The Blast Alliance

Essay writing is an indispensable part of academic life – something a student cannot overlook. Essay writing demands certain skills on the part of the writer. The term ‘essay writing’ is now more applied in the academic context, while essays are written by famous and upcoming essayists in the non-academic world as well. A well-written essay is proof of the writer’s knowledge of a certain topic. Essay writing is a valuable tool for monitoring the skills of proper organization of ideas, good vocabulary, systematic argument and coherence of ideas.

Essay writing at the academic level requires a thorough knowledge of the primary sources dealt with. It is ideal to develop a system of note taking and carefully sorting the secondary sources referred to. Another significant aspect to note while writing an essay is to pay attention to the keyword, that is, whether one is asked to analyze, discuss, compare and contrast, criticize, define, discuss, evaluate, or illustrate. The style should be clear and should lay out a clear picture of the thesis statement. Lengthy sentences very often hinder smooth reading, as is the case with passive usages.

In essay writing, ideas should be distributed in an orderly fashion using paragraphs, preferably with evidence supporting the argument. Supporting evidence should be well documented in the desired citation style. It is important to avoid plagiarism of any kind while writing an essay and acknowledge the source whenever it is referred to. To get a good end product, the essay should be revised thoroughly. Diction and style are important aspects of an essay and are to be given special care. Wordiness is a defect to be avoided and it is absolutely necessary to proof read the essay upon completion to guarantee that it is error free.

Essays provides detailed information on Essays, College Essays, Essay Writing, Critical Essays and more. Essays is affiliated with Download Free eBooks.

My friend Steve rings me on the phone to tell me that he has discovered some online gambling web sites that I just have to check. I’ve never really been deep into gambling, but I figured O.K., I may give it a trial run. And So I tested out some blackjack and poker, but truthfully, they simply are not my thing. And Then I find these on-line elottery web sites and then I realise that through cyberspace I can take part in all other lotteries around the world. Straight Off to me this appears a heap more delight, hence I suppose I would give it a trial run. To start with I tried my luck at euro millions, you know a European lottery. I picked my elottery winning numbers and waited and daydreamed that I will win it big. I didn’t but when the euro millions results came out; I was extremely surprised to realize that I had in reality come really near to the winning lottery numbers. I tried out a few other world lotteries, only I found that I did come so close the first time on the euro lottery, that I simply had to give it one more go. So far, I have not won a bucket load of dollars, but all the same, I have won some money, so I continue to play the euro lotto and picking lottery numbers, hoping to get my big win. I am one of those souls who like to think in the possibility of winning it big, because it’s hard to think making that sort of money some other way.

As for my acquaintance, he still stays on with his passion of on-line gambling and finds himself at the on-line casino for at least an hour a day. He too has won some money, but it has high’s and low’s and the difference is, when you lose at gambling you commonly lose a good deal but when you lose at the lotto, it doesn’t cost you very much. I reckon that the lotto is the only way for me to go and the idea of winning it big and on top of that, it’s only costing me just a few bucks “makes it more appealing”.

As a webmaster you already know how important it is that your web pages download fast. In a nutshell, if your pages are slow, then you’re losing visitors. And if you’re losing visitors, you’re losing money.

To speed up your download times, most web design experts will suggest that you optimize your GIFs and JPGs so that they download faster. They’ll suggest that you make your images smaller or remove them altogether. Or they’ll simply suggest that you put less stuff on your pages.

All of these methods work. The problem, however, is that they all involve doing things that you don’t want to do. You don’t want to squeeze any more quality and color out of your images. The same goes for your content – you put it there because you want it there. Basically, there’s only so far you can go with these approaches before you really start to ruin your page.

Fortunately, there’s one way to get your pages opening faster without having to compromise your images or your content. This is a simple and effective method, but one that is rarely discussed by the web design experts.

To understand this approach, it’s important to recognize the difference between “perceived” download time and “actual” download time. The perceived download time is the time it takes to have enough stuff displayed on your page for the visitor to be able to start studying your content. The actual download time is the time it takes for the entire page and all its contents to be fully downloaded.

The perceived download time is the one that really counts. Why? Because once your visitor has something before his/her eyes to read or look at, then there is much less risk that he/she will click away because your page is taking too long to load.

So how do you improve your perceived download time?

Simple, you break the content of your page down into two or more tables.

You see, web browsers will not start displaying the contents of a table until it has compiled the entire table to the end. Once a table is compiled it will display, and the browser will start compiling the next table.

That means that if you place the entire contents of your page inside one big table, the browser will have to compile the entire contents of your page before anything will be displayed. The result: your visitor spends all that time staring at a blank screen.

However, by putting some of the content towards the top of the page into a table of its own, the rest of the page can be downloading farther down, while your visitor is busy studying the stuff that’s already displayed.

I’ve used this method to great effect on my own website. I went from an actual download time of up to 20 seconds (staring at a white screen) down to a perceived download time of rarely more than 3 seconds (often as low as 1 second)!

The ironic thing is, my page is now bigger (in terms of Kilobytes) than it was before I made the change. That’s because 2 tables take more HTML than one.

But boy has that extra bit of HTML paid off!

Make a test page now and try it out. Your hit counter will thank you for it!

About The Author

Michael Hopkins is owner of BizzyDays eBook Publications.

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If you want to be a busy “working” freelance writer, you can’t continually miss the mark with your queries, cover letters, and such. Here are some tips for hitting the target with these materials and landing plenty of well-paying and interesting writing assignments:

1. Look at your query letters. What sets them apart from the hundreds of other
queries an editor will receive this month? A good query should show the editor
(of the publication you are targeting) your unique writing style. If the writing in
your query isn’t interesting and engaging, the editor probably figures (and
rightly so) that your article won’t be that interesting or engaging either. Also,
editors receive thousands of queries a year that start off with a question. Be a
bit more original than that and you’ll gain the editor’s interest immediately.

2. Give the editor appropriate writing samples. If you apply for a
freelance assignment you’ve seen advertised somewhere, and an editor asks
for writing samples or an outline for the project advertised, make sure you
really understand what he needs to see. Remember, this editor is just trying to
figure out if you can deliver the type of work the project calls for. If you
don’t already have a writing sample in your files (for the type of work this
editor is asking for), take the time to craft a sample that will show this editor
you can write about a particular subject in the style, tone, etc. that he is
looking for. If the editor has requested a custom sample, and has given you
guidelines for this, then study those guidelines carefully and follow them to the
letter. If you don’t fully understand the guidelines, then ask the editor for
clarification.

3. Make sure your cover letters aren’t including too much information, or not
enough. A cover letter is simply a courtesy, a way of introducing yourself. If
you’ve included a manuscript, resume, or writing clips, state that in your cover
letter. Also, mention why you are writing – in response to his ad for freelance
writers, etc. – but don’t go on and on about your writing background, the fact
that your kids all love your funny stories, etc. Be cordial in your cover letter,
but remember, this is a business letter, after all, so don’t get too chatty.

4. Don’t use a standard resume when submitting to publishers. Develop a
“writer’s resume” that includes just your publishing credits, education, and
writing related activities. Editors don’t care that you worked as a nanny for
three summers, or you were a camp director to put yourself through college,
unless those activities related to writing.

Follow these tips and soon you’ll be right on target to land more and more of
those freelance assignments you’re aiming for.

Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer, children’s author, and “the working
writer’s coach.” Visit her website at http://www.suzannelieurance.com to find
out how to get her two free e-books for writers, or check out her blog at
http://www.the-working-writers-coach.blogspot.com for more coaching tips
and learn how to get your free copy of THE WORKING WRITERS MARKETING
PLAN.

In many ways, “control” means the familiar, the status quo. And this is the writer’s enemy. Creating, after all, means ushering in the NEW. Spontaneity is where the fire lies; it’s our route to unexpected ideas, and the ring of our own true voices. We can tap into a strong flow of inspiration once we find a way to skirt around the habitual control habits of our censor mind. One of the best ways to sneak passed the guards, I’ve found, is to devote some time each day to unstructured writing. Keep your hand moving, and write out all your thoughts without stopping to consider how good they are or where they’re taking you.

