The Guide to Drawing Gardens and Parks

The Guide to Drawing Gardens and Parks How to Draw Gardens and Parks ChaptersWhy Draw Gardens and Parks?Where to Begin when Drawing Gardens and ParksPerspective: The Key to Drawing a Good GardenThe Steps to Follow when Drawing a GardenWhich Techniques Should You Use for Drawing Gardens and Parks?How Can You Learn to Draw a Garden?“Creativity takes courage” - Henri MatisseArtistic pursuits are the most popular hobbies being taken up by people. Creative hobbies are becoming an increasing part of people’s lives in the UK.So why not combine them with another popular pastime?Gardening! 27 million people in the UK partake in gardening!So why not draw the fruits of your labour?Trees, plants, etc. when it comes to art, there are few things better to draw than beautiful gardens. Just ask Monet! Whether you use markers, pencils, or paints, here’s everything you need to know about painting and drawing gardens and parks. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Disc over all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ZangmoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (6) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhy Draw Gardens and Parks?Whether it’s for the fun of it or out of necessity, drawing gardens and parks can be enriching and fun for artists. Perspective, light and shadow, proportions, etc. things can get quite technical. It all depends on why you’re drawing. Gardens are useful for testing several important drawing techniques. (Source: JillWellington)Some artists draw their garden or the garden of their dreams to give them an idea of what to do with their real garden. A bit like the way an architect designs a building, these drawing can help you to imagine how your garden should look.In some cases, these drawings will be technical. You need to respect the proportions but also ensure that the design and layout are also good. You may want to draw a garden from multiple angles to give you a better idea of it. In these cases, the perspective will play an important role in your drawings. However, a drawing of a garden can also be a good artistic representation of yours or a friend’s garden.What’s better than sitting down in front of a beautiful garden and drawing?It’s a great opportunity to enjoy some open green spaces. In this case, you won’t need to worry about the exact dimensions of a garden gnome and you can capture the feel of th e garden. After all, to create beautiful artwork, you sometimes have to free yourself from the constraints of the real world and draw according to feel.Whether you’re designing a garden or creating a pretty picture, you have to enjoy yourself when making art.Where to Begin when Drawing Gardens and ParksTo get started with drawing gardens and parks, you have to start by finding a good model. You have a few choices:Draw your gardenDraw a public garden or parkDraw a garden or park you find online If you want to draw gardens, you'll need to be pretty good at drawing plants and flowers. (Source: ennelise)Not everyone has a garden and it might be more practical to find a picture of a nice garden online or in a book. It’s very common in drawing classes for the teacher to get their students to reproduce something from an image or a postcard, for example. This allows the students to draw something they mightn’t have ever seen before.For inspiration, you should head to social networks like Pinterest and Instagram. These networks are full of inspirational images. You should be able to find something that looks great.Similarly, there are magazines and books with great images in them. If you’re lucky enough to have your garden, find a comfortable place to sit where you have a good view of it. Once you’re sitting comfortably, you can start by doing a sketch. This allows you to work out where everything goes and draw some of the most important lines onto the page with a graphite pencil. This is essential when you first start drawing. However, more experienced artists can skip this step.As a beginner, don’t skip any of the steps!Learn more about drawing nature. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ZangmoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (6) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsPerspective: The Key to Drawing a Good GardenPerspective is essential if you want your garden to look realistic. In bigger gardens, the perspective will play an important role. (Source: Tama66)How can you understand the layout of a garden if a flower looks like it’s the same size as a tree?Perspective is a technique that can help the observer understand the relative sizes of objects and their position within an image.According to Wikipedia, graphical perspective is:“an approximate representation, generally on a flat surface (such as paper), of an image as it is seen by the eye. The two most characteristic features of perspective are that objects appear smaller as their distance from the observer increases; and that they are subject to foreshortening, meaning that an object's dimensions along the line of sight appear shorter than its dimensions across the line of sight.”Thus, the perspective will help you add depth to your image be it on a sheet of paper or canvas. After all, you’re trying to represent something three-dimensional on a two-dimensional medium.The first examples are perspec tive in art appeared with one of the world’s greatest artists: Leonardo da Vinci. Similarly, you can enjoy his “sfumato” technique in the “Mona Lisa”. This softening of colours between transitions helps add depth to them.When drawing a garden, you need to place objects in the foreground and the background. To do this, you’ll need to observe your garden from a specific point. As a beginner, you might want to draw some construction lines to the vanishing point. From your vanishing point, you’ll want several straight lines radiating outwards.These lines will help you with perspective, such as on the tops of trees, for example. You can use these lines to help you place objects at different distances, too.Find out more about drawing mountains.The Steps to Follow when Drawing a GardenYou should start with your perspective lines. Don’t worry too much about them as you’ll end up erasing them later. Do them lightly with a grey pencil.The sketch will act as the basis for you r drawing; a bit like a skeleton. Sketching is a liberating process as it allows the artist to draw without any fear of making a mistake. This is important when learning how to draw as you can learn a lot form your mistakes. A fear of making mistakes will only inhibit your creativity. With just a pencil and a rubber, anything is possible!Once you’ve finished your sketch, you’ll want to move onto inking. Inking is a term commonly used in the world of comics and illustration as it allows you to go back over the important lines that you want to keep.Whether you do this with Indian ink, charcoal, pen, or another medium, you want to go back