The Lily: An Unexpected Journey

Buenos dias, mis amigos! ;)

Nice to meet you again. I really missed you, but now I am back and ready to share with you everything I have seen while being away! :)

Earlier, when I was to handle a paper for my client, I wrote an article on the interesting facts about Norway. This time I covered a new country, I had to write a paper concerning the progressive cities in Spain. The only thing I can say that it was so interesting to find out the information about such a fascinating country that it became my dream to visit Spain someday.

And guess what? When I was dealing with this project, I got a message from my Spanish childhood friend, Beth. She said that they moved with her family to a new house in Spain and she would like to invite me to visit them. It was really surprising and, of course, I said “yes”!

Beth’s daughter is my goddaughter, and it was double good news for me: I would see my godchild as well as visit Spain, as I have been dreaming. Then I realized, the luck was on my side! :)
Honestly, Spain wasn’t as I’d read, it was in many times better and more beautiful! Let me assure you that the information you know about this country may confuse you to draw a wrong conclusion :)

Spanish Is a Lovely Language

In Spain there are 410 million native speakers, so, Spanish is considered to be the second most spoken language all over the world. It is an official language in 21 countries. Indeed, it is quite difficult to hear what one is saying, as they do it very fast, but the language is so melodic that you want to hear it again and again.

The Art in Spain Is Everywhere

The most famous artists of the 20th century, like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, were both Spanish. Salvador Dali’s the most expensive picture, Portrait de Paul Eluard, earned $22.4 million. His way of painting became an idol for many followed artists like José Roosevelt.

 

Women Rock in Spain

40% of all the businesses in Spain belong to women. They have proved that female is not a verdict. For instance, Cathriona Hallahan, the managing director of Microsoft, joined the Microsoft team just after school, in 1986, without any qualifications. Having been working for 28 years, she became the managing director in 2013.

Not As Lazy As We Consider Spanish People to Be

Spanish people are considered to be ones of the laziest people. Indeed, it is not totally correct. Spanish people usually have a working day that starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at 8 p.m. As in all other countries, they also have some time for lunch, as they call it “siesta”. Most people think that during this period they are just having fun in bars, but indeed, this time they use for business meetings as well.

The Nation with a Great Sense of Humor

They have a great number of festivals to celebrate and they do it in such a fantastic way that you want to visit them again and again. La Tomatina is one of the most famous holidays in Spain. This day, people meet in town square and start fighting with tomatoes. The whole action lasts for an hour, but after it, the festival keeps going and people find any places to wash themselves. I think it is really funny! :)

These are some facts that I have learned from this trip. Of course, it is not the whole list of them. So, my advice to you: travel as much as possible! It is great and you will never get bored with it! :)

Moreover, I want you to share your stories with me. Which countries have you recently visited? What has spurred you into such an action?

Waiting for your tellings ;)

Storyboarding for Academic Papers

Research for academic papers can be time-consuming and when you finally start writing that research paper, you have enough arguments, proofs and conclusions to make it a fully featured academic piece. However, most of the time, when you go through loads of data and want to include many valuable facts into your writing, the main task is to organize everything logically: each argument needs to have its place where it highlights the main point of the research paper from the best angle. So, how to structure an academic piece the best way possible?

To answer this question, I need to tell you about my anniversary with my husband :) I wanted to have a corkboard for a long time because I have many post cards from my friends from all over the world and until quite recently they have been stuffed in one of my drawers. I wanted to pin them to the board and I did. My lovely husband presented me with a corkboard made with his own hands. I was very happy. When I pinned all the post cards, there was much space left and I started using it for my writing. I just wrote some facts or ideas and put them on the board. But, then, after lots of notes were pinned, while brainstorming I rearranged them, tried to look at the research subject from different angles and it actually helped me to create a successive outline for a research paper. And without realizing I used storyboarding for writing an academic piece. And I liked that experience much.

