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themowearchives · 3 days

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Press Archive, Part 5

Live Review, October 2007

Club Bohemia at the Cantab, Cambridge MA 9/15/07, with Corolla Deville and Lyres

My Own Worst Enemy is pleasant enough-downright respectable even. Their stylistic influences are fairly subtle (meaning I haven't got a clue here). What's particularly odd is they're going with two guitars and no bass. Either that or I'm standing too far back. Genuinely impressive is the fact that they successfully pull off a Patti Smith cover-something from Radio Ethiopia I think [Nope, I checked for you and the only Patti Smith cover they do is 'Redondo Beach' from Horses ... Ed.] Can you recall anyone pulling off a Patti Smith song well? Not me, boy. (Frank Strom)

FFanzeen: Rock 'n' Roll with Integrity

Live Review, October 2007

Club Bohemia at the Cantab, Cambridge MA 9/15/07, with Corolla Deville and Lyres

I was too late to see the opening act, Corolla Deville, but got there just in time for another band I didn't know, My Own Worst Enemy (a.k.a. MOWE). Sharing the lead are Sue and Steve on guitars, and AJ on drums (yep, no bass). The camaraderie between Sue and Steve is obvious, and they play off each other well. The songs are spirited, and well written with sharp melody lines and biting lyrics. Sue stomps her foot for emphasis every once in a while, and it sure does look like they're having fun up there. Definitely an indie sound (yeah, I know that's a cliche term, but they possess what made it important in the first place), going along with other quirky college radio friendly intones like the Pixies, the Neighborhoods, and Salem 66 (though not as quirky). Less morose than most indie bands of the style, they tend towards uptempos and less dissonance. They did a great cover of Patti Smith's Redendo Beach, to which I danced with Nancy...nothing like dancing to a song about suicide. I'm glad I got to see them, and hope I get to see MOWE on a New York stage. (Robert Barry Francos)

Brett Milano, music writer/author, Sound of Our Town

Total Action CD Review, October 2007

Total Action is the kind of pop record they just don't make anymore; full of fresh sounds and great hooks, with some careful thought between the lines. Leaders Sue and Steve are music nuts who do their influences proud, and they fooled me into thinking their shimmering folk-rocker "Snowflake" was a long-lost 60's nugget. Elsewhere they mix their country and their Velvets up with a lot of vital three-chord stomp. Call it garage rock if you must; but Sue's vocals leave no doubt that garage is in a pretty exotic neighborhood.

The Noise

Total Action CD Review, October 2007

This is a very ambitious and extremely busy production replete with arrangements slopping over with cowbells, tambourines, glockenspiel, and Sue and Steve's inimitable vocalizing; it almost sounds like the band barricaded itself inside of a 32-track studio, held Pete Weiss at gunpoint, and ordered him to go apeshit. Ahem. Anyway, this collection puts me in mind of all those great, underrated all-American garage-punk bands of the 1960s like The Outsiders, the Gants, The Music Machine, and Richard and the Young Lions; just listen to Come On or Turn it On and tell me that they couldn't pass muster on any of the Nuggets collections. Listen to Green Apple and tell me it isn't a local classic nearly on a par with Prettiest Girl. And Catherine the Waitress, replete with backwards-masked cymbals evokes the frenzy of the early Feelies. The album also offers welcome subtleties: earlier songs, like Snowflake and For Her are given bright new textures; the slow-burning duet Lose Your Mind works its way into a frenetically clattering show-stopping climax, and the heart-rending Pay Attention to Me might well be the band's masterpiece. This may be one of the best albums of the year. (Francis DiMenno)

The Noise

Live Review of Total Action CD Release Party, with John Powhida International Airport, Lucky 57 and Temper, Abbey Lounge, November 2, 2007

I didn't expect food, but there are veggie wraps and scones to be washed down with free beer before we get to the music. And look, a bunch of my softball buddies are here for the event...The CD release trio, My Own Worst Enemy, sets up and is ready to mow(e) us down. They break out of the starting blocks with 'Come On,' a Ramones-like rocker from their brand spankin' new Total Action. Sue's wearing the formal gown she had on for the inside photo for their story in The Noise. Steve plays his Danelectro through two amps to create a wide sonic range to replace the lack of a bass. A.J. supplies more than the beat - he's a damn fine background vocalist, and he can blow a harmonic while drumming. Softballer Al Janik leans over and says, "ladies and gentlemen, Bob Dylan." Okay, Bob doesn't play drums. Must be something in Al's beer...like alcohol. "Pay Attention To Me" has a mellow start that has a mighty build to it with Sue belting out 'I've been waiting all these years.' They follow that with my favorite MOWE tune, "Snowflake"- with it's big guitar dynamics. And by sets' end we learn that both Sue and John Powhida have crushes on David Minehan. (T Max)

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tomsquitieri · 4 months

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Caissons Stop Rolling, As Army Scrambles To Reverse, Improve Conditions That Put Arlington Horses In Jeopardy

WASHINGTON — One week after the Army privately touted its steps to improve the conditions for horses working at Arlington cemetery, it decided to shut down the Army's Caisson platoon, the ceremonial horse unit that is the centerpiece of the service to carry the bodies of fallen troops for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

The suspension follows four equine deaths in the platoon over the last year and as well as deep, festering and some say negligent living conditions for the horses and a seemingly stark lack of elementary training for those who care and handle the horses, congressional aides said.

The slowness of the Army to address the problem has raised bipartisan ire from Congress, which has directed millions in funding to improve the living conditions for the horses — and has increased concerns in equine and humane organizations.

“This is a national tragedy,” Jim Gath, founder and chair of the Tierra Madre Horse and Human Sanctuary in Cave Creek, Arizona, and author of 10 books, including ‘I Hear You, Horse,” said in an interview. "These horse are being used to take heroes to the final resting place. They have been treated as if nobody is in charge of these horses and their well-being.”

The shut down is for at least 45 days to prioritize the health of the herd. The Army said the "suspension" will not impact military honors at the cemetery.

The concerns over the Army’s poor treatment of the Arlington horses is one element of growing national concerns over equine conditions - including those of race horses. Prior to the recent Kentucky Derby, five horses were scratched from the race — the most since 1936 — amid a 10-day stretch where seven horses died at Churchill Downs, including two on race day.