over the lines you got right and erase your other mistakes.Beware! Make sure that your ink is dry before you try to rub out the other lines. You don’t want to smudge the ink.Once you’ve inked your drawing, you can move onto colouring it. You can use gouache, oil paints, coloured pencils, watercolours, acrylics, or markers. It’s up to you!Don ’t hesitate to bring some life into your garden by adding animals like hedgehogs, birds, or flowers.Learn how to draw a beach.Which Techniques Should You Use for Drawing Gardens and Parks?No single technique is better than another when it comes to drawing gardens and parks. You can pick whichever you like according to your style and preference. To draw gardens and parks, you'll need to use several drawing techniques. (Source: JillWellington)A lot of landscape artists and architects use special markers to add colours to their work. These allow them to colour without leaving marks like tradition felt tips do. Copic and Promarker are some of the brands to look out for.If you’d like your work to be more artistic than architectural, you might want to opt for gouache, acrylics, or even oil paints. Maybe you want to do it on a canvas and easel.The advantage of drawing or painting your garden is that it’s easier to set up your equipment.We recommend that you start with a pad of paper, some pencils, and a rubber.Discover how to draw houses.How Can You Learn to Draw a Garden?You can learn to draw a garden by teaching yourself or in an art class. There are art courses to help people learn the basics of drawing and painting. If you want to progress quickly, you’ll need to learn how to draw basic shapes, people, the human body, an imals, etc.To get better, there are art workshops that focus on particular techniques, styles, and projects. In private tutorials, workshops, or group tutorials, you can find a good teacher or tutor and learn specific techniques and styles.With a private tutor, you can ask them to teach you exactly what you want to learn, such as how to draw a garden, without wasting time on other techniques that you mightn’t be interested in using.You can also learn how to draw video tutorials and guides. Don’t hesitate to watch what other artists are doing, too!If you'd like to learn more about printmaking, oil painting, figure drawing, or sculpture, consider getting in touch with a private tutor on Superprof. Many offer the first hour of art classes for free so you can discuss the drawing skills you'd like to focus on and what you'd like to paint or draw...

The Benefits of Being Mindful in the Workplace - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / The Benefits of Being Mindful in the Workplace - Introvert Whisperer The Benefits of Being Mindful in the Workplace   Demands of the modern workplace are making our jobs more dynamic and unpredictable. That means we need to be more present, focused and on point in order to perform well on our day-to-day tasks. However, we are also fighting off distractions, monotony, fatigue, and similar foes that make us feel disconnected from our work. This usually results in productivity drops and cloudy judgment, which make us all the more likely to make mistakes. Feeling distracted from the present moment by past disappointments and future concerns can be quite frustrating. The good news is that “living in the now” is a skill you can work on and improve over time. This practice is more popularly known as being mindful. What Is Mindfulness?   The concept of mindfulness has its roots in Bhudistic practices. It is a psychological process that describes the sensation of being able to focus on the present moment. The idea entered the field of clinical psychology and psychiatry in the 70s and since then studies have shown that mindfulness can be useful for achieving and maintaining mental health. Mindfulness affects our cognition and behavior in a way that makes its benefits quite transferable and applicable to different areas of our lives including our career and work life. It doesn’t matter what type of job you’re doing, everyone can benefit from practicing mindfulness with a goal of improving their performance and taking their career to the next level. How Does Mindfulness Help Your Career and Work Life   Improves Focus and Productivity Being presents increases our focus and sparks our productivity. It’s a tool we use to deal with distractions and provides us with greater stability, control and efficiency.   Reduces Stress   Mindfulness is a great way of relieving excessive workplace stress. So much so that renowned corporations such as Google and Goldman Sachs are creating formal mindfulness programs to reduce the stress of their employees and to fight stress-caused absenteeism and disengagement. Facilitates Divergent Thinking Being more mindful means we’re also more creative. Living in the moment means we’re not relying on or limited by established patterns of thinking and it allows us to explore fresh approaches and ideas.   How To Practice Mindfulness Being mindful is a skill and it can be practiced and mastered. The essence of the practice is focusing on a particular sensation or action, recognizing when your mind inevitably wonders and simply guiding yourself back to the subject of your meditation. Experienced mindfulness practitioners describe the benefits as “strengthening a muscle” which will allow you to gain more control over your attention. There are several techniques that have proven to be very efficient for beginners: Deep Breathing Exercises Focusing on your breathing is probably the easiest exercise you can start with when practicing mindfulness. It’s recommended that you get to a relatively quiet space with little distraction. Close your eyes, breathe in deeply, hold your breath for a moment and then breathe out. While you’re doing this focus exclusively on your breathing and whenever you catch yourself thinking about anything else, simply restart the process again. You will notice over time that it’s easier to remain focus and you will suffer from fewer distractions. Raisin Meditation Meditating while eating raisins is an example of mindful eating. The idea behind the practice is that focusing on the different sensations caused by eating can improve our mindfulness over time. Raisin is a perfect candidate for this exercise because of its texture, shape, feel and strong flavor. The exercise should be around 5 minutes long and each raising should be consumed slowly, following a particular set of actions. The steps included are: observing the raisin, feeling it with your fingers, smelling it, exploring the texture before consuming it and finally, focusing on the taste, sensations of chewing and swallowing the raisin. Body Scan Meditation This technique is an extension of breathing exercises. Once you’ve gotten into position and you’ve done a couple of breathing-focused cycles, you can now choose a body part like your foot or your head and move your attention towards it. Notice the sensations you feel when focusing on that particular body part. There might be some tingling sensations, tightness or you might notice the difference in temperature from the rest of your body. After a certain amount of time, shift your focus back to your breathing and then proceed to explore another body part. Repeat the cycle until you’ve scanned your entire body.     