So, now you may have guessed the answer. I discovered that storyboarding is an effective tool for planning a paper where you can see how the changes in the structure may influence the output. And I strongly advise everyone to use this method which has many different forms. As you understood from my story about anniversary, I used a simple corkboard and notes but there are many programs like MindManager that may be downloaded to your devices. I use it when I go to work to the park or a café because it’s much more convenient than taking a corkboard to a public place :)

Try storyboarding for writing academic papers, maybe it is exactly what you need to improve your writing process!

Let’s Eat Grandma or the Importance of Commas

If anyone thinks that punctuation is not important in the English language, it’s time to get rid of such misconceptions. There is a popular mem on the Internet that perfectly summarizes my point.

And today, as you may have guessed, I will talk about commas. Commas divide the sentence into separate independent clauses, phrases or words. They are irreplaceable when it comes to long sentences with numerous clauses and different points of view. So, it is important to remember several rules in order to avoid confusion on the reader’s part.

• Commas Are Necessary before Conjunctions

It is necessary to add commas before but, and, so, or, nor, for, yet if the sentence is long and consists of independent clauses.

E.g. Freelance academic writers around the world improve their writing skills by using online courses, but some of them don’t have constant internet connection to upgrade their knowledge all the time.

However, if it is a small sentence with two independent clauses, this rule can be ignored.

E.g. These academic writers are from India and those ones are from Pakistan.

In addition, you don’t have to put comma before a conjunction if it joins subjects or predicates.

Filipino academic writers and American proofreader make a great team that produces high quality content.

• Enumeration Also Needs Commas

When you list some items in your sentence, they surely must be separated by commas (if you end up your enumeration with words or phrases like and so forth, and the like, and so on, etc., they need commas before them). Add a comma before a conjunction that names the last item in your listing.

E.g. Clients usually order essays, research papers, dissertations, case studies, and so on.

• Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses Are Picky

You need to understand the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses first. Restrictive clauses impact the general meaning of the sentence. It means that if you omit one of them, the sentence will focus on an entirely different thing. As a rule, it is used with the pronoun that and doesn’t require a comma.

E.g. The book that I have bought on the fair appears to be very useful.

Nonrestrictive clauses do not harm the meaning of the sentence if omitted. They are usually used with the pronoun which and require commas.

E.g. This book for international students by Stephen Bailey, which I have bought on the fair, appears to be very useful.

• Other Situations When Commas Are Needed

If you have a long introductory phrase at the beginning of your sentence, clarifying additional comments, place-names, parenthetical elements, repeated words or appositives (a word or phrase that follows a noun and plays an explanatory role), they are all used with commas or paired commas.

It is important to remember about these rules if you want your writing to look proficient. Of course, there are more points and exceptions that demand a more thorough examination, but these are the most essential ones. Use them wisely.

10 Freelance Academic Writing Fears More Frightening than Stephen King

You know that there are numerous phobias with weird names for almost every fear that a person can have: balonephobia (fear of needles and pins), cometophobia (obvious) or bibliophobia (fear of books; a kind of sacrilege, isn’t it?).

I haven’t found anything related to academic writing specifically but the closest disorder to it is atychiphobia or academic phobia – the fear of failure in learning. Well, I can’t say that I’m obsessed with the idea that I must excel at everything I learn, but I have some fears that have appeared as a result of my occupation. Let’s look into them more closely.

1. I won’t make it until deadline.
2. I will accidentally plagiarize something.
3. My statement proofs are not convincing enough.
4. My writing skills haven’t improved.
5. The client won’t like the paper.
6. I have missed a mistake!
7. I am not qualified enough for that assignment.
8. My language has degraded.
9. I have missed an update in citation rules.
10. All my writing has disappeared from my laptop.

I am sure that some freelance academic writers understand me and my fears. It is natural to be nervous when you are about to complete a serious task because some details may not be taken into account. There is always a risk …

On the one hand, I understand that these fears make me more thorough and diligent. On the other hand, they sometimes stop me from using, for instance, innovative data because it seems almost unreal and I think that the client may not accept that.

Confidence play an important role in academic writing and it certainly needs to be developed but at the same time doubting your decisions can sometimes make your work better.  