I used a very simple technique to write this article: I started with the idea of “letting go” and then I wrote for about fifteen minutes, recording every thought that came up in relation to this concept.

Anyone recall doing contour drawings in art class? Free-flowing writing practice can be very similar. As you might remember, our teachers had us start with pure contour: drawing something that we’re seeing without looking at our hand. The writer’s analogy would be to write down every thought that passes through our heads, as fast as our pen hand can move, without judging, critiquing or inhibiting.

Then we have our equivalent of modified contour – checking back periodically to see where the hand is – which still entails writing without stopping to question, but holding to a central idea for reference. Any time our thoughts stray we just gently restate the core idea (perhaps “book promotion”, “Google Adsense” or whatever else) and keep writing.

When we let go like this we find an outlet for material that we had never considered or may even have been afraid of. We catch thoughts on the pages that normally would’ve passed right under our noses undetected. Our mental habits can structure so much of our inspiration. When we EXPECT ideas to come only from a certain quarter then we blind ourselves to anything coming to us from other directions. Writing without second-guessing our destination allows it all to spill out before our eyes – and then we can sift through later and separate the gold flecks from the mud.

Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”. Visit his complete blog at http://www.writingup.com/blog/seth_mullins

Acquiring and placing estates on public auctions is undemanding and profitable for both parties. Discover a public sale although is not trouble-free course. Facts about the house offered on a public auction can be found in the local and national media, or online. Land agents often hold facts of assets to be sold by auction as well. Nonetheless a simple method of detecting public auctions is to take note of the numbers of any “Auction Sale” sign posts.

There’s normally a fee to receive the auctioneers emailing list and for obtaining a directory with photos and information with reference to the properties. Free of charge directories are generally of no use.

You’ve merely got almost one month to identify what’s offered on at auctions, so action is required as soon as possible. If instead you are thinking about buying property overseas then why not take a look at property in Portugal.

The sort of house commonly sold are the one-offs that real estate agencies consider hard to value or to offer on the market, although they have growth potential.

Public auctions are also exciting for the repossession assets put for sale by mortgage lenders, which commonly are good deal and possess small reserve value. Beforehand the sale visit and have a look at the property. Explore the region and, most important make plans for with your solicitor to fulfil the obligatory analysis – like an official investigation and a professional valuation.

It’s very wise to agree your resources, and more essential, arrange the funding to put down a normally 10 % on the sale day, and the left over 90 % within twenty-eight days after the auction. If your bid is triumphant, you will pay in advance the ten % to the auctioneer there and the vendor’s agent has to underwrite the Memorandum of Agreement. Fines for failure to meet the payment commitment are brutal.

Keep in mind that if you don’t make the highest bid you will waste part of the cash you have wasted on the assessment plus the legal costs, but it is a good idea informing the agent of the cost you can be all set to spend for the certain assets that has been withdrawn; you never know, in several cases the trader might be prepared to consider your offer.

The sale agreement is equal to swap of contracts in the everyday sale by not public contract. Which also means that the potential purchaser will not be gazumped and the vendor will not upset of last-minute fee renegotiations.

Many of the people who had durom cups applied in their hip cup replacement surgical procedures are encountering that there are negative effects that far exceed the normal expectations for recovery. These poor people are experiencing a lot of unneeded pain for lengthier periods of time, needing a revision surgical processes and enlarged medical costs, and losing income by being taken out of the workplace at their official jobs. Although Zimmer Holdings, Inc. is claiming that that their hip replacement implant is in no way defective and have basically denied blame for the faililng hip implants, several people are filing cases against them and encountering settlements.