Conclusion   The best thing about mindfulness is that you can have great results with minimal investments. Ten to twenty minutes of mindful meditation should definitely be added to your list of personal habits for a productive tomorrow. In the era of constant informational flow and sensory overload in the modern workplace, mindfulness will both protect our mental health while helping us become more productive and efficient.   … Author Bio: Mark is a biz-dev hero at  Invoicebus   a simple invoicing service that gets your invoices paid faster. He passionately blogs on topics that help small biz owners succeed in their business. He is also a lifelong learner who practices mindfulness and enjoys  long walks in nature more than anything else. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?   Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Online Trigonometry Tutor - The Finest Tutors For Learning

Online Trigonometry Tutor - The Finest Tutors For Learning 0SHARESShare Every subject is important and thus it should be carried on with utmost care and proper process. Let’s take up trigonometry as example. It is a subject that requires a lot of knowledge to perform well in the subject. Take a look and you will surely get a good and enthusiastic online trigonometry tutor that can help you to achieve new dimensions over the subject through their teachings. Today with the growing competition, private tutors can deliver the best to their students. In some cases they do not have ample time and in other cases the teachers are not that efficient to make the learning method easy. For a subject like trigonometry, it is very essential that you should have an expert teacher to clear you and help you out for better understanding of the subject. Online tutoring process can be one of the best way through which learning can be fun and knowledgeably as well. The online tutoring institutes are well organized and thus they try to appoint those teachers who have a desired qualification with the subject and also good level of experience. As the interview process is very tough so the end result of getting a good teacher is sure. Online tutoring process is also called e-learning courses. The e-learning process can be said to be fast and efficient for all the students who takes times to understand and learn the entire process of trigonometry. A good and efficient teacher can mend the entire problem that comes up with the subject. Expert teaching help makes any subject easier for any student. Thus, getting a good online trigonometry tutor can be helpful for those who have a weaker base over the subject. [starbox id=admin]

What is it Like to Attend Brandeis University

What is it Like to Attend Brandeis University The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Steve is a 2012 graduate of Brandeis University. He studied French and Healthcare and is currently tutoring in New York City. He specializes in many subjects including Anatomy tutoring, Physiology tutoring, and ISEE prep tutoring. See what Steve had to say about his experience at Brandeis: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Steve: Brandeis University is located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Its about 12 miles away from Boston proper and about 8 or 9 miles away from Cambridge. The campus itself is beautiful campus with many woods nearby and plenty of nature but its biggest complaint is that its a bit more hilly than other schools. There are two transportation options, the Bran-van and the Crystal Shuttle. The Bran-van shuttles students between Waltham and Brandeis, it runs every 15 minutes and it has a dedicated number to call for information. The Crystal Shuttle mainly runs during the weekend and it goes into Cambridge and picks up and drops students at Harvard Yard. The Shuttle runs until 2am during weekends. A car is helpful but only upperclassmen are allowed parking passes; for most people the Bran-van suffices for errands. A bike is a great investment but prior to getting one, one should investigate the bike-lending program that Brandeis offers. VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Steve: The beauty about Brandeis is that because its such a small school and campus, there are only about 4000 students, both undergraduate and graduate on campus. Professors will always try their best to include and aid students outside of class. Academic advisors and teaching assistants are just as available. Thankfully with how integrated email is nowadays, if someones office hours dont sync up with your schedule, most people are more than happy to have email reservations for times that are convenient for both parties. VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Steve: The dorm life at Brandeis is simple, at best. The rooms are what you make of them, it all boils down to how willing you are to decorate and revamp the room. Dining options are pretty set in stone. There are two main locations for dining, upper and lower campus. Lower campus is buffet style and is a great place to study and spend the day away in. Upper campus has specific hours when its open. There is also something called the C-store which is the campus convenience store which stays open until 2 A.M. most days. There are many socialization opportunities at Brandeis but again that depends on the disposition and personality of the person. There are parties and campus events, hundreds of clubs, dozens of sports teams. Any niche you can think of, chances are its being catered to. It goes without saying that Brandeis is a Jewish University but this should never pose a problem for anyone. As a student who isnt Jewish, I never felt ostracized or alienated; the environment and the stu dents themselves were gracious and understood that people come from all walks of life. I made friends for life and dont regret my decision at all. If you want to learn more about Judaism, there are many opportunities to do so but its neither overwhelming nor all-encompassing. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Steve: Brandeis supports and represents dozens of majors. In regards to the hard sciences, Brandeis is a research school and this is evident in how classes are structured and how curricula are developed. My major was French and Francophone Studies and American Healthcare. Brandeis excels at placing students in top-notch study abroad programs. Most students chose to do study abroad during their junior year for a semester, either fall or spring, or the entire year. Its not uncommon to see your class during junior year shrink a little. The professors for both my majors were excellent and truly gave me a solid foundation for what Id ultimately like to do, being a doctor for Doctors Without Borders. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Steve: As a freshman, the beauty about having to dorm and being away from home is that its a very conducive environment for making friends. Most students are unsure of or even scared of the decision they made to dorm away from home but because of this it also helps students expand their horizons and make new friends much quicker. After all, wouldnt you rather be unsure of something with other people? This isnt to scare or worry anyone; this is normal. Its a part of the transition from high school to college. All students are different so they may react to it or get used to it in different ways and in different amounts of time, but before you know it, itll be routine and youll laugh at how scared and nervous you were during the first couple of weeks. Greek life plays a barely significant role at Brandeis; you will always find pledging events, tabling events, or something sponsored by Greek life. It gets a little more complicated because Brandeis doesnt officially endorse any fraternit ies or sororities. For this reason, all Greek houses are actually off campus. The Greek life at Brandeis doesnt reign supreme like it does at other state schools. At Brandeis, the Greek life is more of a personal choice. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Steve: The Career Center and other Student Services are top-notch. Hiatt, the Career Center, excels at giving students the tools to get the right job or get into the right graduate school. During campus recruitment events, its not uncommon to have companies like Dell, Yahoo, Google, Goldman Sachs and various other excellent companies in attendance. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Steve: The study areas are spacious and easily available. They usually only get crowded during finals which may be a common trend for all schools. In addition, there has been some construction going on for expanding and improving locations for students to convene, study, and socialize. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Steve: Waltham is your run of the mill town; its small and family friendly. If youre used to suburbia, you probably have a good idea already. If youre from New York or another big city, it may be a slight adjustment. The best establishments are the many restaurants and bars that are on Moody Street, the main street in Waltham. Most students choose to go during the week to Moody Street for a nice diner or a quick drink. During the weekend, most students go sightseeing, or out on the town in Boston and Cambridge for those who miss the city life, which is easily accessible thanks to the Crystal Shuttle service that runs during the weekend. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Steve: The student body is around 4,000 students, making Brandeis a small, tight-knit school. Depending on the subject matter, classes may range from 7 students to 300 students. Lecture courses, like Biology or Psychology usually have around 200 to 300 students. Upper level classes are more likely to have fewer students, sometimes between 15-25 students. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Steve: The one class I loved the most was during my senior year, fall semester. It was called American Healthcare: Law and Policy; it was a healthcare class that touched upon the legal aspects of healthcare and the legal implications. I loved this class because of how much I ended up learning and how relevant everything I learned was to me and the nation in general. We spoke about Obamacare and how it would impact our nation. We learned about its many facets and how they would be put into place throughout the years. The class was very interesting because it was actually taught by a lawyer who made it seem all the more real and engaging. This is just one class I loved and I probably mention it because I took it not so long ago. My other favorite class was The Films of Disney. This class needs no explanation, we learned about the societal and cultural impact of Disney films on America and the world. We watched classic films during our free time and wrote papers that truly analyzed the films. Check out Steves tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Its a Chemical!

Its a Chemical! “It’s achemical,” exhaled a person, almost spitting out chemical as if the word itself were inherently toxic. To the general public, this statement may be alarming. To one who understands that everything made of matter is a “chemical,” it’s quite funny. If a simple primer on chemical concepts can dispel the incorrect notion that all chemicals are dangerous and toxic, imagine the possibilities delivered by a robust understanding of chemistry, the central science. Regardless of a student’s academic or professional goals, an education in chemistry provides a student with more than a mere understanding of the pH scale and balancing an equation. From the organization required to set up challenging unit-conversions in stoichiometry, to the exercise of spatial awareness in Valence Shell Electron Repulsion Theory, the skills a student develops in chemistry will prepare him or her for an array of opportunities. Should a student wish to pursue science of any kind, whether it be m edicine, software engineering, or zoology, a strong performance in high school chemistry will engender the critical thinking and technical approach to problem-solving that the world needs.Of course, should a student not wish to pursue science, there are still a plethora of benefits to investment in a chemical education. The aesthetics of chemical reactions alone may be enough to intrigue more artistically-inclined scholars into understanding mechanisms behind physical and chemical transformations. For the especially pragmatic student, understanding chemistry may translate into understanding differences in boiling points with changes in elevation so that cooking is not compromised during a camping trip. For the poetic student, the quote “we are made of stardust” may be an invitation to see chemistry play out in the cosmic scene. Perhaps the most advantageous aspect within the nature of one-on-one instruction is that students can receive truly personalized instruction. Chemistry e specially illustrates this idea given its vast applications and ubiquitous presence in our lives. At AJ Tutoring, our tutors not only share their expertise with students of all levels, but also do so in an enticing way that acknowledges the unique interests and goals of each scholar. AJ Tutoring trains its chemistry tutors to translate complex and abstract scientific phenomenon into more tangible ideas, to empower students to make connections between seemingly distinct concepts, and to develop an innate curiosity to explore the universe in which we live. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help your student with chemistry!