5 Interesting Facts about Norway That I Found out During Writing for My Client

Well, you know that working as a freelance academic writers requires a lot of research. Thus, when I complete writing assignments for my clients, I get to know tons of new interesting data that I sometimes want to share with the world. That’s why I have decided to write from time to time posts on interesting facts which I find out during writing for my clients.

And today’s post is dedicated to Norway. I had to write a research essay about this beautiful country and as a result I got much pleasure doing it. Norway is one of the places of my particular interest due to its natural landscapes and winter resorts. Of course, my knowledge of it hasn’t been any deeper than of an average Internet user but I thought I knew enough. It turned out that I was wrong.

Global Peace Index says that Norway is the most peaceful country in the world. Well, when I came across this fact, it seemed to me logical because I have never heard about Norway being engaged in any internal or external conflicts, though I have never thought about this aspect.

London has been getting its Christmas tree from Oslo for the last 15 years. Given the natural constituent of this country, it comes as a no surprise that the capital of England is supplied by the best forests of Europe.

Drunk driving results in 30 days in prison and the loss of license for a year. These consequences may really stop people from driving under influence.

Norway has about 450 000 lakes. I’m sure that this impressive number of lakes makes the nature of the country even more beautiful.

Norway has made parental leave compulsory. There are some countries that have done the same thing but Norway was the first one.

In my view, Norway is an amazing country and when somebody asks me where I would live if I got to choose another place of residence, I always mention Norway.

And What Can I Do Now with My Research Skills?

Recently, I have found out (unexpectedly) that my research skills have completely changed my behavior. How could that happen? Well, I’m not sure but I do know that I benefit from this proficiency every day (and not only when I’m working).

• I Always Look What Is at the Bottom of the Sea

When I learn a new term or hear some new information, I instantly google it and never stop on the simple definition. I want to know more: how and when did it appear? Who contributed to it? What are the results of its existence? And I hardly can stop there. The best benefit of the research skills is that you always want to know more and deepen your knowledge on every new subject you come across. And you know what it does with your mind besides widening horizons …

• “Anything You Say May Be Used Against You in the Court of Law”

When there is a discussion, I never claim anything if I’m not 100% sure that it’s true. It often happens that my friends have hot debates over some matters but I prefer to avoid taking somebody’s side unless I know exactly who is right. That is the habit that you acquire while researching and writing academic papers. There is a strong benefit to that: I never turn out to be wrong :)

• I Can Find Any Info That I Need

When my husband needs to find out when that lecture he attends is or my kids don’t know how to make a cover for a DIY notebook, here comes the researcher that lives in me. Well, it may seem that everybody can find that information and that is true. But it concerns those who know how to form correct questions to type in the search bar and this is exactly what research teaches people to do.  

I think that the research skills have greatly helped me to become a better person because, now, I feel that I can find out anything I need or want. And that is a marvelous feeling!

Book Review: A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations

Recently I have published a post about “Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day” by Joan Bolker and today I will talk about something much more serious. The book by Bolker focuses on developing a writing habit of producing some text every day. And “A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations” by Kate L. Turabian has very specific instructions on academic writing and that’s exactly what every academic writer needs.

There are several reasons it is definitely worth buying (it’s better to opt for a paper copy because the kindle version has some navigation problems as the reviews say. Anyway, I have a paperback copy):

• It Is Compact

It doesn’t have any paper wasted on unnecessary information: everything is concise and each detail plays an important role for an academic writer.

• It Is Written in Plain English

You won’t have any troubles perceiving the information from the book because the language is simple and clear, so you won’t have to read the sentence twice to get what it is about.

• It Is Written for People

By this point I mean that this book contains not only technical details of academic writing (how to use abbreviations; how to cite electronic sources; etc.) but it actually gives some tips on how to place the word “research” in your head so that it would acquire the correct meaning. It also helps the process of deciding on the topic for your paper which is one of the most important things in academic writing.

I highly recommend this book to freelance academic writers because it will definitely help you become that professional you want to be. In spite of my 16-year experience I found much useful information in it. This is the most trustworthy resource and it gives you a great deal of confidence because once you write a paper following the instructions from this book, you are certain that you’ve done the right thing.