Search results for 'tag:Essays tag:Idioms' matching tags 'Essays' and 'Idioms'

Re: Idiom Chain

Maple — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:45:37 GMT

Iâll be busy putting flesh on the bones of my tentative little theory in my essay before the due time.

Re: Please correct me with the essay

Mister Micawber — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:51:15 GMT

1) What should I replace my work with?-- No title is required for TOEFL essays; if you need a title, it should announce to the reader the topic of your essay.

2)
the parentless children-- these are not previously mentioned or specific children
make their lives better -- what English word means 'make...better'?
people (why did you underline here?). -- What word is more specific?
measure I will(why did you underline here?). -- Only one measure? And verb form is not consistent.

3)
normally(why did you underline here?).-- Orphanhood is normal??
lead miserable lives due to(why did you underline here?).-- Strictly, 'due to' is an adjective; use a synonym.
the lack of education and materials (why did you underline here?). -- wrong word
However, before we did all the (why did you underline here?).-- wrong verb form
A charity fund might well be operated(why did you underline here? Can I replace it with "opened?") -- Yes, wrong word; use 'opened' or a synonym.
make them pay at all costs(why did you underline here?).-- Idiom is wrong here, and redundant: taxes are mandatory by nature
The tax can be fluctuating(why did you underline here?).-- wrong verb form
It's time the government... emphasize the essay, why would you say it was extraneous?-- That is not emphasis; it is beside the point; the essay is about what you would do, not what the government should do

4)To sum up, I-the governor(why did you underline here?).-- Wrong punctuation, new title, unnecessary appositive
Everyone bears in their minds(why did you underline here?) - the idiom is incorrectly formed
that even orphans have the(why did you underline here?).--no previous mention, no specificity

NOTE: If you want to continue this revision, please post a clean, revised copy for my review, Belly.

Re: My last duchess

Feebs11 — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:33:52 GMT

-First I want to describe the situation (who is speaking to whom, that the Duke is looking for a new wife, that he killed his last one)

-than I want mention that we don't just read this in our text but have to read it between the lines.

-I would say that we have to read between the lines because the poet uses all kinds of irony (verbal irony, structural irony,....)

-this irony shows the tone of the poem

-then my thesis statement: something like:
through various kinds of irony we can ~~read between the lines~~infer that the duke killed his last duchess and we can interpret him telling this on purpose as a warning towards his future wife.

Looks as though you are going in the right direction. Fine here to use idioms such as "read between the lines", but don't use them too often in your essay.

Post the essay when you have written it for more comments!

Re: What this idiom means

Besthunter — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 07:18:38 GMT

Another help please,

My teacher told me to compose essay with the topic "American Education.. where is it leading?" Can you help me what does it mean: "where is it leading" Does he want me to tell about the situation of Vietnamese Edu or something??

Second, I'd like to ask you what does this mean:
"American Education has both dark side and bright side"
(Although I don't now its meaning, I think it should be "a dark side" rather than "dark side" because "side" is a countable noun" ??

Re: hello

Samarnh_p — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:15:04 GMT

Writing is a tough job, but once you like it you never fail to success. There are bunches of good web addresses that may guide you to be an excellent writer or composer. You can make things alive, so you also can make it good and shiny. I recommend that each time you've done with your writing whether just a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or an essay, it's your responsibility to revise it again and again until you feel enough. Surely, no one can make a perfect paper, unless it's polished and critized. Always be ware with unity, style, sentence structure, spelling, and word choices. Writing is formal; thus, slangs or idioms are not included.

Good luck with your study Littl...

Re: Some idioms expressing dissagreements

Kirakira — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 04:07:54 GMT

Wow. I find these expressions very interesting.Now I have more choices to express my disagreement. However, I still have a question:

Can I use these phrases in formal writing ( such as essays or tests of English?) Or they are just suitable in informal English?

