the volcanic region, and a growth in tourism based on the presence of the volcano. Volcanic activity has calmed down in recent years and people have begun to return to the island.

Great Gatsby Narrative Voice Essay

The narrator’s influence plays a fundamental role in a novel that every reader takes into account when getting involved in the story . In Francis S. Fitzgerald’s literary work ‘’The Great Gasby ‘’ the function of Carraway’s narrative voice brought up several controversies among readers and critics for it deals with 3 different attitudes from the part of the narrator through whom ‘’Fitzgerald is able to achieve the aesthetic distance ‘’. (76 Donaldson) The purpose of the essay is to try to pin down those attitudes in view of Carraway’s eliability , awareness and detachment in the novel. In ‘’The Great Gatsby ‘’ Carraway presents the main character as an unique individual who has an ‘’extraordinary gift for hope , a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which is not likely i shall ever find again ‘’(2). His fascination and aknowledgement of Gatsby’s idealism promps the reader to reflect on the promise and the hope the future holds for such an individual and for the tragism of his existence. Carraway becomes reliable as a visionary for he is able to rise above the particular events epicted in the story , revealing a universal and tragic meaning in Gastby’s fate ; that of America itself for the hero personifies th seeker of ‘’ his personal Grail ‘’ in the same way Americans pursue their ideals in their quest for national identity. But as the story unfolds the attitude of the narrator becomes more and more ambivalent ‘’ I was within and without simultaneausly enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life’’ . Carraway sees both the sordidness and superficiality of the New York rich class and its thrill and excitement. In this respect he becomes a mediator between the wealthy , rootless society within which the Buchanans assert themselves and the world of Gastby’s romantic imagination and illusion that transcends the novel . Fitzgerald manages to create 2 essential polarities that go to make up the human mind (103 , Mizener). From an allegorical point of view Nick symbolizes ‘’reason , experience , waking, reality and history while Gastby is imagination , innocence, sleeping , dream and eternity. ’’ (103) The former’s consciousness includes the latter’s developpment in the novel for ‘’not only oes he mediate between the world of Gastby and the Buchanans but also between the text and Fitzgerald’s use of him as a narrator. ‘’(98, Mizener) Altough Nick Carraway seems to understand the hero’s fate because he was taught by his father not to judge the people around him as not all of them partook of ‘’the advantages he had’’ the reader perceives a sense of unrealibility and detachment from his part. Nick’s perspective on Gatsby changes all along while he gets more involved in his life and that of the other characters. Nick listens to confessions since’’ he is a little afraid of missing something ‘’(1) but ‘’he judges and condemns practically everything and everyone he meets in the course of the novel. ’’(132,Donaldson) such as Tom Buchanan’s looks and behaviour , Jordan’s shallowness , Daisy and Gastby’s inconsistencies of character , adding an ironic tone to his observations . Another situation relevant to Nick being unreliable is given by the fact that he doesn’t try to pay justice to Gatsby , telling Tom the truth about Myrtle’s accident. He keeps himself at a certain distance creating the impression that sometimes he knows more than what is really happening and other times exhibiting less than what is actually required. Concerning this aspect the ending becomes even more paradoxical when Carraway decides to retreat home while making a nostalgic connection between his childhood and the West. His departure ‘’parallels Gastby’s desire to buy back the past as well as reaffirm the last words of the novel – that American destiny to ‘’beat on boats against the current borne back easeleslly into the past. (182 ) ‘’(106, Lehan) Taking into consideration the challenging aspects of the narrator’s voice the reader is stimulated to determine Nick’s role in the novel and notice the complexity of Fitzgerald’s character while maintaining a certain degree of partiality . In coming to this conclusion I incline to say that however credible Gatsby’s story may be , the reader is free to grasp a larger significance that is implied in the novel which accounts for the growth and decline of the 20th century American nation.

My Role Model-Suhas Gopinath Essay

Bangalore boy who launched his own firm at the young age of 14 years. Gopinath (born November 4, 1986) is the CEO and co-founder of Global Inc. -an up- coming IT company that produces Web sites and software, employs 400 people around the world and become a national icon. The Limca Book of Records – the Indian version of the Guniess Book of Records – lists him as the world’s Youngest CEO. Suhas Gopinath started a software company at the age 14 and since become one of the most remarkable success stories of the Indian IT boom. Now he’s 22 and runs a world-class business with 400 employees. In 2005, an investing firm from Houston, Texas offered him $100 million for majority stake in Global. He refused, â€Å"after several months of discussions, admittedly†. The reason for his negative response: â€Å"Why should I sell my baby? † The transformation During the mid-1990s, the first Internet cafes began opening up in Bangalore, with one going into operation next door to Gopinath’s house. My brother Shreyas took me there. I was fascinated. The Internet changed my life, he says. He spent every spare minute online. He learned himself how to build Web sites. He spent every rupee he had in the internet cafe, says his mother. Gopinath admits, I had been a good student up until then. After I discovered the internet, I was an average student. Before finding cyberspace, he had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. His first project In 1998, when he was 13, Gopinath launched his first website: www. coolhindustan. com. I wanted to provide Indians all over the world with a forum to post public events, tips for eating out and everything else they’re interested in, he recalls. The Web site became popular – including with hackers in Pakistan. They attacked cool Hindustan and replaced the Web site’s logo with â€Å"Cool Pakistan†. That was a terrible experience, Suhas says today. He abandoned the project. By then, talent scouts in Silicon Valley had already heard of Suhas Gopinath and the company â€Å"Network Solutions† invited the young Indian to its headquarters in San Jose, California. It was the first time he had ever boarded a plane and the first time he had been Outside India’s borders. They offered me a job. They also would have paid for my education in the United States, he says. His answer, though, was no, why should I do for another company what I could do for my own? About his company L to R: -Suhas Gopinath, former president Abdul Kalam. Gopinath wasn’t going to wait four years. He cheated: Along with three friends, he registered his company in San Jose. Online, of course, he says. He wanted to name the company â€Å"Global Solutions†, but that name was already taken. He opted for Global. Today, he still regrets that he wasn’t able to start his company in Bangalore. India’s most important politicians know the young man. He was even granted a private conversation with President Abdul Kalam. I told him that the age limit for starting a company has to be removed, Gopinath says. Kalam promised him support, but so far nothing has changed. The law wasn’t the only obstacle, though. Potential customers cancelled their orders when they learned their business partner was barely 14. Many people didn’t take him seriously he remembers. As soon as he began sprouting facial air, he grew moustache, though he has, on the advice of friends, since shaved it off. Ultimately, Gopinath managed to overcome every obstacle. World gradually spread about his company’s abilities and Gopinath hired more and more people and opened up more offices. He became the boss, employer and chief executive – all in mid puberty. Most of his employees are just young: The average age is 21 with the oldest being a ripe old 26 and the youngest 12. Gopinath is unable to give the latter a full time job – that would amount to child labor. But we gave him a computer with internet connection, Gopinath says, Now he works for us sometimes on Web design. 200 Customers the World Over Gopinath’s company is into web-based and software solutions, mobile and e-commerce solutions – besides making web sites for corporates, advertisers and educational institutions. Meanwhile Global has amassed 200 customers across the globe and now has offices in 11 countries with some 65 percentage of company turn over coming from Europe. The young Indians have become particularly good at identifying unfilled market niches. They developed a software product for schools, for example, allowing a teacher to easily enter grades and attendance and enabling parents to check that their children are showing up to class – a kind of electronics class register. The Indian government was thrilled with the idea and recently contracted Global to set up the program in 1,000 schools. Now that he is 21, Gopinath is thinking of transferring the company headquarters to India – even though some 125 people now work for Global in San Jose against only 25 in Bangalore. What would be happen to the employees in the United States? We’II see, Gopinath says. â€Å"The new developments are coming mainly from Bangalore†. Going to university on the side L to R: M. R. Gopinath-Suhas’ father, Shri. M V Rajashekaran-Minister, Suhas Gopinath, Kala Gopinath-Suhas’ mother) Gopinath’s father, M. R Gopinath, once a scientist at the Defense Ministry, now acknowledges that his son made the right choices during the last seven years. They are proud parents, but they still haven’t let him go. â€Å"To us, it’s important that he gets a degree, the father says. â€Å"Education is the most important thing in India†.

Changes in the Business Environment of Shell and Subsequent Strategy

Changes in the Business Environment of Shell and Subsequent Strategy The main objective of this assignment deals with business environmental changes of â€Å"Shell Company† (Petroleum Company) from last 5 years. PESTEL analysis was applied in the following assignment, in order to present Shell Company’s present status in all aspects and the changes that have taken place in the company. Moreover, the various types of strategies formulated were outlined and discussed. Introduction An organization is an entity that provides goods and services to consumers who need or want them and it does not function in isolation. Therefore, it is imperative to identify and understand all the factors within its environment that could potentially affect it. The environment of a business is normally divided into two categories, the micro environment and the macro environment. Below we shall discuss in details what each category means. Micro-environment: Internal factors like suppliers, competitors and employees are volatile and influence transformation of a business process and often it leads to undermining the current balance within the system. Suppliers: A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. www.overstockuniverse.com http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/A_company%27s_supply_chain_%28en%29.png/300px-A_company%27s_supply_chain_%28en%29.png Company should have a social responsibility towards their suppliers, as they transform the natural resources and raw materials into finished goods which are delivered to the end consumers. They also play a vital role during product shortage. They are the combination of all types of business practice and ethics. www.overstockuniverse.com Customers: A  Client, buyer or purchaser, is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the  products  of an individual or  organization, called the  supplier,  seller, or  vendor. Slogans for the Customer: â€Å"the customer is king† or â€Å"the customer is god† or â€Å"the customer is always right. www.rajputbrotherhood.com Competitors: Competition  is a  contest  between individuals, groups, nations, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. Competition arises whenever two or more parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Humans compete for  wealth, prestige, and  fame so that they met deep rivalries often arises over the pursuit of. Business is often associated with competition as most companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers. Macro-environment: Decision making by managers are influenced by many factors that constitutes the macro environment in a business. The examples for the macro environment are Tax changes, trade barriers, demographic change and government policy changes. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm The fo llowing factors are: Political factors: Political environment is an unpredictable element which effect specific organizations badly due to instability in government and rules passed by the political parties. Factors like political stability in the country, party in power, ideology of government and foreign policy greatly influence the business in political environment of the country. Example: Indian Government restricted coca-cola sales during late seventies following policy of restricting the growth of multinationals in Indian markets. But coco-cola was allowed after some years under the New Industrial policy of 1991. Under this new policy, government liberalized licensing, imports and exports, inflow of foreign capital and technology on more liberal terms.

