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Effective Technical Writing in the Information Age
The Science of Scientific Writing
"The Science of Scientific Writing" is a thoroughly detailed and important article about scientific writing from the journal American Scientist. You will find practical advice on how (literally) to put sentences together and walk along with the authors as they methodically generate seven practical maxims for good science writing. In the article, the authors, George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan, develop seven maxims that will aid you as you write and revise your work. After reading this piece, some graduate students have excitedly approached me to say, "This article has entirely changed the way I think about writing and reading." As colleagues of mine have read and used this article, they have commented on the authors' thoroughness and high degree of credibility. Such credibility is no accident: Some of the material presented was developed in faculty writing workshops at the Duke University Medical School, where Professor Gopen, who holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, teaches writing. Professor Swan, with a background in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaches writing at Princeton University. "The Science of Scientific Writing" is reprinted here with the permission of American Scientist, journal of Sigma Xi, copyright © 1990 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.
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"The Science of Scientific Writing,"
by George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan
This article, downloaded from Style for Students Online, originally appeared in American Scientist, journal of Sigma Xi, copyright © 1990 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reprinted with the permission of American Scientist.
Science is often hard to read. Most people assume that its difficulties are born out of necessity, out of the extreme complexity of scientific concepts, data and analysis. We argue here that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression; we demonstrate a number of rhetorical principles that can produce clarity in communication without oversimplifying scientific issues. The results are substantive, not merely cosmetic: Improving the quality of writing actually improves the quality of thought.
The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought, but rather its actual communication. It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind. Therefore, in order to understand how best to improve writing, we would do well to understand better how readers go about reading. Such an understanding has recently become available through work done in the fields of rhetoric, linguistics and cognitive psychology. It has helped to produce a methodology based on the concept of reader expectations.
Writing with the Reader in Mind: Expectation and Context
Readers do not simply read; they interpret. Any piece of prose, no matter how short, may "mean" in 10 (or more) different ways to 10 different readers. This methodology of reader expectations is founded on the recognition that readers make many of their most important interpretive decisions about the substance of prose based on clues they receive from its structure.
This interplay between substance and structure can be demonstrated by something as basic as a simple table. Let us say that in tracking the temperature of a liquid over a period of time, an investigator takes measurements every three minutes and records a list of temperatures. Those data could be presented by a number of written structures. Here are two possibilities:
t (time)=15', T (temperature)=32o; t=0', T=25o;
t=6', T=29o; t=3', T=27o; t=12', T=32o; t=9', T=31o
Temperature over time
time (min)
temperature (oC)
Precisely the same information appears in both formats, yet most readers find the second easier to interpret. It may be that the very familiarity of the tabular structure makes it easier to use. But, more significantly, the structure of the second table provides the reader with an easily perceived context (time) in which the significant piece of information appears on the left in a pattern that produces an expectation of regularity; the interesting results appear on the right in a less obvious pattern, the discovery of which is the point of the table.
If the two sides of this table are reversed, it becomes much harder to read.
Temperature over time, but with the sides reversed
Since we read from left to right, we prefer the context on the left, where we can more effectively familiarize the reader. We prefer the new, important information on the right, since its job is to intrigue the reader.
Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to find it. These needs and expectations of readers affect the interpretation not only of the tables and illustrations but also of prose itself. Readers have relatively fixed expectations about where in the structure of the prose they will encounter particular items of its substance. If writers can become consciously aware of these locations, they can better control the degrees of recognition and emphasis a reader will give to the various pieces of information being presented. Good writers are intuitively aware of these expectations; that is why their prose has what we call "shape."
This underlying concept of reader expectation is perhaps most immediately evident at the level of the largest units of discourse. (A unit of discourse is defined as anything with a beginning and an end: a clause, a sentence, a section, an article, etc.) A research article, for example, is generally divided into recognizable sections, sometimes labeled Introduction, Experimental Methods, Results and Discussion. When the sections are confused—when too much experimental detail is found in the Results section, or when discussion and results intermingle—readers are often equally confused. In smaller units of discourse the functional divisions are not so explicitly labeled, but readers have definite expectations all the same, and they search for certain information in particular places. If these structural expectations are continually violated, readers are forced to divert energy from understanding the content of a passage to unraveling its structure. As the complexity of the content increases moderately, the possibility of misinterpretation or noninterpretation increases dramatically.
We present here some results for applying this methodology to research reports in the scientific literature. We have taken several passages from research articles (either published or accepted for publication) and have suggested ways of rewriting them by applying principles derived from the study of reader expectations. We have not sought to transform passages into "plain English" for the use of the general public; we have neither decreased the jargon nor diluted the science. We have striven not for simplification but for clarification.
Reader Expectations for the Structure of Prose
Here is our first example of scientific prose, in its original form:
The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L), a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. The functional significance of the other URF's has been, on the contrary, elusive. Recently, however, immunoprecipitation experiments with antibodies to purified, rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase [hereafter referred to as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or Complex I] from bovine heart, as well as enzyme fractionation studies, have indicated that six human URF's (that is, URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5, hereafter referred to as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5) encode subunits of Complex I. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm. *
(* The full paragraph includes one more sentence: "Support for such functional identification of the URF products has come from the finding that the purified rotenone-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase from Neurospora crassa contains several subunits synthesized within the mitochondria, and from the observation that the stopper mutant of Neurospora crassa, whose mtDNA lacks two genes homologous to URF2 and URF3, has no functional Complex I." We have omitted this sentence both because the passage is long enough and because it raises no additional structural issues.)
Ask any ten people why this paragraph is hard to read, and nine are sure to mention the technical vocabulary; several will also suggest that it requires specialized background knowledge. These problems turn out to be only a small part of the difficulty. Here is the passage again, with the difficult words temporarily lifted:
The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L), an [A] has been identified as a [B] subunit 8 gene. The functional significance of the other URF's has been, on the contrary, elusive. Recently, however, [C] experiments, as well as [D] studies, have indicated that six human URF's (1-6) encode subunits of Complex I. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm.
It may now be easier to survive the journey through the prose, but the passage is still difficult. Any number of questions present themselves: What has the first sentence of the passage to do with the last sentence? Does the third sentence contradict what we have been told in the second sentence? Is the functional significance of URF's still "elusive"? Will this passage lead us to further discussion about URF's, or about Complex I, or both?
Knowing a little about the subject matter does not clear up all the confusion. The intended audience of this passage would probably possess at least two items of essential technical information: first, "URF" stands for "Uninterrupted Reading Frame," which describes a segment of DNA organized in such a way that it could encode a protein; second, both ATPase and NADH oxido-reductase are enzyme complexes central to energy metabolism. Although this information may provide some sense of comfort, it does little to answer the interpretive questions that need answering. It seems the reader is hindered by more than just the scientific jargon.
To get at the problem, we need to articulate something about how readers go about reading. We proceed to the first of several reader expectations.
Subject-Verb Separation
Look again at the first sentence of the passage cited above. It is relatively long, 42 words; but that turns out not to be the main cause of its burdensome complexity. Long sentences need not be difficult to read; they are only difficult to write. We have seen sentences of over 100 words that flow easily and persuasively toward their clearly demarcated destination. Those well-wrought serpents all had something in common: Their structure presented information to readers in the order the readers needed and expected it.
The first sentence of our example passage does just the opposite: it burdens and obstructs the reader, because of an all-too-common structural defect. Note that the grammatical subject ("the smallest") is separated from its verb ("has been identified") by 23 words, more than half the sentence. Readers expect a grammatical subject to be followed immediately by the verb. Anything of length that intervenes between subject and verb is read as an interruption, and therefore as something of lesser importance.
The reader's expectation stems from a pressing need for syntactic resolution, fulfilled only by the arrival of the verb. Without the verb, we do not know what the subject is doing, or what the sentence is all about. As a result, the reader focuses attention on the arrival of the verb and resists recognizing anything in the interrupting material as being of primary importance. The longer the interruption lasts, the more likely it becomes that the "interruptive" material actually contains important information; but its structural location will continue to brand it as merely interruptive. Unfortunately, the reader will not discover its true value until too late—until the sentence has ended without having produced anything of much value outside of the subject-verb interruption.
In the first sentence of the paragraph, the relative importance of the intervening material is difficult to evaluate. The material might conceivably be quite significant, in which case the writer should have positioned it to reveal that importance. Here is one way to incorporate it into the sentence structure:
The smallest of the URF's is URFA6L, a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene; it has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene.
