In Which Ways and to What Extent Can GMO Products Harm Health Research Paper

In Which Ways and to What Extent Can GMO Products Harm Health - Research Paper Example On the other hand, researchers have reached a concession that there is more to genetically modified crops other than just the high productivity. In essence, these products have negative health impacts on human beings and this is something to worry about. In Japan, the consumption of wheat has increased right from the period after the Second World War and the country has failed to satisfy this demand. Therefore, the country relies on import of wheat from other nations. The concern for human health in Japan has seen the import of wheat from other countries being stopped as the controversy of genetically modified wheat becomes a reality. Evaluation of a wide range of materials reveals that genetically modified food products have both the good and bad sides of it. The website resource provides the true definition of genetically modified organism and their social economic impacts. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) refers to a wide range of plants and animals that are genetically manipu lated to provide desirable impact in productivity of Agricultural products. The motive of this scientific action is to provide the world with a better sustainable economic environment where every country can sustain its population. In many countries, this culture has helped the agricultural sector to experience a drastic shift in productivity. However, this resource also states in black and white about the negative impacts of this science that has intruded the natural agricultural style. Among the listed effects of this science is that the consumers of these food products will experience a lower nutrient level, antibiotic resistance, more cases of food allergy and poisoning. This is the impact that Japan anticipates as they continues to import wheat from other nations. In reality the resource provides an explanation for the possible reason why Japan declined import of wheat from other countries. The superiority of this resource lies in its deep coverage of the matters surrounding th e controversy of genetically modified products. Karimi (2013), a website updater, presents a rather biased GMO timeline and the historical development of this agricultural technology. The GMO matter started way back in 1935 and a slow and progressive development of the technology has made the topic a sensitive matter today. It provides a broad coverage of the legal aspect of the GMO since its first development and its acceptability in many countries today. Although the website appears to be subjective and over-scores on the negative impacts of the GMO in the society, it provides a ground to understand the proliferation of GMO culture in the world today (Greider, 26 Oct. 2003). This timeline coincides with the import culture of GMO in Japan since the time when the country’s demand for wheat increased. In Japan, the country import culture developed shortly after the Second World War (1945) and has continued to grow. This historical coverage points out to the possible period tha t Japan has suffered from the unlabeled GMO wheat until 2012 when the country became more conscious of the GMO products. The Public press channels have played a great role in asserting the public on the nature of this new technology and garnering public opinions on the matter. Strom (2013) wrote an investigative article to garner public opinions on their take on the proliferation the GMO technology and its impact on

Welsh Education Essay Example for Free

Welsh Education Essay According to Welsh Assembly Government the provisions of education is aimed at liberating talent, to empowering of the people of Wales, as well as meet the job and skills departments, as well as the creation of sustainable future (Randall, 1975). To show its commitment the government supports all stages of learning (Randall, 1975). The 1944 education is one of the most significant changes in education for Welsh. The 1944 Act was geared to aligning the education system in Wales to match standards in other common wealth countries. The 1944 Education Act also introduced free secondary school education as well as consolidating both church and state schools to ensure both maintained high standards of education (Randall, 1975). Major changes in the education in Wales have always corresponded to major social events as well as political events and particularly election. The year 1988 saw the introduction of ERA which was met with stiff resistance from teachers and parents although that did not influence the then leadership in government to consider revising the policy. Another significant change took place in 1992 in which schools gained control over the school budges (IMS) as well as a system in which schools began operating independent of the local councils. Other major changes were experienced in 1997 which saw the introduction of smaller class sizes, creation of education action zones to favour marginalised areas as well as the setting up of a general teaching council which aimed at improving the standards of education and at the same time ensuring effective teaching. Other recent changes in the year 2005 and 2006 have included introduction of Welsh Baccalaureate, which continues to be applied side by side with the long existing GCSE and A-level. Other changes have included introduction of breakfast in primary schools and a play curriculum for 3-7 year olds. Finally if the recommendations of Rees commission on higher education will be adhered to, every qualified student in Wales will continue to study without worrying about fees. The purpose of education is to ensure subject mastery, which is a vital pre-requisite in any profession. While not all careers are embedded in subject matter, certainly education and subsequent subject mastery is very vital