Asked on May 4 if Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was satisfied with the Army's decision to stand down the Caisson unit at Arlington National Cemetery as a way to further review the treatment of the horses there, Deputy Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, “So I know what you're referring to. I just don't have more information on that. I'd be happy to take that question and get back to you and provide an answer.”

For months and most likely years, the Arlington herd was living in small, unsanitary lots covered in more than a dozen inches of excrement. They were also eating low-quality hay and other materials, congressional aides said.

More than a dozen inspections conducted between 2019 and 2022 gave the horse facilities “unsatisfactory” sanitary ratings, despite supposed efforts made by the soldiers of Caisson Platoon, who train and care for the horses. A lack of space, inadequate funding and the turnover of unit commanders were noted as the primary issues. The 60-some horses were fed poor-quality feed, suffered parasite infestations and lived in excrement-filled mud lots.

Roughly half of the horses in the unit were over 20 years old -- or geriatric.

“You want someone with practical experience,” Gath said. “You want someone who has dealt with these issues in the past.

“They are putting these horses in jeopardy,” he said. “The details in what they plan to do is every thing. They need to walk down every stall, teeth to tail (exam), get a permanent record going, the types of feed, the types of hay, the supplements they get, the medicine, the physical (activity) for them you do to bring them back proper health.

“It’s all about the horse,” Gath said. “I would be more than glad to come out there and help with those evaluations - just like we do here at Tierra Madre."

Facing severe congressional criticism and the threat of civilian lawsuits - some comparing the Army’s treatment of its horses to horses broken down in some big city tourist systems — the Army said it was undertaking a significant review and upgrade of operating procedure and living conditions for the beleaguered herd.

That includes, for the first time, creating an adoption program through which certain individuals can adopt retired horses. The Army did not provide details on the program nor if individuals or organization could support the existing herd working at the cemetery.

“Raising awareness for and participating in this program is a great way to support the Caisson Platoon,” Army Col. June Jeffrey-Kim, Director of Public Affairs, Military District of Washington, said in a statement to Red Snow News.

Two horses died within 96 hours of each other in February 2022, one with 44 pounds of gravel found in his gut upon necropsy. Tony, the horse with 44 pounds of sediment in his gut, died of sand colic, the result of being fed in inappropriate feeding areas. Mickey, the other horse that died in February, died of septic colic, which was caused by an untreated gastrointestinal illness or injury. Manure and bacteria made their way into his bloodstream, causing an infection.

Rio, a 19-year-old horse, died on Oct. 24, 2022, and Rambler, a 14-year-old horse, died a month later. Both were euthanized by veterinarians as a result of their ailments. Rio died of surgical complications after he suffered a left limb fracture; he underwent three surgeries to attempt to fix the injury, but veterinarians determined he would be euthanized for quality-of-life purposes.

Ramble died of "acute abdominal distress;" it is unclear if it was caused by sediment in his gut as the unit was waiting for necropsy results at the time. Horses can die from an ailment called "colic," a general term for abdominal pain that can vary in severity and pain for the animal.

In January of this year, the unit closed its stable to the public for a month to "minimize spreading a contagious [to other horses] upper respiratory bacterial infection that was found in" one of the horses.

Part of that criticism has centered around how much space the unit has allotted to the herd at Forts Myer and Belvoir, facilities that currently offer less than 20% of the area that equine experts recommend. Provisions to improve the horses' conditions were included in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, that passed Congress last year.

Even with the added 14 acres, the herd is still short of the "generally required" 1-2 acres per horse.

In an email response to Red Snow News, the Army outlined on background what it is doing to improve the care and status of the horses.

That includes repairing shelters, fences lines and removing hazardous objects, and repairing stalls, repairing the bar heating system; and acquired and establishing a new 14-acre pasture in Fairfax County after working jointly with the Bureau of Land Management; placing concrete pads around hay feeders and installing rubber mats in feeding areas to reduce the ingestion of sand and gravel.

It said it hired a herd manager with equine and agricultural degrees to oversee all aspects of herd health from procurement to retirement and a facilities manager with a degree in environmental biology and 16 years of professional animal care management to upgrade and improve equine equipment and facilities for the entire herd.

The Army also said it established relationships with civilian farriers to address corrective and orthopedic shoeing needs, worked with civilian saddle fitters to properly match horses to existing cavalry saddle, and established relationships with local agricultural experts like the Virginia Tech Extension Offices to consult on our pasture rotation schedule and the elimination of toxic plants.

It did not identify any of those relationships for verification.

It also said it updated the Basic Horsemanship Class to include more instruction on horse care, horsemanship, and riding skills for new soldiers.

As for horse care, it said it has “established nutritional minimums for forage and supplements; organized routine check-ins to monitor horse weight and body condition.” t also said it has updated hay, feed, and supplement contracts to provide more nutritional value for the herd and address existing health concerns.

Part of the improvements are to install commercial slow feed nets in stalls to better align with natural horse consumption habits and improve grain feed schedules and protocols “ensuring each horse receives feed based on their individual dietary needs,” the Army said.

The Army also made adjustments to what horses must wear, moving toward what horse experts say are basics that should have been done long ago.

They include procuring Western style saddle pads to address pressure, discomfort, and soreness related to poor tack fit from the existing cavalry saddles; adopting Hippo setup for wagon tack to address neck pain soreness from existing tack fit; procured English saddles for section horses to increase ergonomics for horse and ride, and ordered new girths and headstalls to improve tack fit for the cemetery herd.

The Army also promised to allow for more flexibility and time off for horses assigned to cemetery operations. It promised to expand “our mission tracking and forecasts to allow for more efficient operations and more deliberate rest cycles,” establish grooming standards to improve coat condition for the cemetery horses, and institute monthly educational classes for soldiers to learn about equine healthcare and management.

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yvesdot · 3 years

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Scammers and cyberstalkers are increasingly using the Goodreads platform to extort authors with threats of “review bombing” their work–and they are frequently targeting authors from marginalized communities who have spoken out on topics ranging from controversies within the industry to larger social issues on social media.

[R]eview bombing [is] when a coordinated group, or a few people with multiple accounts, intentionally tank a book’s aggregate rating with a flurry of one-star ratings and negative reviews.