Re: Help me on my essay about how something influenced me/personal experience

Doll — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:11:12 GMT

Philosophy has had a very great connection and influence with in my life. Is man the destined master of the universe, or is he a âworm of the dustâ? What is the relation between man and the universe? Is man the center of the universe, the goal of all creation, or is he a mere incident of no more significance to the universe than a speck of dust? Is the universe friendly or unfriendly to man, or is it merely unconcerned. This was the first real infromation that influenced me to even do anything with philosophy or study it. (Either say to do anything with philosophy or to study it.Don't say both of them.)I was reading a book, Man's Place In the Universe, with this questions in my mind under, âMANâS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSEâ. Philosophy also comes from many people Philosophy has always attracted people to think about things(or write a similar sentence like this) and throughout my high school years, from reading just one book, I began to realize that people form general ideals and beliefs about different questions and things that arenât generally understood. My personality, in general, leads me to ask a lot of questions, but I have a tendency not to ask questions , instead I prefer to listen them.and listen for them instead. And from by listening them, I developed a desire to answer questions or at least give those people around me , my family, my friends, and even a complete stranger ( counting everyone is too long) what the knowledge(giving knowledge may not be correct ) I can to help them think over the problem over and come to a conclusion. I personally donât have any one philosophy I follow am not in favor of any philosophy but in the future I may have something that wonât leave take people off thinking forever, because a lot so much of philosophical help, that doesnât make sense, which leaves people thinking for ever. Iâve always had a lot of time on my hands so listening to peoples to listen questions which weren't wasnât anything I considered difficult; philosophy was the thing that allowed me to listen and reason with the questions I was always asked. Even if I couldnât come to certain conclusion about a philosophical question, I believed I could always find something to make me content. As for the book, it was the beginning of my understanding and my realization I wanted to understand.

When I was a senior, I had to pick up any kind of book to read for ten minutes or more during the beginning of my English class, so as I looked on the shelf at home and asked my mom for something to read, I saw a white paperback book what is white paperback book? that said some words about Philosophy on it. I canât quite remember the title but it caught my attention and I took it to class. At the beginning of class the teacher went around the room, looking at what people were reading. She stopped in front of my desk and asked, âWhat are you reading Trefyn?â I turned the book, which I wasnât really reading, towards her face. She said with a smirk, âoh, philosophy hmm.â That smirk kind of made me mad like she thought I was stupid or something. After the ten minutes of reading were over, I got over it. At the time I wasnât a big reader, I didnât really read it until I got extremely bored one day.

That day, I believe, was the end of the six weeks period and I had taken all my tests and had nothing to do. Having very few friends in my 4th period English class I decided to read something. So I said to myself, âmight as well read something.â So I opened the book in the middle and began reading. Inside the book were ideas that changed my life. I read about philosophers' theories of life, existence, death, love, hate, friends, and many more topics I never got to in the book. I donât really know what made the book seem so interesting at the time, maybe because I think about a lot of things and topics like the ones under, âMANâS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSEâ, most of the time. I was kind of sad when my teacher said we needed to start reading a new book for the new six weeks. I never finished that book but I really liked to think of it as mysterious because I never could remember the name and I wanted to finish reading it from front to back. I guess it wasnât meant to be.

I believe when I lost the book one day I was real involved in it and left it some where to talk to someone and forgot it, Iâm pretty sure it had to be one of those senior skip days. When I lost the book, I looked all over for it in my house, my closet, my bed and I even asked my mom because she had a habit of taking things I took from her back. Iâm still looking for that book even though I came to the âleaving it at the schoolâ conclusion but you never know. Maybe when I lost the book I started to lose my way, or maybe I answered one of the questions from the section of the book ,âMANâS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSEâ, âIs the universe friendly or unfriendly to man, or is it merely unconcerned?â wrong, or maybe I never had a way to begin with. I think I became normal and felt kind of empty without the book and without completing one of the greatest things I ever started. I hate to say it, but without that book I lost a lot of good ideas and ended up much like I was at the beginning of the year just with a few ideas in my head. I just didnât feel helpful or even smart anymore or even special for having the book. Months passed and I kept what I had read kind of to heart but not really. More so I just wanted to say something that sounded smart, soon I graduated. The best thing I thought I could say to my friend who lost his mother and was now loosing his friends was from that first book on philosophy from that section âMANâS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSEâ, at the time I thought saying, âDying is a part of life, and people come and go though out every mans life, the universe is unfriendly to us alll.â, was helpful but not sure if it helped him or not. Thinking about it now, Iâm pretty sure anyone could have said what I did and probably everyone did. But whether I helped him or not this wouldnât be the last friend I tried to help and, this wouldnât be the last book that influenced my mind.