On the other hand, the intervening material might be a mere aside that diverts attention from more important ideas; in that case the writer should have deleted it, allowing the prose to drive more directly toward its significant point:
The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L) has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene.
Only the author could tell us which of these revisions more accurately reflects his intentions.
These revisions lead us to a second set of reader expectations. Each unit of discourse, no matter what the size, is expected to serve a single function, to make a single point. In the case of a sentence, the point is expected to appear in a specific place reserved for emphasis.
The Stress Position
It is a linguistic commonplace that readers naturally emphasize the material that arrives at the end of a sentence. We refer to that location as a "stress position." If a writer is consciously aware of this tendency, she can arrange for the emphatic information to appear at the moment the reader is naturally exerting the greatest reading emphasis. As a result, the chances greatly increase that reader and writer will perceive the same material as being worthy of primary emphasis. The very structure of the sentence thus helps persuade the reader of the relative values of the sentence's contents.
The inclination to direct more energy to that which arrives last in a sentence seems to correspond to the way we work at tasks through time. We tend to take something like a "mental breath" as we begin to read each new sentence, thereby summoning the tension with which we pay attention to the unfolding of the syntax. As we recognize that the sentence is drawing toward its conclusion, we begin to exhale that mental breath. The exhalation produces a sense of emphasis. Moreover, we delight in being rewarded at the end of a labor with something that makes the ongoing effort worthwhile. Beginning with the exciting material and ending with a lack of luster often leaves us disappointed and destroys our sense of momentum. We do not start with a strawberry shortcake and work our way up to the broccoli.
When the writer puts the emphatic material of a sentence in any place other than the stress position, one of two things can happen; both are bad. First, the reader might find the stress position occupied by material that clearly is not worthy of emphasis. In this case, the reader must discern, without any additional structural clue, what else in the sentence may be the most likely candidate for emphasis. There are no secondary structural indications to fall back upon. In sentences that are long, dense or sophisticated, chances soar that the reader will not interpret the prose precisely as the reader intended. The second possibility is even worse: The reader may find the stress position occupied by something that does not appear capable of receiving emphasis, even though the writer did not intend to give it any stress. In that case, the reader is likely to emphasize this imposter material, and the writer will have lost an important opportunity to influence the reader's interpretive process.
The stress position can change in size from sentence to sentence. Sometimes it consists of a single word; sometimes it extends to several lines. The definitive factor is this: The stress position coincides with the moment of syntactic closure. A reader has reached the beginning of the stress position when she knows there is nothing left in the clause or sentence but the material presently being read. Thus a whole list, numbered and indented, can occupy the stress position of a sentence if it has been clearly announced as being all that remains of that sentence. Each member of that list, in turn, may have its own internal stress position, since each member may produce its own syntactic closure.
Within a sentence, secondary stress positions can be formed by the appearance of a properly used colon or semicolon; by grammatical convention, the material preceding these punctuation marks must be able to stand by itself as a complete sentence. Thus, sentences can be extended effortlessly to dozens of words, as long as there is a medial syntactic closure for every piece of new, stress-worthy information along the way. One of our revisions of the initial sentence can serve as an example:
By using a semicolon, we created a second stress position to accommodate a second piece of information that seemed to require emphasis.
We now have three rhetorical principles based on reader expectations: First, grammatical subjects should be followed as soon as possible by their verbs; second, every unit of discourse, no matter the size, should serve a single function or make a single point; and, third, information intended to be emphasized should appear at points of syntactic closure. Using these principles, we can begin to unravel the problems of our example prose.
Note the subject-verb separation in the 62-word third sentence of the original passage:
Recently, however, immunoprecipitation experiments with antibodies to purified, rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase [hereafter referred to as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or Complex I] from bovine heart, as well as enzyme fractionation studies, have indicated that six human URF's (that is, URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5, hereafter referred to as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5) encode subunits of Complex I. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm.
After encountering the subject ("experiments"), the reader must wade through 27 words (including three hyphenated compound words, a parenthetical interruption and an "as well as" phrase) before alighting on the highly uninformative and disappointingly anticlimactic verb ("have indicated"). Without a moment to recover, the reader is handed a "that" clause in which the new subject ("six human URF's) is separated from its verb ("encode") by yet another 20 words.
If we applied the three principles we have developed to the rest of the sentences of the example, we could generate a great many revised versions of each. These revisions might differ significantly from one another in the way their structures indicate to the reader the various weights and balances to be given to the information. Had the author placed all stress-worthy material in stress positions, we as a reading community would have been far more likely to interpret these sentences uniformly.
We couch this discussion in terms of "likelihood" because we believe that meaning is not inherent in discourse by itself; "meaning" requires the combined participation of text and reader. All sentences are infinitely interpretable, given an infinite number of interpreters. As communities of readers, however, we tend to work out tacit agreements as to what kinds of meaning are most likely to be extracted from certain articulations. We cannot succeed in making even a single sentence mean one and only one thing; we can only increase the odds that a large majority of readers will tend to interpret our discourse according to our intentions. Such success will follow from authors becoming more consciously aware of the various reader expectations presented here.
Here is one set of revisionary decisions we made for the example:
The smallest of the URF's, URFA6L, has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene; but the functional significance of other URF's has been more elusive. Recently, however, several human URF's have been shown to encode subunits of rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm; it will be referred to hereafter as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or Complex I. Six subunits of Complex I were shown by enzyme fractionation studies and immunoprecipitation experiments to be encoded by six human URF's (URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5); these URF's will be referred to subsequently as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5.
Sheer length was neither the problem nor the solution. The revised version is not noticeably shorter than the original; nevertheless, it is significantly easier to interpret. We have indeed deleted certain words, but not on the basis of wordiness or excess length. (See especially the last sentence of our revision).
When is a sentence too long? The creators of readability formulas would have us believe there exists some fixed number of words (the favorite is 29) past which a sentence is too hard to read. We disagree. We have seen 10-word sentences that are virtually impenetrable and, as mentioned above, 100-word sentences that flow effortlessly to their points of resolution. In place of the word-limit concept, we offer the following definition: A sentence is too long when it has more viable candidates for stress positions than there are stress positions available. Without the stress position's locational clue that its material is intended to be emphasized, readers are left too much to their own devices in deciding just what else in a sentence might be considered important.
In revising the example passage, we made certain decisions about what to omit and what to emphasize. We put subjects and verbs together to lessen the reader's syntactic burdens; we put the material we believed worthy of emphasis in stress positions; and we discarded material for which we could not discern significant connections. In doing so, we have produced a clearer passage—but not one that necessarily reflects the author's intentions; it reflects only our interpretation of the author's intentions. The more problematic the structure, the less likely it becomes that a grand majority of readers will perceive the discourse in exactly the way the author intended.
It is probable that many of our readers—and perhaps even the authors—will disagree with some of our choices. If so, that disagreement underscores our point: The original failed to communicate its ideas and their connections clearly. If we happened to have interpreted the passage as you did, then we can make a different point: No one should have to work as hard as we did to unearth the content of a single passage of this length.
The Topic Position
To summarize the principles connected with the stress position, we have the proverbial wisdom, "Save the best for last." To summarize the principles connected with the other end of the sentence, which we will call the topic position, we have its proverbial contradiction, "First things first." In the stress position the reader needs and expects closure and fulfillment; in the topic position the reader needs and expects perspective and context. With so much of reading comprehension affected by what shows up in the topic position, it behooves a writer to control what appears at the beginning of sentences with great care.
The information that begins a sentence establishes for the reader a perspective for viewing the sentence as a unit: Readers expect a unit of discourse to be a story about whoever shows up first. "Bees disperse pollen" and "Pollen is dispersed by bees" are two different but equally respectable sentences about the same facts. The first tells us something about bees; the second tells us something about pollen. The passivity of the second sentence does not by itself impair its quality; in fact, "Pollen is dispersed by bees" is the superior sentence if it appears in a paragraph that intends to tell us a continuing story about pollen. Pollen's story at that moment is a passive one.
Readers also expect the material occupying the topic position to provide them with linkage (looking backward) and context (looking forward). The information in the topic position prepares the reader for upcoming material by connecting it backward to the previous discussion. Although linkage and context can derive from several sources, they stem primarily from material that the reader has already encountered within this particular piece of discourse. We refer to this familiar, previously introduced material as "old information." Conversely, material making its first appearance in a discourse is "new information." When new information is important enough to receive emphasis, it functions best in the stress position.
