Finite Verb Definition and Examples

In English grammar, a finite verb is a form of a  verb  that (a) shows  agreement  with a  subject  and (b) is marked for  tense. Nonfinite verbs  are not marked for tense and do not show agreement with a subject. If there is just one verb in a sentence, that  verb is finite. (Put another way, a finite verb  can stand by itself in a sentence.)  Finite verbs are sometimes called main verbs or tensed verbs.  A  finite  clause  is a word group that contains a finite verb form as its central element. In An Introduction to Word Grammar, Richard Hudson writes: The reason  finite verbs  are so important is their unique ability to act as the sentence-root. They can be used as the only verb in the sentence, whereas all the others have to depend on some other word, so finite verbs really stand out. Finite vs. Nonfinite Verbs The main difference between finite verbs and nonfinite verbs is that the former can act as the root of an independent clause, or a full sentence, while the latter cannot. For example, take the following sentence: The man runs to the store to get a gallon of milk. Runs is a finite verb because it agrees with the subject (man) and because it marks the tense (present tense). Get is a nonfinite verb because it does not agree with the subject or mark the tense. Rather, it is an infinitive and depends on the main verb runs. By simplifying this sentence, we can see that runs has the ability to act as the root of an independent clause: The man runs to the store. Nonfinite verbs take three different forms—the infinitive, the participle, or the gerund. The infinitive form of a verb (such as to get in the example above) is also known as the base form, and is often introduced by a main verb and the word to, as in this sentence: He wanted to find a solution. The participle form appears when the perfect or progressive tense is used, as in this  sentence: He is looking for a solution. Finally, the gerund form appears when the verb is treated as an object or subject, as in this  sentence: Looking for solutions is something he enjoys. Examples of Finite Verbs In the following sentences (all lines from well-known movies), the finite verbs are indicated in bold. We rob banks. — Clyde Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde, 1967I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, 1991A boys best friend is his mother. — Norman Bates in Psycho, 1960We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now! — Withnail in Withnail and I, 1986You know how to whistle, dont you, Steve? You just put your lips together and...blow.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Marie Slim Browning in To Have and Have Not, 1944Get busy living, or get busy dying. — Andy Dufresne in  The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 Identify Finite Verbs In Essentials of English, Ronald C. Foote, Cedric Gale, and Benjamin W. Griffith write that finite verbs can be recognized by their form and their position in the sentence. The authors describe five simple ways to identify finite verbs: Most finite verbs can take an -ed or a -d at the end of the word to indicate time in the past: cough, coughed; celebrate, celebrated. A hundred or so finite verbs do not have these endings.Nearly all finite verbs take an -s at the end of the word to indicate the present when the subject of the verb is third-person singular: cough, he coughs; celebrate, she celebrates. The exceptions are auxiliary verbs like can and must. Remember that nouns can also end in -s. Thus the dog races can refer to a spectator sport or to a fast-moving third-person singular dog.Finite verbs are often groups of words that include such auxiliary verbs as can, must, have, and be: can be suffering, must eat, will have gone.Finite verbs usually follow their subjects: He coughs. The documents had compromised him. They will have gone.Finite verbs surround their subjects when some form  of a question is asked: Is he coughing? Did they celebrate? Sources Hudson, Richard. An Introduction to Word Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2010, Cambridge.Foote, Ronald C.; Gale, Cedric; and Griffith, Benjamin W. Essentials of English. Barrons, 2000, Hauppauge, N.Y.