30 Kickass Ways to Start an Essay

30 Kickass Ways to Start an Essay Because well-begun is half done. 30-sentences-to-start-an-essayDownload The purpose of the first sentence in your essay is to make your reader want to read your next sentence. In truth, every sentence you write has the same purpose: tokeep them reading to the end. So, you have to start off strong. Your first sentence has to have some impact on the reader or you risk your essay being tossed aside never to be picked up again. Try to feel my pain. As your reader, the last thing I want to read is some dry announcement about your plan for your essay, In my essay, I will blah blah blah. Yuck! I would rather read a grocery list! And you can do better than that. A martial artist once told me, If you want to win a fight, hit first and hit hard. With that in mind,here are 30 sentence types that will hit your reader hard at the beginning of your fight for his or her attention. My advice to you is to take 30 minutes to compose 30 of your own sentences using each structure and example to guide you. Dont labour over each one. Some will be easy. Some not so much. Once you have your list of 30 kickass sentences, copy and paste your own sentences into the Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker to check for errors. Of course, you should become a memberof the Virtual Writing Tutor firstif you arent one alreadybecause then the system will save your sentences to your profile for you to review later. (Yes, membership is 100% free, and no, we dont send spam.) 1. Not this, but that. Example: A moral code is not a hindrance to true successits a necessity. Structure:____is not a ______ its a _______. Comment: Say what something is not (or should not be) so that you can say what it is (or should be). Notice the dash. It joins two short sentences, one negative and one affirmative. You can join your sentences with a semicolon or a comma* if you prefer. *Strictly speaking, using a comma to join two sentences is usually called a comma splice error, but because the sentences are short, your reader will will interpret the sentence as a stylistic sentence rather than a comma splice error. 2. Use better off than to highlight an advantage. Example: A society with minimal restrictions on the expression of ideas and opinions is better off than a society with a propensity to censor. Example: A person with talent is better off than a person with training. Structure:________is better off than __________. Comment: The phrase better than compares two things directly, whereas the phrase better off than compares starting points. It tells the reader that one has an advantage the other doesnt have. 3. Compare adjectives with being ___ is better than being ___ Example: Being realistic is better than being heedlessly optimistic. Structure: Being _______ is better than being ________. Comment: Nouns are easy to compare, but when we compare adjectives we need the word being in front of them. This structure makes short, punchy claims easy to write, which make it easy for your reader to keep reading. 4. Show equality with just as. Example: Apathy is just as harmful to humans as a physical disease. Structure: ____ is just as _______ as _______. Comment: If you are asked to discuss to two things and give your opinion, it can be a good idea to show how two things are equal in way before getting into their differences. 5. Introduce alternatives with between ___ and ___. Example: Between the nation state and the individual, the nation state is more important by far. Structure: Between X and Y, X is best. Comment: By offering two alternatives and then naming the first alternative again with a claim to its superiority, you create a sentence with a repeated element. The repetition creates an impact by making the repeated element more memorable. Poetry and song lyrics use repetition with this same intention. 6. Announce your plan to categorize with fit into a range of . Example: Courageous deeds fit into a range of categories. Structure: Xs fit into a range of categories. Comment: After an opening sentence like this, you must keep your promise to categorize examples of courageous deeds into multiple types. 7. Say how something resists categorization with go beyond. Example: Dreams go beyond career choices and material desires. Structure: Xs go beyond Ys and Zs. Comment:Notice how the three items in the example are all plurals. Keep your items parallel when using this sentence structure. Also, notice how saying dreams go beyondmake dreams bigger and more important than the other items mentioned. Readers will be curious how. Dont disappoint. 8. Say where concepts originate. Example: Established values in a society originate in culture, religion, and the hopes and dreams that a country was founded upon. Plural Structure: Xs originate in Y and Z. Singular Structure: X originates in Y and Z. Comment: Saying where something originates opens the door to illustrations from the past. An essay with a first sentence like this will practically write itself. 9. Show surprising resilience with even with. Example: Even with the divorce rate of 50% Americans remain dedicated to the idea of family and community. Example: Despite a string of serious allegations, voters continue to support their president. Structure: Even with / Despite _______, Xs remain _________. Comment: Sentences that show us the surprising resilience of a state of affairs despite a factor that works against it make readers curious about why it is so. Make no mistake. Notice even with introduces past and present situations, while even if tells the reader about the future. 10. Virtually disappeared. Example: Good manners have virtually disappeared from our self-centered world. Structure: ___ has virtually disappeared. Comment: Virtually means nearly or almost. If you say that good manners have disappeared, your reader may say to him or herself, Nonsense! I have good manners. If this happens, you will have an uphill battle on your hands. Your reader will resist you. But if you say that good manners have virtually disappeared, that is much harder to contradict and should arouse curiosity instead. 11. Imagine a world without something. Example: Imagine a world without the light bulb, without civil rights, or without the personal computer. Structure: Imagine a world without ___, without ___, or without ___. Comment: Imagining a different world arouses the readers imagination and curiosity. All you have to do after a sentence like this is to offer illustrations how life would be different. Easy. 12. Say what is important to do before taking action. Example: It is very important to attempt to understand people’s motivations and circumstances before judging their actions. Structure:It is very important to ____ before _____. Comment: This is a way of telling your reader what to do without directly telling your reader what to do. You merely point out what to do first. 