When old information consistently arrives in the topic position, it helps readers to construct the logical flow of the argument: It focuses attention on one particular strand of the discussion, both harkening backward and leaning forward. In contrast, if the topic position is constantly occupied by material that fails to establish linkage and context, readers will have difficulty perceiving both the connection to the previous sentence and the projected role of the new sentence in the development of the paragraph as a whole.
Here is a second example of scientific prose that we shall attempt to improve in subsequent discussion:
Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do not occur at random intervals because it takes time to accumulate the strain energy for the rupture. The rates at which tectonic plates move and accumulate strain at their boundaries are approximately uniform. Therefore, in first approximation, one may expect that large ruptures of the same fault segment will occur at approximately constant time intervals. If subsequent mainshocks have different amounts of slip across the fault, then the recurrence time may vary, and the basic idea of periodic mainshocks must be modified. For great plate boundary ruptures the length and slip often vary by a factor of 2. Along the southern segment of the San Andreas fault the recurrence interval is 145 years with variations of several decades. The smaller the standard deviation of the average recurrence interval, the more specific could be the long term prediction of a future mainshock.
This is the kind of passage that in subtle ways can make readers feel badly about themselves. The individual sentences give the impression of being intelligently fashioned: They are not especially long or convoluted; their vocabulary is appropriately professional but not beyond the ken of educated general readers; and they are free of grammatical and dictional errors. On first reading, however, many of us arrive at the paragraph's end without a clear sense of where we have been or where we are going. When that happens, we tend to berate ourselves for not having paid close enough attention. In reality, the fault lies not with us, but with the author.
We can distill the problem by looking closely at the information in each sentence's topic position:
Large earthquakes
Therefore . . . one
subsequent mainshocks
great plate boundary ruptures
the southern segment of the San Andreas fault
the smaller the standard deviation . . .
Much of this information is making its first appearance in this paragraph—in precisely the spot where the reader looks for old, familiar information. As a result, the focus of the story contains shifts. Given just the material in the topic positions, no two readers would be likely to construct exactly the same story for the paragraph as a whole.
If we try to piece together the relationship of each sentence to its neighbors, we notice that certain bits of old information keep reappearing. We hear a good deal about the recurrence time between earthquakes: The first sentence introduces the concept of nonrandom intervals between earthquakes; the second sentence tells us that recurrence rates due to the movement of tectonic plates are more or less uniform; the third sentence adds that the recurrence rate of major earthquakes should also be somewhat predictable; the fourth sentence adds that recurrence rates vary with some conditions; the fifth sentence adds information about one particular variation; the sixth sentence adds a recurrence-rate example from California; and the last sentence tells us something about how recurrence rates can be described statistically. This refrain of "recurrence intervals" constitutes the major string of old information in the paragraph. Unfortunately, it rarely appears at the beginning of sentences, where it would help us maintain our focus on its continuing story.
In reading, as in most experiences, we appreciate the opportunity to become familiar with a new environment before having to function in it. Writing that continually begins sentences with new information and ends with old information forbids both the sense of comfort and orientation at the start and the sense of fulfilling arrival at the end. It misleads the reader as to whose story is being told; it burdens the reader with new information that must be carried further into the sentence before it can be connected to the discussion; and it creates ambiguity as to which material the writer intended the reader to emphasize. All of these distractions require that readers expend a disproportionate amount of energy to unravel the structure of the prose, leaving less energy available for perceiving content.
We can begin to revise the example by ensuring the following for each sentence:
The backward-linking old information appears in the topic position.
The person, thing or concept whose story it is appears in the topic position.
The new, emphasis-worthy information appears in the stress position.
Once again, if our decisions concerning the relative values of specific information differ from yours, we can all blame the author, who failed to make his intentions apparent. Here first is a list of what we perceived to be the new, emphatic material in each sentence.
time to accumulate strain energy along a fault
approximately uniform
large ruptures of the same fault
different amounts of slip
vary by a factor of 2
variations of several decades
predictions of future mainshock
Now, based on these assumptions about what deserves stress, here is our proposed revision:
Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do not occur at random intervals because it takes time to accumulate the strain energy for the rupture. The rates at which tectonic plates move and accumulate strain at their boundaries are roughly uniform. Therefore, nearly constant time intervals (at first approximation) would be expected between large ruptures of the same fault segment. [However?], the recurrence time may vary; the basic idea of periodic mainshocks may need to be modified if subsequent mainshocks have different amounts of slip across the fault. [Indeed?], the length and slip of great plate boundary ruptures often vary by a factor of 2. [For example?], the recurrence interval along the southern segment of the San Andreas fault is 145 years with variations of several decades. The smaller the standard deviation of the average recurrence interval, the more specific could be the long term prediction of a future mainshock.
Many problems that had existed in the original have now surfaced for the first time. Is the reason earthquakes do not occur at random intervals stated in the first sentence or the second? Are the suggested choices of "however," "indeed," and "for example" the right ones to express the connections at those points? (All these connections were left unarticulated in the original paragraph.) If "for example" is an inaccurate transitional phrase, then exactly how does the San Andreas fault example connect to ruptures that "vary by a factor of 2? Is the author arguing that recurrence rates must vary because fault movements often vary? Or is the author preparing us for a discussion of how in spite of such variance we might still be able to predict earthquakes? This last question remains unanswered because the final sentence leaves behind earthquakes that recur regularly. Given that this is the first paragraph of the article, which type of earthquake will the article most likely proceed to discuss? In sum, we are now more aware of how much the paragraph had not communicated to us on first reading. We can see that most of our difficulty was owing not to any deficiency in our reading skills but rather to the author's lack of comprehension of our structural needs as readers.
In our experience, the misplacement of old and new information turns out to be the No. 1 problem in American professional writing today. The source of the problem is not hard to discover: Most writers produce prose linearly (from left to right) and through time. As they begin to formulate a sentence, often their primary anxiety is to capture the important new thought before it escapes. Quite naturally they rush to record that new information on paper, after which they can produce at their leisure the contextualizing material that links back to the previous discourse. Writers who do this consistently are attending more to their own need for unburdening themselves of their information than to the reader's need for receiving the material. The methodology of reader expectations articulates the reader's needs explicitly, thereby making writers consciously aware of structural problems and ways to solve them.
A note of clarification: Many people hearing this structural advice tend to oversimplify it to the following rule: "Put the old information in the topic position and the new information in the stress position." No such rule is possible. Since by definition all information is either old or new, the space between the topic position and the stress position must also be filled with old and new information. Therefore the principle (not rule) should be stated as follows: "Put in the topic position the old information that links backward; put in the stress position the new information you want the reader to emphasize."
Perceiving Logical Gaps
When old information does not appear at all in a sentence, whether in the topic position or elsewhere, readers are left to construct the logical linkage by themselves. Often this happens when the connections are so clear in the writer's mind that they seem unnecessary to state; at those moments, writers underestimate the difficulties and ambiguities inherent in the reading process. Our third example attempts to demonstrate how paying attention to the placement of old and new information can reveal where a writer has neglected to articulate essential connections.
The enthalpy of hydrogen bond formation between the nucleoside bases 2'deoxyguanosine (dG) and 2'deoxycytidine (dC) has been determined by direct measurement. dG and dC were derivatized at the 5' and 3' hydroxyls with triisopropylsilyl groups to obtain solubility of the nucleosides in non-aqueous solvents and to prevent the ribose hydroxyls from forming hydrogen bonds. From isoperibolic titration measurements, the enthalpy of dC:dG base pair formation is -6.65+0.32 kcal/mol.
Although part of the difficulty of reading this passage may stem from its abundance of specialized technical terms, a great deal more of the difficulty can be attributed to its structural problems. These problems and now familiar: We are not sure at all times whose story is being told; in the first sentence the subject and verb are widely separated; the second sentence has only one stress position but two or three pieces of information that are probably worthy of emphasis—"solubility . . . solvents," "prevent . . . from forming hydrogen bonds" and perhaps "triisopropylsilyl groups." These perceptions suggest the following revision tactics:
Invert the first sentence, so that (a) the subject-verb complement connection is unbroken, and (b) "dG" and "dC" are introduced in the stress position as new and interesting information. (Note that inverting the sentence requires stating who made the measurement; since the authors performed the first direct measurement, recognizing their agency in the topic position may well be appropriate.)
Since "dG" and "dC" become the old information in the second sentence, keep them up front in the topic position.
Since "triisopropylsilyl groups" is new and important information here, create for it a stress position.
"Triisopropylsilyl groups" then becomes the old information of the clause in which its effects are described; place it in the topic position of this clause.