Chupeco, a young-adult fantasy novelist best known for their The Bone Witch, The Girl From the Well and The Never Tilting World book series, is one author who has experienced this firsthand. Last year, Chupeco called out fellow author Mackenzi Lee for signing her name in other authors’ books without their consent...

Chupeco says their tweets about Lee drew the ire of what they refer to as the “1-star book brigade.”

“My book rating went from 3.9 to 3 overnight, and it was a whole journey to see people telling others not to review bomb Lee’s books when the reality was that my books were the ones getting hit and no one cared until I said something,” Chupeco says.

When Chupeco reached out to Goodreads, they say the company never responded to them.

“I emailed Goodreads while it was happening, and several people from [the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)] tried to help me, but in the end it went nowhere. I’ve emailed Goodreads before about other issues and they were always quick to respond, but they never got back to me on my emails for this one,” Chupeco says. “Goodreads only removes reviews that specifically target the author, but they do not do that for every book, either—just for the authors with big enough marketing and publicity teams to demand these removals.”

#YA THINK.#This problem is not only obvious but absolutely nothing is being done about it.#goodreads #litblr #bookblr #writeblr #And just for the record-- reviewers; stop doing this. I don't care what the author said on Twitter. GR isn't the place for you to inform me #-- and you're taking up space that could be used by people actually utilizing GR as intended!#Please do your duty as a reviewer and give productive; helpful; HONEST reviews of the BOOK. Okay rant over yes I also review books on GR.#Basically if you review bomb I do not want you around I don't care what the reason is. We've seen enough harassment.#txt

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bumbershots · 3 years

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LOVEFOOL

Author’s note: HELLO! This is my part for the Valentine’s Day challenge that @1dffchallenges put together. Make sure to keep an eye out for any other pieces published by other authors. Enjoy! And happy Valentine’s weekend! (:

Summary: Harry agrees to go on a blind date set up by his friends in hopes that it will help him move on from an unrequited love.

Word count: 3K

Challenge prompt and dialogue: blind date set up by friends. “I don’t want this to end...”

There’s a first for everything. Harry’s had his fair share of them at the age of twenty-seven. First time on an aeroplane at the tender age of six for a family holiday in Rome. First kiss on his home town’s park with someone he deeply cared about. First time in a recording studio. First time going on tour. The first night spent alone in his new and barely furnished home. The first morning he laid eyes on the girl next door. The ugly heartbreak after she got married, certainly felt worse than his first one.

Life is full of firsts, Harry knows that, and he wishes to have been the first to sneak his way into Jane’s heart, all those years ago.

"You love her" it almost sounds like an accusation coming from Jeff, though the last thing he wants is to make Harry feel guilty. The musician doesn't reply, he shrugs, eyes never leaving her no matter how deep into the ocean she seems to be. "Does she know?" Harry shakes his head in denial. "Did you bring her along just so you could tell her?"

"I enjoy writing music with her, that's why she's here," his tone leaves no room for more questions, the manager knows and sighs defeated. Harry stands from his spot on the beach and heads back inside the house, alone.

Is he being that obvious?

He reviews the past few days and wonders where he slipped, nothing rings any bell. Harry completely and conveniently forgets how he doesn't nag her for having a smoke after dinner, instead he just opens the window and stands close to it, or how he's been making her a cuppa everyday at noon. But it was the time when Jane asked him to help her French plait her hair when something clicked in Jeff's brain, the way Harry beamed at such a simple request left no room for questioning. Yet he asked him, because there was that tiny chance of it all being part of the manager's imagination, but when he looked back on it, the little things now made more sense to him and in a way he always knew.

They've been in Port Antonio for two weeks now and everything was going just dandy, Harry was writing more than ever, the first week he had a new song every day, he even polished the old ones and had a tune for his favourites, thanks to Mitch's help. When Jeff Azoff got there earlier this week, he spent a good two hours talking to Jeff Bhasker about how much of a good idea the trip was.

"Harry is on a writing spree." He complimented Azoff's client, it was nothing but the truth. However the reason for it all, was now heading back to the house to join the others after a good surfing session.

Jane went straight to take a shower, ready to rinse all the ocean's saltiness from her body, thinking how wonderful it would've been if her own worries could be washed away with her tangerine shampoo. In contrast to Harry's good spirits and excellent mood, her own cloud of trouble seemed to follow her all the way from London. She still hadn't heard from her husband, so it is safe to say he was still upset about her going away to work in Harry's album. It was impossible for her to forget the argument they had, at first thinking it was a joke on his side, insinuating that they were ‘shagging behind his back’.

After her shower, wearing comfortable clothes, Jane joins the others for supper but keeps to herself, still with the dichotomy about calling Alex or letting him be. He will eventually come to his senses and apologise.

What if he doesn't?

The thought alone of her clothes being packed in boxes by the time she gets back home almost makes her cry, perhaps she can call or text him just to test the waters. It is ridiculous how she seems to be more mature about this than him.

"Penny for them?" Harry's voice brings her back to the now empty dining room, the voices from the rest of their party can be heard from the living room.

"God I'm sorry H, lost myself out there for a moment," she is embarrassed, with him, the others and herself for letting this situation get under her skin. And she's also avoiding talking about it, with Harry or anyone. "I was just thinking about the tempo for Sweet Creature."

"Liar," he hates to be shut down by her more than anything. "Is it because I didn't let you eat the last peanut drop the other day?" It would've been easier for her to say it was, than to address the actual reason. But Harry hasn't lied to her, ever.

"No love, although I was a bit hurt because of that, it's actually this thing with Alex we are, I don't know, he was upset with me and said some things," Jane couldn't finish, her speech was cut short by a quiet sob and Harry was quick to pull her from the chair onto his lap and hold her tight. His own heart speeding at the sight of her distressed.

"When was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Two weeks ago." Her voice barely whispers on his chest, "he's being a wanker to be honest, just because he's not going on tour with any of his bands I'm supposed to be a stay at home wife!"

"Why don't you explain this to me, from the beginning, please?" He asks rubbing her back soothingly, and she spills it all, the having kids now or never argument, to her wanting to have a proper wedding party and finally the latest fight where Alex suggested an affair going on between her and Harry, the latter had to do his best not to put the option on the table, since her husband so kindly suggested it. Might as well, he thought. "It all sounds like a big misunderstanding, I know you're a great communicator sunshine, so it baffles me that you've let this go on for so long." He's got a point.

"You're right, but I feel like it's his turn, you know?" Jane's done weeping, but remained on her friend's lap and arms, head resting on his shoulder. "He's always forward, mature, a proper thirty year old except when it comes to arguments where we ought to reach an agreement," she plays a bit with the cross hanging from his neck, a scowl on her pretty face. "Like with the children thing, we only stopped arguing when I said that maybe in two more years we could have one instead of, you know, my early thirties." It's good that she can't see how upset Harry is.

"You gave into that one, he should do the same but it's his choice," Harry sighs and can't believe what he's about to say. "Take the day off tomorrow, call him or FaceTime, Skype whatever you choose, but have a proper conversation with him." She wants to argue and say it's not necessary to be absent the whole day, she can spare a few hours. But she will need time to think about what to say, make her point clear so they are on good terms until she goes back to London.

"Fine, but if he is still acting like a dickhead afterwards, I'm not going to let it into my head anymore, we will continue to bask in this great work environment going on here." Jane states, pulling away from his embrace just enough to give him that stern look she uses when trying to make a point, and Harry nods with a warm smile, the one she never gets tired of seeing. "I'll call it a night now, gonna be asleep in seconds now that I've got that out of my chest." She stands from his lap, missing his warmth instantly. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime honey pie." Harry says before leaving a kiss on her left hand that burns her skin from then till morning.

Jeff joins the musician in the dining room right after the girl walks away to her room, he takes a seat across from him and scrutinises the look of adoration his friend still sports once she is out of the room.

"She'll never know, if you never tell her." Jeff is right, but the thought alone of going through that again scares him to death. Or so he says, because there's a part of him that is fond of the thrill it makes him feel.

"It's not like I haven't tried, just last year I told her," Harry remembers that night vividly, how pretty she looked even with her makeup all smudged under her eyes. "I'm not sure if she heard, it was too loud like where we were at the time." He was also pissed out of his mind.

"H, there's nothing wrong with being in love."

"I'm not saying it is, but even if she did love me I– I would find a way to hurt her. Anyway. she's happily married now, it's too late." Saying it out loud doesn't hurt him any less like he thought it would. Harry sighs in defeat before rising from the chair, "she's everything to me, I wouldn't mess with her head by confessing my feelings, deep down I always knew she deserved better and now she has it and that's good enough for me." The musician disappears through the corridor where his everlasting love did just a few minutes ago, he paused for a moment outside her room, pondering whether to barge in and just follow his instincts, kiss her like he should've done after winning that award back in 2014.

Harry shakes his head and goes straight to his room, he reminds himself that it was time to let her go. It's for the best. He is not good enough for her, he can't even write a song for her, about her. He mustn't love her that much then.

What Harry doesn't know is that he can't write a song about her because he loves her too much, the poor lad can't even figure out where to start. But he's about to get rid of that curse in a day or two, he just needs to be patient.

The reward for it came, all of a sudden Harry wrote too many songs about her until she inevitably became aware of the situation they were in. Harry vowed to stay away from Jane’s life after recording the album. He dated people that didn’t remind him of her, and even moved temporarily to Japan. But despite all his efforts, four years later Harry still finds himself thinking about her, everything seems to be tainted by her. The music he adores, the new dinner recipes he cooks, the books he chooses to read.

Completely out of options he agreed to this blind date his friends set up for him.

He arrives at the modest restaurant they so kindly chose for the occasion. “All you have to do is wear something nice and show up.” Alexa reminded him over the phone last week.

This is a new first for him, it is also exciting, to take a seat at a table for two conveniently placed at the back, pretend to pay attention to the menu but let his green eyes avert to whoever approaches. Harry is having a great time, he knows that soon his date will arrive. He wonders what they’ll be like.

According to Alexa and Pixie, the person arriving is the perfect match for their young friend. Harry can only hope they like Vietnamese cuisine because that’s apparently this place’s special offer this week. If he’s lucky enough the date will agree to share a starter and perhaps two main courses, that way he doesn’t have to choose between one or the other.

“Here’s your table.” Harry hears the waiter speak and his gaze meets a very familiar figure standing beside him. It can’t be.

“Excuse me, there must be a mistake, I’m waiting for someone else.” Harry protests.

The waiter shakes his head and shows him the notepad with some specifications written down. “Nothing wrong, got specific instructions from Miss Chung, a lady will come in to say is here for Geldolf’s blind date, you are sitting at the table they reserved. I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your order.” He is quick to explain and disappear.

Jane sits because there is no way she can stand any longer, her legs are about to give out from the commotion. This was not the blind date she was expecting either. It’s been at least four years since she last saw Harry. The night after he finally admitted being in love with her, waiting for a reaction, anything from her, after what seemed like hours but was only ten minutes later, he walked out of her house and entire life, leaving her confused and upset.

“How’ve you been?” she asked after confirming that Harry wasn’t going to up and leave.

“Pretty fantastic, until you arrived.” He’s never spoken to her like that before, with so much affliction in his tone. “What are you doing here?”

“I was set up on a blind date by Pixie—

He interrupts her. “That’s fucking convenient, did you all went to this much trouble, just to mock me? I thought they were my friends, you know, that even after everything, they cared about me.” Harry stops, his voice breaks, he’s so angry, hurt and confused by the situation. “Did your husband come along, to witness my humiliation too?” He looks around, trying to find the man of Jane’s dreams.

“I wouldn’t know if he’s here, haven’t seen him since we got divorced three years ago.” She snaps before hiding behind the menu from a gobsmacked Harry.

The words he’d been waiting to hear were finally out of her mouth. Unlike the million times he dreamt about this happening, Harry is not sweeping her off her feet and running away into the sunset holding her hand. Instead he reaches out to touch her arm, testing the waters. He waits for her to lower the menu and surprisingly there are no tears in her eyes. Perhaps only a bit of sorrow that is quickly replaced with confusion, at how fast her heart raced after Harry’s touch.

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice is back to oozing the tenderness he reserves just for her. Jane nods.

“But can we share a rice bowl and Pho noodle soup?”

“Yes, and dessert too!” Even after four years Harry’s sweet tooth hasn’t changed, Jane sighs before the waiter is back to take their order.