Air Pollution Clean Air - 1157 Words

Air pollution: Clean air is vital to our health. Poor air quality can be particularly critical to the health of children, older people and pregnant women. It also affects the natural environment and liveability of our communities. Air pollution in Australia is not as severe as in other countries, however any amount of pollution can be harmful for the body, this is shown in the studies I will conduct as well as the meta analysis’s I refer to . Although my model and my studies don’t directly cut down on air pollution, from them, everyone can learn how vital clean air quality is to the health. The more people that know the extent of the effects of air pollution, the more pressure there will be on the government to diminish air pollution.†¦show more content†¦Affects people with asthma and people who exercise outdoors often. Symptoms may include wheezing and shortness of breath. Particulate matter: For this study I will only be measuring and analysing the effects of particulate matter, because it is the most highly predictive measurement of air pollution affecting asthma and other diseases, it is also the measurement most studies look at when correlating health and air pollution. What is PM: Particulate matter is extremely small solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the air. Many of these particles are hazardous. Many manmade sources (As well as natural sources, but not as significantly) emit PM directly or emit other pollutants that react in the atmosphere to form PM. PM2.5 (fine particles) come from every type of combustion activity such as motor vehicles, power plants, burning wood. PM10 (Coarse particles) usually come from agriculture activities. Particles can also be formed by chemical reactions of gases from burning of fossil fuels. Why is it bad: These small particles ( 10ÃŽ ¼m) are very dangerous because they can be inhaled and accumulate in the respiratory system. PM2.5 (Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) have the biggest health risks because of their small size they can penetrate deep into the lungs and even get into the bloodstreams. How it affects health: Health studies have shown a significantShow MoreRelatedPollution Control And The Clean Air Act Amendment1040 Words   |  5 PagesThe Southern Company is one of the largest consumers of coal, and the amendment of the Clean Air Act Amendment that aimed at reducing the volume of sulfur dioxide generated led to some problems. Previous regulations for air pollution control had specified a particular amount that a facility could emit, while the company has to choose its emission levels for the new sulfur dioxide law. Coal-fired plants in the United States will be receiving allowances for emitting 2.5 pounds of sulfur dioxide perRead MoreThe Clean Air Act vs. Pollution Essay4200 Words   |  17 PagesWe need to be concerned about the condition of the air that we breathe daily, because there has always been a problem with having fresh unpolluted air to breathe,dating back unto the Industrial Revolution the concern of polluted air has raised eyebrows whether it was scientists, government o fficials, or the general public the complaint of not pollutants in the air was a major health issue since the being of time. The reports of nineteen deaths in 1948, in the city of Denora, Pennsylvania was anRead MoreUsing Clean Coal Technologies to Reduce Air Pollution1809 Words   |  8 PagesUsing Clean Coal Technologies to Reduce Air Pollution ASDF SCI/275 September 4, 2011 Kristal Davis Fadtke Using Clean Coal Technologies to Reduce Air Pollution Air pollution is of pronounced concern in the media lately. 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Methodology & It Role in Project Management-Samples for Students

Questions: 1. Define what a methodology is and the role it serves in Project Management. 2. Familiarise yourselves with the various methodologies in the list below. Choose two methodologies from this list to compare and contrast, analysing the similarities and differences between them both. 3. Finally, identify how your chosen methodologies and processes relate to the project life cycle (PLC). Answers: 1.Methodology it role in project management. The project management methodology refers to the practices and the techniques with the procedures that are used for working on a particular discipline. They are important for easy delivering of the project, with application of the different principles, themes, frameworks and the processes. The methodologies help in providing a proper structure that will help in easy delivery of the project. With this, there is a proper stack which includes the PMIs PMBOK and XP for the simplified processes. The project management helps in the customer collaboration and easy response to the change in the plan, by being agile. (Kerzner, 2013). The individuals and interactions are for the easy processes and the tools where the working on the software is over any type of the comprehensive documentation. This works with the agile projects that are characterised depending upon the demands of the customer. 2.Methodologies: compare and contrast, analysing the similarities and differences The agile methodology focus on the collaboration to handle the iterative forms to deliver the works. With this, there are different sets of the values which includes the individuals and the interactions for easy processing and the tool setup, working with the software and comprehensive documentation. The collaboration of the customer over the contract negotiation works with response to the change with being agile to the set of values and principles. The agile management methodology is taken through the series which includes the situation demands rather than any form of the pre-planned processes. (Macombe et al., 2013). Hence, for this, the agile teams work with the unpredictability through the incremental and the iterative forms of the work process. The agile project management process is mainly to handle the execution, planning and evaluating the projects. The waterfall methodology is to include the theme with the solid planning, and setting the right approach which will help in defining an easy plan for execution. The project manager tends to handle the large working with the executions based on adhering to the requirements. The requirements are defined with mainly focusing on the different phase acts as the input for the next phase. The project is then flowing through the process where there are designing, implementation, testing and maintenance phase. In this, once the testing is done, there is a scope to reflect, and revise to the changes. (Stark, 2015). The waterfall model holds the traditional project management approach where the technology is understood with well documented and the clear requirements. They are able to provide with the better results for the budget, timeline and scope. 3.How your chosen methodologies and processes relate to the project life cycle (PLC): Agile is able to work on the planning, with the execution and evaluating the project demands, where the major focus is on the adaptability to change the situations adequately. With this, there are certain ongoing communication of the project team mainly in between them and the client. They include a broad range of the software development with easy focus on the management of flow of work. The activities and the requirements are to take hold of the practices with concrete activities and the products that are the part of the framework. It works with the individuals and the interactions over the processes and tools that work on the software over the comprehensive forms of the documents. (Walden et al., 2015). The agile network helps in management of the final deliverable which depends on the results and continuous collaboration with the project stakeholders. The waterfall model is for focusing on: The systems and the requirements of the software which is captured depending upon the requirement of products. The analysis and then designing will help in building a proper schema with the business rules. The coding and the development is set through the integration of the software with development forms. The testing and operations are depending upon the debugging of defects with easy installation, migration, support and the maintenance of the systems. References Kerzner, H. (2013).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Macombe, C., Leskinen, P., Feschet, P., Antikainen, R. (2013). Social life cycle assessment of biodiesel production at three levels: a literature review and development needs.Journal of Cleaner Production,52, 205-216. Stark, J. (2015). Product lifecycle management. InProduct Lifecycle Management (Volume 1)(pp. 1-29). Springer International Publishing. Walden, D. D., Roedler, G. J., Forsberg, K., Hamelin, R. D., Shortell, T. M. (Eds.). (2015).Systems engineering handbook: A guide for system life cycle processes and activities. Wiley.