Alert the reader to expect the arrival of two distinct effects by using the flag word "both." "Both" notifies the reader that two pieces of new information will arrive in a single stress position.
Here is a partial revision based on these decisions:
We have directly measured the enthalpy of hydrogen bond formation between the nucleoside bases 2'deoxyguanosine (dG) and 2'deoxycytidine (dC). dG and dC were derivatized at the 5' and 3' hydroxyls with triisopropylsilyl groups; these groups serve both to solubilize the nucleosides in non-aqueous solvents and to prevent the ribose hydroxyls from forming hydrogen bonds. From isoperibolic titration measurements, the enthalpy of dC:dG base pair formation is -6.65+0.32 kcal/mol.
The outlines of the experiment are now becoming visible, but there is still a major logical gap. After reading the second sentence, we expect to hear more about the two effects that were important enough to merit placement in its stress position. Our expectations are frustrated, however, when those effects are not mentioned in the next sentence: "From isoperibolic titration measurements, the enthalpy of dC:dG base pair formation is -6.65+0.32 kcal/mol." The authors have neglected to explain the relationship between the derivatization they performed (in the second sentence) and the measurements they made (in the third sentence). Ironically, that is the point they most wished to make here.
At this juncture, particularly astute readers who are chemists might draw upon their specialized knowledge, silently supplying the missing connection. Other readers are left in the dark. Here is one version of what we think the authors meant to say, with two additional sentences supplied from a knowledge on nucleic acid chemistry:
We have directly measured the enthalpy of hydrogen bond formation between the nucleoside bases 2'deoxyguanosine (dG) and 2'deoxycytidine (dC). dG and dC were derivatized at the 5' and 3' hydroxyls with triisopropylsilyl groups; these groups serve both to solubilize the nucleosides in non-aqueous solvents and to prevent the ribose hydroxyls from forming hydrogen bonds. Consequently, when the derivatized nucleosides are dissolved in non-aqueous solvents, hydrogen bonds form almost exclusively between the bases. Since the interbase hydrogen bonds are the only bonds to form upon mixing, their enthalpy of formation can be determined directly by measuring the enthalpy of mixing. From our isoperibolic titration measurements, the enthalpy of dC:dG base pair formation is -6.65+0.32 kcal/mol.
Each sentence now proceeds logically from its predecessor. We never have to wander too far into a sentence without being told where we are and what former strands of discourse are being continued. And the "measurements" of the last sentence has now become old information, reaching back to the "measured directly" of the preceding sentence. (It also fulfills the promise of the "we have directly measured" with which the paragraph began.) By following our knowledge of reader expectations, we have been able to spot discontinuities, to suggest strategies for bridging gaps, and to rearrange the structure of the prose, thereby increasing the accessibility of the scientific content.
Locating the Action
Our final example adds another major reader expectation to the list.
Transcription of the 5S RNA genes in the egg extract is TFIIIA-dependent. This is surprising, because the concentration of TFIIIA is the same as in the oocyte nuclear extract. The other transcription factors and RNA polymerase III are presumed to be in excess over available TFIIIA, because tRNA genes are transcribed in the egg extract. The addition of egg extract to the oocyte nuclear extract has two effects on transcription efficiency. First, there is a general inhibition of transcription that can be alleviated in part by supplementation with high concentrations of RNA polymerase III. Second, egg extract destabilizes transcription complexes formed with oocyte but not somatic 5S RNA genes.
The barriers to comprehension in this passage are so many that it may appear difficult to know where to start revising. Fortunately, it does not matter where we start, since attending to any one structural problem eventually leads us to all the others.
We can spot one source of difficulty by looking at the topic positions of the sentences: We cannot tell whose story the passage is. The story's focus (that is, the occupant of the topic position) changes in every sentence. If we search for repeated old information in hope of settling on a good candidate for several of the topic positions, we find all too much of it: egg extract, TFIIIA, oocyte extract, RNA polymerase III, 5S RNA, and transcription. All of these reappear at various points, but none announces itself clearly as out primary focus. It appears that the passage is trying to tell several stories simultaneously, allowing none to dominate.
We are unable to decide among these stories because the author has not told us what to do with all this information. We know who the players are, but we are ignorant of the actions they are presumed to perform. This violates yet another important reader expectation: Readers expect the action of a sentence to be articulated by the verb.
Here is a list of the verbs in the example paragraph:
is . . . is
are presumed to be
are transcribed
is . . . can be alleviated
destabilizes
The list gives too few clues as to what actions actually take place in the passage. If the actions are not to be found in the verbs, then we as readers have no secondary structural clues for where to locate them. Each of us has to make a personal interpretive guess; the writer no longer controls the reader's interpretive act.
Worse still, in this passage the important actions never appear. Based on our best understanding of this material, the verbs that connect these players are "limit" and inhibit." If we express those actions as verbs and place the most frequently occurring information—"egg extract" and "TFIIIA"—in the topic position whenever possible,* we can generate the following revision.
In the egg extract, the availability of TFIIIA limits transcription of the 5S RNA genes. This is surprising because the same concentration of TFIIIA does not limit transcription in the oocyte nuclear extract. In the egg extract, transcription is not limited by RNA polymerase or other factors because transcription of tRNA genes indicates that these factors are in excess over available TFIIIA. When added to the nuclear extract, the egg extract affected the efficiency of transcription in two ways. First, it inhibited transcription generally; this inhibition could be alleviated in part by supplementing the mixture with high concentrations of RNA polymerase III. Second, the egg extract destabilized transcription complexes formed by oocyte but not by somatic 5S genes.
As a story about "egg extract," this passage still leaves something to be desired. But at least now we can recognize that the author has not explained the connection between "limit" and "inhibit." This unarticulated connection seems to us to contain both of her hypotheses: First, that the limitation on transcription is caused by an inhibitor of TFIIIA present in the egg extract; and, second, that the action of that inhibitor can be detected by adding the egg extract to the oocyte extract and examining the effects on transcription. As critical scientific readers, we would like to concentrate our energy on whether the experiments prove the hypotheses. We cannot begin to do so if we are left in doubt as to what those hypotheses might be—and if we are using most of our energy to discern the structure of the prose rather than its substance.
Writing and the Scientific Process
We began this article by arguing that complex thoughts expressed in impenetrable prose can be rendered accessible and clear without minimizing any of their complexity. Our examples of scientific writing have ranged from the merely cloudy to the virtually opaque; yet all of them could be made significantly more comprehensible by observing the following structural principles:
Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.
Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to emphasize.
Place the person or thing whose "story" a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.
Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.
Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb.
In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider anything new.
In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.
None of these reader-expectation principles should be considered "rules." Slavish adherence to them will succeed no better than has slavish adherence to avoiding split infinitives or to using the active voice instead of the passive. There can be no fixed algorithm for good writing, for two reasons. First, too many reader expectations are functioning at any given moment for structural decisions to remain clear and easily activated. Second, any reader expectation can be violated to good effect. Our best stylists turn out to be our most skillful violators; but in order to carry this off, they must fulfill expectations most of the time, causing the violations to be perceived as exceptional moments, worthy of note.
writer's personal style is the sum of all the structural choices that person tends to make when facing the challenges of creating discourse. Writers who fail to put new information in the stress position of many sentences in one document are likely to repeat that unhelpful structural pattern in all other documents. But for the very reason that writers tend to be consistent in making such choices, they can learn to improve their writing style; they can permanently reverse those habitual structural decisions that mislead or burden readers.
We have argued that the substance of thought and the expression of thought are so inextricably intertwined that changes in either will affect the quality of the other. Note that only the first of our examples (the paragraph about URF's) could be revised on the basis of the methodology to reveal a nearly finished passage. In all the other examples, revision revealed existing conceptual gaps and other problems that had been submerged in the originals by dysfunctional structures. Filling the gaps required the addition of extra material. In revising each of these examples, we arrived at a point where we could proceed no further without either supplying connections between ideas or eliminating some existing material altogether. (Writers who use reader-expectation principles on their own prose will not have to conjecture or infer; they know what the prose is intended to convey.) Having begun by analyzing the structure of the prose, we were led eventually to reinvestigate the substance of the science.
The substance of science comprises more than the discovery and recording of data; it extends crucially to include the act of interpretation. It may seem obvious that a scientific document is incomplete without the interpretation of the writer; it may not be so obvious that the document cannot "exist" without the interpretation of each reader. In other words, writers cannot "merely" record data, even if they try. In any recording or articulation, no matter how haphazard or confused, each word resides in one or more distinct structural locations. The resulting structure, even more than the meanings of individual words, significantly influences the reader during the act of interpretation. The question then becomes whether the structure created by the writer (intentionally or not) helps or hinders the reader in the process of interpreting the scientific writing.
The writing principles we have suggested here make conscious for the writer some of the interpretive clues readers derive from structures. Armed with this awareness, the writer can achieve far greater control (although never complete control) of the reader's interpretive process. As a concomitant function, the principles simultaneously offer the writer a fresh re-entry to the thought process that produced the science. In real and important ways, the structure of the prose becomes the structure of the scientific argument. Improving either one will improve the other.
Williams, Joseph M. 1988. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Scott, Foresman, & Co.
Colomb, Gregory G., and Joseph M. Williams. 1985. Perceiving structure in professional prose: a multiply determined experience. In Writing in Non-Academic Settings, eds. Lee Odell and Dixie Goswami. Guilford Press, pp. 87-128.
Gopen, George D. 1987. Let the buyer in ordinary course of business beware: suggestions for revising the language of the Uniform Commercial Code. University of Chicago Law Review 54:1178-1214.
Gopen, George D. 1990. The Common Sense of Writing: Teaching Writing from the Reader's Perspective. To be published.
‹ The Universal Recipe, Or How To Get Your Manuscript Accepted By Persnickety Editors up
Welcome to Style for Students Online
Chapter 1. Improving Your Style
Chapter 2. Punctuation, Mechanics, Capitalization, and Spelling
Chapter 3. Commonly Misused Terms and Phrases
Chapter 4. Equations, Figures, and Tables
Chapter 5. Using Sources
Chapter 6. Writing Documents for Classes
Chapter 7. Presenting Yourself in Person and Online
Chapter 8. Resumes
Chapter 9. Professional Letters
Chapter 10. Journal Articles about Writing
Chapter 10 Introduction
Comments From the Geological Society of America Bulletin Editors
Advice to Scientist Writers: Beware Old Fallacies
Precise Writing for a Precise Science
The Universal Recipe, Or How To Get Your Manuscript Accepted By Persnickety Editors
Sins of the Pen
Author: Joe Schall, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
Department of Meteorology
Energy Institute
Institute for National Gas Research
Penn State e-Learning Cooperative


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Churchill, Leroy O.
(born: 1918 - died: 1987) Leroy O. Churchill was the first African American guard at the Bridewell Prison in Chicago, IL, and he was also the first to become a captain. Churchill was head of the 1st division of the west cell-house, where he supervised eight guards and 445 inmates of whom 40% were African Americans. Churchill reported directly to Warden Fred K. Hoehler. "Bridewell" is an English term from the 1500s for "jail" or "house of corrections." The earliest Bridewell Prison was located in London, England [info]. Bridewell, the city jail of Chicago, was built in 1852 as a short-term facility for offenders of minor crimes. In 1959, when it held 1,700 prisoners, Leroy O. Churchill was one of the six captains at the facility.
Churchill was born in Paducah, KY, the son of Roscoe Conkling Churchill and Elizabeth B. Churchill, a hairdresser. The family moved to Chicago in 1920, then returned to Paducah after Roscoe Churchill died. The Churchill family had been in Paducah for several generations; family members are listed in the 1914-1915 Caron's Paducah City Directory as living at 1036 Washington Street; the residents included Ora; Marshall Sr. (1866-1911); Emma (b. 1867); Loyd (b.1889); Roscoe (b. 1885); and Sherman Churchill (1887-1927). When the family moved back to Kentucky, Leroy attended Lincoln High School, where he excelled in football, basketball, track, and boxing. He was awarded an athletics scholarship to attend West Kentucky Industrial College [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College] where he was an outstanding football player.
After his graduation, Leroy Churchill returned to Chicago, and in 1948 successfully completed the civil service exam, ranking second, and was appointed a guard at Bridewell Prison. He received the rank of captain in 1951. Leroy O. Churchill was the husband of Mary Hopkins Churchill, a beautician; the couple had two sons. For more see R. Ottley, "Negro guard captain aids his charges in Bridewell," Chicago Daily Tribune, 03/14/1959, p. W Part 5 - p. 12F; and the Cook County Jail History website.
Athletes, Athletics
Cosmetologists, Beauty Shops, Hairdressers, Beauty Supplies
Corrections and Police
See photo image of Bridewell Prison at Encyclopedia of Chicago [online].
Read about McCracken County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Paducah, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
NKAA Source: Paducah (McCracken County, Ky.) directory (serial)
NKAA Source: Chicago daily tribune (newspaper)
"Churchill, Leroy O.," Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed January 17, 2020, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2620.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Every winning campaign needs a compelling theme that acts as the central guiding principle for all communications. It's your elevator speech. It illustrates the clear contrast between you and your opponent. It answers the question "Why are you running?" In various forms, this is the argument that should be repeated to voters in campaign literature, speeches, debates, media appearances, fundraising appeals and even signs and bumper stickers. It takes hard work to develop a great theme. It depends on the specific nuances of the candidate's background, the opponent's record and voters' top concerns.
We believe that, for the foreseeable future, most progressive general election campaigns should incorporate an economic fairness theme. This is usually the most powerful contrast between progressive and conservative opponents—essentially that we side with the middle class while they side with the rich. Such a populist message works in almost any winnable jurisdiction or election district as long as it is presented in language that voters understand and appreciate.
Our economy is a wreck. To fix it, our policies must benefit all the people, not just the richest one percent. Our system works when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone gives their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. My opponent's policies are not fair; they rig the system to benefit the rich over the rest of us. My policies would ensure that every American who works hard and plays by the rules has the opportunity to live the American Dream.
Persuadable voters believe in a series of stereotypes about progressives and conservatives. You need to focus on and reinforce assumptions that help the progressive side. In economic policy, persuadable voters like the concept of a conservative who supports low taxes and free markets. But they also believe that today's conservative candidates favor the rich rather than the middle class. At the same time, persuadable voters like a progressive who fights for economic fairness. But they also believe that liberal candidates favor the poor rather than the middle class.
So, pretty obviously, you need to emphasize conservatives' support for the rich and progressives' support for the middle class, while at the same time, de-emphasize your advocacy for the poor. That does not mean you should lessen your commitment to fight poverty or move your policies to the right, it means focus attention on the fact that your economic policies benefit the middle class while conservative policies don't.
The monologue above uses simple, non-ideological language to express that idea. The first sentence is a generic expression of empathy. If you know something more specific about your audience's economic woes, use it. You should assume your voters think the economy is worse than the national economic data suggest; do not imply that the economy is okay because you're likely to get a very angry response.
Or say . . .
Our economy is upside down. The majority of America is in recession but the richest one percent is doing better than ever. We need an economy that works for Main Street, not Wall Street. I want to ensure that every hardworking American can earn a decent living, afford high-quality health care, get a great education for their children, and retire with security. My opponent's policies support the rich, mine support the rest of us.
Why do these messages keep referring to "my opponent's policies"? It's not enough to say what you will do; you must also draw a contrast between yourself and your opponent. But keep the focus on his/her policies. Voters don't like personal attacks.
Just as you shouldn't sound too personal, don't sound anti-capitalistic. Most voters believe that "free enterprise has done more to lift people out of poverty, help build a strong middle class, and make our lives better than all of the government's programs put together." So don't attack capitalism, indict economic unfairness.
Voters feel positive toward corporations and businesses—most work for one. Voters believe that businesses create jobs and right now America needs more jobs. Americans especially adore the concept of Main Street. And as pollster Celinda Lake says, "Americans are in love with 'small business.' It's a concept that voters see as almost synonymous with America." By small business, they mean family-run businesses with five or perhaps 10 employees.
By all means use the populist language of the 99 percent and the top one percent, but understand that the rich or wealthy, or the major banks and corporations, are not unpopular for who they are, but for what they've done. To be effective, you need to connect the bad guy to the bad deed, like unfair tax breaks, moving jobs overseas, accepting bailouts, or paying outrageous CEO bonuses. Americans don't begrudge the wealthy their money and they expect some to earn more than others. It's not income inequality that voters oppose, it is economic injustice, economic unfairness and people who cheat or rig the system.
If you attack the market system, you will marginalize yourself. In addition, there are a lot of economic phrases that, in the minds of most Americans, may mean something different from what you intend. Don't say capitalism, socialism, or fascism because the far-right has succeeded in confusing voters about their meaning. Don't use the phrases free markets or free enterprise because they trigger in voters' heads positive thoughts about conservative economics.
