Process Essay

How-to essays, also known as process essays, are like recipes; they provide instruction for carrying out a procedure or task. You can write a how-to essay about any procedure that you find interesting-as long as your topic fits the teacher's assignment.

The first step of writing your how-to essay is brainstorming.

1. Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper to make two columns. Label one column "materials" and the other column "steps."
2. Next, begin to empty your brain. Write down every item and every step you can think of that will be needed to carry out your task. Don't worry about trying to keep things in order yet. Just empty your head.
3. Once you've noted every fact you can think of, start to number your steps on your brainstorming page. Just jot a number beside each item/step. You may need to erase and scribble a few times to get the order right. It's not a neat process.
4. Your next job is to write an outline. Your essay could contain a numbered list (like you are reading now) or it could be written as a standard narrative essay. If you are instructed to write a step-by-step without using numbers, your essay should contain all the elements of any other essay assignment: an introductory paragraph, a body, and a conclusion. The difference is that your introduction will explain why your topic is important or relevant. For example, your paper about "How to Wash a Dog" would explain that dog hygiene is important for your pet's good health.
5. Your first body paragraph should contain a list of necessary materials. For example: "The equipment you will need depends somewhat on the size of your dog. At the very minimum, you will need dog shampoo, a large towel, and a container large enough to hold your dog. And, of course, you will need a dog."
6. The next paragraphs should contain instructions for following steps in your process, as enumerated in your outline.
7. Your summary explains how your task or process should turn out if it is done correctly. It may also be appropriate to re-state the importance of your topic.

View the original article here

Negative Numbers

The opposite of a whole number is the negative of that number, and the list of negative numbers and whole numbers make up our integers.

… -4, -3, -2, -1, 0 1, 2, 3, 4 …

Note: The number 0 is a little special; it is also considered an integer, but 0 is the opposite of itself.

Why do we need to understand negative numbers?

Negative Numbers are All Around Us

In everyday life, we use the concept of negative numbers all the time. We deal with negative numbers when it comes to money, for instance—more specifically, when you “owe” something.

If you start the day with no money in your pocket (0 dollars) and you borrow three dollars for lunch, you own 3 dollars. That means your lunch money value for the day is (-3).

The next day, you must bring six dollars to school if you want to eat lunch. You need three dollars to pay for yesterday’s lunch (and get your lunch money value back to zero), and three more dollars to buy today’s lunch.

See this worked out in math terms:

0 – 3 = (-3)
(-3) + 6 = 3

Now that you realize that you have been using negative integers for your entire life, you can make sense of this math concept involving negative and positive numbers:

n + (-n) = 0

View the original article here

Alphabetize in Word

Did you know that there is a way to instantly alphabetize a list in Microsoft Word? You can alphabetize anything from a list of names for name tags, to a list of vocabulary words.

Alphabetize a List in Word 2003

1. First, write your list, making sure each word is on a separate line. Use the "enter" key to separate the words.

2. Next, highlight or "select" the entire list.

3. Go to the Table menu at the top of the page and select sort -> sort text.

4. You will want to sort by "paragraph" since the words are separated with the enter key, like paragraphs.

Alphabetize a List in Word 2007

1. First, write your list, making sure each word is on a separate line. Use the "enter" key to separate the words.

2. Next, highlight or "select" the entire list.

3. Make sure you are in the Home tab. Find the sort key at the top of the page. The key is pictured above, marked by "AZ."

View the original article here

Cheating and College

No matter what you did in high school when it comes to cheating, you should know that cheating in college is quite different. It's a really big deal.

• College administration takes cheating seriously. It's not unheard of for whole classes to be expelled for "collaborating" or outright cheating.

  This happened recently at the University of Virginia, when a large part of an economics class was caught cheating.

  As a freshman, you will be introduced to the honor code at your college. It will outline the rules for your particular institution.

• When you're caught cheating, even once, you lose all credibility with professors. This is a big loss in college. In high school we can survive if our teachers lose confidence in us, or even if they don't like us. College is a different story.

  You're going to get to know your major professors pretty well, and you're going to need them for things like recommendations for internships, scholarships, awards, jobs, and special programs. To a great extent, your success will depend on their opinion of you. Don't mess that up!

• Professors are good at catching cheaters. They have more time and more resources. They also have tenure and a little bit more flexibility than high school teachers when it comes to checking out their suspicions and following through with allegations.
• In high school there's a tendency to treat cheating less seriously, perhaps because high school students are minors. In college you're an adult. If caught cheating, you'll pay adult consequences.
• Your high school education may have been funded by taxes, but your college education is probably funded by you and your parents. Whenever you cheat, you are wasting time. If you cheat in college you are also wasting money.
• College is competitive. Fellow students will take cheating more seriously in college, because they realize what's at stake. They're more likely to turn you in.
• Cheating is for losers. How would you feel if your parent was accused of cheating on the job? What if they were fired for it? They'd feel the same way if you were caught cheating in college.

View the original article here

Homework Contracts

Does homework time ever become argument time in your house? If so, you're not alone. Lots of families experience turmoil when siblings fight over the computer, when parents try to help with a project, or when a student realizes he or she has forgotten to bring assignments home.

If you want to reduce stress and stay on track, you might consider setting up a homework contract with your parents.

Many families have great success by spelling out all expectations and setting up a system for rewards--like a later curfew or an overnight party. If this is done right, parents will love it, and you might reap some great benefits!

View the original article here

Proofreading

Everybody makes mistakes.

Even the most experienced writers with many published materials will confess that they are serial offenders. Each writer has a mistake, like a certain misspelled work or misused phrase, that shows up every time.

No matter how good you feel about your final draft, nor how many times you’ve checked for mistakes, you should always proofread a final time before you submit a paper.

Don’t try to read your paper on the computer screen, and don’t try to proof your writing right away.
Always take time to print out your paper, set it aside for at least fifteen minutes, and then proof.

If possible, exchange papers with someone else and proofread each other’s work.
Often, when trying to proof your own paper, you’ll skip right over mistakes like writing “scared” when you meant “sacred.” Your mind remembers what you meant, and misses what you actually did. Someone else is more likely to catch things like that.

If you have to proof your own paper, try reading your work backward.
Take it sentence by sentence or word by word. That way, you’ll be more likely to see things you’d normally miss.

Since it’s easier to proof a stranger’s paper than your own, try changing the look of your paper to make it less familiar.
Enlarge and change the font. It will look strange, but that’s the point! Just remember to change it back once you’re finished.

Use spell checker and grammar checker, but don’t count on them.
As you know, these functions don’t always catch every mistake.

Always proofread out loud, when possible.
Of course, this won’t work if you’re proofing an essay test.

Do a “search and replace” computer function if you tend to mix homonyms.
For instance, use the search function on your word processor if you sometimes use “there” for “their” or “to” for “too.” This can be time consuming, but it’s worth the effort.

View the original article here

Using Microsoft Word

As you type your paper, you may need to place a footnote at certain places to provide a citation for your information.

To create a footnote:

• Place the cursor in the place where you want the number to appear.
• Select INSERT from the tool bar. Then select REFERENCE and FOOTNOTE. A box will appear with several choices for your footnote. Unless you want a format other than the standard 1,2,3 numbered notes that appear at the bottom of the pages, you don’t need to make any adjustments. Select OKAY.
• The cursor jumps to the bottom of the page where a note has been created. Type in your information. You can format the note right away by adding bold or italicized text, or go back to it later and edit.
• Return your cursor to the text by pointing and clicking your mouse. Continue typing your paper.

You can move footnotes around by cutting and pasting the numbers. The order will change automatically.

View the original article here