http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aVerbs+tag%3aInformative+essaysSearch results for 'tag:Verbs tag:Informative essays' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'Informative essays'en-USCSMOD (Build: 3260.39585)http://www.englishforums.com/English/InformativeEssay/bqgg/post.htm#9645Thu, 02 Oct 2003 02:53:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:9645wumanfuHi, this post is a little long maybe. Sorry to those of you with limited time to get exactly the right information quickly. Next time, I’ll just post a typical college essay; no chat! <br /> <br />In my previous post, I wrote a short informative essay. It’s maybe good enough for a middle-school student answer. However, for English 101 at college, I’ll have to do a little better. Here is a list of the issues I’ll consider to improve my essay. <br /> <br />1 analysing the title <br />2 organising notes and linking ideas together <br />3 planning the assignment <br />4 discussion and analysis <br />5 citations <br /> <br />1 analysing the title <br />The teacher asked me to write an informative essay. I went to the dictionary to find out what informative means. I discovered that I got the best information by reading about the verb ‘inform’ and also by understanding its synonyms (other words that mean approximately the same thing). To be cute, I decided to write my informative essay about being informative. This process helped me to organise my notes and link my ideas together in a logical way. <br /> <br />2 organising notes and linking ideas together <br />I used a quotation from Oscar Wilde as inspiration for my argument; my point of view. I said that it’s important to be interesting when I write or talk to people; there’s no way I’ll communicate effectively if my writing is boring. I chose that quotation after reading the dictionary definition for ‘informative’. Apparently, when the word ‘informative’ was first used (the Etymology reference), it meant “having the power to inform, animate, or vivify. OK, so I’ve found my line of argument for the essay. Now what I did was to just follow my curiosity and noted down what seemed important. I hoped that my curiosity was also putting ideas in a logical sequence. <br /> <br />3 planning the assignment <br />I looked for help about planning my assignment on the Internet. I used the www.google.com search engine. I looked for hits about essay writing. I’m familiar with IELTS preparation so I looked for IELTS resources. The information I found gave me examples of college papers and some hints about achieving a better score in the exam. When I post the next version of my informative essay, you should notice an improvement. <br /> <br />4 discussion and analysis <br />What is there to discuss about being informative? What is communication? What are the barriers to effective communication; the factors that stop my words reaching their target? These are the sorts of issues I want to discuss. Also, I’ll try to find information written by experts. I expect that some experts will have already struggled with these ideas and I’ll bet that there has already been a couple thousand years of history about communication in various cultures and in some fascinating contexts. As I read more and ask more questions, I expect to find references to communication (being informative) in professions like anthropology, psychology, medicine, philosophy, education…. So, the sky is the limit. I could keep reading and asking questions till I’d written a thesis! <br /> <br />5 citations <br />I referred to a style manual about writing citations (acknowledging the work of other authors). Sorry to just dump information here but maybe it will be helpful to read advice from a trusted authority. <br /> <br />Merriam-Webster Style Manual <br />“In high-school papers and in popular writing, sources are usually identified only by casual mentions within the text itself. In college term papers, in serious nonfiction books published for the general public, and traditionally in scholarly books and articles in the humanities, footnotes or endnotes are preferred. In this system, sequential numbers within the text refer the reader to notes at the bottom of the page or at the end of the article, chapter, or book; these notes contain full bibliographic information on the works cited. In scholarly works in the natural sciences and social sciences, and increasingly in the humanities as well, parenthetical references within the text refer the reader to an alphabetically arranged list of references at the end of the article, chapter, or book. The system of footnotes or endnotes is the more flexible, since it allows for commentary on the work or subject and can also be used for brief discussions not tied to any specific work. However, style manuals tend to encourage the use of parenthetical references in addition to or instead of footnotes or endnotes, since for most kinds of material they are efficient and convenient for both writer and reader. In a carefully documented work, an alphabetically ordered bibliography or list of references normally follows the entire text (including any endnotes), regardless of which system is used. Though different publishers and journals have adopted slightly varying styles, the