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Choosing a Thesis Topic | Sound Economics. Next week is registration for fall semester, which means Economics majors planning on graduating will be signing up for thesis seminar! This year the economics thesis will become an “In Progress” course, which will allow thesis students to have two semesters to write their theses, and students can choose between three professors. The economic thesis professors are Kate Stirling, Matt Warning, and Bruce Mann, and the structure of the classes are designed to be similar. They all, however, have different research backgrounds and foci as economics professors. It is recommended that thesis students choose a professor that focuses what you want to study.

Professor Stirling has a strong research background in poverty and gender economics, Professor Warning has a good deal of experience in international and development economics, and Professor Mann focuses on labor and urban economics, to very briefly generalize their research. Choose something you like Look at examples Keep at it. Be a better writer in 15 minutes: 4 TED-Ed lessons on grammar and word choice. There’s no denying it — the English language can be mighty tricky. When writing a paper, a novel or even an e-mail, you might look at a sentence you just wrote and think, “Is that comma supposed to be there?” Or “Is that really the best word to use?” Fear not! TED-Ed has put together a list of four of our favorite grammar and language lessons to get your next piece of writing in tip-top shape.

First, let’s look at the often-confusing comma. What about the Oxford comma? Now, take an adjective such as “implacable” or a verb like “proliferate” or even another noun “crony,” and add a suffix, such as “-ity” or “-tion” or “-ism.” Finally, when it comes to good writing, don’t take the easy route! Overcoming the 10 Biggest Obstacles to Creating. By Leo Babauta Every day I struggle with the resistance to writing, and every day I lose the struggle … but then I beat the struggle. I lose more often than I win, but I win every day. And that’s what matters. Because we can’t get rid of the resistance to create — whether that’s creating art, starting a business, or writing.

The resistance will always come up … but we have to learn how to overcome it, to work with it. Do you face this resistance, and struggle with procrastination? Let’s talk about creating that habit, and how to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of the creation habit. Today I’ll share the main obstacles and what I do to overcome them. What stands in our way of the creation habit? Distractions. You’re doing this for a reason that should be as important as saving the life of a loved one, or it’s not worth doing.

If it’s important, you have it in you. Help with the Creation Habit The program is free for a week, then $10 a month, and you get: Common Mistakes in Writing. Some writing mistakes are very common and frequently seen in both printed material and online. This page details some of the most common and easily avoidable writing mistakes. By learning to recognise such errors you can improve your writing skills and avoid common writing mistakes in the future. You should also read our Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar pages to aid your understanding of the writing process and help you avoid other mistakes. Remember mistakes in writing can be embarrassing and costly - would you buy from a company whose marketing material was peppered with common mistakes that could have been easily avoided?

Take some time to familiarise yourself with the mistakes listed on this page and remember to always get somebody else to check your writing before it is published - even the most confident writers make mistakes sumtimes! Affect / Effect Apostrophes Apostrophes strike fear into the heart of many. Using Apostrophes to Indicate Contraction When Not to Use Apostrophes. Copywriting 101: How to Craft Compelling Copy. Single Quotation Marks Versus Double Quotation Marks. Today's topic is single quotation marks versus double quotation marks. SPONSORED BY AUDIBLE.COM, the Internet's leading provider of audiobooks with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature, including fiction, non-fiction and periodicals.

For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/gg. How to Use Double Quotation Marks Most people think of double quotation marks as being for quotations, which they are, but they also have other legitimate uses. For example, double quotation marks are often used around the title of a short work such as a magazine article or an episode of a TV show. The “Here Come the Suns” episode of Eureka was hilarious. The rules for longer works such as books are tricky. Double Quotation Marks for Scare Quotes Double quotation marks can also be used sometimes to indicate that a word is special in some way. Women achieved “equality” when they were granted the right to vote in 1920. Double Quotation Marks for Words Used as Examples. 12 Useful Websites to Improve Your Writing.

By Johnny Webber 1. Words-to-Use.com – A different kind of thesaurus. 2. OneLook.com – One quick dictionary search tool. 3. Vocabulary.com – The quickest, most intelligent way to improve your vocabulary. 4. 5. 750words.com – Write three new pages every day. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Een goed verhaal zorgt voor een onuitwisbare indruk. Als communicatieadviseur wil je dat jouw organisatie een onuitwisbare indruk maakt waarover gesproken wordt.

