Ann Trent reports:
"When beginning your own epic poem, you can employ a few specific strategies to immediately signal that your poem is following the epic tradition...Epic poems often start with an invocation to the muse. The term 'muse' refers to a god or goddess that inspires poetry or other works of art...You can be creative in deciding exactly what is meant by the term 'muse'; you could call on traditional religious figures or on any cultural, spiritual or artistic figures that serve as an inspiration to your own writing. You could even choose a fictitious character as your muse!...When writing your epic poem, include not only action through narrative, but also a theme that you are trying to present and the hero who leads the action...In your own epic, make clear your primary point in the poem and indicate your primary hero or protagonist...Most epic poems begin 'in Media Res,' which means 'in the middle of things.' In 'The Iliad,' the poem begins after the Trojan War has already started. Beginning in this way allows your reader to feel as though he is thrust into the action and provides immediate excitement for the reader. An accident, a battle or even a breakup can work as an incident around which to center your epic poem...Epic poets often begin their work with similes and epithets (descriptions taking the place of a person's name) as a way to rename or highlight certain personality traits of characters or aspects of the natural world...In your own epic poem, provide your characters with epithets that highlight the characteristics that you want your reader to remember." Audrey Farley reports:
"Start by brainstorming the key ideas of your essay. For this step, think about what accomplishments show that you meet the criteria for the NJHS. Then, sketch out the structure of your essay before drafting so that it is organized and efficient. This way, you will have an easier time writing a balanced essay that substantially treats each of your important topics...First, discuss your scholarly achievements. NJHS membership is offered only to students that have demonstrated academic excellence. List your grade point average, class rank and any awards...that recognize your scholarly achievements. Also list honors, college prep or advanced placement courses that you have taken or in which you are currently enrolled. It is important to prove not only that you have succeeded academically, but also that you have challenged yourself academically...Next, highlight your leadership experience...Indicate whether you were elected or appointed. The NJHS looks for students that are involved in activities beyond the classroom and that stand out as leaders to adults and to their peers...List all service organizations in which you are actively involved and detail your participation in community service, including church-related service projects...When evaluating character, the NJHS is looking for students who are cooperative, honest, reliable, courteous, concerned for others and respectful. Think of ways that you have shown these characteristics. Consider sharing a story that bespeaks your strong character and ethical integrity, but keep stories brief. Stay focused on the essay...Detail your participation in extracurricular activities such as Scouts or community-focused groups. Demonstrate that you care about being involved in efforts that advance society...Before you submit your essay, read it again to make sure that it is your best work, accurately describes you...and is free from typos or errors. Ask a teacher or parent to read your essay for grammar and content before submitting it with your application." Lisa Bigelow reports:
"State the company name, the founding date and a description of what the company does. An opening statement of an oil company might read, 'Ewing Oil, founded in 1975, is an oil research, drilling and transport company headquartered in Dallas, Texas.' Add the names and positions of key personnel. The chief executive or president should be named first, followed by the chief financial officer and other top personnel. Depending on the length of the profile, you may want to include relevant background information. Describe the products, beginning with the best known or most profitable. Alternatively, in the case of an oil or gas research or drilling service firm, describe the service the company provides. Adding some color by describing the technology the firm uses, if relevant, is helpful. Describe why the company is unique. For example, 'Ewing Oil, due to its aggressive takeovers of smaller companies, increased its profitability every year by double digits for 10 consecutive years.' End the profile by giving the company a human touch. A frequently successful method is to describe the company's beginnings; a description of the founder is effective." Barbara Bean-Mellinger reports:
"Before you can begin to write an ad to attract business, you have to know who you're trying to attract and who else wants to attract them, too. Decide if you're looking for owners of condos, mansions or something in between; whether you have a preference for interior or exterior painting; whether you'll do partial jobs such as single rooms or ceilings; or whether you focus on homes or big commercial projects. It's just as important to know your competition. Though there most likely are many other painters in your area, your direct competitors are those who do the same type of work and size of jobs as you...Provide examples of what you do especially well. In addition to painting professionally, starting and finishing a job on time and on budget is important to customers. It's a plus if the company owner works on jobs, or supervises them. Let people know...if you specialize in any techniques. If you've been in business for a number of years, talk about having many satisfied customers. Conversely, if your business is new, make that a positive by talking about fresh, new ideas and your experience in the industry...How you get your message across is just as important as what you say in your ad. Help your audience imagine what it would be like to work with you by painting a picture -- telling a story -- for them. If you have the space, use customer testimonials that glowingly report what a beautiful job you do, what a pleasure you are to work with and how pleased they are that they hired you. If space is limited, use powerful, descriptive words such as efficient, professional, pleasure and transform. Turn the most important idea into your headline. It shouldn't tell the whole story; just get their attention so they'll read on. If you can, offer a discount or other one-time deal...Small businesses are held to the same standards as multinational corporations when it comes to advertising. According to the Federal Trade Commission Act, everything stated in your ad must be truthful, not deceptive or misleading. You must be able to...back up your claims with facts or proof...The FTC considers the entire ad and the meaning it conveys when deciding if it is misleading, so omitting something that could make a difference to the consumer is as critical as being untruthful." Career Trend reports:
