LPT: When negotiating always use the 3 D's : Draft, Devil's Advocate, and Deliver. Using these steps will help deliver a more compelling argument and reach an agreeable decision. : LifeProTips Ambiguous Sentences I came across this headline in the Wall Street Journal: Republicans Grill IRS Chief Over Lost Emails This type of sentence has great possibilities because of its two different interpretations: Republicans harshly question the chief about the emailsRepublicans cook the chief using email as the fuel It’s a perfect tool to: demonstrate careful reading, showcase the need for editing, and encourage creativity and divergent thinking. Even More Meanings The ambiguous headline took me back to my college days, when a professor shared this sentence: I saw a man on a hill with a telescope. It seems like a simple statement, until you begin to unpack the many alternate meanings: There’s a man on a hill, and I’m watching him with my telescope. See how many meanings your students can catch! More Examples Here are some other ambiguous sentences (more at this wikipedia page): We saw her duck. He fed her cat food. Look at the dog with one eye. Include A Classic Challenging Parts of Speech Create Your Own
Spearman's Rank Order Correlation using SPSS Statistics - A How-To Statistical Guide by Laerd Statistics Introduction The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient (Spearman’s correlation, for short) is a nonparametric measure of the strength and direction of association that exists between two variables measured on at least an ordinal scale. It is denoted by the symbol rs (or the Greek letter ρ, pronounced rho). The test is used for either ordinal variables or for continuous data that has failed the assumptions necessary for conducting the Pearson's product-moment correlation. For example, you could use a Spearman’s correlation to understand whether there is an association between exam performance and time spent revising; whether there is an association between depression and length of unemployment; and so forth. This "quick start" guide shows you how to carry out a Spearman’s correlation using SPSS Statistics. SPSS Statisticstop ^ Assumptions Assumption #1: Your two variables should be measured on an ordinal, interval or ratio scale. Example Setup in SPSS Statistics Output General
Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips Honestly, throughout most of high school and college, I was a mediocre essay writer. Every once in a while, I would write a really good essay, but mostly I skated by with B’s and A-minuses. I know personally how boring writing an essay can be, and also, how hard it can be to write a good one. However, toward the end of my time as a student, I made a breakthrough. I figured out how to not only write a great essay, I learned how to have fun while doing it. That’s right. Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard? Here are a few reasons: You’d rather be scrolling through Facebook.You’re trying to write something your teacher or professor will like.You’re trying to get an A instead of writing something that’s actually good.You want to do the least amount of work possible. The biggest reason writing an essay is so hard is because we mostly focus on those external rewards like getting a passing grade or our teacher’s approval. Why? Just stop. Yes, you need to follow the guidelines in your assignment. 1. 2. 3.
Writing the Essay Intro and Conclusion Your essay lacks only two paragraphs now: the introduction and the conclusion. These paragraphs will give the reader a point of entry to and a point of exit from your essay. Introduction The introduction should be designed to attract the reader's attention and give her an idea of the essay's focus. Begin with an attention grabber. Conclusion The conclusion brings closure to the reader, summing up your points or providing a final perspective on your topic. All the conclusion needs is three or four strong sentences which do not need to follow any set formula. The case for writing courses and related supports in graduate school (essay) Academic writing is a skill many graduate students will need at some point in their careers, especially if they end up at a research-focused university. It is often assumed that graduate students already know how to write well. After all, they made it to graduate school, right? It’s also assumed that graduate students will learn essential writing skills from their professors, however, this isn’t always the case. Unfortunately, many professors struggle with writing themselves. Additionally, few professors are prolific writers with the ability to effectively teach writing to students. Academic writing can be difficult. Academic writing is scary. Graduate students should know how to write journal articles and grant proposals. In this article, I’ll propose three potential models for raising the importance of writing in graduate school. Model 1: Mandatory Course(s) for Graduate Students Let’s imagine a world where graduate students would have a writing class in their first semester.
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments A reader recently wrote in asking if I could share a bit about the process of putting the book together and talk about how the project started. Certainly. I go on two solitary walks every day. It was on a day in October of last year when, during one of those quiet moments on that bench, I recalled my college years and how outspoken I happened to be during them, an observation only made interesting by the fact that I have since turned into the quietest of beings. A realization that coincided with that nostalgic whiff was that a sizable amount of the discourse nowadays continues to be plagued with bad reasoning. Hence, the idea that finally shook me into soberness was one that had been fermenting for a while. Once I had a draft version of the book ready, I sent it to one of my life-long idols, Marvin Minsky, co-founder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab and author of The Society of Mind. The cover is inspired by one of my favorite games growing up: LucasArts' Monkey Island series.
Introductions - The Writing Center What this handout is about This handout will explain the functions of introductions, offer strategies for creating effective introductions, and provide some examples of less effective introductions to avoid. The role of introductions Introductions and conclusions can be the most difficult parts of papers to write. Your introduction and conclusion act as bridges that transport your readers from their own lives into the “place” of your analysis. Note that what constitutes a good introduction may vary widely based on the kind of paper you are writing and the academic discipline in which you are writing it. Why bother writing a good introduction? You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your introduction is an important road map for the rest of your paper. Ideally, your introduction will make your readers want to read your paper. Strategies for writing an effective introduction Start by thinking about the question (or questions) you are trying to answer. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Learning to Read and Write How can you learn to read and write better? More to the point here: How can you learn to read and write better by reading web pages such as these? First of all: Reading is primary. Consider: Not all readers are writers. All writers rely on their skills as readers. To write better, you must learn to read better. Improving Writing Readers and writers already speak the language. These pages are not concerned with traditional rules of grammar and usage, with correct verb agreement or spelling. Constructing Extended Discussion Writing is traditionally taught in terms of examples. Reading can teach us some things about the language, but reading good essays can only go so far in enabling us to become better writers. What is the structure of James Baldwin's sentence: What resources of sentence structure does he use? To learn from reading essays, we must learn how to analyze those essays. Reading instruction is dual-purpose. Improving Reading Final Thoughts
STANDARD OUTLINE FOR RESEARCH P Not only will this outline help you write, it will help you skim college-level reading. Note: In a group project, each individual’s paper—like chapters-- may follow IV-VII. Later, write I, II, III &, VII-VIII to frame all of the individual sections coherently. This is a guideline, not a Bible!!! Content determines format; write to affect an audience. I. II. III. IV. V. Exploratory: Differences exist between Mt. Argument: Because of the implications of Mt. VI. · compare/contrast (cultures, genders, nations, ethnicities, etc. produce multiple viewpts. to compare) · cause/effect (or correlation) · problem/solution VII. VIII. IX. · It is hard to do all this credibly in less than 10 pages + References + Abstract + Title Page. · You may choose to use subtitles for your sections. · Remember: if what you are saying is complex and would be more easily understood in a graph or other visual, include one!!! · Be very careful with your tone and analyze tone in others' writing.
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. 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. In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining Short quotations Long quotations
Three Edits To Make When You Don’t Have Time to Edit How do you edit your 1,000-word article in five minutes, your 5,000-word short story in ten, and your 400-page novel in under an hour? Hint: forget spell check. A few years ago, I wrote articles for the music section of a local weekly. No bueno. When I made it home at 1:30 AM after the show, I chugged a coke and sat down at the computer. Five minutes to edit 1,000 words? Has this ever happened to you? Introducing the Rapid Editing Checklist. You can make these three edits in five minutes or less, and your teacher/editor/publisher will be smiling when they read it. 1. Search (CTRL + F) for weak verbs like the following: iswasamwerebeingaregetgot Replace those weak-sauce verbs with some con mas grande cojones. Not “Spot was running through the woods.” Not “She got them a present.” 2. Search (CTRL + F) for “ly” and take out adverbs, replacing with concrete detail. Not “He laughed heartily.” 3. Start by searching (CTRL + F) for “that.” Not “The dress that she wore tore at the seam.”