Keeping a conversation between the two of them is not hard at all, even if it is an awkward topic —her not so recent divorce. “We didn’t have anything in common anymore, there were so many fights every single day. When I finally suggested the separation, he seemed relieved and I felt like a complete fool.” Jane remembers the sigh of comfort that came out of the man she once loved with all her heart before that rainy afternoon, when she finally decided that she’d had enough. “He left that night, hadn’t seen him since, his lawyer took care of everything,” a sour laugh escapes her lips, Harry’s eyes are full of sympathy for her. “I’m sorry for ruining your blind date, I know you’ve never been to one before.” Of course she did, she knows him better than anyone.

“This has to be the greatest date I’ve ever been to.” He speaks without a second thought.

All those years Harry spent away from Jane were not going to be in vain. He was not going to neglect the feelings he still had for her. That affection he felt for her, only her. Harry shifts in his seat, this is not at all how he planned it, in a restaurant full of people on fucking Valentine’s day. It almost seemed like a tacky move.

But after all this time of pining for her, hating her and himself at times. Harry was brave enough, it was now or never, he didn’t want to wait any longer, not after his friends schemed and executed this soppy plan to bring the two soulmates together. Before she could take the final bite of dessert that Harry kindly left for her. The world stopped.

“I don’t want this to end...” Harry says with a dimpled smile she can’t look away from. “I’d like to take you out on a second date, a third, fourth, fifth. Believe me when I tell you, I have planned up to a thousand of them.” He takes her hand in his and can feel her pulse race along his own. The smile splits his face again, because he knows, he feels, he sees it in her beautiful eyes. “Janey, you’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to hold on to. I know there is a name for this emotion, I’ve written songs about it, but now I don’t think it’s a word big enough for us.”

She squeezes his hand and breaths out a laugh, tears of joy brimming out of her eyes. “Let’s call it love, until we come up with a better name for it.” Harry agrees and just then, Jane brings up his hand to her lips.

His skin tingles where she kisses him for the first time and he beams at her.

There’s a first for everything, and although it feels like it for Jane and Harry, this isn’t by any means the first time they confess their love for each other. It was always there, in every laugh they shared, every song they wrote together, every touch. It was on Harry’s unwavering devotion, on his impatience and selfless actions throughout the years.

They were bound to be together, their story didn’t begin on that initial blind date, it did years ago after he caught a glimpse of her shiny black hair on the morning she moved into the house across the street.

Harry drives her back to her new flat on the other side of the city, enjoying every minute of the long ride, happy to hear her ramble about her newest obsession with romantic novels and burst out laughing after Jane confesses that sometimes she doesn’t finish reading books she likes, just to pretend the story keeps going. With a quick kiss to the back of her hand he completely agrees.

No tale is more compelling than one that never ends.

#1dffvalentine #harry styles

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sillyfanturtle · 3 years

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This or That

thank you for tagging @stebeee :D

tagging, but no pressure: @tiesanjiao @leonzhng @drownjngindreams @inkblue-black @dramaloverrants @twinklebrain and anyone else who wants to play

hardcover or paperback - hardcover anyday, they are sturdier, especially since I read some pretty hefty novels ^^;; though I do own paperbacks as well

rent or buy - as far as books are concerned, always buy :D

reads in silence or reads with music - I love music as much as I love reading so yeah, I tend to give them individual attention ^^

standalone or series - I don't particularly care if its standalone or a series, as long as I love the plot and characters, either is fine.

annotations or pristine pages - pristine, because as a kid, our teachers never allowed us to annotate anything in textbooks or notebooks, so weirdly, I got used to not scribbling

ebook or physical copy - physical copies always, because I love the smell and feel of books (think leather bound!!) and have some form of irrational hatred towards ereaders in general. Sorry ebook lovers (´._.`)

dog ears or bookmarks - absolutely DON'T ever dog ear a page, remember the page numbers or use a fancy bookmark, there are loads!!

mismatched series or complete set - mismatched ahhahaha but that's just my Discworld series. Like some are complete such as LoTR, I do have a few collections missing a few stories (only because they aren't available or out of stock) T_T

Cover matters or you don’t judge - I've picked many a book with a plain or really poor cover art, which turned out to be fantastic! So yeah, absolutely no judging from my side.

lend books or keep them to yourself - I learnt a harsh lesson lending out a book so never again. If you don't wanna be my friend because I refused to lend you a book from my hard earned collection, bye bye!

enjoys lit classes or despises them - I rather like them as long as I don't have to sit an exam haha!

browses shops or orders online - both! I love browsing bookstores and generally buy a lot of books like this. But, I also read a lot of non-Western authors (not including danmei), whose books are quite hard to come by in libraries or stores. So these ones end up via online orders most of the times.

reads reviews or goes in blind - a bit of both, but I do also read reviews. Of course, bad reviews haven't stopped me before...

unreturned books or clean library record - ahahaha!! ^^; so I have just the one book from a library that I forgot to return 13 years ago, but the library never reminded me either so clean record!! >_<

rereads or once was enough - always rereading my faves haha

fanfic enthusiast or a stickler for canon - fanfic all the way. Those ships could use extra help for sailing xD

deep reader or easily distracted - deep reader, I read the back of shampoo bottles with the same amount of concentration as I would read a thriller...

must read the book before seeing the movie or order doesn’t matter - I tend to treat them as entirely different stories altogether haha. So I don't really do the comparison between the two.

has neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves - neat because I have no other way of finding out what book is where xD (I have too many books in my tiny flat!)

skips ahead or resists temptation - I ❤️ spoilers ^_^ (detective genre is the exception)

reads aloud or in your head - sometimes, I'll do them voices in my head too xD

guesses plot twists or never sees them coming - Sometimes I'm bang on the money, but honestly, those times are super rare!

#game of tag #non fandom

5 notes · View notes

swiftlydnp · 5 years

Text

Cause you're what I always wanted

This fic is written for @a-wren-d for the B99 summer fic exchange @b99fandomevents . They just asked for anything related to Rosalyn or dianetti so I got creative! I wrote dianetti cause I love them so much and would love for them to get together!! In honor of pride mobth, I present to you,. Dianetti!!!

Gina Linetti always had a gift of detecting if people had a gay vibe and it also applied to herself. She had discovered her sexuality since the sixth grade and was out and proud as a pansexual and she loved it. She had also realised that Jake was bisexual before he realised it himself and had helped him discover his sexuality. This was one of the things that made their bond very strong.