13. Say what someone did and how he or she did it with through. Example: Lincoln, through the force of his character and his knack for politics, kept the United States united and ended 250 years of slavery. Structure: X, through the ______ of his/her character, ________. Comment: This sentence is very useful for making claims about people who have shown leadership or talent in the past. By painting a portrait of a great person, you will activate your readers memory and imagination. 14. Say how most people agree that Example: Most people agree that the amount of preparation is proportional to the degree of success for any endeavor. Structure:Most people agree that ____. Comment: If you say, all people agree that or all people know that, your reader will resist you because it will sound like an exaggeration. Using the words most people still sounds bold, but it makes your claim sound less extreme. 15. Say how an idea manifests itself. Example: Nowadays, creativity manifests itself endlessly, in all fields of study. Structure: Nowadays, _________ manifests itself, in _______. Comment: Manifests itself is just another way of saying appears, but it sounds more active and impressive. The adverb endlessly isnt an essential part of this structure. It is not an exaggeration in the example sentence. I think it is true. We live in a very creative age. 16. Say what experts have observedor noticed. Example: Philosophers and scientists have observed that perspective colors perception. Structure: ______ have observed _____. Comment: This is a useful alternative to the word said. When you say that experts have observed something, they have seen it and talked about it. Notice how to observe is a little ambiguous. It can mean strictly to watch and see, but it is often used to mean said. The ambiguity prevents the reader from thinking, Oh, yeah? Really? Where have they said that? Cite your sources! Ambiguity at the beginning of your essay reduces resistance to your initial claim and keeps your reader reading. 17. Say how reflecting on something often leads to something else. Example: Reflecting on the condition of modern society often leads to the question, have we become overly cynical and desensitized? Structure: Reflecting on _____ often leads to the question ______? Comment: When you tell your reader reflection leads to curiosity about something, your reader will reflect and become curious. Kickass! 18. Claim that a virtue leads to harm. Example: Sometimes the realization of ones personal goals can cost another theirs. Structure: Sometimes _______ leads to ________. Comment: The irony that a good thing leads to a bad thing for others will arouse your readers sympathy and moral indignation. This sentence structure is a powerful first sentence in an essay. 19. Say that the world once believed something. Example: The world once believed in things that we now find either horrifying or ridiculous. Structure:The world once believed ______. Comment: This sentence flatters your reader that he or she is not so stupid as the stupid people in the past, with their ridiculous ideas. Your readers will like the way you make them feel good about themselves. 20. Say how the greater part of something depends upon something. Example: The greater part of our happiness or misery depends more upon disposition than circumstances. Structure:The greater part of _____ depends more upon _____ than _____. Comment:This is a very versatile structure that immediately spurs thought-provoking reflection. You could start an essay about success by saying, The greater part of success depends more upon luck than skill. AN essay about happiness could begin, The greater part of happiness depends more upon a hopeful sense of progress than upon the satisfaction of past achievement. 21. Introduce a criticism by saying X is often accused of something. Example: The media is often accused of sensationalism and outright bias. Structure: _______ is often accused of ________. Comment:This sentence makes the accusation sound unfair. It will arouse sympathy and moral indignation in your reader. 22. State a universal need. Example: The need to belong is universal. Structure: _______ is universal. Comment: There are many things that are universal. Use this structure to tell your reader. 23. Claim that something seems straightforward. Example: The purpose of education these days seems to be a straightforward one. Structure: _____seems straightforward. Comment:These are two useful words that when placed side-by-side become even more useful. Seem suggests that things could be different than they appear. This arouses curiosity. Straightforward suggests simplicity. We all want to be rescued from confusion and excessive complexity. 24. Declare that something has been debated for ages. Example: The role of government has been debated for ages without any concrete answer being offered. Structure:_____has been debated for ages. Comment: When you start an essay like that, Im expecting that you will settle the debate. Keep your promise. 25. Reflect on an inherent part of the human psyche. Example: The search for answers to all of lifes mysteries is an inherent part of the human psyche. Structure: _____an inherent part of the human psyche. Comment: There are lots of things that are inherent to the human psyche. Memorise this structure. It could be useful to you. 26. Claim that there is little or no correlation to something. Example: The truth and facts have little or no correlation to what is popular or mainstream. Structure: _____ have little or no correlation to ______. Comment: Oh, really? Not connected? Do tell. This sentence is bold and arouses my curiosity. It will arouse your readers curiosity also. 27. There can be no doubt. Example: There can be no doubt that problems will continue to plague humanity far into the future, problems as diverse as the people they afflict. Structure: There can be no doubt that ______. Comment: People are attracted to certainty. Offer some to your reader. 28. Tell us that nobody is free from something. Example: Today, nobody is free from the demands or expectations of others, whether one is a toddler and expected to walk by certain age or a father expected to provide a comfortable life for his family. Structure: Nobody is free from _______. Comment:Everybody wants to be free. It is unfair that people should be unfree. Every reader will want to keep reading after the first four words. 29. What forever remains? Tell us. Example: Two opposing ideals remain forever in competition. Structure: _____ remain forever _____. Comment: Putting the word forever after the word remain seems a little old-fashioned and formal. It will make you sound like an authority on the subject. 30. What might never have come to fruition? Example: Without passion optimism and the willingness to believe in the past, many accomplishments in this world might never have come to fruition. Structure:Without _____, _____ might never have come to fruition. Comment: This blog post might never have come to fruition if I hadnt bought 30 Model Essays and been impressed with the first lines of each essay. I hope you found it useful. Please follow and like us:

