Thursday, September 26, 2013

Tools and Websites To Help You Write Your Academic Essay

Having problems writing your latest academic essay? A pleasant surprise for you: it's the internet age! Researching, writing, and polishing your ideas has never been easier since the time when they invented essays and academic requirements. With the web wide web's plethora of resources and tools, you can finish that essay in no time without going through your dusty library or seeking help from your more nerdy friends. Here are a few sites and their specialized tools that you can use to speed up your productivity and save some time.
1. Google Books
Of course Google Books is here, if not for the most obvious of reasons. With almost every book available in their database, you can easily cut and paste quotes that you needed to support your essay arguments without going through the internet inside and out.
2. Jstor
Jstor.org is a behemoth of online journals. While you have to pay for subscription to their staggering roster of journals, its definitely worth it. If your topic is too specific and you cannot find a book as a reference to your own study, check out jstor and more likely than not, you can find related studies there. And more: most universities really endorse jstor, so it's worth more than the penny you paid for the subscription.
3. Cite this For Me
Citethisforme.com is godsend for students who are yet to master their citation skills, struggling with new citation styles, or simply too lazy to arrange their sources' info to match their professor's preferred citation style. Upon entering the site, you simply need to copy and paste your sources' info, page number, publisher and other whatnot, then wait for the site to arrange them to the citation style of your choice. Simply copy and paste the generated reference entry into your essay. Do not waste hours of your precious time arranging and double-checking your bibliography. Let the computer do its thing, and go do something more worthwhile.
4. Academia.edu
Academia.edu is a social networking site, and it is way lamer than Facebook, but if academics is your interest, it would be good thing to sign up there. Academics, both undergrad and grad, are posting essays and papers there, some passed to their professors, some just written for a vague sense of accomplishment. But what is good about academia.edu is the enormous amount of academic resource there, especially the variety. You can have a lot of ideas sprouting now and then through their networking-based interface.

Online Writing Services

High Quality Writing
The most significant feature to any e commerce venture is its content. We need to have good content to present to generate traffic and increase sales for our website. Below are the steps which transform a simple content into high quality content-
1- Unique articles and write-up
2- Update the content regularly and submit to various websites.
3- SEO content
4- Professional content writing
E-Books
Books have always been interesting to people as they bring out different emotions of people. They make you laugh, cry, they educate you or make you think about the meaning of life. With e-books in place the meaning of reading has taken a leap. However there is no difference in between the hard book and e-book but for today's life e-books are recommended. With the advancing technology people who always stick to computer screens, tablets or cell phones can take out time to read on the same instrument. E-books are readily available and a companion in loneliness.
Reports
Organisations need to manage the activities in a complex environment today. In need of accurate and up-to-date information, to formulate proper policies and future strategies obtaining reports is very important. A report is an unbiased fact presented for decision making and deriving performance. Reports can be classified as regular reports, special purpose reports and news reports.
News Letters
Newsletters are the medium of connecting with your customers and readers. A newsletter does not only refer to promotions or discounts however the regular updates and a bond between the organization and its customers. People sign up to receive your newsletter to hear from you and to relate with you. It has to be done in an expert manner.
Business Writing
Business communication needs to be on top of the list and it needs to mirror quality. Poor written or late communication is dangerous for your company. With business writing services you can reflect the quality of your company by offering professional services like- business proposals, brochures, articles, newsletters, media communication, press releases, SEO content, reports, case studies and much more.
Press Releases
Who does not want to remain in spotlight? Result oriented and brilliant press release is the primary tool for business marketers to focus their brand in this competitive market. 3 keys for a perfect press release are-
1- Optimizing a press release
2- Publish a news release
3- Sharing of a press release
Proofing
Proofing is the skill that any writer with passion towards writing can learn. It is reading a piece of content whether it's yours or somebody else's. Checking spellings, errors, grammar, punctuation, structure and layout are the pillars of your content. Proof reading requires professional skills and is essential for content.
Content Rewrites
Content writing is basically rewriting. Mixing facts with the imagination and creativity of the writer produces the best rewritten content. Rewriting requires modification of sentences with the same facts to make the article presentable and readable.
To fill the needs of businesses in today's competitive marketplace online writing services have come into existence. Unaware of the fact that how business writing services can help an organisation grow; people opt for doing it on their own and end up failing in online marketing. Online writing service professionals understand your needs and strategize the future action plans.
I am a coffee lover and a focused professional and damn cheerful when it comes to the real me. A thorough professional with profound interests in content writing, online networking and blogging. All of my work is unique and industry specific. My area of specialization is Spiritual writing, Home and family, Relationships, Health and Lifestyle, recreation, sports and many more.