"Research the company and the position you're applying for. Think about how your skills can best fit into their current and future situation including any experience with waste management, even if you did not work for a waste management firm. Get ideas about what information you'll need by looking at sample cover letters in books and online. Begin with your name, address, phone number and email address at the top of the page. Write a greeting that is professional including the hiring manager's name if known or their proper job title, such as Dear Mr. Smith or Head of the Waste Management Department. Have your resume and a list of your skills ready. Include the skills that are appropriate to the job including any jobs in waste management, or companies and positions you have worked in that worked with waste management. Refer to the position that you're applying for and write the job reference number if there is one and mention where you viewed the posting. Demonstrate that you've researched the company as well as the job. Include information on how your skills fit into the requirements of the position and how you can be an asset to the company. Avoid overuse of 'I' and 'me' as well as contractions throughout the letter. Explore in more detail something on your resume that relates to the position and include some new information in addition to what is in your resume. Mention any experience in the waste management world...as well as experience that is similar to waste management. Include the name, company and position of anyone you know in waste management. End your cover letter by stating the best time and method for contacting you. Keep the letter to under a page, under three paragraphs and remain positive throughout. Go back and reread your letter and check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Thank them for their time and sign it if mailing the letter...When mailing or providing a cover letter in person, be sure to use higher quality paper. Emailed cover letters need a catchy subject line and should not use fancy fonts. The first paragraph should include key information about the position you're applying for and why you are interested; the second paragraph includes the details of why you're qualified and your final paragraph tells how they can get in touch with you and thank them...Do not include salary requirements or why you need the position in the cover letter. Do not use the same cover letter for every position you apply for...Do not send a cover letter to a generic department...or person...If you do not know the correct person, try to find out the position title of the person who is hiring for that job." Filonia LeChat reports:
"Even though much business is conducted online these days through websites, texting, email and blogs, the newspaper is still relied on as a resource listing garage sale advertisements for the upcoming weekend. When you’re preparing to unload a bunch of stuff from your house, take a few moments to craft a succinct and tailored garage sale ad. Your ad will serve as a way to market your sale to potential 'yard sailors,' people who plan their mornings by plotting out their path from garage sale to garage sale. Inquire about your word allotment. Most newspapers have a word count for garage sale ads...included in the base price of the ad; if you go over, you might have to pay more. Create a headline about your most interesting piece for sale or most important information...Write a list of all the items you plan to sell, then cross off any unnecessary words, such as adjectives; instead of 'shiny blue tricycle,' save yourself two words and just include 'tricycle.' Cross off any words that repeat or items you have only a few of, to avoid buyer disappointment. Write the sale specifics, such as your address, the date and the time of the sale. Add a small note about your location, such as 'End of cul-de-sac' or 'Next to the gas station,' if your address is hard to find or doesn’t come up in Internet map searches. Don’t bother using words to say 'No early birds[';] people may begin circling your area long before you start setting up and there’s nothing you can do about it. Save the room to describe more items for sale. Add a note about what kind of payment you’ll take. Most garage sales deal only with cash; use a few of your allotted words to write[,] 'No checks or credit cards,' or just 'Cash Only.'...Protect your belongings and family by not putting your exact address in the advertisement. This prevents people from cruising by your home prior to the sale and looking in the windows, or arriving too early while you’re still setting up. When you place the ad, use a general address such as your apartment complex street address, but not the apartment number itself. On the day of the sale, place lots of signage around the area pointing buyers to your sale." Kevin Johnston reports:
"Transitioning your business to a new phase requires a [roadmap] in the form of a transition plan that clarifies the new direction, the resources you need and the results you expect from making the change. You can write an effective transition plan if you methodically include important topics that have worked for other businesses and then adapt the essentials of the plan to your company's needs...Start writing your transition plan by making a list of deliverables you need to complete the transition. Your deliverables could include studies, analyses, a revised business plan, projected sales for after the transition, new policies and procedures, the method used to determine what new departments are needed and a succession plan for new executives. Using this list, write a paragraph or several paragraphs that include the reasons the deliverables are important to the transition...When you describe how the transition will blend with the way you operate currently, you generate a clear picture that can smooth the transition. This demonstrates to those who are skeptical how the business can be transformed with minimum disruption...Include a section in the transition plan about any new staff the company will need and describe how new employees will be mentored or trained. This section can include a rundown of possible training programs, or it can describe a mentoring program in which seasoned employees work with new hires. The focus in this section should include explicit statements about how the training or mentoring relates to the transition; only discuss knowledge that is necessary to complete tasks during and after the transition...Your transition plan can discuss new or upgraded systems needed for the new approach to your business. These systems can be software or organizational charts, or they may simply be new rules for granting permissions for projects. After you give some thought to the systems that will make the transition smooth, write in detail about how the systems work." Faizah Imani reports:
