Space Cadet

^^Ok, so do you see what I just did there? It's an essay about writing essays using the format of the essay. It's off the top of my head, so sorry for any mistakes (and for the length), but hopefully seeing the format in action will help- notice how I don't stick to it exactly, but I use each element to get my point across. And sorry for the formal language - hope you can still follow it. Hope it helps. Another way to write an essay is to make an outline of each point you want to talk about and write your argument based on the outline. If you need any specific help with grammar or proofreading, feel free to ask. I majored in English in University- my spelling still sucks, but I still remember a thing or two.

The simplified form of an essay is basically the topic, then the body (content), then the conclusion. Basically, I am going to tell you about this. Look, I am now telling you about it. Here is every thing you need to know. See? I just told you about it. You use that structure for each paragraph as much as possible. First, an opening sentence, then a sentence or more that makes up the body of what the paragraph is, and finally a sentence summarizing the theme of the paragraph. The paragraphs are then arranged in the same order. The first paragraph explains your argument- what the essay is about, the body paragraphs give supporting evidence for your argument, and then the last paragraph summarizes the points you just made. This structure may seem slightly awkward at first when you are writing, but when another person is reading, it will be very easy and natural for them to follow what you are talking about. The easiest way to write an essay is to come up with an argument and then support it. A good argument belongs in the first sentence, will summarize what you want to talk about, and hopefully will be written in a way that will keep the reader interested, and the writer writing. If you wanted to write about the moon being made of cheese, you could just say: "I believe the moon is made of cheese." (That's your argument) "It is too big and yellow and round to be made of anything else, no matter what the astronauts say." (This is the body of your opening paragraph, and it tells me that your essay is going to be about what the moon is like, and why the astronauts are wrong.) "I cannot prove that the moon is made of cheese, but I do have some strong evidence that it might be." (That is the concluding sentence of your opening. It repeats or summarizes the argument, but changes it a little bit too, in a way that will hopefully make the reader want to read more.) I don't always use that long of an opening- sometimes I just write the argument in a sentence or two and use that as the first paragraph. But any topic that I write about will be mentioned somewhere in that first paragraph. The opening sets the tone and the content of the essay, now you just have to support it. The opening about the moon means that I will need 3 sections. One section should be about what the moon is like, one section will go through history or science to talk about why and how the moon might be made of cheese, and one section will talk about why the astronauts are wrong. In a short essay each section will be one paragraph. In a long essay each section will be several paragraphs structured like mini-essays. (Opening, body, conclusion.) As long as you wrote a good argument, all of this will come out of your opening very naturally- you don't have to wrack your brain about what to write next. The conclusion is a summary of the main points of your essay in a way that repeats your argument. You would say something like how "The moon's round, yellow shape and long cheesy history mean that it must be made of cheese, and since the Apollo mission never landed on the moon anyway, no one can say for sure from personal experience". This tells me what was actually important in your essay, and how all the different parts of the body work together. If I was a teacher or proofreader, I might read just the opening and conclusion first to find out what the essay was about and where it went before I ever actually read the essay. The conclusion won't tell me anything new about what was in the essay, but it will organize your thoughts through repetition if it is written well. As long as you stick to that structure, topic/argument, body, conclusion, your essay should be very easy to read and to follow even with mistakes, and even the process of writing the essay should be easier for you since everything you write will flow from your topic. Good luck. ;)

I don't have a clue, or any tracing paper thick enough to withstand a printer. I was just looking at all the pictures thinking there were some pretty odd shapes in there for it to merely be just artwork. Layering slides to show a hidden message is a very old technique- I mainly associate it with cold war spy stuff. And Radiohead have used codes before... ...But then again, it would look really cool from a purely aesthetic point of view if someone did the tracing paper thing, like trees fading in to the mists, so who knows. No one who hasn't tried it, anyway. Hmm... maybe I could try transparencies... or photoshop...

Hey, just had a brainwave- has anyone printed off the twisted words artwork on tracing paper like they said? It looks like there might be words or a code if you put it in the right order... :uhoh2:

still waiting for the definitive stop the clocks...

:laugh3: Wow, this thread brings back some memories... Poor Jess... she wanted to fit in so much, but one little fib and it came back to bite her.

^ Heh I've had that song in my alarm clock all summer- the dripping water in a sink sounds are really good for waking up.

Oh, and Radiohead released a couple of new songs- One for free, and one not. (Both on their blog, and both good.)

Heya Ren, heard you were around again. :nice:

^Oh, that fight. That was a while ago wasn't it? And isn't Nathan banned now?

So has anyone heard anything about how we're actually going to be able to get that vinyl EP Thom is supposedly putting out? I hear it's supposed to be crazy limited. Briggins! Hello :D 1 - or was murdered. 4 - Oasis just more or less broke up.... possibly for good. I don't know... I was working... it looked like the usual assortment of relatively n00b (last 6 months-ish) spammers riling people up to me when I could check in.

Even Noel seems to think so- http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=729267588 Starting around 3:10 and on...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yGuq1GCjZg]YouTube - Noel Gallagher: I'll never leave Oasis - interview[/ame] Well, so much for that idea...

Wait... what? What? :uhoh: Oh crap. :disappointed: Well, he has left over fights before. And it is the end of the tour, which is when crap usually happens for them isn't it? So they may get bored and end up in the studio together again when things have cooled off. Though it does sound like Noel has a solo album to get out of his system first. If this is the end, then I guess it's a sad but rather fitting end. Going out while they're still great in more or less the same fashion they started in (...and before Noel ever has to start dying his hair :p) Murp. :(

The Knife! :nice: I love them. They're great. Especially "Marble House". :D

According to my mp3 player, all their official albums, b-sides and other releases add up to about 103. There's another what- 10, 20? songs that have been played live but never recorded. There are several dozen covers from over the years. All that will get you to about 200 maybe more. So yeah, you'd have to include alternate acoustic live versions of songs to reach 300. People with hundreds of tracks have lots of live recordings.

A question? Yes! No. Maybe? Without a doubt. Nah, it's all time zones. ...or El Nino.

I just found out that I don't seem to. It was a fun day. If you do, how do you deal with it?

I hate to admit it, but I actually do respect what she seems to be trying to do as an artist. And unlike the other poptarts, she actually seems to be a genuine artist with big ideas and a lot of talent. And it's a nice change not to know what she's like, who she's dating or what she ate for breakfast. But her music makes my ears bleed. :bigcry:

:sleeping: One more for the load of crap file. Whenever anonymous "friends" start talking to tabloids it's usually all fabricated anyway. And I think she's a little bit better at choosing her friends than they would have you believe.

But it's so rewarding to track them down one at a time. :p

Hey, another Haligonian. :cool: *waves* Like I said before, Chapters will have it in about a month.

Yes, Chapters carries it. As well as some news stands. But as a word of warning, it costs an arm and a leg imported (murp :cry: Would read it all the time if I could) and it takes an extra month or so to get it in here.

Radiohead are my favorite, but Coldplay are so close behind it's pretty much a tie.

*checks news* Wow. :stunned: