http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/AprilFoolsMakeFoolYourself
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Electrical Frequencies, Conversions with Other Measurements
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Electrical-Frequencies-Conversions-with-Other-Measurements
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Week of Oct. 28, 2012 - Flimflammery - A Study in Words
By Joan Whetzel
One of my favorite quotes is fro Sir Walter Scott: Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive! In essence, flimflammery is all about deceit. In fact, the noun flimflam is defined as a trick or deception in the form of a swindle or confidence game that entails expert-level persuasion techniques or manipulation on the part of the person perpetrating the deceit. Flimflam, as a verb, means to trick, deceive, swindle or cheat someone, as in cheating someone out of their life savings. Flimflammery has a number of synonyms which provide the nuances any writer would need to consider if they want to use this great word in their writing.
Lie
The verb to lie means to make an false statement with the intent of deceiving someone or to create a false impression with the intent of misleading someone. The Thesaurus lists the following synonyms for lying: falsehood, falsity, untruth, mendacity, prevarication, fib, taradiddle, flam, a crock, fiction, pious fiction, legal fiction, story, trumped up story, yarn, tale, fairy tale, ghost story, farfetched story, tall tale, cock and bull story, fish story, exaggeration, half truth, stretching of the truth, white lie, pack of lies
Humbug
Humbug, as a noun, is something intended to deceive such as a hoax or a fraud, a person claiming to be someone else (an imposter), nonsense, rubbish, a pretense, or a deception. the verb humbug means to deceive or trick someone, or to practice deception or trickery. As an interjection (think Ebenezer Scrooge here), humbug is used as an expression of disbelief or disgust. Synonyms for humbug listed in the Thesaurus are: humbuggery, bunk, bunkum, hooey, hoke, hokum, bosh, bull, crap, blarney, smoke and mirrors, claptrap, moonshine, eyewash, hogwash, gammon, jiggery-pokery
Deception
Deception is a nouns meaning the use of deceit, the state of being deceived, a ruse or a trick. Synonyms from the thesaurus include calculated deception, deceptiveness, subterfuge, gimmickry, trickiness, falseness, fallaciousness, fallacy, self deception, wishful thinking, willful misconception, vision, hallucination, phantasm, mirage, delusion, delusiveness, illusion, deceiving, victimization, dupery, bamboozlement, hoodwinking, swindling, defrauding, conning, fooling, befooling, tricking, kidding, putting on, spoofing, bluffing, circumvention, overreaching, outwitting, ensnarement, entrapment, enmeshment, entanglement
Deceive
Deceive is a verbe meaning to cause someone to believe something that isn't true, to mislead, to catch someone by guile, to ensnare someone, to practice deceit, or to give a false impression. The synonyms for deceive in the Thesaurus consist of the following list: gyp, clip, scam, rope in, hose, shave, beat, rook, dipsy-doodle, do a number on, hustle, screw, have, pull something, pull a trick or stunt, give the business, ramp, stick, sting, burn, gouge, chisel, hocus, hocus-pocus, play or take for a sucker, make a patsy of , do, run a game on, slicker, take for a ride
Caprice
Finally, caprice - a noun - means an spontaneous change of mind, an inclination to change one's mind, or a unexpected or unpredictable deed, change, a or series of changes or actions. The Thesaurus synonyms for caprice are listed as follows: whim, humor, whimsy, freak, whim-wham, fancy, fantasy, conceit, notion, toy, freakish inspiration, crazy idea, fantastic notion, fool notion, harebrained idea, vagary, fad, craze, passing fancy, quirck, crank, kink, maggot in the brain, bee in one’s bonnet, flea in one’s nose. In the case of caprice, someone may well be deceived - or at least feel that they have been deceived - though the person acting out the caprice did not intend to deceive the other person. The key here is the lack of intent.
Clearly, there are many ways that a writer can get the point across that a bit of flimflammery is occurring - or has occurred. It can be shown easily with the use of any of these words or their synonyms. Have fun with this one.
Friday, October 26, 2012
If Money Were No Object, What Classes Would You Take?
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/IfMoneyWereNoObjectWhatClassesWouldYouTake
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Bipolar Disorder Symptoms and Treatments
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Bipolar-Disorder-Symptoms-and-Treatments
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
7 Ways to Conserve Water During a Drought
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/7-Ways-to-Conserve-Water-During-a-Drought
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Week of Oct. 21, 2012 - Turning Previously Published Articles Into New Articles
By Joan Whetzel
From time to time, all writers have trouble coming up with new ideas. One way to overcome this is to re-work previously published articles and stories in order to turn them into a new piece of work. Sometimes this is simply a matter of some minor editing. However, in most cases several changes will need to be made.
Scavenge Through Previously Published Articles
The first thing to do, is to go through all your old files to locate all old articles and stories that are on topics of interest to you, the writer, or that may be re-purposed for another publication. Locate the following types of writing in your files:
· Your published articles in print.
· Your published article online.
· Your college term papers.
Review the Resources
The first step in re-working the article is to review the resources used to write the story, term paper or article. Ask yourself if the resource and the information it provides:
· is still in print.
· has a publication date that is more than 10 years old.
· is still available online.
· has any recent updates.
· is still relevant today.
Once you have identified the resources that are out of date, no long relevant, or no longer available online, remove those resources from the bibliography (a.k.a. List of Works Cited). Go through the remaining resources to identify which material came from these resources. Then highlight the material that may have come from the deleted resources.
Re-Research for Updates
Next, it's time to update the research and resources so that any holes in the research can be filled in and updated. Do this for both print and online resources and research.
Locate New Images
Images that you obtained from outside sources may no longer be available. These will need to be replaced. Other images that may need replacing are those that may be dated. If your original article was written in the 80s and includes people, locations, and vehicles from that time period, well, then it may be time to update the photos. Any images that are grainy, blurry, or pixilated should also be updated.
Double-Check Keywords List
Articles prior to 2000 may not have required a keywords list. In that case a keyword list will need to be generated. For anything since around 2000 forward, examine the keyword list and update it for current word usage, subject matter, for words that make more sense. Use the new keyword list to help you re-write the article or story.
Tweak It
Finally, it's time to tweak the article or story. Edit the writing for the following:
· to either delete or update the material from the deleted sources.
· to add in new and updated material from new sources.
· to correct spelling and grammar errors.
· to improve the flow.
There are other ways to tweak the article as well. Try one of these:
1. Compare and contrast the information from the original article to current standards for the subject matter. This is a variation on the "then and now" style of story.
2. Show how trends have changed since the original article was written. (Another variation of the "then and now" style.)
3. Show how things have changed over time, as sort of a timeline of events.
4. If the original article or story was long, break it down into several smaller articles.
5. If you have several small articles on the same topic, combine them to create one longer article.
6. Combine several articles or stories on related topics to create something entirely new.
These are only a few ideas for re-working old article to turn them into new articles. Hopefully they will suggest other ways for writers to reuse and recycle their own work.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
New Stories By Joan Whetzel
Poltergeists - A Study in Words
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Poltergeists-A-Study-in-Words
-AND-
Doppelgänger - A Study in Words
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Doppelgnger-A-Study-in-Words
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Poltergeists-A-Study-in-Words
-AND-
Doppelgänger - A Study in Words
http://joanwz.hubpages.com/hub/Doppelgnger-A-Study-in-Words
Monday, October 15, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Week of October 14, 2012: Research Writing
By Joan Whetzel
Week of October 14, 2012: Research Writing
By: Joan Whetzel
Reports on every conveyable subject are written for businesses, government agencies, schools and colleges, and scientific journals. In order to write these reports, the writers need to understand the subject matter of that report, which means doing the research. The hardest part of doing the research is choosing the best resources when so many information sources are available to choose from.
Reasons for Research
The type of research writing one does depends on the reason for the research and the writing. Scientists share their research writing in scientific journals so that their research must be duplicatable and that it usually provides the opportunity to build on or complement any prior research with new insights. Academic research writing scrutinizes, evaluates, and compares older documents and events with current documents and events, as a means of stirring thoughts and discussions on social, historical, political and other issues. Business research writing addresses marketing, company performance, and financial forecasting concerns.
What Research Writing Provides
Scientific research writing discusses the investigation process taken by the scientist. It begins with an abstract, which is a summary of the work, and an introduction to the basis for the work. It includes the scientist’s materials and methods used; followed by the data explaining the results and a discussion of the findings, and finally concludes with the list of any outside resources used in the research process. Academic and business research writing begins by introducing the topic being discussed or the question answered by the report. The body of the research writing that follows covers the research, which is separated into subheadings that discuss all the facets of the topic, and concludes with a discussion of the findings.
Primary and Secondary Research
One of the most important aspects of any research writing is primary research, that information and data the writer collects himself or herself. Primary research includes:
· Interviews (question and answer session either held one-on-one or in small groups).
· Surveys (rigid question and answer session with a large and diverse group of people which provide a limited amount of information).
· Observations (taking organized notes about real-world examinations and studies)
· Analysis (the collection, organization and evaluation of data from the primary research)
· Experiments and collection of the data from that experimentation.
Secondary research (finding what others have already written and published on a particular subject) is usually required so that the research writer has a good understanding of what is already known on the subject. It can also be used to supplement his or her writing with examples, explanations, and as back up for some of his or points.
Arranging the Research Writing
The research writing must be arranged logically so that the reader(s) can follow the writer’s train of thought. Breaking the research into smaller sections with descriptive headings (section titles) which will help the readers scan through the research writing to find the parts they need most.
A Word of Warning
Secondary research provides a lot of information from scholars and experts which is ripe for using as quotations. Quotations, used sparingly, are great and punctuate any research writing with the expert’s wisdom and experience. However, it is not the aim of research writing to quote others or repeat what others have said and written on the subject. When using other peoples’ work in your research writing, it is more important to appraise the work of other experts, then disclose your own thoughts and arguments on the topic than to load down the writing with a bunch of quotes from other experts and scholars.
Reference
Writing Research Papers. David R. Caprette. "Experimental Biosciences." Rice University: August 1995. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html
Research and Citation Resources. "Purdue Online Writing Lab." 2010. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
Writing Research Essays. "A Guide For Students Of All Nations - Part One." William Badke. October 2009. http://www.acts.twu.ca/Library/research_essays.htm#question
Handbook of Technical Writing. Gerald J. Alred, et al. Eight Edition. 2006. Bedford/St. Martin's.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Joseph Gibaldi. Fifth Edition. 1999. The Modern Language Association of America.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Fifth Edition. 2003.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. What Is Primary Research and How Do I Get Started?
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
What Is Scientific Writing?
By Joan Whetzel
Scientists unearth new discoveries, examine the work of other scientists, and experimenting with new ideas. Science grows best when scientists share their findings through scientific writing because it allows their discoveries to become the basis for further study. Scientists detail their results in scientific journals, framing problems in the context of their field work, explaining their research, and formatting it for peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals, and theses or dissertations. That is the crux of scientific writing.
What Does Scientific Writing Include?
Scientific writing reveals the meaning and implications of the research to readers who may be unfamiliar with the scientist's field of study, who may be un-swayed by the scientist's assertions and who may be disinclined to read the scientist's article unless they are persuaded to continue reading near the beginning of the article. In other words, the scientific writer has to make it interesting enough to draw the readers in and keep them reading. Scientific writers write and edit scientific abstracts (theoretical material), manuscripts and training materials---among other things. They can write for peer-review journals or their writings can develop into scientific observations, textbooks and literature written for the general public.
Documentation for Scientific Writing
The scientific writer must make sure his or her documents are well written, properly cited, has included a reference section, and is prepared in a timely manner (meaning that the information isn't outdated before it is published). Scientific writing, especially for peer-reviewed publications, is usually written using the APA format (American Psychological Association). Other publications may request articles be arranged in the MLA (Modern Language Association) or the Chicago Manual of Style formats.
Requirements for Scientific Writing
In academic publications, and in a few mainstream publications, scientific writers are usually required to hold a Bachelors in Science (B.S.) a Masters of Science (M.S.) or a Doctorate of Science (PhD) degree because their degree is part of what lends credibility to their writing. They are also required to have experience in some field of science such as medicine, environmental sciences or physics, especially experience related to the article they are trying to publish. This type of writing is based not only on their current research, but on their background experience. That is not to say, however, that all scientific writing has to be done by scientists with degrees who work in the field. Some journalists and other writers with a serious interest in science have also made careers on writing scientific articles for mainstream publications (newspapers, print magazines - like Astronomy and Scientific American - and online sites) without having a science degree or field experience in the area. They build expertise by researching and writing heavily in one or two scientific niches. Over time they then develop a history of providing accurate and timely scientific material that is accessible to and readable for the general public.
Features Seen in Scientific Writing
Scientific papers usually include the following features:
· The title states the question being answered.
· An abstract summarizes the research.
· An introduction gives the background for the research.
· The materials and methods lists the information needed to replicate the testing.
· The results presents the data.
· The discussion section presents the interpretations.
· The conclusion answers the question "do the results support the hypothesis?"
· The references list the books, periodicals and other research material used to set up the experiment and draw conclusions.
Purpose of Scientific Writing
The goal of scientific writing is to thoroughly explain new discoveries, the importance of the research, how the study was carried out and evaluated, and what the results were. The scientific writer must connect the results to prior research and future studies alike. If the scientific writer can compare and contrast the results from this current research, it can lead to even greater progress in scientific study.
Expert Insight
Scientists as scientific writers have a tendency to write for other scientists, which makes their papers extremely difficult to read and understand for the general public. Some would argue that the complexity of the material demands complex writing. Others feel that scientific writers should convey ideas using active verbs and nouns in order to make it more accessible to the general public without over-simplifying it, without compromising the research and without insulting the intelligence of the reader by dumbing-down the language. Either way, the expertise of the scientist always lends its credibility to any scientific writing.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
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