5 Tips to Win More Business With Your Voice

Are you using your voice effectively to engage the audience? Stiff, scripted, monotone, or sing-songy voices do not win business and often turn customers or audiences off.
Many people worry that their nervousness will show in a shaky voice or weak voice. Others worry about the volume and vocabulary. Some voice attributes can be managed with technology such as a sound system for the control of volume. Practice can bring confidence to the voice and books or CDs can enhance your vocabulary. But, the many other qualities that voice can add to your presentation or storytelling are not often considered. Here are five tips to help you win more business by improving your verbal communication.
1. Listen to your voice. You don't know how you sound until you hear yourself. Most people are reluctant to record their voice but it's the best way to hear what your audience hears. Record yourself speaking, then play it back and listen attentively to your voice qualities. Make notes about pacing, qualifying words, and how many times you say "um" and "you know".
2. Don't rush your presentation. Many people struggle with pace when presenting. When we're nervous or have too much content and too little time, we rush through what we have to say. Plan for the allotted time. Pacing can help you stress the important words. The emphasis on words can convey emotions such as passion, pain, caring and commitment to your cause. Look at your text and choose the words that should be emphasized. I use a highlighter or a bold font for them in my speeches. Inflection can also help you emphasize key words. Pausing after important points can add impact and let the audience know what you think is important. Some speakers repeat a few important words for emphasis. Repeating too many words can be distracting. So, choose the words you want to emphasize carefully. I often listen to famous speakers just for style. Many great speeches are available on YouTube.
3. Kill the filler words. One of the things that annoy me most is words used just to fill space while the speaker is thinking of a response. Words such as "um" and "you know" are the most frequently used and are often referred to as verbal graffiti. We regularly hear those used in interview sessions on talk shows or in news interviews. It's better to take a second or two of silence than to constantly use filler words. I remember being taught that writing my "filler" word on the back of the name card on my desk or podium would remind me not to use it. Again, use your smart phone or tablet to record your notes from a meeting or your next speech and then listen to a playback. You will quickly uncover your filler words as well as your speaking pace and modulation. You will also identify when you most often use these words and can anticipate their use. Pause and focus on your next word. It won't take long and it's definitely worth the time and effort!
4. Learn to breathe fully. Most people run out of breath at the end of a sentence and the sentence ends on a "down" note making the ear think you are finished. Standing tall, taking a full breath, and speaking using your diaphragm will allow you to finish on an "up" note and the listener will be anticipating your next thought. This skill takes some practice and breathing or physical exercise can be helpful. It's another high value effort. It will, however, become easier for you with time and practice and your audience will remain engaged.
5. Eliminate the "add on" words. Many people seek agreement after each request for action or to ensure the audience is in agreement with them. Words such as "OK" at the end of these sentences can be annoying as well as distracting. For example: "Be sure to turn in your evaluation form at the end of the meeting, OK?" Qualifiers can also have a negative impact your speech. The word "try" seems to be a contender for top position in this category. "Guess", "maybe", "kind of" (or kind 'a), and "sort of" are probably not far behind. Some words in this category may be necessary at times. However, take care that they are used appropriately and they are not having a negative impact on your content. Work to use them only when required and you will find you have more impact.