following examples illustrate standard styles for footnotes and endnotes, parenthetical references, and bibliographic entries. For more extensive treatment than can be provided here, consult: Merriam-Webster's Manual for Writers and Editors (2nd ed., Merriam-Webster, 1995) The Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed., Univ. of Chicago Press, 1993) MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 1999) Scientific Style and Format (6th ed., Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994) Back to top Home My Account Contact Us Privacy Policy Site Help Merriam-Webster Online home © 2003 by Merriam-Webster, Inc. <br />http://www.englishforums.com/English/InformativeEssay/bqbz/post.htm#9559Wed, 01 Oct 2003 07:17:31 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:9559wumanfuHi, this informative essay took me about 1 hour to research and write. It’s far from perfect but at least it is a draft that I’m proud of. I’ll refine it when I can. Although I’m happy with the basic structure, I need to correct split infinitives and try to make the syntax better. I’d be grateful for anyone who has time to help me refine my good but imperfect ‘Chinglish’. <br />Wu <br /> <br />An Informative Essay <br />Some folk will tell you that it’s impossible to animate or vivify information that comes straight out of a dictionary. Dictionaries are boring, confusing and soporific to boot! However, it’s my aim in this essay to impart knowledge regarding the adjective ‘informative’ and the transitive verb from which it’s formed, ‘inform’. My source throughout this task is the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary (online). <br /> <br />If information is boring, it will never be communicated effectively. Oscar Wilde was a marvellous communicator and he made it very clear that information must contain a dash of inspiration. He described dull writing as follows… “Everything that is made from without and by dead rules, and does not spring from within through some spirit informing it” This probably sums up the affect that dictionaries have had on people since the language was printed on paper. My challenge in this essay is to use the information contained in the dictionary to present an entertaining essay that communicates the stuff stored within. <br /> <br />A good dictionary will present a short history of the way that language has changed over the years. The dictionary will then analyse the sources from literature, newspapers and the media and try to find a definition or key to understanding a particular word. With regard to the word ‘informative’, the Webster’s dictionary prints knowledge regarding pronunciation, history and definitions: the rules of English necessary for you to put the word to use effectively in conversation or in writing. <br />Be aware that a little study is needed to get the full benefit from what’s printed. <br /> <br />The information in the dictionary, the entries, are written in a short concise way and often contain assumed knowledge. For instance, it takes some research to make sense of the rules about pronunciation and the abbreviations about how the words are analysed. <br />For most people, clear definitions with examples are all that’s needed for a quick dictionary hit. When I look up a word in the dictionary, I skim through the text till I find definitions and examples. Following that task, I try to find a list of words that have similar or opposite meanings. <br />I’ll share my approach to navigating Webster’s dictionary entry, inform. <br /> <br />First, I noted some examples of how the word has been used by important people or in seminal contexts. I’ve cited a quotation from Oscar Wilde because it says something important about the value of interesting information in communicating ideas. Next, I pasted Webster’s analysis of verbs that function in a similar way. <br />Synonyms for inform are: <br />ACQUAINT; <br />APPRISE; <br />ADVISE; <br />NOTIFY; & <br />ADVERTISE. <br />Although all of These verbs signify “to make aware or cognizant (of something)”, they have slightly different meanings and they don’t function precisely the same way when their root verbs are morphed into adjectives. For instance, if ‘INFORM’ implies the imparting of knowledge, especially of facts or events necessary to the understanding of a pertinent matter then the word, ‘ACQUAINT’ usually lays stress upon less centrally significant matters than INFORM does or suggests a process of introducing to or familiarizing with rather than informing. To APPRISE someone of something is to communicate something usually of interest or importance to him To ADVISE someone of something is to inform him of something that may make a significant difference to him in an action, policy, or plan; it often suggests a forewarning or counselling To NOTIFY is to send a notice or make a usually formal communication generally about something requiring or worthy of attention. ADVERTISE, (rare in current use) in this sense, is to inform or notify by way of warning Of all these verbs, only inform translates easily into an adjective suitable to qualify the noun ‘essay’. Hence, an informative essay may have some or all of the characteristics contained in the verb inform or its synonyms. <br />