laranjatoranjalaranja:

Planning

• Determine primary sources/bibliography.
• Determine secondary sources/bibliography. 
• Find title.
• Brainstorm a table of contents with as much detail as possible (with chapters, sections and even paragraphs and sub-paragraphs - see How to Write a Thesis’ own table of contents as an example at the end of this document) (if the first drafted table of contents is good enough, it will not be necessary to start the writing from the beginning).
• Do a first draft of the introduction.

Note-taking and research

• Use Google Scholar to make sure you do not miss important sources.
• Keep the table of contents in mind when researching and take notes of which sources could go where.
• While note-taking, differentiate which parts could be used as quotations from the ones that are simply important for the argument.
• Eco underlines the importance of what he calls reading sheets, which can be understood as your notes on your readings. According to him, these should contain:

• information about the author if he is not a well-known figure;
• a brief (or long) summary;
• they should mostly consist of quotations (accompanied by all the corresponding page numbers)
• any commentaries you might want to add;
• an indication of which part (or parts) of your table of contents the information mentioned belongs to.

• Keep reading sheets on primary sources (which should be the longest) separate from those on secondary sources (which should only be 1-2 pages long).
• In the end, re-read the notes and color-code all the different parts according to where they would fit in your table of contents.

Writing and editing

• A good place to start would be by redrafting the introduction.
• Define every key/technical term used/mentioned unless indisputably obvious.
• General writing tips:

• keep sentences short;
• do not be afraid to repeat the subject twice (ex: Roberta went to the shop (…) Roberta bought carrots and tomatoes);
• avoid excessive details;
• avoid subordinate clauses (orações subordinadas);
  
• avoid vague language;
• avoid unnecessary adjectives;
  
• avoid the passive voice.

• While drafting, write everything that comes to mind. Leave the editing for the end.
• Use your tutor as a Guinea pig. Make them read your first chapters (and, progressively, all the rest) well before delivery is due. 
• Ask for as much feedback as possible. Ask colleagues, friends and/or family to read your work. They will provide you with more diversified feedback, as well as allowing you to know if your writing is clear to anyone.
• Stop playing ‘solitary genius’.

• Don’t insist on starting with the first chapter. Start with what you know best and feel more comfortable writing about, then fill in the gaps.

• Leave time for editing and try to take at least a one or two days long break in between writing and editing. 
• Do not forget to fill in the gaps. When you revisit your writing, go through it with all these writing tips in mind as well as a conscience of what your most common mistakes are.

• Use Hemingway in the final editing phase.

Quotations and footnotes

• Since there are two kinds of sources (primary and secondary), there are also two kinds of quotations: either we quote a text which we will interpret, or we quote a text which supports your interpretation.
• Some quotation rules to know:

• “Quote the object of your interpretive analysis with reasonable abundance.”
•  “Quote the critical literature only when its authority corroborates or confirms your statements. (…)  when quoting or citing critical [aka secondary] literature, be sure that it says something new, or that it confirms authoritatively what you have said.”
• “If you don’t want readers to presume that you share the opinion of the quoted author, you must include your own critical remarks before or after the passage.”
• “Make sure that the author and the source of your quote are clearly identifiable.”
• “When a quote does not exceed two or three lines, you can insert it into the body of the text enclosed in quotation marks. (…) When the quote is longer, it is better to set it off as a block quotation. In this case the quotation marks are not necessary, because it is clear that all set-off passages are quotes, and we must commit to a different system for our observations. (Any secondary developments [like the quote’s reference] should appear in a note.) (…) This method is quite convenient because it immediately reveals the quoted texts; it allows the reader to skip them if he is skimming, to linger if he is more interested in the quoted texts than in our commentary, and finally, to find them immediately when need be.”
• Some footnote rules to know:

• “Use notes to add additional supporting bibliographical references on a topic you discuss in the text. For example, ‘on this topic see also so-and-so.’”
• “Use notes to introduce a supporting quote that would have interrupted the text. If you make a statement in the text and then continue directly to the next statement for fluidity, a superscript note reference after the first statement can refer the reader to a note in which a well-known authority backs up your assertion.”
• “Use notes to expand on statements you have made in the text. Use notes to free your text from observations that, however important, are peripheral to your argument or do nothing more than repeat from a different point of view what you have essentially already said.”
• “Use notes to correct statements in the text. You may be sure of your statements, but you should also be conscious that someone may disagree, or you may believe that, from a certain point of view, it would be possible to object to your statement. Inserting a partially restrictive note will then prove not only your academic honesty but also your critical spirit.”
• “Use notes to provide a translation of a quote, or to provide the quote in the original language.”

Hanging Gardens

You guys. Humans. PEOPLES.

This blog is just 5 days old. But between all of you–the writing prompts blogs, the writers sharing with your friends, and a little touch of help from the lovely @neil-gaiman, in just five days we’ve racked up:

• Over600 followers (and I love each and every one of you!!)
  
• Over 1800 notes (!!!)
  
• OVER 100 AWESOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!
  

I am so psyched! Look at what we’ve done together!!

But I need your help.

I’m trying to get to 1,000 followers before this week is done! That’s right, I’m going for the big banana!

So I’m sending you all on a mission! If I’ve helped you, if you think I will help you, if you think this blog is a valuable resource… tell someone!

Tell your writer friends. Tell that prompts blog you follow. Tell your writing workshop group. Tell people you think I can help.

And the way I want you to do that is:

1) Go to the “I’m Here for a Consult” post. Maybe you’ve seen it. Maybe you never have! It’s a post telling Tumblr that I’m here to help them with their writing when it comes to medical stuff, and it’s the post that got the ball rolling.

2) Reblog it, even if you already have, and tag 3 people you think would enjoy the blog. (Got more? Tag them too!)  Even if you think someone might know someone who could use a consult, reblog it! Tell your fanfic circles, that LGBT group you hang with, your fellow students, your bae, and that cat who’s always batting pencils around. Go tell it on the mountain to that crazy looking hiker chick with sunsets in her eyes.

And even if you choose not to reblog, I just want to say thank you, from the bottom of my ventricles. The support and love and friends I’ve already made here mean the world to me. Thank you for helping get this blog off the ground.

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

jonathontesticle:

the-gentle-art-to-going-insane:

unlocklist:

unclevertitle:

bigwordsandsharpedges:

armedandgayngerous:

dumbbadger:

Soot tags gather after fires in areas with low circulation. They are not, as commonly believed, ash covered spider webs.

oh, well then what the FUCK are they???

They’re made of sticky particles from a polymer or petroleum based fire, like burning carpet, drapes, upholstery, and clothes. Due to a static charge, they chain together and naturally gather near ceiling corners because the rising hot air pushes them into the cool spots by convection. 

Because they’re formed by static electricity, they can only be removed with professional chemicals and equipment. Attempting to remove them improperly will only break the chain before all the soot can be captured, leaving the remaining soot to spontaneously reform the webs later. Even worse, trying to wipe or wash them away can firmly adhere the soot to your wall or ceiling, which will permanently stain it. 

A natural phenomena that only coincidentally resembles the damned webs of transdimensional ghost spiders.

Do they remind anyone else of Venom Jizz?

hmm…

eddies house is just covered in those things isnt it

Prolly.

Ship sketch requests:

Ëarwen and Anairë for @galadhremmin

stethingdave:

Mistakes that make you humble is better than any achievements that make you arrogant.

I need someone!

Hey Everyone! I am looking for a woman, someone who I haven’t talked to before and has a tumblr preferably, as a new test subject lol but if there’s any women who would like to talk Growth/Expansion for a story please message me! I’ve got an idea but I need someone to bounce it off of so don’t be afraid to message me!

(P.S. thanks for all the questions!!! For those who have been sending them I LOVE answering them all of them have really made me think I appreciate it!!)

dictacontrion:

Sometimes I’ll be off doing stuff - laundry, errands, work, hanging with friends - and then check AO3 and see that I’ve gotten kudos on something or will get an email about a comment and it never fails to blow my mind a little, that while I’m sorting socks or buying broccoli someone has been reading something I’ve written and gotten something out of it. It doesn’t matter how many times it happens. It is a thrill and an honor and a source of happiness every. single. time.

Thank you, all of you, who have ever left kudos and comments for any of us. It’s such a gift.

no-nothing-helps:

no-chill-button:

I’ve been really busy with life over the past week. What did I miss?

Larry has a girlfriend, her last name is Gonzalez… https://youtu.be/vhoxnuz1SHk - this mindblowing performance, ummmm..  my LT tag question, so now I’m tagging you -here. that’s all from me what else ladies? 

Aight. That’s all I need to know…