I believe it was July when I was ready to go to the marines, with my best friend who was engaged to get married. No need to give this information.Everyone gets engaged to get married.I was almost sure going to the marines was what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about it day and night, then one day someone online talked about Gankutsuou by Alexander Dumas turned into a movie, a cartoon and various other things that was so great. So I thought âwhy not check it out? Iâll need something to kill the time before I turn 18 on the 22nd.â I started the reading Gankutsuou a few weeks before my birthday and to my surprise not only was it filled with philosophical ideals, mostly the idea of manâs place in the universe, it was also a great story. From the day I started reading Gankutsuou until the next week I finished and even to this day I want to live my life as the main character, Gankutsuou did, Gankutsuou lived the way he wanted and not for material things. Although he had a lot of money, without a doubt he would easily give it all up. After reading Gankutsuou, I decided not to go to the Marines with my friend. I told him I wanted to go to film school in New York and he ,of course, was very supportive. Although I have not yet made it to film school in New York, I still enjoy films and would love to still write scripts and plays and movies. When get there, Iâm sure most of the topics would be about the only girl I was really close to.

Britney was maybe the second best friend Iâd ever had in my life. I would have said first, but I started to get feeling for her strong ones and maybe, because of that, I pushed her away. One and a half years after graduation, she cried to me and asked me for advice. I couldnât do anything but make her laugh; I couldnât say anything of importance. I think about the past now and realize I let a lot of things go. I really was becoming like Gankutsuou from the novel I love so much. Personality wise, I was pushing all those close to me away and even some of them were taken from me. Maybe I could have done something for Britney who was upset over family and friends, very much like another friend, but I chose not to tell her manâs place in the universe because I really didnât know. So I decided to follow a similar path to Gankutsuou and I decided to let her go and never saw her again.

The second book is completely unrelated to the first. I believe thought that the second book served as a teacher that helped me better understand âMANâS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSEâ, or at least what it meant to me and still today it helps me better understand other sections of the book I had read. It showed me even if I could talk the talk I couldnât walk the walk,what is this? an idiom? so thatâs what Iâm doing now. Maybe itâs not a philosophy but an idea,that I want to become someone who looks for answers as well as someone who can answer questions. If I wanted to, I could fill the pages with a bunch of philosophical ideals. Maybe I already did, but if I did that, I didnât intend to and donât think Iâd be any good at it even if I tried. The best thing I can do now is listen and the answers will come naturally, along with the questions.

In a nut shell thatâs how a book I never finished that talked about philosophy influenced my life. Maybe the Gankutsuou more than the first changed my life, or my way of thinking that made me change my life. Maybe there could have been a number of things that got me interested in philosophy, but I really believe it was that first book I never finished, that I donât know the name of, that led me to the second book that put me where I am today. Of course, Iâm not sure Iâll always follow this path of, try to find not just my place in the universe but any manâs place, but Iâve enjoyed it so far. I do believe philosophy will continue to influence my life, through people, and through other books, and of course Iâll remember to get their names.

Your teachers seem to have missed some points. After the introductory paragraph I will highliht again. (just to drive you crazy )You still have some mistakes.By the way, you need the book name.It would bebetter if you ask your teacher.

