How to Craft Professional Book Reviews under Time Pressure

How to Craft Professional Book Reviews under Time Pressure How to Craft Professional Book Reviews under Time Pressure Different readers will always be keen on your thoughts about the books youve read if you follow the following advice in this article. When writing professional book reviews, you ought to have two objectives. First, to educate the reader about the content of the book, second, to present an assessment concerning the book’s quality. Before You Begin Writing Start reading the book, from the title, considering the relevant information that can be revealed from the title, preface, and table of contents. As you read the whole book, make notes from the passages to cite in your review, as well as to clarify the following information: What is the book about? Does it fit its genre? What is the writer’s perspective? Do you agree with it? Who is your favorite character, and why? Did the story keep you guessing? What is your favorite part of the book, and why? Is there any part of the book you truly dislike? Which and why? As an audience, can you flow with the authors style, whether formal or informal? Does the author’s conclusion convince you? What did the book achieve? Is more work required? Compare the book with others written by this author, or books in this genre by other writers Your opinion? If you could change something, what might it be? (If you wish you could change the ending, dont reveal it!) Writing Your Review Set the tone of the review. Hook the reader with your opening sentence, so they are keen on reading the rest of the review. Begin with a few sentences describing what the book is really about. Ensure your opening statements directly relate to your critical response to the book and keep them concise. Relevant information about the author including reputation, qualifications, and their previous work should be included in the introduction. The fundamental themes you want to discuss may also be mentioned, as this gives the readers an idea of the context of book analysis. Write a summary of the book. You can begin the overview of the themes and main points in the book after setting up your introduction. The summary needs to be kept short, to the point, and informative. Make use of quotes or paraphrases from the book to back up your summary without uncovering plot twists or giving any spoilers. The crux of the book is the critical analysis, and this is usually done after your summary of the book’s themes end. You have to be clear and direct when writing this. Talk about what you specifically liked about the book, and point out anything you disliked about it. Try not to spend more than one-third of the paper summarizing the book. Avoid plagiarism and ensure your essay is based primarily on evidence drawn from a careful reading of the book. The objective is to give a coherent piece with a reasonable argument. Thus, review the book you read, not the book you wish the author wrote. Wrap up the review. Â  After you have argued your position on the book clearly, sum up your analysis of in few sentences, and this should naturally flow into your conclusion. Talk about questions, which were not covered, pay attention to unsettled points concerning the topic of the analyzed book, and problems that still need to be solved or require deeper analysis. Do not introduce new material at this point. You could suggest the kind of reader youd recommend the book to. For instance, youths, older people, fans of relationship drama/comedy/ mystery stories. Then give the readers your farewell statement, something to think about! Sometimes the best closing is a dilemma that will stick in readers minds. A starred or numerical rating is not a bad idea too. Consider these tips when writing your original book review and enjoy the result.

Definition and Examples of Sememes in English

Definition and Examples of Sememes in English Definition In English grammar, morphology,  and semiotics, a sememe is a unit of meaning conveyed by a morpheme (i.e., a word or word element). As shown below, not all linguists interpret the concept of sememe in just the same way. The term sememe was coined by Swedish linguist Adolf Noreen in Và ¥rt Sprà ¥k (Our Language), his unfinished grammar of the Swedish language (1904-1924). John McKay notes that Noreen described a sememe as a definite idea-content expressed in some linguistic form, e.g., triangle and three-sided straight-lined figure are the same sememe (Guide to Germanic Reference Grammars, 1984). The term was introduced into American linguistics in 1926 by Leonard Bloomfield. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Grammatical CategoryHomonymyLexemeLexicalizationLexical Set Lexicology, Semantics, and Semiotics Polysemy Semantic Field and Semantic Field Analysis Examples and Observations: As a rough approximation, one may think of a sememe as an element of meaning.[W]e can say that a lexeme may be connected to more than one sememe; the lexeme table is an example. This relationship is often referred to by the term polysemy, which means multiple meaning.(Sydney Lamb, Lexicology and Semantics. Language and Reality: Selected Writings of Sydney Lamb, ed. by Jonathan J. Webster. Continuum, 2004) Semes and Sememes- [T]he basic or minimal unit of meaning, not further subdividable, is the seme, and . . . two or more semes existing together in a more complex unit of meaning comprise a sememe.(Louise Schleiner, Cultural Semiotics, Spenser, and the Captive Woman. Associated University Presses, 1995)- A sememe is the totality of semes that are actualized by a term within a given context. In [William] Blakes poetry the following sememe could be attached to the term city: industrial, black, crowded, poverty, pain, evil, filth, noise.(Bronwen Martin and Felizitas Ringham, Key Terms i n Semiotics. Continuum, 2006) Bloomfield on Sememes- According to [Leonard] Bloomfield (1933: 161 f.), a morpheme was composed of phonemes and had a meaning, the sememe. The sememe was a constant and definite unit of meaning which differed from all other meanings, including all other sememes. Thus, in Bloomfields view, the identification of a morpheme was based on the identification of a sequence of phonemes which could be assigned a meaning that was constant and different from all other meanings.(Gisa Rauh, Syntactic Categories: Their Identification and Description in Linguistic Theories. Oxford University Press, 2010)- In customary stratificationalist parlance . . ., one refers to the sememe as the realizate of a lexeme, or that piece of fragment of a network of mans cognitive knowledge that the given lexeme happens to realize. For technical and working purposes such a definition of the sememe is quite satisfactory and one need take no further issue with it. The evolution of the concept is fairly straight as w ell: in [Leonard] Bloomfields Language (1933) the term sememe refers to the meaning of a morpheme. Bloomfield offered no clear distinction between morpheme and lexeme, however, and this lack of clarification . . . meant foregoing the benefit of a powerful generalization. . . .The reason for this neglect of a most useful principle in linguistics arises from the fact that it is difficult to explain to linguists of other persuasions, to students, etc., just what it is that the stratificationalist means by the term sememe.(Adam Makkai, How Does a Sememe Mean? Essays in Honor of Charles F. Hockett, ed. by Frederick Browning Agard. Brill, 1983) The Meaning of a Simple WordWhat laity calls a simple word is probably a monomorphemic lexeme identifiable rather obviously with a major part of speech, as one is taught in traditional pedagogic grammars. What laity calls the meaning of a simple word is the semantically always-complex sememe that stands behind or sponsors a given lexeme. If such a lexeme is a common one- e.g., the meaning of father, mother, milk or sun, native speakers are not consciously aware of the definitional meaning of such a form, but they can, nevertheless, immediately translate such a form into another language they know, say German, and come up with Vater, Mutter, Milch or Sonne. If the word needed to express a fairly clear notion does not come to mind or is actually unknown, laity says, how shall I put it (the person has the notion but cannot find the word for it).(Adam Makkai, Luminous Loci in Lex-Eco-Memory: Toward a Pragmo-Ecological Resolution of the Metaphysical Debate Concerning the Reality or Ficti tiousness of Words. Functional Approaches to Language, Culture and Cognition, ed. by David G. Lockwood. John Benjamins, 2000) Sememes and Lexical Units[T]he introduction of the concept lexical unit (although within the restricted technical language of linguistics) is itself an illustration of the concept-forming power of the word. Many linguists . . . make a clear distinction between the seme (or semantic feature) and the sememe, defined as a complex or configuration of semes, which corresponds to a single sense of a lexeme. Sometimes the complete meaning of a lexeme is called a semanteme. However, up to [D. Alan] Cruse (1986) a precise term was missing in lexicology and lexical semantics for the combination of a specific form with a single sense, i.e. a full linguistic sign in Saussures sense. . . . Obviously, the introduction of the notion lexical unit has serious consequences for the distinction between homonymy and polysemy. It must be recognized, however, that paradigmatic as well as syntagmatic relations between words are a matter of lexical units, not lexemes.(Leonhard Lipka, English Lexicology: Lex ical Structure, Word Semantics and Word-Formation. Gunter Narr Verlag, 2002)

TV Makes People Dumber Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TV Makes People Dumber - Essay Example This essay generally believes that TV is bad for the youth. TV makes people dumber because it teaches racial prejudice and discrimination, it may boost memory, but not critical thinking skills, and it may be too complex for their cognitive and emotional levels, thereby limiting their ability to maximize potential learning from it. TV shows, even those with complex narratives, contains ideas that promote racial prejudice. Steven Johnson, in his essay, â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter,† maintains that TV is good for people’s brains because many shows, including bad ones, have complex narratives with multiple-occurring plots. The complexity of TV stories compels people to think deeply, and this thinking makes them smarter. This paper opposes this argument because 24 may have a complex narrative, but it promotes racial stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims. It turns race into a literal black-and-white plot of morality, disabling people from realizing that TV is just a stor y, not a valid generalization of racial identities. Furthermore, some reality TV shows suggest that racial prejudice is fun and entertaining. Scholastic Scope explores the dangers of watching reality TV shows in â€Å"Is Reality TV Making You Stupid?† ... ho are negatively portrayed on TV and movies, such as what Dana Stevens highlights in â€Å"Thinking outside the Idiot Box.† Teenagers might think that racism is nothing serious and become discriminatory to minorities. Moreover, Reality TV might be making people stupid because it portrays negative values and conduct. It teaches selfishness. Most shows are about â€Å"me† than about â€Å"we.† In addition, reality TV teaches materialism. Shows such as My Super Sweet 16 underscore the negative effects of TV on the young mind. They might learn that materialism is good for their lives. Aside from potentially forming negative conduct, TV may improve memory, but not critical thinking skills. Susan Smith presents some evidence that TV is good for the brain in â€Å"TV Makes You Smart.† She mentions a study which provides findings that watching TV, especially comedy, can enhance memory. Johnson agrees with Smith and says that TV is a memory-booster because people have to memorize plots and characters to understand what they are watching. However, this essay argues that comedy and complex dramatic narratives might be good for the memory, but they are not true cognitive workouts as Johnson claims. It may produce short-term memory enhancement, but it does not train young minds to challenge what they watch. Moreover, watching TV makes people want to watch more TV only because it captures attention. Stevens believe that instead of making people smarter, TV merely conditions people to watch more. Watching more TV, if it does not make people smarter and can even make them dumber, will only make matters worse for people’s ability to think critically. In addition, watching TV trains people to be sensitive to changing actions and social relationships, but not how to question these

DIGITAL DIVIDE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DIGITAL DIVIDE - Essay Example Based on the attributes, scores were developed and the scores became the basis for building an overall score on digitization with a scale of zero to 100 with 100 representing as the measure with the highest level of digitization. The Global Technology Report 2012 defined digitization as â€Å"the mass adoption of connected digital technologies and applications by consumers, enterprises, and governments† (Dutta & Bilbao-Osorio, 121). However, the way that The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 defined the economies appears to indicates that no other finding would be possible except the finding that as an economy move from a constrained economy into an emerging economy and then ultimately into a transitional economy and eventually into an advanced economy, digitization would increase. â€Å"Constrained economies† were defined as economies with digitization scores below 25, â€Å"emerging economies† with digitization scores of 25 to 30, â€Å"transitional economies† with digitization scores of between 30 to 40, and â€Å"advanced economies† with digitization scores of greater than 40 (Dutta & Bilbao-Osorio, 122). Expectedly, The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 obtained Figure 1 on the relation between economy type and digitization for 150 economies of the world. Based on The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 , the constrained and emerging economies include Ethiopia, Morocco, India, Egypt, China, Algeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, Angola, Lao PDR, Cuba, Iraq, Bangladesh, Uganda, Peru, Mongolia, Georgia, and Guatemala. The transitional economies include Turkey, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, and Chile. Finally, the advanced economies include the United States, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Austria, and Australia. The countries enumerated are representative countries only. The association between GNP per capita and digitization

The Flower Problem - Original Writing :: Papers

The Flower Problem - Original Writing Carwood Creek was sleeping at his desk when there was a knock at his door. He woke suddenly and beckoned the person in. In came Dr. Foster, Creek's long time detective partner and another man, whom Creek had never laid eyes on. The other man was short and plump, he wore emerald overalls and had bags under his eyes. Creek pointed to the chair and the man sat down. 'This man, Henry Lipton, has a mystery for you to solve,' Foster told Creek. Creek nodded his head and asked for the man to proceed. 'I have come here to ask you to solve a crime and mystery that is happening at my shop,' Lipton explained, 'I chose you to try and solve it because I have heard you have a very good record at solving crimes. The story starts off like this, I work at a florist and every time I get a delivery of flowers I find the heads cut off before I arrive to open the shop. After this had happened five times I decided to have them delivered inside the shop. I couldn't believe it when I came in next day to find the heads cut off still and half of my batch gone. This act is losing me customers and I am losing lots of money fast.' 'Are there any others florists near by.' 'Only one, and their business is booming due to the failure of mine.' 'Does anyone else apart from you work in your shop. 'Yes, only occasionally. His name is Richard Spears and he works just Saturdays.' 'When are the flowers delivered?' 'On Friday and there are double orders as it is the run up to Christmas.' 'So tell me about this other business. Who is the other owner? Do you get along well with him?' 'He is Ronald Philips. He hates me and always finds a way to humiliating me. I hate him in return. He has an assistant Andrew Christenson, who works there all the time and is like a brother to

Nine-Phase Change Model Process Essay

Introduction In undertaking any change project in an organization it is imperative that business executive understand that properly tailored coordinates and strategically sound routes are paramount to the success of the project from its planning phase to its execution phase. Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson have formulated the nine-phase change model that when implemented properly is a powerful tool in helping organizations better tailor their change strategic plans to be in line with the organization’s influential areas of change; change needs, employees’ needs, and the desired outcome. The Nine-phase Change Process Model The Andersons’ model of change is called the nine-phase change process model, this change model is general enough to fit any organizational structure and size and specific enough to organize its nine phases into a logistical flow that makes for better adaptation. The phases of the nine-phase model are 1. preparing to lead the change, 2. creating organizational vision commitment and capacity, 3. assessing the situation to determine design requirement, 4. designing the desired state, 5. analyzing the impact, 6. planning and organizing for implementation of the change, 7. implementing the change, 8. celebrating and integrating the new state, and 9. learning correcting the course. It is non-invasive and since it doesn’t confine the change agent to adhering to stringent restrictions, rather, it provides a workable method for organizations to align their mission of where they currently are to their vision of where they want to be and provide guidance on how to attain those vi sions with as little resistance as possible, bettering the chance of success. Personal Change Plan The Andersons’ nine-phase change process model closely resembles my personal model of change. A general explanation of my change model is that it includes an investigation of an organization’s stated and implied vision, mission, and credo and how their business practices measure up to them. A strategic and rhythmic method properly planned to include thorough research  on facets of internal and external environmental changes that may affect the change, an overall risk analysis and contingencies to counter those risks, hierarchical charts of both the project management team and the organization in general; this is an attempt to give everyone a better understanding of where they are in the command chain with the hopes of facilitating orderly communication flow. My plan would also include a work breakdown structure that will include a budget tailored to different departments. The project plan will be properly communicated to all employees in terms understandable to them; employees will be encouraged to give constant feedback and input on the project. Milestones will be clearly stated and celebrated, standard departmental training will be given prior to and during execution of the project plan. Meetings will be held with departmental heads to track progress of the project and everyone will be kept updated. Documentation of processes and procedures followed during the project will be made and kept for future reference. Research Method In conducting further research on the change model I intend to use companies like Wachovia and Peace Health that have implemented or is implementing the change model as testimonies to the effectiveness –or lack thereof- of the change model. I will also seek to explore the criticisms of this model and compare and contrast it with my own. My resources will include websites like Linda Ackerman Anderson’s Being First website, EbscoHost, Lexis Nexis, and the course text book â€Å"Managing Organizational Change.† This resource pool will provide credible information to conduct a thorough research.

Vietnam War Impact on New Zealand - 870 Words

The Vietnam War had several social effects in New Zealand. The New Zealand publics’ opinion was polarized due to New Zealand’s involvement in the war, and public debate was generated over New Zealand’s foreign policy in particular how it relied on an alliance-based security. An anti-war movement developed in New Zealand, who disagreed with the strategy of forward defense. They also questioned the validity of the domino theory, and thought communism in south-East Asia did not in any way threaten New Zealand. The members of the anti-war movement also condemned the western intervention in Vietnam; they argued that they should not support a corrupt regime such as Ngo Dinh Diem, that it was immoral. The anti-war activists urged the New Zealand†¦show more content†¦National however remained committed to an alliance based foreign policy, arguing a small country such as New Zealand had to rely and co-operate on powerful allies. New Zealand’s involvement i n the Vietnam War lead to the end of the earlier Bipartisan cold war consensus between National and Labor on foreign policy, marking it a significant turning point in the development of a new direction for New Zealand’s foreign policy. The Vietnam War had both long term impacts on the New Zealand soldiers involved and more immediate impacts. A more immediate impact was while in Vietnam New Zealand soldiers were put under a lot of stress. The Viet Cong were an â€Å"invisible enemy† who fought using guerilla tactics. New Zealand soldiers also patrolled in silence, using hand gestures to communicate, so as to not reveal their position to the enemy. This meant the soldiers did not know where the Viet Cong were, and knew they could appear at any moment. This would have frightened the soldiers and put more stress on them, as they were never sure when they would run into the Viet Cong, knowing that each time they went round a corner they could run into the Viet Cong. Veterans recall â€Å"endless fear, tension and adrenalin.† during their time in Vietnam. Some of the missions New Zealand soldiers were required to go on resulted in the deaths of Vietnamese women and children, many soldiers suffered psycholo gical damage as a result ofShow MoreRelatedVietnam And The Vietnam War848 Words   |  4 Pageseverything. The Vietnam War changed a lot of people all around the world. The Vietnam War was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a very bloody and violent war. The war was a long and costly-armed conflict. This war changed Vietnam and its citizens forever. During the Vietnam War, North Vietnam and South Vietnam both had received help from other countries. 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