And yet, you need to explicitly support a fair market system. You need to draw a distinction between conservative anything-goes economics and a progressive system that enforces basic rules-of-the-road to level the playing field and keep markets honest and fair for everyone.
The argument for capitalism is that by harnessing individuals' economic drive, all of society is enriched by their hard work and innovation. Progressives are for that. But society does not win—in fact, it loses—when people get rich by gaming the system, by exploiting tax or regulatory loopholes, by dismantling viable companies, or by creating scams that aren't technically illegal but should be.
Conservatives relentlessly warp markets to benefit the rich and powerful. They use subsidies, loopholes, trade policy, labor law and economic complexity to corrupt markets. It is progressives who seek to build fair markets. Help voters visualize such a system.
We need an economy that's fair to everyone. That means structuring a system that not only rewards people for hard work and innovation, but also discourages people from gaming the system or passing costs to the community. We need rules of the road that make economic competition fair and open and honest. My opponent wants to tilt the playing field in favor of the rich. I will work to ensure that everyone gets a fair shot, does their fair share, and plays by the same fair rules. If we do that, everyone who works hard and acts responsibly can live the American Dream.
The monologues above rely on the concept of the American Dream. This is an important form of shorthand in our nation's politics. Everyone who is running for office should be able to describe the American Dream in glowing terms. It is a positive way to talk about inequality, and it allows you to pull your audience deep into progressive economic values.
I'm running because I want every American to have the opportunity to live the American Dream. That means a good job that fully supports your family. It means high quality, affordable health insurance. It means the chance to buy a home, if that's what you want. It means your children and grandchildren are well-educated in grade school and you can afford to send them to college. It means you retire with economic security, knowing that you are passing an even better America to the next generation.
When you talk about the American Dream—fair pay, health insurance, homeownership, education, retirement security—it provides the opportunity to explain that none of this is possible without a change in direction. It lays out an overarching goal; only progressive policy will ever get us any closer to turning that Dream into reality.
Finally, when talking about economics, don't limit the conversation to income inequality. In our country the biggest inequalities involve assets.
Our economic system should reward hard work and innovation. That's the American way. But right now the richest one percent in America own over one-third of all the combined wealth in our country—stocks, bonds, businesses, real estate, cars, jewelry. The richest five percent own nearly two-thirds of all the wealth. The rich don't need more subsidies and loopholes. They need to pay their fair share.


Visitor Travel insurance is very important to have in case of some unexpected situation like medical emergency or sickness. One question many have in their minds whether to buy the travel insurance from Canada or from India (or any other home country). It's a difficult question for the visitor who is traveling for the first time. In this case, he is unaware of the situations that may arise during his travel to or stay-period in Canada.
Most of the Canadian insurance companies have all the details related to various insurance plans, online. That visitors can visit the website, and get comparisons between plans and make informed decision effectively without spending lot of time dealing with Indian agents and wait for response. Online purchases are not very prevalent in India. Therefore, buying insurance from Canada gives an option to read all the necessary details on internet, and also make the purchase in almost no-time. A live chat on the broker's website also enables to discuss the plan and resolve the queries that may bother prospective visitor's mind. This is mostly and generally not possible in India.
Here we have add some important benefits compression between Canada and India Travel insurance.


Discover DCLT's land through Geocaching!
On November 12, 2016, the Dennis Conservation Land Trust (DCLT) voted to create a partnership with the Native Land Conservancy, Inc. (NLC) that will provide NLC formal access to DCLT's 250 acres of conservation lands in northwest Dennis. The Cultural Respect Access Agreement (CRAA) is intended to enable NLC a right of entry to the marsh and upland margins owned by the Dennis non-profit land trust along Chase Gar-den Creek. The CRAA is believed to be the first of its kind in the Eastern United States; it is modeled on similar easements in California between natives and non-native property owners for access to sacred sites.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE WILDLIFE TRACKING WALK.
If you would like to learn about upcoming events, please sign up for our e-news below.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE DCLT.
The Dennis Conservation Land Trust is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to preserve open space within the Town of Dennis, Massachusetts.


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Kian Egan shares touching tribute to his late father Kevin on Father's Day
Kian's father Kevin passed away in 2009 following a battle with cancer
Kian Egan has shared a heartfelt tribute to his late father for Father's Day.
The singer took to Instagram to share a string of sweet snaps of his father Kevin, who passed away in 2009 following a battle with cancer.
Kian wrote: "Happy Father's Day Dad. Thank you for been the most amazing dad. You have thought me what life is really about and that's been a Dad. Our hearts break every day your not with us. I wish you could have been here to meet our amazing 3 boys. They would have loved you so so much."
Swipe to see the touching tribute
The Westlife star shares son's Koa, 8, Zekey, 4, Cobi 1, with wife Jodie Albert .
Kian and the boys are currently in the middle of the Westlife Twenty Tour with performances taking place across Ireland , England , Scotland and Wales before they travel to Asia during the summer.
Last week, Kian was joined by his three boys for the Glasgow show.
Posting on Instagram, he wrote: "These 3 little monkeys are ready to rock Glasgow tonight."
The cute snap shows the three boys throwing the camera some serious rock star attitude hinting that they could be taking after their father.
Zekey, who's pretending to sing into a microphone, looks like he's ready to perform his latest hit while his brothers rock on beside him. Could the trio be the next big Irish pop sensation?
It seems fans think so, with one commenting: "Beware so they don't take over the stage."
Another joked: " u have 3 beautiful rock stars they are just like u forever in my egan heart."


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The Charlotte Observer
By Richard Sink
LOUISIANA SHERIFF SEIZES HORNETS GEAR
SHREVEPORT, La. - The Charlotte Hornets returned home this morning from their World Football League game here, but their equipment did not. It was confiscated by Caddo Parish Sheriff Jimmy Goslin in compliance with a lawsuit filed against the Hornets by plaintiffs in New York.
The suit charges the Hornets with failure to pay $26,216 it accumulated in debts while the club was located in New York for the first half of this season. Although the club has changed management, the plaintiffs, believed to a security firm and a cleaning establishment, fell new president-general manager Upton Bell remains liable for the money.
Goslin received the court order from U.S. District Judge James Clarke during the day, and apparently could have claimed the equipment immediately and stopped the playing of the game if he had so desired. but Hornet officials said he told them that he was delaying serving the writ of attachment because he wanted the game to go ahead as scheduled.
Goslin served the paper on Hornet business manager Ken Bobdanoff at halftime and not on Bell, who did not make the trip. the writ seeks garnishment of Charlotte's and the WFL's share of gates receipts in order to meet the payment demands, and the sheriff seized the equipment as security.
Apparently, only another court order could have stopped the claiming of the equipment, and the time of the day prevent that. The players were permitted to take all their personal effects, including their football shoes, which they pay for, but when the remainder of the equipment can be flown to Charlotte is uncertain.
EQUIPMENT manager Mike Ferraro and trainer Lew Cohen were planning on staying over to watch over their goods. Immediately after the players had dressed into their street clots the locker room was padlocked.
A delay in settling the matter and sending the equipment to Charlotte would greatly inhibit Hornet practices, which are scheduled to resume Friday.
Apparently, a Louisiana "long-arm" stature allowed the N.Y. plaintiffs to file a non-resident suit on the Hornets while the were here. "It's called the non-residence attachment process," explained a Shreveport lawyer who was in the press box during the game. "it places jurisdiction in a Louisiana court over a firm when it is in the state and transacting business. The Hornets are in the state and transacting business.
"I don't think this could have happened in North Carolina."
According to a local Shreveport court reporter who saw the legal papers, Rodney Ryan Jr., a Baton Rouge lawyer handled the case for the New York plaintiffs. They had to post a bond of $40,000 in court, payable to the Hornets if the suit does not hold up in courts.
The cleaning firm is seeking $10,934 and the security group $15,276.
Sheriff Goslin visited the Hornet motel here 45 minutes prior to their departure to State Fair ground Stadium and informed them that their uniforms, pads, medical supplies and footballs would remain here.
The move was a completer surprise. Everyone thought Shreveport was the troubled team before the game. The Steamer players were to receive all gate receipts from the game in order to pay fro two games in back salaries.
© Copyright 1982-2021 Richie Franklin and WFL Films, All Rights Reserved.


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The humdrum genius of Elizabeth II who has seen it all
There will be no parades, no official firework displays, no crowds bussed in from Reigate to the Mall singing God Save the Queen. Next Wednesday, September 9, will pass like most other days this month, in the conventional uncertainty of an English autumn, as citizens muse whether to carry an umbrella.