for one to become a qualified professional. This calls for a deep studying and understanding of the usually complex subject matter. The above, points to the importance of the education to the growth of the profession. First of all, education enables professionals to keep abreast with new research findings in their profession. Since knowledge is dynamic, discoveries of new concepts are common and therefore professionals are better off if they remain in touch with new scientific discoveries concerning their professions. The above is important if professionals are going to be responsive to the needs of their organizations and the society at large. Education is also very important to professionals in that it gives them the necessary skills required to deal with people in their day to day running of their business affairs. It is through education that, a professional comes into contact with scholarly materials that play an important role in preparing a professional into becoming qualified and shaping their career. Education is evidently important to the growth of any profession; there is a need for the improvement of the training and curriculum so that the kind of education students receive is more responsive to the needs of the clients in the organizations where they serve. It is only through education that professionals can perform their duties more diligently, faithfully and effectively. In addition, the design of the curriculum programs should be aligned with the needs of the job market. The achievement of the purpose of education is largely dependent on how effective the teaching and learning process is. Effective teaching in England both at the local education authority as well as the higher education has been a subject of study by many scholars and commission. However most scholars concur that, the status of the teacher that is; qualified teacher status or lack of the qualified teacher status plays a very significant role in determining how teachers end up teaching. Equally important is the commitment and experiences of the teachers. The need for effective teaching is further complicated by the fact that the needs for schools differ widely depending on the facilities available, location as well as the type of students the schools are likely to admit. For example schools located in rural areas or schools serving marginalised communities such as the blacks and immigrants may have to adopt different teaching strategies so as to be effective in teaching. Such schools are likely to go for the strategies, which meet the needs of the vulnerable children they enroll. When designing or determining the most suitable or effective strategies for schools it is important to bear in mind the level of the pupils. Strategies, which may be effective in primary school level, may fail terribly if applied to higher education level. Developmental stages must be considered by teachers. For example primary school pupils are more likely to experience emotional imbalances than high school students. This calls for teachers to be careful on the way they plan for their teaching sessions. To counter behavioural barriers to effective teaching (Department for Education and Employment, (1997) suggests several forms of interventions such as behaviour management through training programmes, change of class environment as well as introduction of rewards or punishment to influence behaviour. The effectiveness of teaching in the UK and Wales has in the past been measured by performance of the students. However this kind of measurement is faulty and may place on the teacher a heavy burden of blame when performance is low and at the same time lead to praising of the teacher when performance goes up. According to (Tiffin, Rajasingham, 1995. 12-68), there is a lot to effective teaching than the exam results. For instance there is the issue of legislation, the kind of legislation in place can hinder or promote effective learning depending on how well suitable they are. Equally important is the class environment, which may include the size of the class, the facilities available in the school, the level of training of the teachers as well as kind of pupils or students in the class. Very important is the methodology teachers’ use in the teaching. This calls for the effective teachers to integrate all the applicable learning and teaching methods. The above serves to underscore the fact that teaching is just one component of learning which plays an important role in determining learning outcomes. For the education process to take place in an effective manner several factors are necessary; such include availability of teaching resources such as materials and staff, a conducive learning environment as well as the right working relationship between staff and students, students and parents as well as between staff and student (Department for Education and Employment, 1997). If the above is lacking the learning process is curtailed, students are likely to perform poorly, teachers are likely to get de-motivated and in general education standards diminish. According to the Department for Education and Employment, (1997. 4 -19) the social context of learning influences teaching and learning. These social contexts may be beyond teachers’ control in most cases. This implies that the kind of school one attended rather than the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the teachers was responsible for the performance. Pupils provided with an environment of fostering were more likely to excel academically than those pupils put in a social context, which is not empowering. According to (Department for Education and Employment, 1997) effective teaching calls for teachers to put more emphasis on academic learning, good utilization of learning time as well as offering result-based teaching whereby the pupils are made aware of the goals and objectives of the learning process.

Nixons Secret Bombings in Cambodia :: President Richard Nixon

Why did President Richard Nixon decide to have secret bombing in Cambodia in 1969? A. Plan of the investigation: i. Subject of the investigation: Why did President Richard Nixon decide to have secret bombing in Cambodia in 1969? The purpose of investigating Nixon?s secret bombing of Cambodia is to understand his real intentions. Also, to find out why he had to hide this from the Congress and the media. Wouldn?t it mean that he is abusing his power by keeping it a secret and not getting permission to do so from the Congress? Last, but not least, is to understand how Nixon actually destroyed neutral Cambodia. ii. Methods: a. Evidences from the biographical books on Nixon and Henry Kissinger will be used to support my thesis and topic question. b. The internet will be another source to find out information on the backgrounds of Cambodia and the events that were happening during the period when Cambodia was secretly bombed. c. Research for real conversations that Nixon had with his other helping mates about the decision to secretly bomb Cambodia. d. Find out the real issue he had that led him to secretly bomb Cambodia. Especially when he did not get permission from the Congress, and when the public found out, how did they react to Nixon?s actions. B. Summary of Evidence: -George McGovern wrote, ?The secret, unconstitutional bombing of [Cambodia] was the clearest ground for a Nixon impeachment. It was a vastly more serious crime than the break-in at Watergate.?# - ?In 1973, after the bombing was finally discovered, both Nixon and Kissinger maintained?that the secrecy was necessary to protect Sihanouk, who was variously described as? ?allowing? the raids, so long as they were covert. They maintained that the areas were unpopulated and that only Vietnamese Communist troops, legitimate targets, were there.?# -Nixon had already known that the American ground offensive, from the summer of 1966 to the Tet offensive of 1968, had failed to destroy the North Vietnamese (communists). Therefore he had an offensive against the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia. The Communists were making an effective use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Cambodia. Suddenly, Nixon ordered the bombing of the Cambodian sanctuaries. His instincts were to respond violently to the Communist offensive.

Influences on the Philippines Essay

Although some may have had a longer lasting impact on the Philippines each one helped create the Philippines to what it is today. India has influenced the Philippines in all aspects of life, from writing, music, and language to even religion. Because of the high trade between India and the Philippines India was able to have a huge impact on the Philippines. Some religion that can be seen from Indian influence is Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. This can be seen in the most southern island, Mindanao. Some Tagalog words are even Indian influenced, such as mukha (face), putong (turban), and guro (teacher). Just like India the Chinese have also left a mark in the language but that is not what they are most known for. The Chinese has left many different types of food in the Philippines that are now in the every day lives of Filipinos. Some famous Filipino dishes that are Chinese influenced are pancit, lumpia, and lechon. Some chinese influenced words are susi (key), pinto (door), and kuya (older brother). Some very important influences from the Chinese that as help revolutionize the Philippines is the use of metal and gunpowder. It would then help give Philippines the power to defend itself later on. Probably the most influential group of people would be the Spaniards, which was during the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. Even the name of the Philippines was given by the Spaniards, which was named after the king of Spain Philip II. Going along with naming, a lot of surnames of Filipinos are Spanish influenced as well. Religion probably had the biggest impact on the Philippines because the majority of Filipinos are Roman Catholic. Filipinos follow Hispanic traditions when it comes to religion and some festivals are also Spanish influenced. Just like the Chinese and the Indians the Spanish also had an impact on the language of the Philippines. The language of the Philippines is a melting pot in itself because of the different words derived from other languages. Last but not least the Americans also left a mark on the Philippines during the wars. The Jeepney is a popular form of transportation and can be seen all over the Philippines. After World War II there were many military standard jeeps that were left behind in the Philippines. As innovative as Filipinos are they used the jeeps to their advantage and thus created the Jeepney. English is probably the second most spoken language in the Philippines. An English speaker would not have any problem trying to make their way through the Philippines. The Philippines continues to grow in itself with the everlasting influences of the many countries that came to the Philippines.