Als bestuurder wil je jouw visie begrijpelijk overbrengen zodat mensen horen en begrijpen wat je bedoelt. Als manager wil je weten hoe je mensen meekrijgt en welke factoren een katalyserende rol kunnen spelen in een veranderingsproces. Als coach wil je weten hoe je mensen en teams aanprekend en op eigen vermogen kunt laten groeien. Verhalen kunnen in het werk van bestuurders, adviseurs, managers en coaches een grote rol spelen. Mijn blogserie gaat over meerdere aspecten van verhalen vertellen. 1. Over een conflict willen we alles weten Wat we herkennen kunnen we onthouden Een goed verhaal is een verhaal dat tot onze verbeelding spreekt. In weerwil van een ondubbelzinnig halt vanuit zijn directie volharde de creatieve held in het 3M-verhaal heimelijk in zijn zoektocht. Bron: Giorgio Montersino (CC BY-SA) Alle verhalen hebben dezelfde kenmerken De tragedie-opbouw van Aristoteles 2. 3.

Improve Your Writing Skills: Knowledge and Experience (Fair) Business Writing Skills Tutorial: Learn How to Write More Effectively. 02 Know How to Write Well. Outlining, Writing, & Brainstorming using Mapping, Graphic Organizers and other Visual Thinking Techniques. For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, use Inspiration® 9, the ultimate thinking and learning tool. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views. To take notes, organize information, and structure writing for plans, papers and reports, use the integrated Outline View to focus on main and supporting ideas and to clarify thinking in written form. With Inspiration's Presentation Manager, transform your diagrams, mind maps and outlines into polished presentations that communicate ideas clearly and demonstrate understanding and knowledge.

Download the Inspiration 9 Product Information Sheet Visualize & Develop Ideas. Create webs, idea maps, mind maps, concept maps, graphic organizers, process flows, and other diagrams for thinking, organizing and writing. Brainstorm or brainwrite, capturing ideas quickly with RapidFire® tool. In Diagram View: In Map View: In Outline View: APA Formatting and Style Guide. Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here. Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay. Note: On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found...).

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference. 12 Useful Websites to Improve Your Writing.

Punctuation Tips. Punctuation marks are to writing what vocal delivery is to speech. Can you imagine talking in a monotone without pause? Your audience would have difficulty making sense of your words, let alone figuring out where emphasis and nuance belong. If you drain the punctuation from your writing, you have no louds, no softs, no expression, no innuendo. If you use only a few punctuation marks, you seriously restrict your style.

You need to understand exactly what each mark can and cannot do, as well as the message it gives to your reader. Dashes First of all, a dash is not a hyphen. Dashes do three jobs, each of which can be accomplished by another punctuation mark. 1. 2. 3. Surrounding an interruption Examples: My daughter—Rebecca—has an imaginary playmate. My neighbor’s children—Sima, Sarah, and Sam—interact with the real kids on our block. Note: In the first example, the dashes give the interruption more emphasis than commas or parentheses would. Leading to an afterthought Hyphens More examples: or Mr. How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word. Find a Subject You Care About Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about.

It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style. I am not urging you to write a novel, by the way — although I would not be sorry if you wrote one, provided you genuinely cared about something. A petition to the mayor about a pothole in front of your house or a love letter to the girl next door will do. Do Not Ramble, Though I won’t ramble on about that. Keep It Simple As for your use of language: Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound. Simplicity of language is not only reputable, but perhaps even sacred. Have the Guts to Cut It may be that you, too, are capable of making necklaces for Cleopatra, so to speak.

Sound like Yourself Say What You Mean to Say Pity the Readers. How to use a semicolon. Writing Tips: Using Sentence Length to Mirror Action. Long, short, and in-between: more is communicated in the length and rhythm of our sentences than most of us suspect.

One of language's most fascinating tricks is its ability to mirror the action it depicts. For example, look at this piece of narrative: "The squirrel fidgeted, twitching its tail, as I inched closer with my hand outstretched. It bit me, and I yelled. " Shortening the sentences and rearranging them slightly sharpens the action: "The squirrel fidgeted. Fidgeting, twitching, and biting are short, sharp actions.

By contrast, some actions are better expressed in long, flowing sentences: "The water danced. The flow of water is a continuous thing, and the sentence can show that in its length and structure: "The water danced and flowed over the rocks, sparkling beneath the sun. " Until next time, happy writing, and may your pen be ever blessed! Labels: Writing, Writing Tips. How to Write Damn Good Sentences. 45 ways to avoid using the word 'very'. Writers Write is your one-stop resource for writers. Use these 45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’ to improve your writing. Good writers avoid peppering their writing with qualifiers like ‘very’ and ‘really’.

They are known as padding or filler words and generally add little to your writing. According to Collins Dictionary: ‘Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer. Synonyms include: waffle, hot air, verbiage, wordiness.’ Adding modifiers, qualifiers, and unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, weakens your writing. This post gives you 45 ways to avoid using the padding word ‘very’. Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. If you enjoyed this, you will love: Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson.