Have you ever found yourself reading or writing a word followed by a
word that has the same meaning? Close proximity comes to mind. Don’t
beat yourself up. Some best selling authors and the venerable New
York Times are guilty of the same redundant evil. It just happens to
drive me crazy.

I’m always interested in the origin of words
and phrases so I asked Jeeves about it; he shrugged and sent me to
Google which sent me to www.closeproximity.net/index1.htm. Trust me,
that website is the only place where you are going to see those two
words in suitable proximity to one another. If you go there now, you must
promise to return to finish reading my article.

The Angle of the
dangle is another slippery slope. I discovered early on that dangling
phrases are death to bleary-eyed proofreaders. When the descriptive
phrase with which you begin a sentence does not modify or describe the
rest of the sentence you are in writer’s hell and the editor’s slush pile.
For example, “A short distance from Paris, I return often.” What or who is
a short distance from Paris? “Since I live a short distance from Paris, I
return often.” Oh.

I’m reminded of my first article “On Writing,”
vis–vis gross meister (my word) Stephen King. What King
writes sometimes can be revolting. How he writes harkens to
my own penchant for clarity of expression. He never uses a euphemism
in place of a direct expression. For example, “abuser of controlled
substances” vs. “drug addict.” Which is more dynamic? Conversely,
business and government use language that is more politically correct.
A liar is someone who suffers from FDS (fabricated disorder syndrome).
Ugh! The writer’s own sensibilities decide when and where to cross this
fuzzy line. Journalism, however, has its own set of ideals.

For
example, The Washington Post’s Desk Book On Style says,
“Profanities and obscenities should not be used in a story unless
something significant would otherwise be lost.” In other words, the
journalist should ask, “why use it?” rather than “why not use it?” Judging
from the profanities emanating from the halls of Congress and other
hallowed institutions, the handbook should probably be updated. The
doublespeak debate goes on.

Meanwhile, my final word on
words for the text-challenged. Symbols and truncated words are my
nemeses. Can you believe that six exasperating symbols are required to
create a bullet? Would you rather read Shakespeare like this: “2b?
Nt2b? ???” Or like this: “To be or not to be, that is the question?” Or
maybe you would rather not read him at all. Never mind. If you were
visiting in the Paris salon of Gertrude Stein, the eccentric American
author and mentor to Ernest Hemingway during the golden age of
American writers in Paris, her answer would be: “There ain’t no answer.
There ain’t gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer.
That’s the answer.”

I think the innovative Gertrude would
probably love html. Check out some of the witticisms she’s famous for
like, “a rose is a rose is a rose.” I’m unrenowned for, “a book is a book is
a book.”

Susan Scharfman is a writer/editor at http://www.susanscharfman.com

You don’t have to be a SEO expert to make a fortune on the web. Search engine optimization is not complicated at all. It may be exhausting and annoying. You may get frustrated. But it is so easy if you know the basic rules. Read the following SEO Dos and Don’ts and start making money. SEO Dos :

1. Stay natural – Search engines like natural behavior. Remember it whenever you get a tempting proposal to pay for software that will boost your search engine optimization and get you to the top search engine ranks.

2. Links, Links, Links – The online world equivalent to: “Location, location, location”. Links are the foundation stones of your SEO strategy. The quantity and quality of the links pointing to your site are the main criteria that affect your search engine ranking. Never stop creating new links to your site using techniques like links exchanging, articles submitting, affiliate marketing, link buying etc.

3. Page and site optimization – Remember, Search Engines like what human like. Optimize your site according to valuable keywords, you have found on wordcount.com or overture. Make the navigation on your site easy and clear.

4. Automate and delegate – Do not work on your own – use software to automate processes and outsource some of the search engine optimization to others.

SEO Don’ts:

1. Do not shoot and forget – Search engine optimization is an ongoing task. You will not see results in a day or in a month. Do not work on one site too much too fast. In other words, add links and pages to your site gradually.

2. Do not optimize only for the best search engine – Google is not the only search engine and all search engine change their ranking algorithms every once in a while. Do your best to get your site in a high place in at least three of the best search engines.

Now that you have read the SEO Dos and Don’ts, all there is to do is work on your sites’ search engine optimization. It may take time but it sure worth it – You can have fun and lots of money. Good luck.

Many modern gamers will have spotted the term “offshore sports betting” by now, but many are not wholly clear on what that implies. An offshore betting site in effect runs external to the supervision of any particular land or alternatively it could be a web based gaming web site which should have their computer servers in a nation in which online gambling is not presently banned. To summarize then, it can be represented as a betting site in action outside the state of the gamer. Networked gaming webpages are currently regulated via 3 councils. These are OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association FTGA.

The Offshore Gaming Association are a self regulating institution which currently monitors the modern overseas sports gambling industry, they endeavor to also grant the paying public the ability to swiftly find good organizations to play betting games on, without anguish. It aims to guard the legal rights of consumers, and in addition they don’t impose any enrollment expenses.

The agency is a well qualified and objective third party administration who express nonpartisan viewpoints, suggested by customer feedback, objective analysis, telephone discussions, insider tips also to offer inside intelligence.

The Interactive Gaming Council are a not-for-profit administration. The council was set up to allow a forum for interested parties to talk about current topics also to boost shared interests in the global online gaming business, to establish upright and effective industry codes and patterns that endeavor to improve client faith in internet based wagering products and functions, and in addition to assist as the overseas gambling industry’s inclusive practise adviser furthermore the IGC supplies a data depot.

The IGC have established a distinction for advocating trustworthiness, ethical action and in addition credibility because of its exacting ideals, and also its appeal to honorable gaming sites. The Interactive Gaming Council regularises offshore gaming via championing a unique 10 step code of conduct and in addition bills sports betting businesses fees to display the council’s logo. Dispirited gamblers may, should they need to, recount their disputes to the IGC.

The FTGA has been established in an effort to compose a standard to improve the policies of on-line sports betting trading operations. The agency trust that by conducting trade with good internet sites, they can forge an alliance of the fairest and professional online gambling companies worldwide.

There are bodies that keep an watchful eye on the practises practised by machine-accessible gaming and which should serve to take the sting out of a few of the trepidation experienced by a few gambling buffs. Internet gambling internet sites are entirely secure, in that individual details shouldn’t be required and the returns and the gambling odds are always equivalent to a traditional Vegas-type sports bet. These websites eliminate the traveling expenditure, but preserve of a Nevada gambling casino, however nowadays you are in a position to game in your own house.

NCAA Basketball Betting

Graduation Gowns

Graduation Regalia

Graduation Products

There is no set out rule that defines what exactly graduation products are. Most websites that specialize in selling graduation products will offer a good of options to choose from. Most of these products are usually gift items and the graduation regalia. If one is thinking of what to give as a gradation present, a visit to one of these websites will open up the mind and offer some very reasonable recommendations. Graduation products and gifts also vary depending on the location and type of institution. Whatever one decides to offer, remember that it should reflect the occasion and the atmosphere it is offered in.

Graduation Information On The Internet

Graduation information is available all over the internet. You’ll find multiple links which can assist you in your research. Gordon International offers a lot of information which can be useful to anyone ordering graduation regalia but if you’re looking for specific history please see the link provided below.
The Following Site Offers Great Information About Graduation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dress wikipedia provides the searcher with a great information source for any type of search. You can go to their search wiki and place an random search in the engine and you’ll come across a few useful sources & articles.

Many writers regard passive voice as something invented by the Devil himself. Evil, evil, evil. And, when used by writers to avoid placing responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the rightful subject of the sentence, passive voice is a pretty heinous thing. For example:

The cigarette ads were designed to appeal to a younger, hipper crowd, aged twelve to seventeen.

Well, who thought up that brilliant idea, eh? No one wants to admit to it. And while the target demographics are pretty important, in themselves, wouldn’t it be more interesting to know who’s behind the nefarious ad campaign?

That might just lead to lawsuits. Those can be pretty interesting, too.

The defendant, J. R. Renfield, was fined six million dollars and ordered to produce a twelve-month series of public service announcements designed to educate young viewers about the dangers of smoking.

Maybe passive voice isn’t so evil, after all. J. R. is the rightful subject here, not the judge or jury.

Passive voice is constructed by combining a transitive verb (one that takes an object) with an auxiliary verb (“to be”). For example:

Active: Joe threw the ball.
Passive: The ball was thrown.

Well, we knew that – after all, the ball broke our plate glass window. What we want to know is, who’s going to pay to fix the window?

Passive: The ball was thrown by Joe.

In this second example of passive construction, Joe gets responsibility for throwing the ball, but he is no longer the subject, or main focus, of the action. If the ball and the fact that it was thrown at all is more important than Joe, it may be more appropriate to use passive voice.

Consider the following:

The fire, which destroyed six city blocks and killed nine firefighters, was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Nine firefighters were killed, and six city blocks destroyed, by fire caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Faulty electrical wiring caused the fire that killed nine firefighters and destroyed six city blocks.

Which is more interesting and important: the fire, the cause of the fire, or the death and destruction that resulted from the fire? Put the focus where it belongs; make the most important thing the subject of the sentence, even if it involves using the passive voice. Just be sure that you’re not avoiding an issue or shielding the real actor from personal responsibility.

Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer who claims, tongue-in-cheek, to channel the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe, Erma Bombeck, and O’Henry. Holly is an author on Writing.Com (http://www.Writing.Com/), and you can buy her books at Lulu (http://www.lulu.com/hjahangiri).

Here are the top 7 reasons I write and market articles:

1. I love to bust limitations – I did not finish my PhD in marriage and family therapy because I believed I could not write. I get a kick out of busting my own limitations and those of others.

2. I am committed to modeling what I teach – I see so many “internet marketing gurus” that do not do or no longer do what they teach. Since I teach article writing and marketing with my TheArticleGuy.com website, I want to continue modeling what I am teaching.

3. I can’t not write – Once you have done this for awhile, you can get to the place where you could not not write. You feel compelled to do something with this idea flood. I consider this to be a good place to be.

4. This the single most powerful tool – There are very few tools out there that cost you nothing but time that gets such and incredible return. Article writing and marketing is the single most powerful tool I have found for creating more prospects, publicity and profits.

5. More prospects – Article writing and marketing brings me new prospects each and every day. What else do you know that does that for free?

6. More publicity – Article writing and marketing can dramatically up your expert-ability. When someone is checking you out and they Google your name and see article after article by you, that is killer publicity.

7. More profits – Prospects become customers and clients. It’s as simple as that.

Visit The Article Guy for more leading edge tips and tools for writing articles that bring you prospects, publicity and profits. You can also subscribe to our monthly Article Writing & Marketing Tips Newsletter. You are also invited to visit my Express-Start Article Writing Program for more information on the next article writing tele-seminar.

Visual aids and props can go a long way in lending interest and depth to your presentation. Many people are highly visual in nature. “Did you see that!” Audiences tend to remember visually presented information more clearly and in more detail. If you’re still a bit nervous, a small “prop” will help you to keep your hands “busy”, so you can avoid a number of unconscious “nervous habits”. Some props and visual aids I’ve found useful during my presentations include these items.

Small stuffed animals

I’ve used “Winnie the Pooh”, “Tigger” and “Piglet” on more occasions than I can count. I also have successfully used “generic” stuffed rabbits, frogs, puppies and mice. Be creative and imaginative in coming up with ways to use them to help make your point and your audiences will eat it up.

Hand outs

Hand outs are still an effective means of keeping your audience in tow. Use them to reinforce your main points, as an outline for your audience to follow your presentation and as additional information they can take away. If you have additional services or a product to offer, be sure to include a flyer as part of your handout package. I’ve actually had seminar attendees almost literally fight over handouts, climbing over one another in their quest to get the handout package.

Photographs

Photographs make great visual aids – When I recently gave presentations to group of fellow teachers, I included slides which not only quoted some of them but used a photo of them as well. In another presentation, I used a collage of photos to illustrate the upcoming themes and topics of my presentation. One of my most memorable “Thank You for attending” slides featured a collage of photos I’d taken previously of persons who were in the audience. Needless to say, it went over quite well.

Charts and graphs

Charts and graphs put verbal information into a visual form that is much more easily digested and remembered by audiences. They can also add a more colorful dimension to your presentation statistics and key facts.

Demonstrations

By all means don’t miss an opportunity to include a short demonstration in your presentation. Use volunteers from the audience, mini-competitions, etc. to deeply involve attendees of your presentation. It’ll be all the more memorable not only for them, but for their fellow attendees as well. Have them give a brief comment, relate an experience or offer up a relevant anecdote during your presentation. Ask for volunteers, “Has anyone had an experience with …” or “Has this ever happened to anyone here?” I always get at least a couple of eager volunteers. They sure can liven things up.

Video

Video is a marvelous tool that is being included more and more into all kinds of presentations. Digital video clips needn’t be lengthy or excessively large and can be inserted into a Power Point slide. These include full color, motion and sound to introduce, illustrate or deepen a key point. Their use should be controlled if not limited as they can cause “technical problems” if the equipment you’re using isn’t yours. A differently configured computer can wreak havoc on your carefully crafted presentation.

Don’t leave out sound

Don’t leave out sound in your presentations either. Some ideas include using a bell, whistle, rattle, Kazoo, slide whistle, flute, rhythm sticks or some other little noise maker. Leave the Klaxon horns and foghorns for New Year’s Eve. Sound can be used as prompts for attention-getting, cueing slides or activities or audience participation – “Now at the sound of the bell, everybody say …

Use more audio visual aids and props in your presentations. You too will then have more attendees approaching after your presentation to shake your hand and say, “Thanks, I really enjoyed your presentation.”

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author, presenter and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. Free details of his 5-week online course “Develop a Specialty and Get Published on the Web for Fun, Fame or Fortune” and more tips on article writing, public speaking, and mental skills development are online at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/

Public speaking humor is only old if your audience has heard it before and if they remember it. Most people don’t remember the exact details of jokes, one-liners, and stories. This is not contradictory to the fact that one of the uses of humor is to make your points more memorable.

One of the reasons people don’t remember jokes and other pieces of humor is that the humor is usually heard out of context. The humor was not used in conjunction with a point which is the way you should use it in a speaking engagement. The humor was used for entertainment value only and was enjoyed and quickly forgotten.

When you bring back some of this old humor, you will be tying it to your point which makes it acceptable to use in the first place. In the second place, even if some audience members recognize the humor, they probably don’t remember the punch line. If you tell it well, even these people will enjoy hearing it again.

The technique to tell a very old joke or story is to tell the audience it is old. This is the one time when you might want to tell the audience you have a joke or story coming. If you don*t tell them that you know it is old, they will likely think you are out of touch. If you tell them you are going to tell an old story or joke, you are telling them you know it’s old, but it makes the point so well that you think it is worth telling again.

You will come across jokes and stories that can be updated. Some can be updated as easily as adding a current name. Here is an old politician joke:

Joe the politician said he was so surprised about his nomination that his acceptance speech fell out of his pocket.

All you have to do to update this one is to change the name from Joe to the current politician or association member you want to tease. You could also make this a joke on yourself if you know you are going to be nominated for something. I was so surprised about this nomination that MY acceptance speech fell out of my pocket. Here is another one that can be used for presidents, or to tease any business boss:

A man was alone in a rowboat on the Potomac shouting No! No! No! Someone on the riverbank said, ‘Is that guy crazy or what?’ Another man fishing said, ‘No. That’s just one of President Clinton’s Yes Men on vacation.’ All you have to do on this one is to change the name of the river and substitute your BIG TARGET where you see President Clinton.

When speaking in public a little old humor used properly never hurts.