That is as it should be. Wednesday is the anniversary of the crushing of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden and the 59th anniversary of Elvis's gyrations on the Ed Sullivan Show. But it will also mark the point at which Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith, head of state of the United Kingdom and 15 other territories, will have reigned for longer than any of her predecessors.
The poor old lady (she is 89, for heavens' sake) finds the occasion marked by mewling, bawling and screaming on all sides. It does not really matter whether those concerned are "God bless you Ma'am" lickspittles in the Daily Telegraph or smugly sulphurous north London Roundheads in The Guardian: they are all equally absurd.
Elizabeth II's achievement is to have lived longer than she might have expected to in an earlier time. Queen Victoria, her predecessor as longest-reigning monarch, died at the age of 81 in 1901. When Victoria acceded to the throne the average female life expectancy in Britain was 42; it is now 83. She has led a comfortable and pretty healthy life and survived rather longer than the average.
So why should we care? Like most, I emerged from tertiary education as a republican. I understand that the idea of having a hereditary head of state is antediluvian, illogical and mildly offensive to people who live in Islington.
We do not have hereditary brain surgeons or plumbers: by what idiocy do we come to believe that the product of one particular set of ovaries is uniquely equipped to bear the tiresome tasks of representing the rest of us? It is absurd.
But that, of course is the point. Arthur Maurice Hocart, an anthropologist who attempted in the 1920s to discover the origins of monarchy, could conclude only that the earliest known religion was a belief in the divinity of kings; when history begins, there are gods and there are monarchs. We may have grown up since then and systematically stripped powers from our kings and queens, but the theology of monarchy still decrees that there is only one person fit to discharge the responsibility of representing all of us. We have taken our rulers out of the clouds and made them into varnished versions of ourselves.
Doubtless, in the state apartments they have already been seeding the two-year-old Prince George's intake of Peppa Pig with Bagehot's musings on the Royal Prerogative. He is probably more than ready to get up from his potty for his first consecration of an archbishop.
But he will have to wait awhile, since his grandfather and father have to have their crack at it first. And then there is his great-grandmother, a woman who began doing her current job in 1952, has the genes for a long life, and shows no sign of giving up either of them.
If we were considering one of the other European monarchies we might entertain the possibility that, like Queen Beatrix in The Netherlands, Elizabeth could sever the link between breathing and reigning, abdicate and speed the whole process up. But the Queen is not Dutch and there is no reason to imagine her resiling from the vows she made at her coronation. So we are stuck with her.
If we had Beyoncé as queen, life would be much more exciting, of course. But we do not. So let us consider what Elizabeth has done. Not much, according to David Starkey, the professional controversialist and historian.
She has, he claims, "done and said nothing that anybody will remember". Poor Mr Starkey is getting confused if he thinks this a criticism. A few years ago, while writing a book about monarchy, I trawled through every speech the Queen had ever made. Not only could I not find anything controversial. I could hardly find anything interesting.
This is a mark of genius. In a constitutional monarchy our heads of state are expected to buckle up. You only have to imagine the reverse: the provocative remark, even the interesting remark, immediately invites disagreement.
So long as the monarch has no power, his or her function is purely to unite and to make the citizenry feel better about themselves. That is why courtiers talk the Disneyfied language of being "in the happiness business".
It is not a role many of us would choose. Given a chance would you prefer to hope for a Nobel Prize, to play Hamlet at Stratford, organise a local food bank or, alternatively, to attend the 123rd opening of a new bypass? Lucky for the rest of us, then, that the role is restricted to a single family. And it is intuitively comprehensible as a model for society: we can all understand families — that they have brainy members, sporty members, good eggs, black sheep. Having the national identity incorporated in an individual because they belong to a particular family makes the whole nation feel something of a family.
If they cannot perform this elementary task of making us feel better about ourselves, then, certainly, let us get rid of them. An elected presidency would certainly be more democratic, and more reasonable. But at least this way, we keep the ultimate prize out of the hands of those who want it. President Tony Blair, anyone?
In the 63 years and 216 days she will have occupied our throne, the Queen has seen Britain retreat from Empire and diminish in the eyes of much of the rest of the world. But she has presided over an enormous social upheaval at home, which has occurred with hardly an instance of violence. It remains a prosperous country with solid institutions. Her pasty, monoglot nation has become infinitely varied. We can all take credit for that. To suggest that the country's constitutional arrangements have nothing to do with it is just silly. So let's not spend next Wednesday in any special carnival. Instead, we should celebrate a feat that is unremarkable, dutiful and, in its way, rather admirable.
Article courtesy of the FT Magazine. Original found here.
Lunch with the FT: Jeremy Clarkson
The most famous petrolhead on the planet is loved and loathed in equal measure. He sits down for a surprisingly sober Italian to discuss cars, cigarettes and Kristin Scott Thomas
What Empire did for Britain
For hundreds of years, Britain shaped the history of the world. Yet it is shocking, says Jeremy Paxman, how little we appreciate the enduring effect of the colonial spirit on all our lives in this country
Jeremy Paxman meets his Waterloo
The FT contributing editor encounters Napoleon and Wellington as the battle is restaged in Belgium
The Elgin Marbles belong in Britain, Mrs Clooney
Had the ghastly Lord Elgin not plundered his works of art, they could have ended up in the footings of some Athens kebab stand


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Best Paid Athletes
March 30, 2016 May 22, 2016 BillyGeneral
Then the measurement carried out by Forbes magazine with respect to athletes best paid 2010 in where detaches that among the most lucrative sports are golf, basketball, and boxing.Then check out the list of the Top Ten with the wider savings account. 1 Tiger Woods: despite the fact that he was retired from the courts for a time after an infidelity scandal, the American golfer can sleep soundly.Although he lost some sponsors (network marketing) due to its personal drawbacks, the golfer continues leading the list published by Forbes.La measurement points out that Woods receives annually in your bank account approximately 105 million dollars, occupying the first position in the list for the eighth consecutive year. 2 Floyd Mayweather: each blow of the American boxer is worth gold. After returning from his retirement and see the faces in the quadrangle with the Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley, added profits by $ 65 million.The Boxer could have further increased their profits if there were accepted a fight with filipino Manny Pacquiao, number eight in this list. For experts, it would be the combat with higher income in the history of boxing. 3 Kobe Bryant: the flamboyant champion and best player in the final of us basketball totaled income by $ 48 million this year.De los angeles Lakers player adds five NBA titles in his list of sporting trophies. Other data? His t-shirt with the number 24 is the most sold in the US, Europe and Asia. 4 Phil Mickelson: the golfer in 40 years is who currently still closer to Tiger Woods in the world rankings golf.This American has added $ 46 million this year. 5 David Beckham: with its 35 years, the so-called Spice Boy adds profit by 43.7 million dollars. Currently, their main source of income comes from the world of advertising (marketing networks), as the face of the brand Armani.
Tagged feel, religion, visionary
Athletes Exceed Their Limit
Mango. Juicy, Sweet, Aromatic …


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CHCA falls short in comeback bid against Chaminade Julienne in regional baseball final
CHCA lost a heartbreaker, 5-4, to Chaminade Julienne in a Division II regional championship baseball game Friday, May 25, 2018
CHCA falls short in comeback bid against Chaminade Julienne in regional baseball final CHCA lost a heartbreaker, 5-4, to Chaminade Julienne in a Division II regional championship baseball game Friday, May 25, 2018 Check out this story on cincinnati.com: https://cin.ci/2sfFUG2
Adam Baum, abaum@enquirer.com Published 9:43 p.m. ET May 25, 2018
GALLERY: CHCA vs. Chaminade-Julienne baseball, May 25
CHCA's Griffin Hughes beats the throw to Third Base for the Eagles as Chaminade's Cameron Benoit cannot hold the errant throw at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Griffin Hughes stamps home with authority plating CHCA's first run of the game at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Ryan Mueller (16) arrives safe at second base ahead of the tag on an Eagles steal attempt at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA's Dylan Ooten looks to bag the runner on his infield throw to first base at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA Catcher Oakley Tippen squeezes strike three for the Eagles at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Chaminade's AJ Solomon leaps and lands a knee into CHCA catcher Oakley Tippen on his way to Home at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Chaminade's AJ Solomon lands safely at Home after hurdling CHCA catcher Oakley Tippen and knocking the ball loose to put the Eagles on the scoreboard at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Griffin Hughes (3) of CHCA beats out the throw to first base for an infield hit as Chaminade's David Ernst is late to the bag at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Blake Sheffer delivers a strike to the plate for CHCA at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Adam Rakestraw powers a basehit to the outfield for CHCA at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Blake Sheffer delivers a base hit that plates a run for CHCA at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA's Max Ripperger throws in relief in the 6th inning for the Eagles at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA catcher Oakley Tippen looks to throw out the runner at First Base on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Chaminade at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA relief pitcher Lucas Rotello delivers a strike in the sixth inning at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA's Ryan Mueller takes a pitch off of the hand in the seventh inning at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA's Lucas Rotello fires across the infield to make the out at first base late in the game for the Eagles at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
CHCA's Eagles accept their Division 2 region runner-up trophy at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018. Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer
Chaminade's AJ Solomon leaps and lands a knee into CHCA catcher Oakley Tippen on his way to Home at the Division II region championship at Mason High School, May 25, 2018.(Photo: Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer)
MASON – There is honor, even in defeat, if a team fights until the end.