When she had started as a civilian administrator at the 99th precinct, she had been attracted to the scary, brooding leather jacket wearing detective Rosa Diaz. Fear really was a powerful aphrodisiac. The only problem was that Gina couldn't figure out whether Rosa was attracted to girls. This was the first time her gift had failed her. Rosa was a very private and closed off person. It had been months since she had started at the 99 and yet she didn't know any facts about Rosa. She didn't even know if she had a house. She was very frustrated by this but was determined to find out. She was Gina Linetti after all. Her scary demeanor wasn't so scary to her anymore.

With time, Rosa began to be a little friendly, which was a lot coming from her. She would share her coffee with her, drop her off on her motorcycle when her car was at the repair shop and many more kind things you'd never expect from Rosa. Gina realised that she actually cared about her and valued her as a friend. But Gina wanted more. She subtly began to drop hints and flirt with her any chance she got. She could tell Rosa noticed but never reacted to any of her approaches.

After a few weeks, Gina got the flu from the street meat that she had ate. It sucked. Gina felt horrible. She had to go many times to the smelly bathroom and vomit her guts out. On their lunch break, when everyone went to the break room, Rosa pulled her aside. "Want a kiss, Diaz? Sorry but you'll have to wait cause I'm sick af!!" The words were out of Gina's mouth before she could stop herself. She had gotten into such a habit of flirting with Diaz that it was second-nature for her by now. Diaz just rolled her eyes and told Gina to follow her. Gina obliged because she was too tired to argue. She felt another wave of nausea coming but controlled it. She was too curious about what Rosa was going to show her.

"Rosaaa! Where are we going? Are you going to tell me that you secretly wear pink clothes with frills and all of this is just a front?!?!" Gina said attempting to crack a joke. "Shut up and follow me!" Rosa didn't seem to find it funny. She led Gina to an old records room where she pushed about a bunch of boxes to the side which opened to, Gina couldn't believe her eyes, a very gorgeous bathroom with the scent of lavender. It was the complete opposite of the dirty precinct bathroom upstairs. "Did you just build a bathroom for yourself so you could have more privacy??!?!" Gina personally didn't think that was the case but couldn't help but ask. Rosa scoffed. "Of course not! I'd love to have more privacy but that's not what happened. I actually found this old bathroom when I was in late working a case. When I found it, it was probably more dirty than the precinct bathroom, but I changed it to be comfortable and enjoyable for myself." "Aww Diaz, I didn't take you to be such a softie!!" Rosa grimaced. "Call me softie one more time and I'll put your head through a wall." Gina didn't dare do it. She knew enough of Rosa's wrath to understand that she was actually capable of that. She changed the subject. "So why did you bring me here?" Rosa sighed knowing this question was coming. "I just thought you would need it and would actually prefer it to the bathroom upstairs cause you were vomiting like crazy today and I didn't want you to catch another bug there." Rosa said this in a monotone voice and kept her head down to avoid meeting her gaze. She was so not good with emotions. Gina was very touched by the kindness she had shown for her.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea erupted through her and she bent over the very clean toilet and vomited. Rosa held her hair back for her. After she was finished, she rinsed her mouth and Rosa handed her a napkin. "You are really taking care of me today! Even Jake doesn't take care of me that much and he's my best friend. What, you like me or something, Diaz?" Gina joked. She was feeling very happy in the clean scented bathroom and was feeling pretty relaxed. Rosa's expression turned serious. "Of course I do. I've been flirting with you since forever." "You call arguing and snapping at me flirting?? You really are a weirdo, Diaz!!" Though Gina said all of this with a smile. She couldn't believe that Rosa had finally admitted to liking her back. "Yeah, whatever." Rosa was smiling too.

"So you're bi, right?" Gina asked this because Rosa had been known to date many guys. "Yeah, does that bother you?" Rosa asked abashedly . "It's cool! I'm pan myself." "Yeah I know. You only shout it out every other week." Rosa replied amusingly. "The people deserve to know!!" Gina exclaimed dramatically. Rosa laughed harder than she had ever done in public. Gina truly made her happy. Gina suddenly took her face in her hands and leaned in. Rosa leaned in too and kissed her right away. It was magical. They never had experienced such a perfect first kiss before. They parted due to lack of air and smiled very widely at each other one word in both of their minds "Finally!!". "So we're gonna go out right?" Gina asked. "Duh! Bouche manger tonight at 8, don't be late!" "Babe, you know I'm always gonna be fashionably late!" Gina said. Rosa rolled her eyes fondly. Being with Gina was going to be the best and she couldn't wait for it to start. "Hey, do you have a name for this bathroom?" Gina asked. "No, because I'm a normal person." "Rosa Diaz, you have committed a sin. Wait! Let me give it a name right now. What do you think about Babylon?" "Babylon sounds great babe." Rosa kissed her again and this is how their lives began.

Read on Ao3:

Author's note:

So this was my first fic ever! I finally got my head out of my ass and put myself through this program so that I could finally start writing and I did! I really hope you like this fic !!! Reviews are always appreciated!!

#brooklyn nine nine #b99 #brooklyn 99 #brooklynninenine #brooklyn nine nine fic #dianetti #dianetti fic #rosa diaz #gina linetti #stephanie beatriz #chelsea peretti #b99 summer fic exchange

11 notes · View notes

blogjallan · 4 years

Text

College Essay Format: Do's And Don'ts

A student writing an essay should take the time to learn to write well, to be well organized, interesting, and clear. Avoid jot what comes to mind, perhaps with a lot of passion, but with little reflection. The student agrees to spend a little time to develop a quality test. Even some of the best essay writing services also use these guidelines to develop a good essay.

An essay is a unique form of literary writing that examines a unique topic to explain, inform, defend, and persuade a topic, or raise a concern. It is not fiction or comic. It is not poetry but prose. This article will also serve as a guide on how to format a college essay.

Dos of College Essay Writing

First, do research

The student must reflect on the subject you want to study, and start reading and collecting information and appointments. In a college essay format, you write down the source of your appointment or your idea, including author, title, place of publication, publisher, and page. You can use cards, or perhaps better yet, write on a computer. Then you must organize your notes into groups according to the subject. Should discard what is not related to your topic, it is interesting. You should also remove whatever insignificant, and concentrate on a few core ideas that support the main theme of the essay.