Age of the Universe Essay

The age of the universe is said to be about 13.75 billion years old. The method used in determining this age would be attempting to find the age of chemical elements, oldest star clusters, as well as white dwarf stars. Scientists also try to find the universes rate of expansion, and behavior of globular clusters, which are spherical collection of stars. In order to find this, scientists can use radioactive decay to determine how old a given mixture of atoms is in rock samples. In order to find the rate of expansion of the universe, The Hubble constant was the basic cosmological model dependent on density and composition of the universe. Some formulas used by The Hubble Constant is that the earth is composed of primary matter and the age of the universe is 2/3(Ho) with Ho being The Hubble constant (1). Another formula is that the earth is said to have very little matter and the age of the universe is 1/ Ho, which is now considered to be more accurate (1). The age of the earth is approximately 4.54 billion years old, about 9.21 years after the universe was formed. The main theory of how the earth was formed is the Big Bang Theory, or a star explosion. Some also call is a supernova. This happens in the universe when the wreckage from an explosion crashed into a cloud of gas, bringing in the ingredients for our solar system. The formation of our sun came first from the collapse of a solar nebula. After about ten to twenty million years after this collapse, dust then clustered to grains, to lumps, to boulders, to planetesimas. Soon it became chunks of rock big enough to have their own gravitational field. So, some plantesimals became the embryonic form of planets in our solar system today. As more asteroids and other planets collided with planet earth, crust began to cool and water began to form and collect on the surface. References Age of the Earth . (2007, July 9). USGS. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html Age of the Universe . (2012, December 27). The Age of the Elements . Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/age.html How did the Earth form? | The Planets and our solar System. (2013, January 1). UK2Planets | The Planets in our Solar System. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://www.uk2planets.org.uk/how-did-the-earth-form/ How old is the Universe?. (2012, December 21). Universe 101 . Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_ag Life’s Origins Early earth was not a place for ideal living because it was a fire and hell-like environment. So much so, that scientists even called it Hadean eon, which is an ancient Greek word for down under. It was a place with many volcanoes and some scientists even say there were continental crusts and oceans. Even though it was extremely hot, scientists have found that some bacteria could survive these extreme conditions. According to Watson, by using zircon crystals, they could tell that early earth had a definite wet temperature. The atmosphere consisted of carbon dioxide, water, and volcanic gases. Today, not as many volcanoes exist. No one really knows when life was originated. Asteroids may have hit from time to time, having an effect on life’s atmosphere by causing organic molecules to synthesize. RNA and DNA are the genetic material for all life, and they are made up of long chains of nucleotides. Nucleotides are made up of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus atom s. An important step in the origin of life is the ability of all living things to reproduce. Starting with RNA being able to self-replicate itself, we then evolve into being able to pass genetic material onto offspring, and then natural selection. Miller and Urey built an apparatus filled with water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, but no oxygen. They hypothesized that this was the mixture of the atmosphere of early earth and boiled and condensed the water to keep it circulating. Miller and Urey kept this going for a week and used paper chromatography to be able to show that many amino acids and some other organic molecules were now in the flask. Many other scientists have tested this experiment and found that amino acids, protein molecules, adenine, and other nucleic acid bases were present. Some theories suggest an electric spark could have helped generate these amino acids and sugars in the atmosphere, others suggest the first origins of life could have met on clay. Alexander Graham Cairns- Smith says clay could help the organic compounds become concentrated and organize into patterns similar to genes today. Some scientists theorized that life was brought from somewhere else in space rather than beginning on earth, which is also known as panspermia. In reality, no one is sure of how life began because no one was around to know, but these theories have helped us gain a sense of fascination and knowledge of how life was originated. References 7 Theories on the Origin of Life | LiveScience . (n.d.). Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience . Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://www.livescience.com/13363-7-theories-origin-life.html Early Earth Not So Hellish, New Study Suggests | LiveScience . (n.d.). Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience . Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://www.livescience.com/241-early-earth-hellish-study-suggests.html How did life originate?. (n.d.). Understanding Evolution. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/origsoflife_04 Miller and Urey’s Experiment and Molecules of life. (n.d.). Anthropological Study of Workers, Occupational Health, Public Health, Textile Workers. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://anthropologicalstudy.blogspot.com/2011/03/miller-and-ureys-experiment-and.html The Origin of Life. (n.d.). RCN D.C. Metro | High-Speed Internet, Digital Cable TV & Phone Service Provider. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/AbioticSynthesis.html Ancient Life Radiometric dating is used to date materials based on comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay rate (1). Some different types are radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and uranium-lead dating. They provide important information about fossil ages and the rate of evolutionary changes. Radiocarbon dating is used to estimate the remains of materials with carbon as of 58000 to 62000 years ago (2). Potassium-argon dating is used to measure the product of radioactive decay of an isotope of potassium into argon. This method works for calculating the age of samples a little over a few thousand years. Uranium-lead dating on the other hand, can estimate the age range of a sample from about 1 million to 4.5 billion years ago (3). This method has two separate decay chains, uranium series, and actinium series, occurring by a series of alpha decays. It is important to have different types of radiometric dating because the earth has b een around for quite some time and a lot of changes has happened in each era, epoch, and eons. There was not as much oxygen dependency in earth’s early atmosphere as there is today. The result of oxygen presence is mainly because of volcanic activity as well as oxygen producing organisms like cyanobacteria, in the oceans of early earth. Cyanobacteria as well as blue-green algae produced their energy anaerobically, releasing oxygen and taking in CO2, and releasing oxygen. Oxygen gained a permanent presence in earth’s atmosphere 2.45 billion years ago for the aerobic organisms that inhabited. When the plates of earth’s crust shift, along with their liquid layers below, this is called plate tectonics. This results in how our continent and land mass appears throughout time. Kenorland, one of the first supercontinents of early earth broke up about 2.6 billion years ago. Another supercontinent called Columbia then formed about 1.8 years ago, and after that Rodinia formed from Columbia’s remains, that broke 550 million years ago. The breaking of these supercontinents caused the earth to have freezing temperatures. Oceans broke out and then Pangea formed and split into two supercontinents called Laurasia and Gondwana. Laurasia consists of what is now North America, Asia, Europe, and Gondwana of South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia. These continents in time spread and broke to form what we have today. Mass extinctions are when a species has become wiped out. There have been about five mass extinctions that have occurred so far. The first that occurred was during the Paleozoic era which was the end of the Ordovician. Scientist found that 60% of terrestrial and marine lives had disappeared out of nowhere. The next mass extinction was the late Devonian. The environment no longer provided enough for the survival of these organisms. The third mass extinction was the end of the Permian during the Mesozoic era, where scientist found that 85.5% of all marine species became extinct. The Triassic extinction is the fourth one that happened in the Mesozoic era. Marine invertebrate’s population decreased by 50%. The last mass extinction caused the dinosaurs, as well as plants and other tropical marine life to die out during the Cenozoic era. Global temperature and oceans caused flooding for 40% of all continents. One theory is that because of the quick change of CO2 in the atmosphere, mass extinction occurred. While CO2 in the atmosphere changed, surface layers in the deep oceans began to sink. CO2 increased too rapidly for creatures to adapt in time. Some theories suggest an asteroid caused some mass extinction, hitting the earth. The asteroid might have blocked the sun’s rays or cause the earth’s temperature to rise too high. Periods of intense speciation happens because of mutations. Mutations come from ionizing radiation and other factors. Species that do survive, mutate and cause this speciation. Some researchers say that Earth is hitting the sixth mass extinction because many species are endangered and decreasing population. Researchers also found that major mammals have become more and more rare that they could be extinct in about 30 years. These endangered species, researchers found, may be the result of human activities like habitat destruction and hunting. So, we are b asically in a sixth mass extinction, because human play the main cause. References Biello, D. (2009, August). The Origin of Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere. Scientific American. Retrieved from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=origin-of-oxygen-in-atmosphere Plastino, W.; Kaihola, L.; Bartolomei, P.; Bella, F. (2001). â€Å"Cosmic Background Reduction In The Radiocarbon Measurement By Scintillation Spectrometry At The Underground Laboratory Of Gran Sasso†. Radiocarbon 43 (2A): 157–161. Parrish, Randall R.; Noble, Stephen R., 2003. Zircon U-Th-Pb Geochronology by Isotope Dilution – Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ID-TIMS). In Zircon (eds. J. Hanchar and P. Hoskin). Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Mineralogical Society of America. 183-213. Wilkins, A. (2011, January). A History of Supercontinents on Planet Earth. io9. Retrieved from: http://io9.com/5744636/a-geological-history-of-supercontinents-on-planet-earth

Sociology of Gambling

Sociology of Gambling Summary of Reading Gambling has for a long time been regarded to as a social vice (Eagley and Chaiken, 1993). The act of gambling is normally regarded to as immoral. This is because it is addictive and in most cases people tend to lose their money or any other valuable item that was used as stake.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Sociology of Gambling specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the more an individual loses, the more he/she feels like playing in order to recover his loss and make a quick profit. In most situations, such individuals tend to end up in even more losses. It is due to this fact that the society has a negative attitude towards gambling. However, in the US, gambling alone bring in more revenue than the sale of movie tickets, theme parks, music concerts and sports events combined (Bernhard and Frey, 2006). Furthermore, 50 states in the United States have legalized several forms of gam bling. This therefore shows that gambling is a part and parcel of our society. The act of gambling has been there in since time immemorial, is with us today and will continue until perpetuity. It is therefore essential for sociologist to understand the positive aspects of gambling and the impact that it has on our lives. To support these arguments, several theories have been presented that try to explain the social aspect of gambling. During the renaissance era, the Catholics used gambling as one of the weaknesses against the Protestants who advocated for it (Greenwald et al, 2002). The catholic stated that it is wrong and evil to get something without working for it. This act was compared to the acts and promises that were made by Satan. In the early 20th century, Devereux explained the gambling theory with the use of the institutional theory. He suggested that gambling had more impact on the society that its individualistic and pathological effects that were well known. At the pre sent moment, sociologists have shifted their views and regard gambling as a form of play (Boyer, 2003). Many countries have lotteries and have legalised gambling which, in many circumstances is controlled by the betting and licensing board. They also state that gambling, as an act is a good leisure activity just like any other form of entertainment. Critique of the arguments presented As stated in the article, gambling is an act that can be used for leisure. The act has been a part of the human culture for many generations now. Due to this fact, it is essential to fully understand it and utilize its benefits to improve the status of individuals and the society (Allport, 2005).Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As stated in the article, gambling has high economic return. This money can be used to fund other projects hence improve the development of the economy. In addition, the act of gambling keeps people occupied. This therefore prevents them from committing social ills. However, it is essential to control the level of gambling. However, for gambling to be socially viable, it should be controlled. This is because the act of gambling is addictive and may lead to adverse conditions on individuals and the society. Application of the arguments Occasional gambling is one of my pass time activities. I have been participating in lotteries and charities ever since I was 12 years old. I do this not only to win but for the fun of it. If properly controlled, participating in charities and lotteries can be fun. From the experience that I have, I think that I believe that gambling can be used to improve the status of the society. References Allport, G.W. (2005). Attitudes. In C.M. Murchison. Handbook of social psychology  Winchester, MA: Clark University Press. Bernhar, B and Frey, J. (2006). The Sociology of Gambling. Brayant, 1(1), 399-404. Boye r, M. (2003). Attentional bias and addictive behaviour: Automaticity in a gambling-specific modified Stroop task. Addiction, 98, 61–70. Eagley, A., and Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Greenwald, A.G., Banaji, M.R., Rudman, L.A., Farnham, S.D., Nosek, B.A., Mellot, D.S. (2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109, 3–25.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Sociology of Gambling specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

How to Edit a Book The Ultimate Free 21-Part Checklist

How to Edit a Book The Ultimate Free 21-Part Checklist How to Edit a Book: Your Ultimate 21-Part Checklist So you want to get published? If you want people to actually read what you’ve written, you must master the art of ferociously self-editing your book. These days, anyone can get anything printed. It doesn’t even have to be good. If you have the money, you can find someone who  will print whatever you submit, as is. That’s not necessarily underhanded. Almost any independent publisher would be happy to offer all the services you’re willing to pay for to make your manuscript as publishable as possible. But you’re the boss. So if you want them to print your unedited book in the exact form you give it to them, they’ll say, â€Å"As you wish. And if they wont, you can easily find someone who will. On the Other Hand Ideally, you’d rather be discovered by a traditional publisher who takes all the risks and pays you an advance against royalties and then royalties on your sales. But the odds of landing a traditional publishing contract are slim. So you must separate yourself from the competition by ensuring your manuscript is the absolute best it can be. Yes, a traditional publisher will have its own editors and proofreaders. But to get that far, your manuscript has to be better than a thousand other submissions. And if you’re self-publishing, the only way to stand out against even more competition is by ferociously editing your own book until its as crisp and clean as possible. There’s little worse than an independently published book that looks like one. So, You Must  Learn How to Edit a Book Whether you’re going to hire an editor, or be assigned one by a traditional publisher, your responsibility is to get your book manuscript to the highest level it can be before you pass it on. Never settle for, â€Å"That’s the best I can do; now fix it for me.† Why? Because sadly, if you attempt the traditional publishing route, could pour your whole life into a manuscript and get just five minutes of an editor’s time before your book is rejected. Sounds unfair, doesn’t it? But as one who has been on both sides of the desk for more than four decades, let me tell you there are reasons for it: Why Publishers Reject Your Manuscript After Reading Just Two Pages Editors can tell within a page or two how much editing would be required to make a manuscript publishable; if it would take a lot of work in every sentence, the labor cost alone would disqualify it. An editor can tell immediately whether a writer understands what it means to grab a reader by the throat and not let go. Have too many characters been introduced too quickly? Does the writer understand point of view? Is the setting and tone interesting? Do we have a sense of where the story is headed, or is there too much throat clearing? (See below for an explanation.) Is the story subtle and evocative, or is it on-the-nose? Yes, a professional editor can determine all this with a quick read of the first two to three pages. If you find yourself saying, â€Å"But they didn’t even get to the good stuff,† then you need to put the good stuff earlier in your manuscript. So today, I want to zero in on tight writing and self-editing. Author Francine Prose says: For any writer, the ability to look at a sentence and see what’s superfluous, what can be altered, revised, expanded, or especially cut, is essential. It’s satisfying to see that sentence shrink, snap into place, and ultimately emerge in a more polished form: clear, economical, sharp. If you’re ready to learn how to edit a book, here’s what you need to do: The  Ultimate Checklist for Editing a  Book Want to keep these 21 self-editing tips handy next time youre writing?  Click here to download the checklist. 1. Develop a thick skin. Or at least to pretend to. It’s not easy. But we writers need to listen to our editors- even if that means listening to ourselves! 2. Avoid throat-clearing. This is a literary term for a story or chapter that finally begins after a page or two of scene setting and background. Get on with it. 3. Choose the normal word over the obtuse. When you’re tempted to show off your vocabulary or a fancy turn of phrase, think reader-first and keep your content king. Don’t intrude. Get out of the way of your message. 4. Omit needless words. A rule that follows its own advice. This should be the hallmark of every writer. 5. Avoid subtle redundancies. â€Å"She nodded her head in agreement.† Those last four words could be deleted. What else would she nod but her head? And when she nods, we need not be told she’s in agreement. â€Å"He clapped his hands.† What else would he clap? â€Å"She shrugged her shoulders.† What else? â€Å"He blinked his eyes.† Same question. â€Å"They heard the sound of a train whistle.† The sound of could be deleted. 6. Avoid the words up and down unless they’re really needed. He rigged [up] the device. She sat [down] on the couch. 7. Usually delete the word that. Use it only for clarity. 8. Give the reader credit. Once youve established something, you dont need to repeat it. Example: â€Å"They walked through the open door and sat down across from each other in chairs.† If they walked in and sat, we can assume the door was open, the direction was down, and- unless told otherwise- there were chairs. So you can write: â€Å"They walked in and sat across from each other.† And avoid quotation marks around words used in another context, as if the reader wouldnt â€Å"get it† otherwise. (Notice how subtly insulting that is.) 9. Avoid telling what’s not happening. â€Å"He didn’t respond.† â€Å"She didn’t say anything.† â€Å"The crowded room never got quiet.† If you don’t say these things happened, we’ll assume they didn’t. 10. Avoid being an adjectival maniac. Good writing is a thing of strong nouns and verbs, not adjectives. Use them sparingly. Novelist and editor Sol Stein says one plus one equals one-half (1+1=1/2), meaning the power of your words is diminished by not picking just the better one. â€Å"He proved a scrappy, active fighter,† is more powerful if you settle on the stronger of those two adjectives. Less is more. Which would you choose? 11. Avoid hedging verbs like smiled slightly, almost laughed, frowned a bit, etc. 12. Avoid the term literally- when you mean figuratively. â€Å"I literally died when I heard that.† R.I.P. â€Å"My eyes literally fell out of my head.† There’s a story I’d like to read. â€Å"I was literally climbing the walls.† You have a future in horror films. 13. Avoid too much stage direction. You dont  need to tell every action of every character in each scene, what they’re doing with each hand, etc. 14. Maintain a single Point of View (POV) for every scene. Failing to do so is one of the most common errors beginning writers make. Amateurs often defend themselves against this criticism by citing classics by famous authors who violated this. Times change. Readers’ tastes change. This is the rule for today, and it’s true of what sells. 15. Avoid clichà ©s. And not just words and phrases. There are also clichà ©d situations, like starting your story with the main character waking to an alarm clock; having a character describe herself while looking in a full-length mirror; having future love interests literally bump into each other upon first meeting, etc. 16. Resist the urge to explain (RUE). Marian was mad. She pounded the table. â€Å"George, you’re going to drive me crazy,† she said, angrily. â€Å"You can do it!† George encouraged said. 17. Show, don’t tell. If Marian pounds the table and chooses those words, we don’t need to be told she’s mad. If George says she can do it, we know he was encouraging. 18. Avoid mannerisms of attribution. People say things; they don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt, snort, reply, retort, exclaim, or declare them. John dropped onto the couch. â€Å"I’m beat.† Not: John was exhausted. He dropped onto the couch and exclaimed tiredly, â€Å"I’m beat.† â€Å"I hate you,† Jill said, narrowing her eyes. Not: â€Å"I hate you,† Jill blurted ferociously. Sometimes people whisper or shout or mumble, but let your choice of words imply whether they are grumbling, etc. If it’s important that they sigh or laugh, separate the action from the dialogue: Jim sighed. â€Å"I just can’t take any more,† he said. [Usually you can even drop the attribution he said if you have described his action first. We know who’s speaking.] 19. Specifics add the ring of truth. Yes, even to fiction. 20. Avoid similar character names. In fact, avoid even the same first initials. 21. Avoid mannerisms of punctuation, typestyles, and sizes. â€Å"He†¦was†¦DEAD!† doesn’t make a character any more dramatically expired than â€Å"He was dead.† Your Assignment Apply as many of these book editing hints as possible to the first page of your work-in-progress. Itll make a huge difference. I’ve added a downloadable self-editing checklist below to help you master these 21 tips. The more boxes you can check for your manuscript, the leaner, meaner, and more ready it will be for submission to a publisher. Click here  or below to download it free: What other questions do you have about how to edit a book? Ask me below.