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June 27, 2024, by UoN School of English
“Okay settle down everyone, I have an announcement to make! The assessments are now approaching. And the thought of essays is starting to haunt us,” Observer Yasmin declared as she sat at the big round table with all the other Yasmins. Yes, there was nothing else in the room except for that round table and multiple Yasmins that played different roles in this organization called The Brain .
The slot in front of Observer Yasmin popped a piece of paper, like a toaster, up with a ding. She took it out and began to read it.
“Okay, let’s see how much coursework we have—Oh god…” Observer Yasmin’s brows narrowed.
“What? What is it?” one of the Yasmins asked.
She gulped. “It says here that we have three essays to write for three different modules, and they each require 3000 words.”
The members at the table gasped and talked amongst themselves.
“Oh my god, that’s too much for us!”
“Three 3000-word essays?! That’s about 9000 words in total!”
“That’s going to be a lot of work.”
“Wait when are the deadlines?” that question somehow silenced the cacophony in the room. The members turned their gaze to the observer.
The slot popped another paper. The observer took it and scanned it.
“Two of the essays are on the 16 th and the other is on the 13 th ,” she answered.
“How are we supposed to write all of this in time?! We’ve never done that before!” the members resumed their panic. Their voices overlapped with one another.
“Silence!” a voice boomed at the table with a smack. The members, again, fell quiet immediately and looked at the one who did it. It was Planner Yasmin who did it. She froze a bit when their eyes landed on her. She quickly cleared her throat before she spoke.
“Look, let’s all just calm down and take it easy. First of all, the deadlines are months away, specifically five months, so we still have time. Second, ‘We’ve never done that before’? Did you guys forget that we did that before? In the Foundation Year for Extended Project module? Remember?” Planner Yasmin said.
“Yeah, b-but this is different! We’ve never written three 3000-word essays IN A ROW!” one of them cried.
“And does that mean we’re just going to sit here and panic all day? No! We’ll find a way through this and we’re going to do it!” Planner Yasmin smacked the table again. Yet she shook her hand from the slight pain it caused.
“What do you suggest we do?”
“The thing we always do when it comes to important stuff, we plan. Or as my title implies, I plan.” Planner Yasmin stood up from her seat and took out a small remote from her pocket.
She stepped aside as she pressed a button and a large screen lit up in front of the table. It showcased a blank red rectangle standing vertically on the side of the screen.
“Now, let’s not think that this is impossible to achieve just by focusing on the bigger picture. What we should do is calm down and think slowly.” She pulled out a stick and pointed it at the red rectangle.
“Let’s start with… The Victorian Literature essay as an example of how to tackle such coursework,” she began.
“Because of the big word count, we easily feel overwhelmed every time we see that number. And when we do, we tend to give the reins to ADHD Yasmin and all she’ll do is push the essays aside because ‘it’s too much so let’s think about it later’. We don’t want that, especially now that we have three big essays.
“What we should do instead is take this essay and break it into smaller chunks. We could do that by dividing the word count by the number of sections we could write. For instance, 3000 divided by five will equal 600 words for each section.” The big red rectangle broke into five smaller orange squares.
“Now that there are sections, we’ll use the Sandwich technique when it comes to structuring the essay. We’ll make the section at the top our Introduction and the bottom section our Conclusion ; these two are going to be our bread.” The top and bottom sections turned yellow.
“As for the sections in the middle, they’re going to be the main body texts for our essay. In other words, they’re going to be the fillings of our sandwich.” The middle sections turned into different colours from green to purple, painting the image of a sandwich in colourful squares.
“So, the essay is now easier to manage with this technique. Any questions?” Planner Yasmin looked at the members after giving a demonstration on the screen.
One of them raised a hand.
“It sounds manageable, but I feel like 600 words is still a big number to achieve. Can we narrow it down further?”
“If it’s still too much to write, sure, why not? Let’s see.” The planner took out a calculator and pressed the numbers. “Well, we could divide 600 by three, and we’ll have to write 200 words in one section. And if it still feels like too much, we could narrow it to a 100. But that’s the furthest we could go. Any other questions?”
Silence filled the room for a moment. Another raised her hand and the planner gestured for her to proceed.
“This sounds like a solid plan to take things easy. But do you have any idea on what topic we should write about in the essay?”
The planner remained silent then spoke. “Well… I might be the planner in this organisation, but I’m no idea creator here. It’s Idea Creator Yasmin’s job to do all of that. I only plan.” She pointed at Idea Creator Yasmin, who raised her hand mid-air but froze in place when she got pointed at.
“Um… Thank you, I guess.” The idea creator stood up and cleared her throat. “Okay, so, uh… I have an idea on what to write, but we need to ask the tutors just in case it’s not a valid idea. Secretary Yasmin, could you book an appointment for office hours with MG on Wednesday? Thank you.” She cleared her throat again and began.