Come up with your own idea

A trial should be the expression of an idea of the author and not simply a collection of other ideas. Not a single research report, but a reflection itself. Of course, the author considers ideas and research of other people but uses these sources to support his own theory or to show the contrast with opposing ideas. Thought this technique can also be used in the college application essay format.

Following a college essay format, the author must have it all planned and organized in mind what he or she wants to communicate and must focus on the core concept. For example, the trial could be intended to convince the reader about the idea of the author. The different parts of the trial present evidence or arguments to support the central idea, to show contrasting ideas, or to illustrate the point, but have no new major points.

Type an appropriate title

The title of the essay must clearly communicate the main topic. It should not be too general but must point to the specific topic. For example, if it comes to talking about the real consequences of global warming, the title should not be “The problem of man” or “Climate problems” but “the real consequences of Global Warming according to NASA. If the test is so general that it is not for a specific topic, then it would have to re-write it, concentrating on a more limited extent.

Organize your ideas well

An essay should have mandatory 3 sections: When following college essay format the introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction arouses interest in the subject of the trial and explains what it is. In the main body, you should focus on developing the main idea. It usually consists of several more subdivisions. In conclusion, you must conclude what are your opinions about the topic. This considered the most important part of the essay and one must not miss it.

A good essay is well organized, and ideas follow some definite order, easy to grasp. The writer must imagine that he is in dialogue with the reader, anticipating their questions and concerns, developing presentation so that answer. The reader should be able to grasp the thread of the argument with a quick look at the introduction, section titles, and the conclusion.

Also read: Term Paper Writing: Do’s and Don’ts

Following college essay format we have to make a good outline to ensure good organization. The essay must be the main divisions, subdivisions containing subordinate ideas to the subject of further division. The main divisions should be parallel, different but equal in importance. Similarly, the subdivisions must be parallel, different but equal in importance. The traditional numbering system is to use Roman numerals for main divisions, capital letters for the first subdivisions, and Arabic numerals for the second subdivisions. The introduction to the essay has no number or letter, not the conclusion.

Occupy good transitions

The reader needs to see relationships between different points. It may be clear to the writer why stop talking about one thing and starts talking about another, but the reader needs to be guided in the process. For example, if the test presents arguments against the theory of evolution, possibly biblical passages would like to explain first, and then display scientific arguments. The author should prepare the reader for this change with a comment like, “Now we have seen the biblical evidence, we will continue with the scientific evidence.” It might seem obvious, but we must never assume that the reader is following with full attention. In college essay format sometimes, the reader is distracted, and we have to put some “signs” along the way. Transitions are used in accordance with the organization of the test. If you are organized logically, transitions include phrases like “therefore …” or “In conclusion …” If you are organized as a comparison and contrast, transitions include phrases such as “to the contrary” or ” the same way”. If the test is chronological, phrases will be used as “first”, “second” “then” and “finally”.

Use good spelling and grammar

The essay should be well written, with good spelling, punctuation, and syntax. If you have a lot of problems, you should review it with a course in grammar and spelling. For the professional level, we demand a high level of spelling, syntax, and punctuation. Common errors include:

Lack of accents (If you type on a computer, you can use the automatic review, but analyze each correction that suggests computer, because in all cases the accent refers to the intention and position of the word in the text and that only do you know)

too long to be divided into two or more sentences. (If you start a new idea, you must make a new sentence).

paragraphs with a single sentence. (If there is one sentence, I must put it under another paragraph, or just delete it if there is not enough to say about the subject).

Errors finger (you need to give a final read to the final work to correct possible errors of this type).

Don’ts of College Essay Writing

Do Not Write big paragraphs

The paragraph is the key unit of a trial. Check each paragraph to ensure that:

All sentences of the paragraph dealing with the same subject.

In college essay format the central idea of the paragraph is in the first or in the last sentence.

Other prayers contribute to the central theme of the paragraph, or supporting, or showing contrast or giving illustrations.

Be careful not to remove prayers that are unrelated to the topic of the paragraph. Possibly be better in another paragraph, or maybe I should start a new paragraph.

Do not use too many quotes

A good essay should not quote long passages simply to fill the required pages. A quote of more than 5 lines is too long. In the case of referring to such a long text, it is better only to put the citation. In addition, the test no more than 25% of the test must be quotations. Of course, the argument must be based on the literature, but there are many quotations, the author must simply put references to some, to reduce this to 25% of the content of the essay.

Don’t leave any information without a source

When the author uses ideas from other sources, it is absolutely necessary to indicate what those sources are. If the author does not, it seems that ideas are quoted to him, which is not honest, and is called “plagiarism”. When the author has read books or articles and is expressed in his essay ideas found in them, though not a direct quote, you should put a reference numeral 1, and a note at the bottom of the page, with information from the text, using the following format: 1 Author [name first, then surname], name of the book [in italics] (place of publication: publisher, year) [in brackets, double semicolons as shown here] page or pages cited. This is a crucial aspect of how to write a college essay format.

Example: James Blunt, Blood Wedding (Barcelona: Ayma, SA, 1971), p. 95.

See manual APA style, for other possible types of notes, for example when multiple authors, or when the quote is from an article in a magazine. When he quotes directly, the appointment must be in quotes, and must also put a note at the bottom of the page with the information from the source.

Do not add false or fake references

At the end of the trial, including a bibliography, a list of all the books and articles used by the author in his research. The format for the bibliography is a bit different from the format of the note to the footer. An example: García Lorca, Federico. Blood Wedding. Barcelona: Ayma, SA, 1971. Note that the name goes before the name, the pages are indicated, and punctuation is different.

Important aspects to consider while writing essay Developing information sheets.

Worksheets, ie, the notes will draw from the sources we read, we will write only once we understand the topic, otherwise, we will be taking notes of anything less than the specific topic. Well, once known the issue and raised the issue of research, subtraction collect the information we will develop our trial. Following college essay format consequently, the chips are divided according to the sections that we defined in the preliminary outline, whether chapters, sections or paragraphs. Each tab will be listed under the chapter, section or paragraph. In each of them, we will record relevant information and then use it in the final draft.