That's how Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's baseball season ended Friday night in a 5-4 loss to last season's state runner-up, Chaminade Julienne, in a Division II regional championship game at Mason.
Down to its final out of the game and trailing 5-2, CHCA's Lucas Rotello smacked a two-run double to left field that cut the lead to 5-4 and left the tying run at second base.
That's when the magic ran out for the Eagles.
CHCA hasn't crafted one of the areas top baseball programs annually by giving up.
"We don't ever feel like we're gonna lose the game," said CHCA coach Tony Schulz. "We could be down six runs with two outs in the seventh and still feel like we've got a shot to win it.
"You look at the first game we played in the tournament – we're down 2-1 going into the seventh inning, get a couple guys on and get a rally and we win the game.
"When Lucas got that hit it kind of felt like that's what was gonna happen here, but, like I said, CJ played their butts off and they earned it."
It was a 3-2 game in the fifth after CHCA escaped back-to-back bases-loaded situations in the fourth and fifth. But, walks, hit batters and errors allowed Chaminade to tack on two more runs in the sixth, extending its lead to 5-2.
"Obviously, CJ's a great team," Schulz said. "You don't get to this stage without having studs like they do over there. We felt like we had a good gameplan going in if we didn't walk guys and we didn't make errors, we were gonna win that game.
"Unfortunately, in key moments, we did both of those things. But, you gotta tip your cap to CJ for taking advantage of those ... they did what they needed to."
Senior right-hander Blake Sheffer started on the mound and went 4 ⅓ with seven strikeouts, but CHCA's offense stalled after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
In any championship game, one side walks away elated and the other in tears. That's the nature of competition.
"When you lose your last game of the season there's nothing you can really say to make anything better," said Schulz. "Especially for the senior class, you feel bad for them no matter when you lose, could be in the state finals, could be in the first round of the tournament, losing that last game is never fun.
"You let them know how much you love them and how much you loved coaching them and how proud you are of all the work they've put in. We're dating back to mid-September putting in work for this season. So, I'll tell them how much we appreciate all they've done for the program and for this team."


Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a relaxing break.
The school will be closed from Friday 21st December – Monday 7th January.All children return to school on Tuesday 8th January.
Welcome to Sulivan Primary School. We are a successful and vibrant community school in the heart of Fulham. Our children benefit from excellent teaching, a rich curriculum, high quality facilities and spacious grounds. Our unique learning garden, meadow and wildlife pond offer endless possibilities for discovery and exploration- a rare gem in inner-London that broadens horizons and nurtures childhood for children. Our website shows you lots of information we hope you enjoy it. Please contact us if you have any further questions. We look forward to welcoming you to our school.
If you are looking for a place for your child to start in September 2019, please remember that the closing date for applications is January 15th 2019.
Please book a visit on a Monday morning if you would like to come and see our wonderful Foundation Stage in action.


Some days during the summer it can be just a nice day to be out and seeing nature. On a recent visit to Arnolds Park I tried not to take in a broad view of places I have seen a few previous times, but looked for something photographically that appealed to me yet was something I had not really pursued. It seems easy to get caught in the same wagon train rut and ride along just trying to photograph something familiar but differently. And sometimes when relaxing and not really thinking about what it is exactly that you want to do differently, ideas appear. And the days seems all the brighter for it.
When I am out photographing in Siouxland my mind jumps back and forth between taking photos in color and B&W. People who attend my courses sometimes wonder about taking pictures in B&W and I firstly just encourage them to try it. Most cameras have a monochrome setting that allow users to take photos in B&W. This pics will not look like the black and white of yesterday, not without a bit of tweaking in a post processing software like Photoshop, Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro or Alien Skin.
I personally shoot with a Fuji X series camera that has excellent film simulation setting allowing me to shoot in a B&W setting.
The question though that a person needs to ask is when is the appropriate time for using B&W. In the above example either color or B&W works as a medium since both has contrast within the image that makes either work. But mostly it comes down to whether or not a color photo or scene will render well in B&W. One has to think tonally in making that judgment call.
The flowers on this plant stand out against the green foliage but get lost in the grey tonality of the second image. Sometimes color is a better choice. One needs to make certain the subject matter is "clean", or able to stand out against a background. Leading lines, use of thirds and a host of other compositional techniques will also make a B&W photograph stronger just as it does in color, but one really needs to make certain the subject matter that might pop in color will stand out in B&W.
A little practice, a little perseverance and an eye detail will get a person started on the right track.
As spring gets nearer and the sun decides to show itself more in Siouxland rather than hiding behind grey or overcast skies, it's fun again to play with lights and shadows when out shooting. On a recent trip to Onawa I did a bit of a walkabout looking for something different to photograph than I have previously done. And I was happy with a couple images that I found. While not stellar maybe, I had not seen these particular angles before and satisfied, found a place for lunch I had not previously eaten at as well. So maybe a day for firsts, but just happy to see ol' Sol beaming his big wide smile on this stretch of Siouxland.
Sometimes driving about Siouxland I see scenes or buildings that I really like and it all stems from their color and the light. During a walk in Storm Lake I came across a building near the campus of Buena Vista University. I liked the play of light on it, the texture that was revealed and its color.
One morning on my way to another destination I stopped at the Museum Complex in Onawa because of how the light was striking some of the buildings there.
These are not tremendous photos in and of themselves but I enjoy them all the same, at least the scene of the day I took the photos simply because of the play of light. It brings out the color. And that in and of itself to me is fun.
Coming back a short trip in north Siouxland I stopped along the roadway to admire and attempt to capture a sunset. Watching it a bit I thought the sky was going to stay washed out, but then the color started bursting into the clouds and it made a nice day even better.
When I teach an introductory photography course to people I try to gently suggest they experiment and learn to open they eyes and see the world they know in different ways. And more importantly, to record what they see in different ways. On a recent trip to Yankton, SD I walked around the town and saw a plant that would look good photographed either in color or in black and white. Some subjects work well in one medium or the other. And sometimes in both. It depends on what you the photographer wants his/her viewer to see.
And that is what I try to impart on people taking my Lifelong Learning photo course. You the photographer are sharing what you see and witness at that moment in time, and so what is it that you want your viewers to see. And the scene you photograph may change over time, and you as an individual and as a photographer may see differently over time. But it doesn't mean what you see and what you share is of any less significance.


Welcome to the GISS Enrolments Information Portal. Here you will find all necessary information and forms required for enrolling your child at our school.
Account Name: German International School Sydney.
For overseas students applying for a student visa click here to download our Overseas Student enrolment and visa information.


If you enter in the affiliate marketing world, you have to understand the terms and then to find some affiliate programs which offer a commission for each sale made through your links.
Affiliate marketing is a marketing model – you only pay for results. The system works quite simply: online stores or other sites, known as advertisers, provide affiliates (publishers, bloggers, SEM specialists) with some promotional tools, from banners to links and text ads.
Affiliates use these tools to direct visitors to advertisers' site and are rewarded directly in proportion to the number or value of the shares, either sales or leads, made by those visitors within a certain amount of time, called the recurrence period. Advertisers only pay for results.
It's pretty simple, just sign up for a program. You need a website and content to add your affiliate links.
You have to wait for affiliate program approval; usually, you will receive an email. Just use the send link and add in your website.
In the case of other programs, like Amazon, after approval, select a product, take the affiliate link and paste it into your website.
There are many affiliate programs, but you have to choose the ones which offer quality products, valuable commission, and support.


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Q: How to show timer on iOS lock screen I have a timer app and I would like to display timer progress on lock screen just like native iOS timer app does.
Does Apple provides any SDK to implement this feature?

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