In the month of October, 2008 Zimmer announced that it had reserved $47.5 million to compensate for lawsuits filed against them. Many physicians aren’t so sure that the durom cup hip implant is as good as the company says it is. In Point Of Fact, when Zimmer offered on-line education to physicians in order to instruct them what was supposedly more accurate techniques for performing the implant surgical process, half of the docs refused to take part. Therefore, the whole state of affairs proceeds to be stressful for all doctors attached, but none more than the hundreds of people who are looking forward to revision operation due to the issues with their implant not staying tight in the socket.

These tormented patients definitely merit some help and compensation which is the main reason product liability lawyers are supporting them by telling them to start the lawsuit process. larry dorr durom has been paying out of court for some of these claims. Nonetheless, even if the payoff they are being offered by all standards seems reasonable, in many cases patients are deciding too quickly and with no provision put in place for on-going issues down the road. Without waiting to find out what an actual case is worth, individuals might find themselves ending up paying alot more money from their own personal assets when further complications arise.

Anyone who believes they do have a claim against Zimmer needs to start checking into it. If you believe you may qualify, you can telephone a attorney to find out for sure. Look for one that operates nationally and specializes in litigation against flawed medical devices. This law firm has gone so far as to setup a special division to research and process claims against Zimmer and obtain nice sized settlements for their clients.

If your orthopedic surgeon breaks the news that will have to have a revision surgical procedure to repair your Zimmer Durom hip replacement device, contact an lawyer immediately.

“Ignorance is no argument’ – Baruch Spinoza

The first round of the QDU took place last week, and I am involved in a team (fortuantly we won). Seeing that this is a world wide activity I felt that I should write some basic tips for debating, as I realize how hard it is when I first started. I have been debating for 5 years and hopefully I can pas my experience on to others.

I’m not sure if different countries have different types of debating, but Australia has a system where there are 3 people on each side who take it in turns to argue a point.

(1) – You are always right – no matter what you really believe, if you want to win then you have to know that what ever you say is correct and your opposition is always wrong.

(2) – Strong central argument – after you make each point link it back to your teams case. This makes the whole team look more prepared and gets big marks.

(3) – Rebut – if they have an incorrect fact, rebut it. If they do not link back to their teams case, rebut it. If they give an example that has no relevence, rebut it. Remember, the opposition is always wrong.

(4) – If you need more time, summerize – a good summery not only gets good points, it also increases your time. If you go under time you lost points and the same occurs if you go over. Try to find a balance.

(5) – Never insult the opposition – no matter how much you want to, don’t! If you want to insult something, do it to their argument. Don’t use personal attacks if you want to win.

(6) – Have passion – believe in what you are saying and you probably will win. Speak from the heart, but also use logic and academic research.

This is not so much a guide but just some helpful tips, so that you can earn maximum points. If you still have some query’s, then post a comment below.

Russ Egan
http://s-bend.blogspot.com

Public Speakers! Check Out These Most-Mispronounced Words.

Yes, it’s a living language–English is–but there still remain words whose correct pronunciation is less common than their mis-pronunciation! In addition to giving you the right pronunciation, I’ll throw in a simple rule or two so you can figure out others on your own and not be afraid of embarrassing yourself with Pronunciation Gaffes.

(As a therapist for thirty-some years, I hate to do this to you–use the “should” word, but I gotta do it here.)

A Rule: When you have two “c’s” together, the first C is pronounced like a K, the second like an S.
ACCEDE should be ak-SEED
ACCELERATE should be ak-SELL-uhr-ate
ACCESSIBLE should be ak-SESS-i-buhl
ACCESSORY should be ak-SESS-or-ee
ECCENTRIC should be ek-SEN-trik
FLACCID should be FLAK-sid

Only when there are double S’s are they pronounced with only the S sound. i.e. as-SESS.

Middle Eastern countries are very much in the news these days. It’s nice to pronounce a person’s country correctly. In the case of IRAQ and IRAN the I’s are not pronounced “eye”, but a short i, as in BIT. If you want to get fancy, it sounds both pretty and authentic if you can flip the R.

The A’s are broad: Iraq is not “eye rack” It is “i-ROCK”; Iran is not “eye ran”. It is “i-RON”.