A Child Learning to Walk Falls a Thousand Times

A Child Learning to Walk Falls a Thousand Times As a child learning to walk falls a thousand times before she can stand, and after that falls again and again until at last she can walk, so are we as little children before God. An inspirational message by a spiritual leader from India. This message is also a thanks to  Rick Hanson  whose teachings have helped  Dirk  to become more grounded and gracious. Namaste A Child Learning to Walk Falls a Thousand Times As a child learning to walk falls a thousand times before she can stand, and after that falls again and again until at last she can walk, so are we as little children before God. An inspirational message by a spiritual leader from India. This message is also a thanks to  Rick Hanson  whose teachings have helped  Dirk  to become more grounded and gracious. Namaste

Sounds Like Fun E-learning Languages the Auditory Way

Sounds Like Fun E-learning Languages the Auditory Way Sounds Like Fun: E-learning Languages the Auditory Way As much as weve come to love and appreciate what Siri can do for us, she cant teach us a second language.Sure, we can change the language setting on our devices and get Siri to tells us jokes in our target language, but well need more than that to reach fluency.If youve decided to use technology to assist in your language learning, you might be missing the social component thats not frequently associated with e-learning.Youll need to find others to talk to besides Siri.You need the immediate feedback you get when talking to a native speaker. In order to build your language-learning muscles, youll need opportunities to listen in real time and respond appropriately.So is it possible to learn a language while remaining fully online?You’re right to think that communicating with others is at the core of learning a language, and maybe youre concerned about missing out on real interaction with people if you choose e-learning.Can you take part in social interactions online that are similar to meeting people in person? You might assume that this is where e-learning gets difficult, but in reality, weve got you covered.These resources will target the  auditory skills  youll need in order to distinguish the sounds of your target language and to self-monitor your own speech. (In other words, have a meaningful conversation in that language youve been working really hard to learn.) Why Are Auditory Skills So Important to E-learning?Heres why were going to focus specifically on improving these skills:Together with reading and writing, listening and speaking are two of the tenets of language learning and they all build on one another. When you strengthen these specific skills, youll see an overall improvement in all the areas.E-learning exposes the self-motivated language learner to  virtually thousands of apps and resources  to improve almost any language skill. However, many e-learners are missing the social componentâ€"the back-and-forth interaction that comes with havin g a conversation with a native speaker thats so critical to becoming fluent.Improving your auditory skills will help you with  fluency and pronunciation. The social exchange provides a model of correct pronunciation and an opportunity to get immediate feedback so that errors and mistakes are quickly corrected.Prioritizing these specific skills will build your confidence and motivate you to continue your studies. Youll be able to understand all those videos youve been watching and youll no longer be nervous when talking to native speakers (just in time for that trip to Italy!).Sounds Like Fun: E-learning Languages the Auditory WayWeve already established that listening and speaking should be priorities when it comes to e-learning. But lets face it, our personalities will make one resource more appealing than another.If youre an extrovert, you might dive into a conversation with a native speaker with little to no hesitation. However, an introvert might shy away from this type of socia l situation and would prefer to perfect their listening and speaking skills in other ways.Whatever your preferred interaction, weve got some suggestions for you!Listening and Speaking Resources for the ExtrovertIf youre an extrovert, it’s likely that social interactions form an important part of your life. Luckily for you, auditory learning can be combined with many online tools that can help you meet and interact with people.Of course, all learners will eventually need to practice with native speakers to really take their auditory skills to the next level, so introverts and extroverts alike should take note of these awesome resources.FluentUiOSIf youre looking for immediate feedback and culturally-relevant lessons, FluentU is the right place. Extroverts and introverts alike will find this innovative platform useful.FluentU is an online immersion platform that takes  real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.Videos are organized by  difficulty (beginner to native), topic (arts and entertainment, health and lifestyle, etc.) and  format (video blog, news,  shows, etc.)â€"so you can easily browse and find something perfect for your level and interests.Every word comes with an in-context definition, image, audio and multiple example sentences for easy learning and understanding. You can even click on a word to see how it’s used in other videos across the site.HelloTalkiOS  |  AndroidIf you like to make friends and are eager to practice your language skills, HelloTalk is a great place to start. This app will connect you with native speakers and you can begin to text and chat with them immediately.HelloTalk’s features work especially well with auditory learning. You can send and receive voice messages, have voice chats or use the app’s voice recognition system, which will help to make things easier if you’re not entirely confident speaking in your target lang uage. You can even start video calls to make the experience even more personal.AccintIf you’re an advanced learner looking for more focused practice, why not FaceTime with native speakers or even have in-person conversations? With Accint, you can browse through the list of native speakers of your target language, then get in touch with them and request a conversation.Once your request is accepted, schedule a conversation and start preparing questions or specific topics youd like to discuss.TandemiOS  |  AndroidTandem is a language exchange app with a friendly community where you can meet and chat with native speakers. It will help you in improving your speaking