The last decade has seen the rise of many new tech Essays

The last decade has seen the rise of many new technological developments, one of the most prominent of these developments has been the internet. The Internet has already managed to weave itself into our daily lives where we use it for the simple communication of e-mail or to retrieving large volumes of information. More recently the Internet has been incorporated into businesses which have ranged from 'online' grocers to travel agents and real estate agents. This electronic commerce has many advantages to the consumer such as increased price transparency, ease of use, and its capability to offer information to consumers about products. Electronic commerce also has many disadvantages such as the constant security threat to consumers from the theft of their credit card numbers and personal details by hackers and the inability of consumers to feel and examine the products. These advantages and disadvantages will probably result in several major changes in the way business is conducted i n the future. Electronic commerce offers many advantages to both consumers and firms. It is very convenient for consumers as there are no shop hours and orders can be placed any time of the day. Electronic commerce also allows companies to have much larger markets, once you are on the Internet you are everywhere. A customer in Japan can buy exactly what a customer in the UK buys from the same electronic store. The capability to purchase products at ease from all over the world would eventually result in the weakening of international boundaries and increased trade between countries. For example when the machinery for one of General Electric's light-bulb factories broke down, GE would invite bids from four domestic suppliers. With the help of the Internet General Electric extended its bidding abroad, and awarded the contract to a Hungarian firm saving 20%. The Internet will also increase price transparency dramatically and bring about price harmonization. With the capability to find and list thousands of firms selling the same or similar products in a matter of seconds it would be nearly impossible for firms to sell their products at higher price s.

Free Essays on Natural Selction

Natural Selection The definition of natural selection can be stated as: the process by which individuals’ inherited needs and capabilities are basically intimately linked to resources available in their environment, giving those with greater fitness a better chance of survival and the ability to reproduce offspring. The driving force behind evolution is the struggle among entities for reproductive success. Every species desires that their genes be transferred to the next generation. A species that fails to transfer their genes to the next generation becomes extinct when the life of that entity comes to an end. No entity wants their line of genes, which is essentially the essence of their being to conclude, so they do everything in their power to successfully attempt to transfer their essence to the generation to come, in order for them to live on in a sense. This is the reason that the characteristics and qualities of an offspring are extremely similar to those of their parents. The parent is t ransferring qualities and similarities from itself to their newfound offspring. The parent lives on via the child, through its genes and similarities they pass on to it. Scientists argue that the theory of natural selection is not restricted to plants and animals, but is also applicable to human beings as well. If natural selection is the correct theory behind our existence, then it will obviously play an enormous role in determining the rationale behind the actions and motivations of human beings. According to this theory, the reason a human desires or is compelled to do something is because of the intense feeling or drive they inherently contain that prompts them to maximize their fitness, or carry their genes into the next generation. Natural selection believes that this is the underlying core behind a human being’s behaviour. An individual’s desire to date the opposite sex is compelled by their ultimate desire to meet a compatible par... Free Essays on Natural Selction Free Essays on Natural Selction Natural Selection The definition of natural selection can be stated as: the process by which individuals’ inherited needs and capabilities are basically intimately linked to resources available in their environment, giving those with greater fitness a better chance of survival and the ability to reproduce offspring. The driving force behind evolution is the struggle among entities for reproductive success. Every species desires that their genes be transferred to the next generation. A species that fails to transfer their genes to the next generation becomes extinct when the life of that entity comes to an end. No entity wants their line of genes, which is essentially the essence of their being to conclude, so they do everything in their power to successfully attempt to transfer their essence to the generation to come, in order for them to live on in a sense. This is the reason that the characteristics and qualities of an offspring are extremely similar to those of their parents. The parent is t ransferring qualities and similarities from itself to their newfound offspring. The parent lives on via the child, through its genes and similarities they pass on to it. Scientists argue that the theory of natural selection is not restricted to plants and animals, but is also applicable to human beings as well. If natural selection is the correct theory behind our existence, then it will obviously play an enormous role in determining the rationale behind the actions and motivations of human beings. According to this theory, the reason a human desires or is compelled to do something is because of the intense feeling or drive they inherently contain that prompts them to maximize their fitness, or carry their genes into the next generation. Natural selection believes that this is the underlying core behind a human being’s behaviour. An individual’s desire to date the opposite sex is compelled by their ultimate desire to meet a compatible par...