Public relations officer interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public relations officer interview - Essay Example The Richmond Veterans Hospital offers services to over two hundred thousand veterans who dwell in the central and southern parts of North Carolina. Their services are offered in their outpatient clinics that have been located in Emporia, Charlottesville and Fredericksburg. The Hunter Holmes Hospital was actually the first hospital in VA to execute heart transplants on its patients. The Richmond VAMC is also the hospital that offers patients suffering from heart failure with medical care throughout the country. In addition, the hospital offers a variety of services to its patients that range from comprehensive outpatient care to the multifaceted inpatient services like heart, kidney, liver and lung transplantations. The medical facility also provides medical care to patients suffering from traumatic spinal and brain injuries. The hospital has about 415 operating beds and an acute care department, mental health services and nursing home. In addition, a new polytrauma transitional rehab ilitation center was recently opened to assist injured veterans adjust to living normal lives (US Department of Veteran Affairs, 2012). Ms. Edwards, the public relations officer at the Richmond Veterans Hospital plays various roles on behalf of the facility. ... situation with the police officers, determine who and how the family of the deceased should be informed and deliver a statement to the hospital staff and the press. In another instance, an employee who was engaged to another employee fell out with his fiancee and shot his fiancees cousin as they arrived at the facility (the cousin was a veteran who had been receiving cancer treatment and was killed). Ms. Edwards immediately communicated with the police, offered statements to the press and communicated the situation to the hospital’s employees. On the same day that I interviewed Ms. Edwards, the assailant was in court pleading not guilty though she ensured that the employees who had been affected by the incident were okay. The Richmond VAMC hosted the wheelchair Olympics this summer with Ms. Edwards being put in charge of coordinating the event which took a great deal of her time and energy. Prior to the event she resided at the downtown Marriot hotel which was the center for o perations for this event. She was charged with the tasks of directing the events, the staff members, various organizers, participants, medical staff and everyone else who was a part of the event. The public relations officer for the Richmond VAMC was also responsible for arranging the itinerary and making clearances with the hospital’s director when public figures like Michelle Obama visited the facility. According to the WWBT news, the first lady, Michelle Obama’s visit to the Richmond region came less than three months after the president had visited. It was a high profile visit to the state which was considered an important swing state during the coming elections. The news channel reported that at around lunchtime on Wednesday, the country’s first lady would attend a high profile

The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company Essay - 1

The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company - Essay Example This essay "The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company" analyze Starbucks's brand personality. Brand perÃ'•onality iÃ'• an attractive and appealing concept in the marketing of today. Aaker deÃ'•cribed it aÃ'• one of the core dimenÃ'•ionÃ'• of the brand identity and perhapÃ'• aÃ'• the cloÃ'•eÃ'•t variable to the conÃ'•umerÃ'•' deciÃ'•ion making proceÃ'•Ã'• on buying. The perÃ'•onality idea reÃ'•pondÃ'• to the tendency in contemporary Ã'•ociety to value perÃ'•onal relationÃ'•hipÃ'•. It alÃ'•o referÃ'• to the idea that relationÃ'•hipÃ'• are important in Ã'•ocial life. In termÃ'• of MaÃ'•low'Ã'• hierarchy of needÃ'•, it trieÃ'• to lift productÃ'• to higher levelÃ'• of need Ã'•atiÃ'•faction, like belongingneÃ'•Ã'•, love and eÃ'•teem. Brand perÃ'•onalitieÃ'• are created in different wayÃ'• and with different toolÃ'•. The creation alwayÃ'• involveÃ'• active communicationÃ'• on t he Ã'•ide of the firm: the perÃ'•onality haÃ'• to be diÃ'•Ã'•eminated to be alive. Brand equity reÃ'•earch iÃ'• an attempt to put a value on the Ã'•trength of a brand in the market, in the Ã'•ame way that the Ã'•hareÃ'•/Ã'•tockÃ'• put a value on the Ã'•trength of the corporation in the eyeÃ'• of the inveÃ'•torÃ'•. Indeed, brand equity reÃ'•earch haÃ'• Ã'•hown that the two are related – the growth in brand equity correlateÃ'• with the growth in Ã'•tock valueÃ'•, and alÃ'•o Ã'•aleÃ'•, profitÃ'•, price premiumÃ'• and employee Ã'•atiÃ'•faction. The brand equity reÃ'•earch haÃ'• two elementÃ'•: brand profiling – where your brand and itÃ'• competitorÃ'• are profiled againÃ'•t a Ã'•et of indicatorÃ'• and attributeÃ'•. The indicatorÃ'• are uÃ'•ually fixed within the model, but attributeÃ'• may be Ã'•pecific to the brand or itÃ'• category.