and listening skills by learning words, phrases and pronunciation in a social contextâ€"helping you sound like a native in no time.You can choose to text people, send voice messages, call them or try a video chat. Tandem has a huge, active community of users. You can easily connect with others, get to know people and learn in a fun, engaging way.Mango LanguagesiOS  |  Android This app will teach you the conversation skills you need to feel comfortable talking to native speakers rather than boring you with impractical phrases and sentences that arent as handy in everyday situations.Lessons start with a specific phrase or sentence that gets broken down and then built on as the lesson progresses. It also mixes in cultural insight so that you go much deeper than just learning basic words and phrases.Youll learn through culturally accurate conversations, while having the option to practice pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Along with giving you a foundation in the language youre learning, Mango Languages will provide lots of cultural insight to prepare you for real life situations.HiNativeiOS  |  AndroidDouble-checking and correcting mistakes is a vital part of learning a language. Since e-learning is a more independent experience than, for example, taking one-on-one lessons with a tutor or going to a physical class, it becomes especially important to look out for mistakes  and correct them quickly.While not strictly auditory, HiNative is a great tool that provides feedback, answers questions and connects you with a community of language learners. Its powered by Lang-8, which is a social networking tool to help you correct the mistakes in your foreign language writing. And since the act of writing is producing language, youll see an improvement in your speaking skills.Using Lang-8, you write journal entries in the language you’re learning and theyll be read and corrected by native speakers. This way, you can make sure that what youve learned is correct, eliminate mistakes and still be actively engaged in the learning process.In turn, you can correct other people’s entries. All this makes HiNative and Lang-8 not only great tools for learning, but also fun ways to make new friends.Listening and Speaking Resources and Ideas to the Rescue for IntrovertsBeing an introvert can mak e having a conversation in another language a daunting experience. Though it’s essential to practice speaking to people face-to-face, there are many other ways that can help you improve until you feel confident.Learners who thrive on learning independently, or extroverts who are looking for ways to brush up their skills while theyre alone, will appreciate these resources and ideas.AutologiaNo, its not an app, but it is a method that youll find extremely useful to practice your speaking skills while youre by yourself.  Autologia is a self-learning method developed by Kató Lomb, a Hungarian interpreter and translator who learned over ten languages as an autodidact.So, whats autologia? Simply put, autologia is chatting to yourself.  If practiced consistently, autologia can become a useful technique for both introverts and learners who have limited time on their hands to interact with native speakers.The best part is that you don’t have to worry about feeling embarrassed, forgettin g a word or making a mistake in front of others.An important thing to keep in mind is that you should focus on improving your fluency, so while youre talking, don’t interrupt yourself too many times to look things up. You can aim to speak for ten minutes, then check words and phrases you didn’t know or remember at the end of the session.Repeat this process as many times as you need, and soon youll feel much more fluent and confident as you speak.My WordsiOS  |  AndroidA useful way to complete autologia is to practice the new vocabulary that you come across. Learn how to pronounce them first by looking them up on Forvo.Then, once you feel confident with the pronunciation, you can record yourself saying them using the My Words app to create your own audio dictionaries.Make your vocabulary lists more fun by adding pictures, or find and download already existing lists to further improve your pronunciation. Recording yourself helps to keep the process of learning active and engaging, which in turn will make it easier to memorize and recall words in the future.Listenlive.euImproving your listening skills  is an important part of auditory learning and tuning in to radio shows is a fun way to do it. You can browse through hundreds of radio shows on  Listenlive.eu  and hear anything from music, news, sport or talk show programs.Making notes and writing out new vocabulary or example sentences is a great way to participate in auditory learning while improving your written skills. However, even just listening to programs in the background will help you to gain more confidence in understanding your target language.SpeechanceiOS  If you need to improve your pronunciation, Speechance is the way to go!This app features a speech recognition software designed for language learners, and itll score your speech and point out mistakes in your pronunciation.You get the correction in real-time and the app provides feedback on stress, intonation and speech rate. Establishing a rou tine of double-checking what youve learned is an important part of e-learning, and using Speechance is a great way to make sure that you learn with the correct pronunciation.With this app, you’ll get ahead faster whether you practice autologia or have online or in-person conversations.Lingo Vocabulary TraineriOS  |  AndroidDo you often find yourself struggling to find the right word  in the language you’re learning? Then it’s time to expand your vocabulary.To avoid getting bored but still see a steady increase in your vocabulary, try out Lingo Vocabulary Trainer. This app features over 5000 words complete with pictures and pronunciation, a huge variety of topics to choose from and it allows you to track your progress as you learn.MondlyiOS  |  AndroidIf you’d rather practice talking to someone other than yourself but you’re not ready for a real conversation yet, Mondly’s chatbot can help you out.Mondly will introduce you to simple conversations between two people, so wha t you learn comes from applicable real-life situations. If you opt to try out the chatbot, you can take part in the conversation yourself. Mondly’s chatbot understands millions of words and phrases, and it works through speech recognition technology.The chatbot will answer you in a human voice, and itll also create visual responses thatll make learning a unique and fun experience.As you can see, e-learning is not about giving up on having fun or social interactions.Whether you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert, try out these resources and ideas to make the most out of your e-learning experience.