“So, for the Victorian Literature essay, we must think about what the module is about and what is expected from us. So far, we learned about Victorian and Edwardian authors and how they used their stories to convey their opinions, and whether they reinforced or challenged certain viewpoints during the Victorian Era. Technically, we could write a comparison essay evaluating two Victorian authors or novels.
“The bread parts of the essay are easy to tackle, but the fillings are not, so we should be concentrating more on those. There are three sections, right? We can take the first section and let it be about Charles Dickens and his novel Great Expectations (1861), meanwhile the second section will be about H. G. Wells and his novel War Of the Worlds (1898). The third and final section then should compare the two authors and their novels together.
“What do you think of this idea?” the Idea Creator asked.
The members looked at one another as they murmured. They looked back at her with a nod.
“Alright, it seems like we are getting somewhere and have an idea on what to do. We just need to consider a few more things before we confirm our strategy,” Commander Yasmin said and looked at the side of the table.
“Manager Yasmin, do you have any methods we could use to write this essay and the others?” Commander Yasmin asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Manager Yasmin drew a confident smile. “Based on our previous visit to Time Management workshop done by the Learning Well team— a module that is available on Moodle page—we learned that we could dedicate a month or two to each essay. Now, we all know that a month has four weeks. So, we can take this information and use it to our advantage.
“We could dedicate the first week to looking for secondary sources and doing some research. The second week we’ll focus on reading both the secondary materials and the primary texts. The third week is when we finally start writing the essay; if we think about it, we could write these five sections in five days. Basically, we’ll be writing from Monday to Friday while Saturday and Sunday will be our day off’s.
“The fourth and final week is when we proofread, double check for any errors, and format our essay before we submit it. Or wait until the submissions open and then send it. If we repeat the same process for the other two essays, then hopefully we’ll be free of academic work.” Manager Yasmin then folded her arms and made another nod of confidence.
The members spoke in agreement and astonishment with one another.
“Now that’s great management!” Commander Yasmin applauded. “Okay, I think I know what we should do next. Secretary Yasmin, please note down the following so we can talk about them during office hours: what is the minimum number of references for our essay, is it alright if we use personal pronouns, and do scholarly editions of the primary texts count as a secondary material?”
“On it,” Secretary Yasmin said as she typed on her typewriter.
“Thank you. Oh, and one final thing, are we able to follow and fulfill this plan?” Commander Yasmin asked.
Planner Yasmin looked at the corner of the room where a long glass cylinder stood. There were some lines and numbers imprinted onto that cylinder, like one of those laboratory glass tubes or cups. A bright purple liquid was reaching halfway up. It has the label Motivation Level screwed on the wall next to it.
“Well… As long as our Motivation level is high, we can certainly do it.” Planner Yasmin let out a nervous laugh.
“Alright then, it seems we all agree with this strategy?”
The members nodded in unison.
“Good, I’ll now confirm this and send it to the Commitment Department.” Commander Yasmin typed on her typewriter.
“Wait a minute…” one of the members said. “I feel like we’re missing something.”
The members looked around at the table.
“Um, guys? Where’s ADHD Yasmin—”
A foreign yet recognizable voice filled the room from the speakers.
“Hello everybody my name’s Markiplier and welcome back to Resident Evil 7…”
“NOO! WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR YOUTUBE!” Everyone at the table screamed and the Motivation level decreased and turned red.
— Yasmeen Al-Qallaf, 2nd Year BA English Language and Literature
Image credits: Jason Goodman on Unsplash
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68 other terms for now now - words and phrases with similar meaning.
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“Right now.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/right%20now. Accessed 29 Jun. 2024.
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By Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mrs. Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.
Last week I had the time of my life at the Tony Awards introducing a song from “Suffs,” the Broadway musical I co-produced about the suffragists who won women the right to vote. I was thrilled when the show took home the awards for best original score and best book.
From “Suffs” to “Hamilton,” I love theater about politics. But not the other way around. Too often we approach pivotal moments like this week’s debate between President Biden and Donald Trump like drama critics. We’re picking a president, not the best actor.
I am the only person to have debated both men (Mr. Trump in 2016 and, in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary race, Mr. Biden). I know the excruciating pressure of walking onto that stage and that it is nearly impossible to focus on substance when Mr. Trump is involved. In our three debates in 2016, he unleashed a blizzard of interruptions, insults and lies that overwhelmed the moderators and did a disservice to the voters who tuned in to learn about our visions for the country — including a record 84 million viewers for our first debate.
It is a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trump’s arguments like in a normal debate. It’s nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather. This has gotten only worse in the years since we debated. I was not surprised that after a recent meeting, several chief executives said that Mr. Trump, as one journalist described it, “could not keep a straight thought” and was “all over the map.” Yet expectations for him are so low that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential.