Assumptions and objectives

All documentary work requires objectives, both general and specific. Documentary work also requires hypothesizing. A general objective expressed clearly, accurately and without a goal or fundamental contradiction in order to achieve through research. The specific objectives, meanwhile, are one unit and each of them must meet the overall objective. For that reason, no specific goal should exceed the overall objective. It is preferable to consider a single overall objective in an investigation, and for each chapter, consider a specific one. Thus, each of the specific objectives responds separately, but with the unity of meaning to the overall objective of the research.

As for the hypothesis, this is an educated guess or a preliminary answer on the subject investigated. However, the hypothesis is not an assumption. Your foundation should rest on the preliminary investigation we made from selected sources and consulted. The hypothesis is paramilitary or anticipated but based on the extent that, once configured conceptually the research problem, guides us in their possible resolution. As an instrument of knowledge, the hypothesis has an explanatory value of the research problem.

Theoretical perspective

Some speak of the theoretical framework. Since this is not strictly speaking a purely academic work but student support, we will not discuss here why to abandon the notion of the theoretical framework and adopted the notion of theoretical perspective. It is easy. There are practically long and extensive works that discuss what a theoretical framework without each other there is much agreement. On the contrary, a theoretical perspective simply means how to focus on an issue, problem, phenomenon in question, i.e. study. It is the view that we will take to analyze this problem or phenomenon of reality. The prospect that we assume can be own-which demands large research and general knowledge to establish a unit of meaning or others. This means that we will take as a perspective of analysis or some existing theories that allow us to critically address a phenomenon of reality. Follow the same because it is a necessary format for college essays.

Read this as well: 7 Easy Tips To Write A Persuasive Essay

Now, assume an existing theoretical perspective does not mean that our critical view disappears, but rather that our research will be supported by some theory that somehow helps to explain the problem we were dealing with objectively. Our production of knowledge does not disappear with the adoption of a theoretical perspective, but rather it enriches enable us to analyze the problem objectively allowing reach own conclusions with theoretical support.

Making an argument

Although there are many college essay format templates but still, we have to stay stick to these important aspects. Writing an essay is to develop an idea. Developing an idea requires arguments. And reading the arguments required to have a foundation. The way we develop an idea depends on the arguments that we have to expose them. The idea may be accompanied by bibliographical sources, or be a complete argument of our creativity.

When it comes to an academic essay, although it is true that the most important thing is always creativity, however, it requires to rely on bibliographical sources so that the problem and the hypothesis have academic validity. Reading gives us ideas. Of these ideas, some central idea arises we would like to develop, and which must be supported with arguments that arise from reading.

Some points to consider when developing an idea are as follows:

Sufficient knowledge of a topic.

Have a definite perspective to reiterate what said unnecessarily.

Have a certain idea that allows basting consistently writing according to the chosen topic and the problem posed.

Some points to consider when developing an argument are as follows:

Writing with purpose, that is, knowing where it is going.

Having a well-defined central idea. This idea is founded with arguments and supported by evidence, which comes from literature sources or otherwise.

Logical coherence between each idea must exist. i.e., each idea should lead logically to each other.

However, we must remember how important is the approach to the problem and formulating a working hypothesis in research. Why? Because the problem posed specifically allows the material, we find that we occupy saving time and energy to knowing exactly what deal to develop our theme, and consequently, our central idea. The hypothesis meanwhile, we will provide guidance, but above all, an instrument of knowledge to try to show why we believe that this or that phenomenon can be explained in this or that way. The hypothesis in this sense becomes a form of knowledge because it would explain a new way of understanding the reality of a phenomenon.

Conclusion

There is no one way to write an essay, and there are no fixed rules. However, there are guidelines that help you communicate better. If the author really wants to communicate something important, you are ready to write your essay with great effort. Probably the biggest challenge is to clearly write. Read the test should not be a difficult, but comfortable and enjoyable task. The more work reverses the writer, less work is costing the reader.

#online essay writing #write an essay for me #best essay writing service #custom essay writing service #thesis writing service #assignment writing service #term paper writer #write my essay for free

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blogjallan · 4 years

Text

College Essay Format: Do's And Don'ts

Dos of College Essay Writing

First, do research

Come up with your own idea

Type an appropriate title

Organize your ideas well

Also read: Term Paper Writing: Do’s and Don’ts

Occupy good transitions

Use good spelling and grammar

too long to be divided into two or more sentences. (If you start a new idea, you must make a new sentence).

paragraphs with a single sentence. (If there is one sentence, I must put it under another paragraph, or just delete it if there is not enough to say about the subject).

Errors finger (you need to give a final read to the final work to correct possible errors of this type).

Don’ts of College Essay Writing

Do Not Write big paragraphs

The paragraph is the key unit of a trial. Check each paragraph to ensure that:

All sentences of the paragraph dealing with the same subject.

In college essay format the central idea of the paragraph is in the first or in the last sentence.

Other prayers contribute to the central theme of the paragraph, or supporting, or showing contrast or giving illustrations.

Be careful not to remove prayers that are unrelated to the topic of the paragraph. Possibly be better in another paragraph, or maybe I should start a new paragraph.

Do not use too many quotes

Don’t leave any information without a source

Example: James Blunt, Blood Wedding (Barcelona: Ayma, SA, 1971), p. 95.

Do not add false or fake references

Important aspects to consider while writing essayDeveloping information sheets.

Assumptions and objectives

Theoretical perspective

Read this as well: 7 Easy Tips To Write A Persuasive Essay

Making an argument

Some points to consider when developing an idea are as follows:

Sufficient knowledge of a topic.

Have a definite perspective to reiterate what said unnecessarily.

Have a certain idea that allows basting consistently writing according to the chosen topic and the problem posed.

Some points to consider when developing an argument are as follows:

Writing with purpose, that is, knowing where it is going.

Having a well-defined central idea. This idea is founded with arguments and supported by evidence, which comes from literature sources or otherwise.

Logical coherence between each idea must exist. i.e., each idea should lead logically to each other.

Conclusion

Source: https://bestessaywritingservice.org/blog/college-essay-format-dos-and-donts/

#online essay writing #write an essay for me #thesis #blog #education #best essay writing service #custom essay writing service #thesis writing service #assignment writing service #term paper writer #academic writing help #write my essay for free

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