How to Write an A+ Argumentative Essay

How to Write an A+ Argumentative Essay SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You'll no doubt have to write a number of argumentative essays in both high school and college, but what, exactly, is an argumentative essay and how do you write the best one possible? Let's take a look. A great argumentative essay always combines the same basic elements: approaching an argument from a rational perspective, researching sources, supporting your claims using facts rather than opinion, and articulating your reasoning into the most cogent and reasoned points. Argumentative essays are great building blocks for all sorts of research and rhetoric, so your teachers will expect you to master the technique before long. But if this sounds daunting, never fear! We’ll show how an argumentative essay differs from other kinds of papers, how to research and write them, how to pick an argumentative essay topic, and where to find example essays. So let's get started. What Is an Argumentative Essay? How Is it Different from Other Kinds of Essays? There are two basic requirements for any and all essays: to state a claim (a thesis statement) and to support that claim with evidence. Though every essay is founded on these two ideas, there are several different types of essays, differentiated by the style of the writing, how the writer presents the thesis, and the types of evidence used to support the thesis statement. Essays can be roughly divided into four different types: #1: Argumentative#2: Persuasive#3: Expository#4: Analytical So let’s look at each type and what the differences are between them before we focus the rest of our time to argumentative essays. Argumentative Essay Argumentative essays are what this article is all about, so let's talk about them first. An argumentative essay attempts to convince a reader to agree with a particular argument (the writer's thesis statement). The writer takes a firm stand one way or another on a topic and then uses hard evidence to support that stance. An argumentative essay seeks to prove to the reader that one argument- the writer's argument- is the factually and logically correct one. This means that an argumentative essay must use only evidence-based support to back up a claim, rather than emotional or philosophical reasoning (which is often allowed in other types of essays). Thus, an argumentative essay has a burden of substantiated proof and sources, whereas some other types of essays (namely persuasive essays) do not. You can write an argumentative essay on any topic, so long as there's room for argument. Generally, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one, so long as you support the argumentative essay with hard evidence. Example topics of an argumentative essay: â€Å"Should farmers be allowed to shoot wolves if those wolves injure or kill farm animals?† â€Å"Should the drinking age be lowered in the United States?† â€Å"Are alternatives to democracy effective and/or feasible to implement?† The next three types of essays are not argumentative essays, but you may have written them in school. We're going to cover them so you know what not to do for your argumentative essay. Persuasive Essay Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative essays, so it can be easy to get them confused. But knowing what makes an argumentative essay different than a persuasive essay can often mean the difference between an excellent grade and an average one. Persuasive essays seek to persuade a reader to agree with the point of view of the writer, whether that point of view is based on factual evidence or not. The writer has much more flexibility in the evidence they can use, with the ability to use moral, cultural, or opinion-based reasoning as well as factual reasoning to persuade the reader to agree the writer’s side of a given issue. Instead of being forced to use â€Å"pure† reason as one would in an argumentative essay, the writer of a persuasive essay can manipulate or appeal to the reader’s emotions. So long as the writer attempts to steer the readers into agreeing with the thesis statement, the writer doesn’t necessarily need hard evidence in favor of the argument. Often, you can use the same topics for both a persuasive essay or an argumentative one- the difference is all in the approach and the evidence you present. Example topics of a persuasive essay: â€Å"Should children be responsible for their parents’ debts?† â€Å"Should cheating on a test be automatic grounds for expulsion?† â€Å"How much should sports leagues be held accountable for player injuries and the long-term consequences of those injuries?† Expository Essay An expository essay is typically a short essay in which the writer explains an idea, issue, or theme, or discusses the history of a person, place, or idea. This is typically a fact-forward essay with little argument or opinion one way or the other. Example topics of an expository essay: â€Å"The History of the Philadelphia Liberty Bell† â€Å"The Reasons I Always Wanted to be a Doctor† â€Å"The Meaning Behind the Colloquialism ‘People in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones’† Analytical Essay An analytical essay seeks to delve into the deeper meaning of a text or work of art, or unpack a complicated idea. These kinds of essays closely interpret a source and look into its meaning by analyzing it at both a macro and micro level. This type of analysis can be augmented by historical context or other expert or widely-regarded opinions on the subject, but is mainly supported directly through the original source (the piece or art or text being analyzed). Example topics of an analytical essay: â€Å"Victory Gin in Place of Water: The Symbolism Behind Gin as the Only Potable Substance in George Orwell's 1984† â€Å"Amarna Period Art: The Meaning Behind the Shift from Rigid to Fluid Poses† â€Å"Adultery During WWII, as Told Through a Series of Letters to and from Soldiers† There are many different types of essay and, over time, you'll be able to master them all. A Typical Argumentative Essay Assignment The average argumentative essay is between three to five pages, and will require at least three or four separate sources with which to back your claims. As for the essay topic, you'll most often be asked to write an argumentative essay in an English class on a â€Å"general† topic of your choice, ranging the gamut from science, to history, to literature. But while the topics of an argumentative essay can span several different fields, the structure of an argumentative essay is always the same: you must support a claim- a claim that can reasonably have multiple sides- using multiple sources and using a standard essay format (which we'll talk about later on). This is why many argumentative essay topics begin with the word â€Å"should,† as in: â€Å"Should all students be required to learn chemistry in high school?† â€Å"Should children be required to learn a second language?† â€Å"Should schools or governments be allowed to ban books?† These topics all have at least two sides of the argument: Yes or no. And you must support the side you choose with evidence as to why your side is the correct one. But there are also plenty of other ways to frame an argumentative essay as well: â€Å"Does using social media do more to benefit or harm people?† â€Å"Does the legal status of artwork or its creators- graffiti and vandalism, pirated media, a creator who’s in jail- have an impact on the art itself?† â€Å"Is or should anyone ever be ‘above the law?’† Though these are worded differently than the first three, you're still essentially forced to pick between two sides of an issue: yes or no, for or against, benefit or detriment. Though your argument might not fall entirely into one side of the divide or another- for instance, you could claim that social media has positively impacted some aspects of modern life while being a detriment to others- your essay should still support one side of the argument above all. Your final stance would be that overall, social media is beneficial or overall, social media is harmful. If your argument is one that is mostly text-based or backed by a single source (e.g., â€Å"How does Salinger show that Holden Caulfield is an unreliable narrator?† or â€Å"Does Gatsby personify the American Dream?†), then it’s an analytical essay, rather than an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay will always be focused on more general topics so that you can use multiple sources to back up your claims. Good Argumentative Essay Topics So you know the basic idea behind an argumentative essay, but what topic should you write about? Again, almost always, you'll be asked to write an argumentative essay on a free topic of your choice, or you'll be asked to select between a few given topics. If you're given complete free reign of topics, then it'll be up to you to find an essay topic that no only appeals to you, but that you can turn into an A+ argumentative essay. What makes a â€Å"good† argumentative essay topic depends on both the subject matter and your personal interest- it can be hard to give your best effort on something that bores you to tears! But it can also be near impossible to write an argumentative essay on a topic that has no room for debate. As we said earlier, a good argumentative essay topic will be one that has the potential to reasonably go in at least two directions- for or against, yes or no, and why. For example, it’s pretty hard to write an argumentative essay on whether or not people should be allowed to murder one another- not a whole lot of debate there for most people!- but writing an essay for or against the death penalty has a lot more wiggle room for evidence and argument. A good topic is also one that can be substantiated through hard evidence and relevant sources. So be sure to pick a topic that other people have studied (or at least studied elements of) so that you can use their data in your argument. For example, if you’re arguing that it should be mandatory for all middle school children to play a sport, you might have to apply smaller scientific data points to the larger picture you're trying to justify. There are probably several studies you could cite on the benefits of physical activity and the positive effect structure and teamwork has on young minds, but there's probably no study you could use where a group of scientists put all middle-schoolers in one jurisdiction into a mandatory sports program (since that’s probably never happened). So long as your evidence is relevant to your point and you can extrapolate from it to form a larger whole, you can use it as a part of your resource material. And if you need ideas on where to get started, or just want to see sample argumentative essay topics, then check out these links for hundreds of potential argumentative essay topics. 101 Persuasive (or Argumentative) Essay and Speech Topics 301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing Top 50 Ideas for Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Writing [Note: some of these say "persuasive essay topics," but just remember that the same topic can often be used for both a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay; the difference is in your writing style and the evidence you use to support your claims.] KO! Find that one argumentative essay topic you can absolutely conquer. Argumentative Essay Format Argumentative Essays are composed of four main elements: A position (your argument) Your reasons Supporting evidence for those reasons (from reliable sources) Counterargument(s) (possible opposing arguments and reasons why those arguments are incorrect) If you’re familiar with essay writing in general, then you’re also probably familiar with the five paragraph essay structure. This structure is a simple tool to show how one outlines an essay and breaks it down into its component parts, although it can be expanded into as many paragraphs as you want beyond the core five. The standard argumentative essay is often 3-5 pages, which will usually mean a lot more than five paragraphs, but your overall structure will look the same as a much shorter essay. An argumentative essay at its simplest structure will look like: Paragraph 1: Intro Set up the story/problem/issue Thesis/claim Paragraph 2: Support Reason #1 claim is correct Supporting evidence with sources Paragraph 3: Support Reason #2 claim is correct Supporting evidence with sources Paragraph 4: Counterargument Explanation of argument for the other side Refutation of opposing argument with supporting evidence Paragraph 5: Conclusion Re-state claim Sum up reasons and support of claim from the essay to prove claim is correct Now let’s unpack each of these paragraph types to see how they work (with examples!), what goes into them, and why. Paragraph 1- Set Up and Claim Your first task is to introduce the reader to the topic at hand so they’ll be prepared for your claim. Give a little background information, set the scene, and give the reader some stakes so that they care about the issue you're going to discuss. Next, you absolutely must have a position on an argument and make that position clear to the readers. It’s not an argumentative essay unless you’re arguing for a specific claim, and this claim will be your thesis statement. Your thesis CANNOT be a mere statement of fact (e.g., â€Å"Washington DC is the capital of the United States†). Your thesis must instead be an opinion which can be backed up with evidence and has the potential to be argued against (e.g., â€Å"New York should be the capital of the United States†). Paragraphs 2 and 3- Your Evidence These are your body paragraphs in which you give the reasons why your argument is the best one and back up this reasoning with concrete evidence. The argument supporting the thesis of an argumentative essay should be one that can be supported by facts and evidence, rather than personal opinion or cultural or religious mores. For example, if you’re arguing that New York should be the new capital of the US, you would have to back up that fact by discussing the factual contrasts between New York and DC in terms of location, population, revenue, and laws. You would then have to talk about the precedents for what makes for a good capital city and why New York fits the bill more than DC does. Your argument can’t simply be that a lot of people think New York is the best city ever and that you agree. In addition to using concrete evidence, you always want to keep the tone of your essay passionate, but impersonal. Even though you’re writing your argument from a single opinion, don’t use first person language- â€Å"I think,† â€Å"I feel,† â€Å"I believe,†- to present your claims. Doing so is repetitive, since by writing the essay you’re already telling the audience what you feel, and using first person language weakens your writing voice. For example, â€Å"I think that Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States.† Versus, â€Å"Washington DC is no longer suited to be the capital city of the United States.† The second statement sounds far stronger and more analytical. Paragraph 4- Argument for the Other Side and Refutation Even without a counter argument, you can make a pretty persuasive claim, but a counterargument will round out your essay into one that is much more persuasive and substantial. By anticipating an argument against your claim and taking the initiative to counter it, you’re allowing yourself to get ahead of the game. This way, you show that you’ve given great thought to all sides of the issue before choosing your position, and you demonstrate in multiple ways how yours is the more reasoned and supported side. Paragraph 5- Conclusion This paragraph is where you re-state your argument and summarize why it’s the best claim. Briefly touch on your supporting evidence and voila! A finished argumentative essay. Your essay should have just as awesome a skeleton as this plesiosaur does. (In other words: a ridiculously awesome skeleton) Argumentative Essay Example: 5-Paragraph Style It always helps to have an example to learn from. I've written a full 5-paragraph argumentative essay here. Look at how I state my thesis in paragraph 1, give supporting evidence in paragraphs 2 and 3, address a counterargument in paragraph 4, and conclude in paragraph 5. Topic: Is it possible to maintain conflicting loyalties? Paragraph 1 It is almost impossible to go through life without encountering a situation where your loyalties to different people or causes come into conflict with each other. Maybe you have a loving relationship with your sister, but she disagrees with your decision to join the army, or you find yourself torn between your cultural beliefs and your scientific ones. These conflicting loyalties can often be maintained for a time, but as examples from both history and psychological theory illustrate, sooner or later, people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever. The first two sentences set the scene and give some hypothetical examples and stakes for the reader to care about. The third sentence finishes off the intro with the thesis statement, making very clear how the author stands on the issue ("people have to make a choice between competing loyalties, as no one can maintain a conflicting loyalty or belief system forever.") Paragraphs 2 and 3 Psychological theory states that human beings are not equipped to maintain conflicting loyalties indefinitely and that attempting to do so leads to a state called â€Å"cognitive dissonance.† Cognitive dissonance theory is the psychological idea that people undergo tremendous mental stress or anxiety when holding contradictory beliefs, values, or loyalties (Festinger, 1957). Even if human beings initially hold a conflicting loyalty, they will do their best to find a mental equilibrium by making a choice between those loyalties- stay stalwart to a belief system or change their beliefs. One of the earliest formal examples of cognitive dissonance theory comes from Leon Festinger’s When Prophesy Fails. Members of an apocalyptic cult are told that the end of the world will occur on a specific date and that they alone will be spared the Earth’s destruction. When that day comes and goes with no apocalypse, the cult members face a cognitive dissonance between what they s ee and what they’ve been led to believe (Festinger, 1956). Some choose to believe that the cult's beliefs are still correct, but that the Earth was simply spared from destruction by mercy, while others choose to believe that they were lied to and that the cult was fraudulent all along. Both beliefs cannot be correct at the same time, and so the cult members are forced to make their choice. But even when conflicting loyalties can lead to potentially physical, rather than just mental, consequences, people will always make a choice to fall on one side or other of a dividing line. Take, for