Mr. Trump may rant and rave in part because he wants to avoid giving straight answers about his unpopular positions, like restrictions on abortion, giving tax breaks to billionaires and selling out our planet to big oil companies in return for campaign donations. He interrupts and bullies — he even stalked me around the stage at one point — because he wants to appear dominant and throw his opponent off balance.
These ploys will fall flat if Mr. Biden is as direct and forceful as he was when engaging Republican hecklers at the State of the Union address in March. The president also has facts and truth on his side. He led America’s comeback from a historic health and economic crisis, with more than 15 million jobs created so far, incomes for working families rising, inflation slowing and investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing soaring. He’ll win if that story comes through.
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Find 62 different ways to say NOW, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
Synonyms for NOW: currently, today, anymore, nowadays, for the time being, presently, here, right now; Antonyms of NOW: then, once, before, long, far, formerly, away ...
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If you're struggling to choose the right words for your essay, don't worry—you've come to the right place! In this article, we've compiled a list of over 300 words and phrases to use in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your essay. Contents: Words to Use in the Essay Introduction. Words to Use in the Body of the Essay.
Synonyms for ESSAY: article, paper, dissertation, theme, thesis, composition, treatise, editorial; Antonyms of ESSAY: quit, drop, give up
Synonyms of 'now' in American English. now. 1 (adverb) in the sense of nowadays. Synonyms. nowadays . anymore . at the moment . 2 (adverb) in the sense of immediately. Synonyms. ... or tips on writing the perfect college essay, Harper Reference has you covered for all your study needs. February 13, 2020 Read more
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Synonyms for NOW in English: nowadays, at the moment, these days, immediately, presently, promptly, instanter, instantly, at once, straight away, …
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now adverb. used to preface a command or reproof or request. "now hear this!"; "now pay attention". Synonyms: at once, straightaway, like a shot, directly, straight off, at present, nowadays, immediately, right away, instantly, today, forthwith. now, at present adverb. at the present moment. "goods now on sale"; "the now-aging dictator"; "they ...
4. That is to say. Usage: "That is" and "that is to say" can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: "Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.". 5. To that end. Usage: Use "to that end" or "to this end" in a similar way to "in order to" or "so".
Synonyms for NOWADAYS: now, anymore, currently, today, for the time being, presently, here, right now; Antonyms of NOWADAYS: then, once, long, before, far, away ...
ESSAY - Synonyms, related words and examples | Cambridge English Thesaurus
A procedure undertaken to make a discovery, especially for scientific purposes. A written or printed work consisting of pages bound together. Verb. To attempt or try to do (something) To hope for, or aspire to, a goal or dream. To begin doing something. To engage or contend against other competitors in a contest.
Synonyms for ESSAY in English: composition, study, paper, article, piece, assignment, discourse, tract, treatise, dissertation, …
Another way to say Essay? Synonyms for Essay (other words and phrases for Essay). Synonyms for Essay. 1 447 other terms for essay- words and phrases with similar meaning. Lists. synonyms. antonyms. definitions. sentences. thesaurus. words. phrases. idioms. Parts of speech. verbs. nouns. adjectives. Tags. effort. try.
Find 62 ways to say NOW, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus.
Synonyms for ESSAY: composition, theme, article, paper, piece, assay, proof, test, trial, tryout, attempt, effort, trial, endeavor, try, dissertation; Antonyms for ...
We don't want that, especially now that we have three big essays. "What we should do instead is take this essay and break it into smaller chunks. We could do that by dividing the word count by the number of sections we could write. For instance, 3000 divided by five will equal 600 words for each section."
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There is a certain irony in the bravado about the Ten Commandments from Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana. On Saturday he told attendees at a Republican fund-raiser, "I can't wait to be sued."
Synonyms for ESSAYS: articles, papers, themes, dissertations, editorials, treatises, commentaries, compositions; Antonyms of ESSAYS: drops, gives up, quits
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Synonyms for Now Now (other words and phrases for Now Now). Synonyms for Now now. 68 other terms for now now- words and phrases with similar meaning. Lists. synonyms. antonyms. definitions. sentences. thesaurus. words. phrases. idioms. Parts of speech. verbs. Tags. informal. suggest new. no worries. keep your pecker up. v. # informal.
Leopold Aschenbrenner — formerly of OpenAI's Superalignment team, now founder of an investment firm focused on artificial general intelligence (AGI) — has posted a massive, provocative essay putting a long lens on AI's future.. Why it matters: Aschenbrenner, based in San Francisco, relies on lots of speculation and projection.So none of this is set in stone.
Synonyms for RIGHT NOW: currently, now, anymore, today, for the time being, at present, nowadays, here; Antonyms of RIGHT NOW: then, once, long, before, away, far ...
Mrs. Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016. Last week I had the time of my life at the Tony Awards introducing a song from "Suffs," the Broadway musical I co-produced about ...