Self-Evaluation Essay

Super Sonic — Sat, 19 May 2007 22:54:48 GMT

Hi,

I had my final exam from the writing course as a home take-in, but the type of the essay sounded a little bit weird to me. Here is what my lecturer gave as information:

Writing FINAL

Write an evaluation essay on the following topic

The Self-Evaluation essay is a reflective essay assessing and describing your learning experiences. Write a self evaluation essay considering the guidelines below.
The following are guidelines for your Self-Evaluation Essay:

Include each of your learning objectives,
Describe how the learning objectives were accomplished and the steps used to complete objectives,
For objectives you did not meet, state why not. What did you learn from the failure to meet objectives? (Is this even proper English? )
What else did you learn that was not in your initial objective? Specific examples should be cited. The student should review the learning objectives set at the beginning of the term and assess what growth he or she has achieved during the term."

And here is what I have written (Could you please proofread it considering the notes above?):

This Is Only the Beginning

This is my first year in the Linguistics department of Hacettepe University. I can easily say that this university is not quite what I expected it to be. I was hoping to improve myself in many fields, but this did not happen in the first year, since I had to deal with my courses more than anything else. However, my English dramatically improved thanks to the courses. I would like to evaluate this year in terms of how I improved my English skills (speaking, writing, reading and listening), while doing nothing about the other fields I was interested in (arts and sports).

First of all, I have been able to improve my expressive English skills thanks to a native speakerâs being our lecturer, and having courses on how to express ourselves better in English. Margaret was the lecturer of our writing course. I learned many new words, idioms, grammar structures and expressions in her classes, which would have me state my thoughts in a more comprehensible way in written language. Also, both in our writing and reading classes we had discussions about various controversial subjects that helped me improve my speaking skills. We were having phonetics at the same time, and as a student trying to attend all the classes, I improved my pronunciation. So, I can say that I am grateful for my department to help me meet my objectives in expressing myself both in spoken and written language.

Secondly, my receptive skills have also improved with the help of the courses like reading, literature, and listening comprehension. Even though I did not have much difficulty in reading and understanding course books, articles, reading passages and the like, I was rather poor at literal texts, or in other words, the figurative use of English language. By the help of our literature classes, I got over this problem, and now I can mostly understand what Shakespeare or Hemingway says. My listening skills, likewise, improved remarkably after having taken the listening comprehension courses. I was unable to differentiate between the words that resemble each other like âmateâ and âmadeâ before I took those courses. I can say that listening to someone speaking English has become one of the easiest tasks ever with the help of my lecturers.

Thirdly, even though there has been a big improvement in my English skills, I have not been able to deal with arts or sports, both of which are my main interests. I was hoping to have art lessons such as painting and music. However, all the courses are academic ones. Another deficit of my department âor of the university in general- is that there are not many sports activities going on. Because of these reasons, I felt rather âantisocialâ in my first year in the university. As a result, not having done anything in these two areas is the only objective that I missed this year, but I am thinking of taking piano and karate courses next year from another university. If only my university gave more importance to these two areas!

Consequently, although I was not very content with the overall situation of the university this year, I must admit that my English skills have improved drastically within this year. I, however, still feel sad about not being able to take any courses from my areas of interest. Who knows, maybe this was only the beginning. Maybe, I am going to like this university better. Only time will show!

Thanks in advance

Re: Stereotype of people from Spain

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:52:08 GMT

Your teacher was right. It was difficult to read due to the use of improper idioms and the incorrect wording of phrases. It's like a poorly written first draft.

However, I would like to thank you very much for posting your essay. I had to research about stereotypes concerning la gente de EspaÃ±a and I got most of my information from your essay. Thanks so much.

Re: Stereotype of people from Spain

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:36:34 GMT

Your teacher was right. It was difficult to read due to improper idioms and word phrasing. Your essay seemed was like a very poorly written first draft.
However, I would like to thank you very much for posting your essay. I had to do research concerning stereotypes of la gente de EspaÃ±a and I got most of my information from your essay. You saved me from wasting my time searching the internet. Thanks so much!