Copyright © 1998 – 2005 Advanced Public Speaking Institute

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. http://www.antion.com

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Some players have asked me “Why would I benefit from a poker rakeback? I only play on the web when there is a bonus to clear.” What will you do if you have the chance to be a career poker gambler? There are many betters in the poker world who kick themselves for not using rakeback offers and now they have now signed up for all the major web based sites. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you are a person who bets below one or two dollars and only bets when using bonuses, you could be obtaining normally around a hundred percent rake back considering the bonus payment on your stake. One well known site have recently closed accounts of gamers who logged into the gaming web site just for this function. Who knows if this might perhaps kickoff a trend. If it take place then at once a poker rakeback is going to be an essential. Poker Rakeback

Someday you might just hit top form and get extremely fortunate, even if it has not happened already. I was hurt in an on the job accident then online poker came along while I was recovering and I have never regretted it. That was a couple of years back now and believe me I haven’t had to work in those couple of years because of poker and of course rakeback offers. It’s brilliant idea to look ahead. Believe it an investment for tomorrow, even if you do not imagine rake back is for you at the minute it for sure might end up being a good investment in the future, there is nothing to lose. If you are considering trying out a new poker room checking out a rake back deal is critical.

The poker fanatics’ assistance service Rakeback Professionals is proud to have so many respectable partners. Signing up is as easy as looking up a The online poker players’ help association Rakeback Professionals affiliated website or even as accessible as sending an e-mail. The affiliate can get everybody started in no time. You will be able to begin playing immediately. Should you sign up with a partner thru Rakeback Professionals you can always rest assured every single partner will have been evaluated and also have agreed to permit Rakeback Professionals to sort out any complaints you may experience. Because we always investigate all our affiliates, we have had hardly any complaints and we always work directly to investigate the concern to assure the gamblers.

Every student knows how it is difficult, almost impossible to write and organize the first writing assignment. It is more difficult, if the student writes it alone for the first time. Lack of experience, lack of time, and undoubtedly lack of knowledge on the process of the completion of the essay-contribute to this uncertainty. How it can be overcome?! Certainly, the more students knew about the process of the writing of the essay, the less they would fear it.

Let us explain some of the differences and similarities between several types of the essays. For most of us, even for those, who have already graduated from the Universities, any writing assignment means something formal, something academic that should correspond to some universal standards. In most of the times that is true. A tutor would like you to produce well written and well organized paper and to evaluate your ability to research thoroughly and write according to some rules.

However, there is a type of an essay where all these requirements may be jettisoned. This is an informal essay. Here, in this type of writing assignment you are able to reveal your personality by talking directly with your reader intimately and frequently humorously. Nevertheless, you should have a good plan of the essay; however-informal style is the most important point. There is not any universal rule on how this essay should be completed, try to imagine the conversation between you and your friend, where you will be able to discuss the topic or event you care for or some person that has impressed you. Your opinion, in form of monologue, but informal even with humor should be clearly stated.

But certainly, not all types of the essays can be completed this way. Informal style is certainly an exception from the rule. In many types of the essays you have to stick to some definite structures and even some rigid rules. Let us examine compare/contrast essay. It is undoubtedly, one of the most difficult types of the essay, yet it is one of the most important and useful ones. It allows you to develop compare and contrast skills, to improve your ability to see and evaluate similarities and differences in objects, things, personalities and events.

Several useful tips for this type of an essay:

1) First, you should evaluate similarities, then you must find an evaluate differences.

2) If you compare some facts, evaluate one fact at a time; do not try to jumble them together.

3) Do not try to compare and contrast incomparable features (for example the taste of the lemon and the toughness of the ball’s cover.)

Many students also experience some difficulties in the writing of the literature essay better.
It is not possible to provide the reader with universal guide to this type of an essay. However, every literature essay comprises some indispensable elements:

1) It should be succinct and must be written in lucid and understandable style.

2) You should develop well-organized plan of your essay.

3) Try to be more argumentative and more creative. Your tutor would like to see and evaluate your ability to analyze and understand the meaning of the text your have read.

Certainly it is not possible to reveal al elements of several types of the essays that the students are assigned with. You need to study guides and instructions more thoroughly to understand the requirements and purposes of your essay better.

Jerry Howells is an expert on educational systems of OECD countries. His research has been on the following topics: independence of educational institutions, the performance of students in Europe, the profitability of private education in the UK. Currently he is serving as a consultant for http://www.bestessaytips.com – an online resource for writing tips covering specifics of informal essay writing, literature essay writing and others.