The Supernatural Story - Enhancements and Artefacts

Can I write an original story? To be entirely original is probably impossible because the great themes have existed in one form or another for many centuries in many civilisations. But we can legitimately build on the past, and re-tell the old stories with a new twist or introduce new elements. For the underlying theme of a story is largely constant, but each generation of readers is different, and interested in different things. Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about Homer, saying that he stole songs from the past with impunity and without criticism. The title is, "When 'Omer smote 'is bloomin' lyre." (Definitive Edition of Rudyard Kipling's verse.) He got away with it because he enhanced a thing and made it his own. This article looks at way some writers have adapted and extended existing themes in supernatural and imaginative stories. It looks also at symbolically powerful physical artefacts thought to enable contact with other worlds. Some common artefacts are repeatedly used, but others not yet exploited. In these two ways the article shows how an original element can enrich an old theme.
Great themes like the Grail Legend and the stories of King Arthur are full of characters and events and background scenery. Each writer has made these exciting in his or her own way, building on the traditional concept. Here is what Charles Williams wrote about the Grail on page 275 of his 1930 book War in Heaven. "Suddenly from it there broke a terrific and golden light; blast upon blast of trumpets shook the air; the Grail blazed with fiery tumult before them." He gave a mystic and supernatural twist to the Grail Legend, largely ignoring the history but imparting power to the object itself. His development of that idea opened a new creative door. What other capabilities might the Grail have?
More recently Mary Stewart dealt with the early years of King Arthur. In The Hollow Hills she gave Merlin power to create visible reality for a dying man. "Inch by shining inch, I built that altar-stone for him against the dark, blank wall." (Page 281.) She built a new sequence into the Merlin story and used it to introduce a magical power. She also bought in the remote, unseen hill-dwellers, speaking "the old tongue of the Britons". (Page 240.) That is itself a legendary theme, picked up by Tolkien in The Return of the King when he introduces "The wild men of the woods" negotiating through their chief. (Page 106.)The theme of forgotten people, forgotten knowledge and forgotten skill is always interesting. So are the themes of false imprisonment and the missing heir to a fortune and hidden treasure and prophetic dreams. They last for ever, as does 'Girl of modest status wins love of Hero'. They also offer hooks on which to hang new material.
Support from a supernatural power sometimes comes in the form of a dream. The dream is not sought by the human concerned, but is God-given. This makes it is less interesting than the conscious efforts made by humans to reach out to the supernatural power. These efforts can involve travel, sacred words, invocations and the use of symbolic artefacts. These also invite development.
One discipline much favoured is total separation from the real world by meditation. The Christian writer of The Cloud of Unknowing urges his pupil to clear the mind of every thought of any kind other than a wish to know God. He writes of, "A secret thrust of love at this cloud of unknowing." (Page 33.) He believes that if this wish is strong enough then God may through grace give glimpses of what things were like before Adam and Eve ate the apple. No stories tell us much about what else the Christian might glimpse, but Shamans enter a trance state through broadly similar methods and are able to state exactly what went on in that state, and who they met and what powers they acquired. So what we might call 'the entry process' is an area that might be filled with imaginary experiences newly devised by the writer. An extreme example is The Story of Rabbi Joseph della Reina who sets out on a very complex, and dangerous spiritual journey and fails at the last moment. It is full of incantations and symbolic acts and sacred words and sacred numbers.
Where access to spiritual power involves a physical item, some importance is found in the purpose which the item normally serves. The activities of knitting and spinning have a relationship to the human life span being similar in respect of creation and completion. Scissors are an obvious means of termination, so we find that The Norns of Norse mythology snip off threads to end a human life. And a sinister meaning is easily found in the old woman sitting alone at her spinning wheel or drawing on her last ball of wool.
Links of purpose and antiquity also attach to the wheel. It suggests constant movement and renewal and return, and also danger. The concept of sympathetic magic suggests a link forged between two worlds that enables the practitioner to act out a scenario with one object and have a similar effect on a person elsewhere. So, should the theory be true, a skilled witch in the 20th Century could drive a nail into a car tyre in her own garage and cause her victim to plunge over a cliff when a tyre on his vehicle suffered a blow-out. That modern scenario would add originality to a very old theme.
The effectiveness of such magical action increases if the artefact has great antiquity and if its use is precisely simulated. The scythe is a good example. It is very old, the physical action is distinctive and it used in stories by Father Time. The writer using this as a hook to introduce originality has plenty of scope. Where did the practitioner get the scythe? How did he or she learn to use it, and simulate the physical action realistically? What happened to the victim as a result? Similarly, an anvil is very old and its purpose is to beat an object into a desired shape. The purpose of a sieve is to separate things desired from things unwanted. In The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe we find that God is using a sieve. "His sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat".
Creating a wax image of an enemy and sticking pins in it has been rather overworked. But paintings still offer scope. They have existed since prehistoric times and some theorists believe that images of prey on cave walls had a magical use in making a successful hunt more likely. How about a series of pictures on the walls of a witches cellar that show the stages of the victims downfall? The story can include descriptions of the witch gloating over each picture as it becomes true.
And then there almost untouched opportunities in the digital world. It is so complex that few people, if any, understand all aspects. So the witch or wizard can make images appear on the victims screen or words come out of the speakers. In a 1934 novel the voice of the absent witch is heard 'live' coming from the mouth of a doll. (Novel by A.Merritt.) In 2013 it could come from the speaker, or appear magically on Twitter. Better still is endowing the computer itself with personality and speech as Robert Heinlein did in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
Originality is comparable to yeast. It alters the nature of existing material.
Rudyard Kipling. The Definitive Edition of Rudyard Kipling's verse. London. Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. 1940. p351
Charles Williams. War in Heaven. London. Victor Gollancz. Ltd. 1930, p275.
Mary Steward. The Hollow Hills. Mary Stewart. London. Hodder Paperbacks Ltd. 1974 p240. p281
Unknown author.The Cloud of Unknowing. In The Cloud of Unkowing and other works.Trans. Spearing. London. Penguin Books 2001. p33
J.R.R.Tolkien. The Return of the King. London.George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1955. P106
Julia Ward Howe. The Battle Hymn of the Republic.Boston. In The Atlantic Monthly. February 1862

8 Tips to Develop Effective Business Writing Skills

Effective business writing skills are necessary for any management position. They will improve communication by providing you the opportunity to convey plans and ideas to one or more people, while also providing a paper trail of information.
Developing and improving your business writing skills will also help to create a professional image for your company.
Emails, business plans, letters, reports and proposals are some of the items that managers may be required to address throughout the course of business. Developing effective writing skills that convey your intentions while also protecting yourself and business are imperative.
8 tips for effective business writing skills
Tip #1
The most important point to remember is that anything that is written could potentially be used against you or the company in a court of law. Minimise the possibility of this happening.
Tip #2
Identify your objective before you begin to write your document. Are you writing a company update, policy, or creating a new business plan?
Tip #3
Consider the audience and their pre-existing knowledge on the subject.
The KISS principle - Keep It Short and Simple - is an excellent tool when writing. People often read the first and last paragraphs and skim the main body.
If you have multiple readers, providing a brief overview and objective allows those people who don't need to know the details enough information to grasp the key messages. The full report or technical details would cater for those readers that need more detailed information.
Tip #4
Create an outline of your key points then go back in and fill in the details and edit. Proofread to check spelling errors and the flow of the text.
Business writing skills will make you and the company either appear professional or not. It is imperative to project your professional image in a positive manner.
Tip #5
Sales managers and other professionals often use terms referred to as 'business speak'. These terms do not always translate well when written and will reduce the effectiveness and image of the email or business plan. Consider how investors, board members or prospective clients would view the document when writing.
Tip #6
Be courteous and polite at all times. Use the correct salutations and closings for business correspondence. Developing effective business writing skills requires a professional tone without lengthy explanations.
Tip #7
Include contact information and the best time to reach you if the recipient has questions.
Tip #8
Proofread one last time prior to sending. Ensure the points and objectives of the document have been met in a clear, concise manner and that the tone is what you wish to convey.
Using online tools
Word programs include a spell checking tool that is easy to use, although they may miss simple errors such as confusing the words 'to' and 'too'.
Nothing helps to perfect your business writing skills better than practising these skills.
Project yourself and the business in the best light by perfecting and developing effective writing skills.