instance, Nicolaus Copernicus, a man born and raised in Catholic Poland (and educated in Catholic Italy). Though the Catholic church dictated specific scientific teachings, Copernicus' loyalty to his own observations and scientific evidence won out over his loyalty to his country’s government and belief system. When he published his heliocentric model of the solar systemin opposition to the geocentric model that had been widely accepted for hundreds of years (Hannam, 2011) Copernicus was making a choice between his loyalties. In an attempt to maintain his fealty both to the established system and to what he believed, he sat on his findings for a number of years (Fantoli, 1994). But, ultimately, Copernicus made the choice to side with his beliefs and observations above all and pub lished his work for the world to see (even though, in doing so, he risked both his reputation and personal freedoms). These two paragraphs provide the reasons why the author supports the main argument and uses substantiated sources to back those reasons. The paragraph on cognitive dissonance theory gives both broad supporting evidence and more narrow, detailed supporting evidence to show why the thesis statement is correct not just anecdotally but also scientifically and psychologically. First, we see why people in general have a difficult time accepting conflicting loyalties and desires and then how this applies to individuals through the example of the cult members from the Dr. Festinger's research. The next paragraph continues to use more detailed examples from history to provide further evidence of why the thesis that people cannot indefinitely maintain conflicting loyalties is true. Paragraph 4 Some will claim that it is possible to maintain conflicting beliefs or loyalties permanently, but this is often more a matter of people deluding themselves and still making a choice for one side or the other, rather than truly maintaining loyalty to both sides equally. For example, Lancelot du Lac typifies a person who claims to maintain a balanced loyalty between to two parties, but his attempt to do so fails (as all attempts to permanently maintain conflicting loyalties must). Lancelot tells himself and others that he is equally devoted to both King Arthur and his court and to being Queen Guinevere’s knight (Malory, 2008). But he can neither be in two places at once to protect both the king and queen, nor can he help but let his romantic feelings for the queen to interfere with his duties to the king and the kingdom. Ultimately, he and Queen Guinevere give into their feelings for one another and Lancelot- though he denies it- chooses his loyalty to her over his loyalty to Ar thur. This decision plunges the kingdom into a civil war, ages Lancelot prematurely, and ultimately leads to Camelot’s ruin (Raabe, 1987). Though Lancelot claimed to have been loyal to both the king and the queen, this loyalty was ultimately in conflict, and he could not maintain it. Here we have the acknowledgement of a potential counter-argument and the evidence as to why it isn't true. The argument is that some people (or literary characters) have asserted that they give equal weight to their conflicting loyalties. The refutation is that, though some may claim to be able to maintain conflicting loyalties, they're either lying to others or deceiving themselves. The paragraph shows why this is true by providing an example of this in action. Paragraph 5 Whether it be through literature or history, time and time again, people demonstrate the challenges of trying to manage conflicting loyalties and the inevitable consequences of doing so. Though belief systems are malleable and will often change over time, it is not possible to maintain two mutually exclusive loyalties or beliefs at once. In the end, people always make a choice, and loyalty for one party or one side of an issue will always trump loyalty to the other. The concluding paragraph summarizes the essay, touches on the evidence presented, and re-states the thesis statement. How to Write an Argumentative Essay: 8 Steps Writing the best argumentative essay is all about the preparation, so let's talk steps: #1: Preliminary Research If you have the option to pick your own argumentative essay topic (which you most likely will), then choose one or two topics you find the most intriguing or that you have a vested interest in and do some preliminary research on both sides of the debate. Do an open internet search just to see what the general chatter is on the topic and what the research trends are. Did your preliminary reading influence you to pick a side or change your side? Without diving into all the scholarly articles at length, do you believe there’s enough evidence to support your claim? Have there been scientific studies? Experiments? Does a noted scholar in the field agree with you? If not, you may need to pick another topic or side of the argument to support. #2: Pick Your Side and Form Your Thesis Now's the time to pick the side of the argument you feel you can support the best and summarize your main point into your thesis statement. Your thesis will be the basis of your entire essay, so make sure you know which side you’re on, that you’ve stated it clearly, and that you stick by your argument throughout the entire essay. #3: Heavy-Duty Research Time You’ve taken a gander at what the internet at large has to say on your argument, but now’s the time to actually read those sources and take notes. Check scholarly journals online at Google Scholar, the Directory of Open Access Journals, or JStor. You can also search individual university or school libraries and websites to see what kinds of academic articles you can access for free. Keep track of your important quotes and page numbers and put them somewhere that’s easy to find later. And don’t forget to check your school or local libraries as well! #4: Outline Follow the five-paragraph outline structure from the previous section. Fill in your topic, your reasons, and your supporting evidence into each of the categories. Before you begin to flesh out the essay, take a look at what you’ve got. Is your thesis statement in the first paragraph? Is it clear? Is your argument logical? Does your supporting evidence support your reasoning? By outlining your essay, you streamline your process and take care of any logic gaps before you dive headfirst into the writing. This will save you a lot of grief later on if you need to change your sources or your structure, so don’t get too trigger-happy and skip this step. #5: Draft Now that you’ve laid out exactly what you’ll need for your essay and where, it’s time to fill in all the gaps by writing it out. Take it one step at a time and expand your ideas into complete sentences and substantiated claims. It may feel daunting to turn an outline into a complete draft, but just remember that you’ve already laid out all the groundwork; now you’re just filling in the gaps. #6: Edit If you have the time before deadline, give yourself a day or two (or even just an hour!) away from your essay. Looking it over with fresh eyes will allow you to see errors, both minor and major, that you likely would have missed had you tried to edit when it was still raw. Take a first pass over the entire essay and try your best to ignore any minor spelling or grammar mistakes- you’re just looking at the big picture right now. Does it make sense as a whole? Did the essay succeed in making an argument and backing that argument up logically? (Do you feel persuaded?) If not, go back and make notes so that you can fix it for your final draft. Once you’ve made your revisions to the overall structure, mark all your small errors and grammar problems so you can fix them in the next draft. #7: Final Draft Use the notes you made on the rough draft and go in and hack and smooth away until you’re satisfied with the final result. A checklist for your final draft: Formatting is correct according to your teacher’s standards No errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation Essay is the right length and size for the assignment The argument is present, consistent, and concise Each reason is supported by relevant evidence The essay makes sense overall #8: Celebrate! Once you’ve brought that final draft to a perfect polish and turned in your assignment, you’re done! Go you! Be prepared and â™ ª you'll never go hungry again â™ ª, *cough*, or struggle with your argumentative essay-writing again. (Walt Disney Studios) Good Examples of Argumentative Essays Online Theory is all well and good, but examples are key. Just to get you started on what a fully-fleshed out argumentative essay looks like, let's see some examples in action. Check out these two argumentative essay examples on the use of landmines and freons (and note the excellent use of concrete sources to back up their arguments!). The Use of Landmines A Shattered Sky The Take-Aways: Keys to Writing an Argumentative Essay At first, writing an argumentative essay may seem like a monstrous hurdle to overcome, but with the proper preparation and understanding, you'll be able to knock yours out of the park. Remember the differences between a persuasive essay and an argumentative one, make sure your thesis is clear, and double-check that your supporting evidence is both relevant to your point and well-sourced. Pick your topic, do your research, make your outline, and fill in the gaps. Before you know it, you'll have yourself an A+ argumentative essay there, my friend.

Housing Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Housing Act - Essay Example The cost of these empty properties proves to be exorbitant for both the property owners and their neighbors in that it results in degradation of the entire neighborhood and decreased property values. 1 The scope of empty residential dwellings expands beyond the direct costs associated with vandalism and the decreased property values. It is also evident in the increased premiums incurred by homeowners within the neighborhood as well as related expenses. If one were to quantify the complete annual cost of leaving a residential property unoccupied for the period of one year, one can clearly ascertain an approximate cost of 8,000. This coupled with the fact that within England, there is has been a systematic rise in the number of homeless families has effectively prompted governmental involvement. This involvement came in the form of the Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO).2 Instituted on July 6, 2006 the EDMO gives the Local Housing Authority (LHA) the right to possession of property that has been unoccupied for more than six months. EDMO embodies the commitment of the English Government with regards to finding a permanent solution to a problem that is dyadic in nature and involves both the presence of empty private dwellings and the rising number of homeless families. ... These voluntary initiates have proved to be very ineffective thus necessitating compulsory action. It has been argued that these compulsory initiatives often favored the LHAs as the owners are view to be negligent in their responsibilities in maintaining their properties. In fact, many LHAs have been endowed with the right to purchase these properties at ridiculously low rates. Despite this, many LHAs view the procedure of acquiring empty dwellings as one that is cumbersome, time consuming, extremely bureaucratic in nature and complicated especially if their attempts to take over the properties are greeted with hostility.3 EDMOs operate with the intention of establishing a common ground between voluntary and compulsory purchasing ability. Essentially the LHA has the power to decide whether to actively pursue the purchase of an empty dwelling. Endowed with this power, it is the goal of EMDOs to compel the property owner to communicate with the LHA wherein an agreement may be reached with regards to returning the property to a condition whereby it is fit for human habitation. This agreement may entail active compromise between the LHA and the property owner. In principal and fact, it would be mutually beneficial for the LHA and the property owner to reach an agreement as it circumvents a great deal of bureaucratic red tape. This is especially important when one takes into consideration the fact that EMDOs are not intended to be utilized as an enforcement alternative but one that is necessary when the LHA has determined that its ownership of the property proves to be contraindicated. Additionally, EMDOs a re not meant to be stand-alone measures. They are intended to work in concert with the existing remedies such as