"When trying to persuade company management to implement changes in policy and procedures, a justification report is highly recommended. The whole point of this report is to justify your stance on a particular situation or issue. Present the problem as well as the resolution. The key to writing an effective justification report is to be as thorough as possible. Leave no stone unturned. The report does not have to be a certain length, only long enough to successfully get your point across...Write the justification report in business memorandum format. This format includes a 'To,' 'From,' 'Date,' and 'Subject' field in the upper left[-]hand corner of the page...Document in the 'To' field the name of the person or group you are sending the report to. If using a person's name, use his first and last name. A sample group name is 'XYZ Company Management.' In the 'From' field, include your first and last name. Specify the date, including the year, in the 'Date' field. In the 'Subject' field, specify the subject you are discussing in your report. For instance, 'Transforming Into A Green Business.'...Describe in the first paragraph the issue you are attempting to justify and your reasons for doing so...Mention any data pertinent to the issue. These facts and statistics should help persuade others to take your stance on the issue. For example, if you want the company to adopt more eco-friendly policies, cite data on how installing solar panels at the workplace might help reduce energy costs over the long term. Also provide information on government-sponsored incentive programs for companies that go green. Be sure to document the sources of your data...Sell your idea in the conclusion. Summarize how your idea, if implemented, will affect positive change. Add charts to give the reader a visual of how your recommendations will positively impact the company...Include a short statement indicating that you look forward to the response of everyone reading your report and that you are willing to meet at their convenience to discuss the matter further...Insert a professional salutation to close your letter. As an example, end your letter with 'Sincerely,' followed by your name and signature." Our Pastimes reports:
"Writing puppet scripts for children can be a challenge, but it can also be fun. Sometimes children are hard to please, but if you write skits that you believe are entertaining and interesting[,] chances are[,] your audience will too. The following steps will help you create a puppet script. Know your audience and know what you can or cannot write about...Know the characters that will be in your play. Look at what you have to work with and write your script around that. Pick a main character (protagonist) from among the puppets you have in your selection. Choose a bad guy (an antagonist) who will make life hard for your hero. When choosing this character, which can be a boy, girl or animal, make sure it is one that is believable in appearance...Come up with a plot. Along with who your character is, you need to know what your play is about, where it is happening and what is wrong. Your character must desire something, but is unable to get it for some reason. Come up with some humor. Children love slapstick humor and lots of animation. Make it fun and exaggerate everything to the hilt. Practice your skit with your puppets. Check out their expressions as you go through the play which will give you inspiration. Use improvisation...Try to avoid preachy language or [long-winded] dialogue. Make your skit full of action and try not to let the scenes in your script be [stagnant]. The most important rule in creating a puppet skit is to make it fun and enjoyable...Make you[r] characters distinctive and exaggerate their flaws or features. Name your characters according to their quirks...Incorporate music into your play if possible, especially at the beginning and at the end. Print your skit so it is readable to those performing it. Design the outline in a script format and make the names of the characters in large capital letters...Keep things simple. Don't go overboard with props. Write the scenes so that your puppeteers aren't climbing all over each other to get here and there. Practice and run through everything to make sure it is easy and doable for the performers." Bailey Shoemaker Richards reports:
"In a debate, both sides write constructive speeches that cover the topic of the debate. Whatever the topic of the debate is, there will be a positive and negative side; this does not refer to the attitude of the speakers, but to the content of their position. The team or individual who takes the negative side of the speech will need to respond both to the topic of the debate and to the positive case. The negative debate must still build an explanatory case while taking the negative or 'no' position. Read the debate question. The question or topic of debate should be a yes or no or two-sided statement that can be researched and support both a positive and [a] negative debate position. Research the topic. Information should be found from reputable resources that present a fair analysis of the topic and allow you to form your own opinion based on the evidence presented. Use information that supports the negative side of the debate. Begin organizing your opening speech. Most debates have two to three sections, with an opening speech and two rebuttals or question periods. Prepare an opening speech that introduces the negative position and provides 3 to 5 main points, each with supporting evidence. Organize a rebuttal and prepare answers to questions. Outline and describe possible rebuttals to your points and develop responses to them. Be sure to back up all points with evidence. Prepare questions for the positive team or individual. Find weaknesses in the positive position and prepare questions and evidence to ask for during the debate. Write 5 to 10 questions for the positive team." |
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April 2024
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