Here are a few of the words I’m hearing commonly mispronounced:
CANDIDATE is CAN-di-date (Pronounce both D’s)
ECHELON is ESH-e-lon
ETC. (etcetera) is eht-SEH-ter-a (No K sound)
NUCLEAR is NOO-klee-uhr (Think of new and clear.)
PATHOS is PAY-thohs (Not thahs.)
PLETHORA is PLETH-or-a
VULNERABLE is VUL-ner-a-buhl (Sound the first L.)
SCHISM is SIZ-em

I hope this little foray to the dictionary will give you the confidence to use these very nice words with the certainty that you’re pronouncing them correctly.

Carole McMichaels, Speaker, Coach, Author: “Fearless Public Speaking: How to Get Rid of Your Stage Fright and Prepare and Deliver a Winning Presentation”, invites you to join her free newsletter on speaking in public. You may also get your free report, “7 Valuable Tips on Writing a Mind-Gripping Speech”. http://www.getridofpublicspeakingfears.com

There are a number of reasons that every writer should have their own newsletter.

1. Creative Outlet — Every writer I know writes because they must, because they simply have something to say. However the trick is for many writers finding the right outlet, the right expression, for that message. Starting your own newsletter or ezine can give you that creative outlet and satisfy your inner writer.

2. Shut Down The Editor — The three most satisfying moments for me as a writer were the first time I saw my name in print as a writer, the first time I cashed a check for my writing, and the last time I had to listen to an editor. I learned a lot from the various editors I worked with as a professional writer over the years — and some of it was even beneficial to me as a writer and person. However there were many times when editors did nothing but push me in a direction I didn’t want to go and force changes on me that I didn’t want to make to my writing. Sometimes they even made those changes without telling me. My byline or name would be on the printed word, but someone else had tampered with my writing. Now I don’t have to listen to an editor unless I choose or request insight from someone I respect.

3. Your Own Fan Club — In the past those who have appreciated my writing have been limited to a specific geographic area, genre, or field; however publishing my own ezine which is delivered around the world to people from a very diverse experience and background means a broader fan club than I could ever achieve in any other medium.

4. Becoming A Guru — As you publish and share your writing and your audience grows something amazing happens. You become someone of note within your niche and you become someone that others listen to and turn to. You become a guru.

5. 100% Profit and Pride — In the past I have written for several award-winning, successful publications, but very rarely did my paycheck reflect the honors and profit I brought into the company. A few years ago my writing earned one publication I wrote for a very prestigious award. During the slide presentation leading up to the award ceremony I watched column after column with my byline sliding by on the screen and then I watched someone else walk up to accept the award. Now when my publications are honored and recognized I knowexactly where the credit goes and similarly when they are profitable I know exactly where the profit goes.

Now that I have convinced you that you need to publish your own ezine or newsletter, I want to go over a few questions that budding editorsand publishers always ask.

What exactly is an electronic newsletter or ezine?

Just like their paper counterparts like newspapers, newsletters, and magazines, ezines deliver written messages usually relating to a common theme or topic. The main difference is that an ezine transcends paper and ink and most likely only ever exists on a computer screen.

Some ezines are delivered only via email while others are delivered only on the web. Most are delivered in some combination of the two. Most of my ezines are delivered via email but also available immediately via web page (or rather blog page) and RSS feed.

You can choose as your own editor and publisher what method is most suited to you and your audience.

How do you publish a newsletter or ezine?

It is much easier to start publication of your own ezine than it is to start up a print publication. You simply need to decide on a topic, name your publication and start writing. It is easy to find an audience through the various ezine and newsletter directories around the internet as well as going directly to the source, for example discussion boards for people interested in your topic.

You will need to determine a delivery method, which means most likely setting up your own web site; creating an archive for your issues once they are created, which could mean setting up a blog; and tracking your readers, which likely means setting up a mailing or autoresponder service. However you can use free tools to do any of these things.

Deanna Mascle shares more writing advice in her blogs Your Route To Internet Writing Success and Word Craft