Calligraphy: Correcting Mistakes

JOURNALISM

There are many criteria that help to define the essential idea and effectiveness of journalism. However all of them are focused on the appropriate dimension — if the means of information of mass media have a positive influence on a person or not? One might be well aware, that the importances of history, the moral progress, are expressed by person as an individual. Nowadays it is wide-known that spiritual emptiness, moral nihilism, inability of democratic institutions, terrorism, environmental crisis, decreasing of intellectual level, break-down of a family and other dangerous phenomena has become normal even in the countries that reached the tops of civilization. We can’t avoid the direct ques­tion if such symptoms of degradation were not affected, even decisively, by the journalists? The honest answer to this question will be YES. If we placed the spirit in the second or the tenth place, we would derange our ability to discern the truth. Contemporary intellect has chosen the direction of continuous breaking up, thus devastating harmonious personality, integral of the spirit and creating the man of “bare obviousness”. Having lost spiritual compass, thus cultural rules of conduct for perception of the world, submitting the postulates of subject conscious, flat positivism, anthropological transformation, that shakes the world several centuries in succession, the journalism found itself in the state of self-deduction, stopped to be “the votary of truth”, every time considerably avoiding putting things and people in their proper place. In other words it avoids establishing order, balancing the nature and society, and harmonizing relations between the nations in accordance with the principles of equity.

For the journalism to become a proper social service, personal scientific adviser who can determine essential methodological and theoretical parameters, directions is important. The collection of scientific articles motivates complex approach to the journalistic phenomena in the following dimensions: a) history — actual practice — theoretical and methodological orientations (trends) for the future; b) the journalism of “speed” (reflecting) — publics of thinking — forecasting publics; c) journalists’ training system — creative personality — journalistic deontology; d) traditions, operating of present-day Ukrainian Mass Media — European issues — foreign experience. It contains the documents that reflect moral type of thinking in the sphere of mass communication on the one hand, and the directions and trends determined by All-Ukrainian scientific and practical conference “National journalism and European choice of Ukraine” (April, 2000).

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

DESKTOP PUBLISHING, as its name suggests, allows a publishing house to be established on the top of a desk. It represents an enormous saving of both time and money. With the use of a personal computer system and the appropriate software, it is now possible to edit, design, illustrate, lay out and typescript a book in a relatively short time and without a large staff and staggering budget.

Desktop publishing eliminates the need for outside typesetters and artists. With the use of a relatively inexpensive computer, type can be set in the office. The results can be checked at once and corrections made easily and at no extra cost. Full page make up, too, can be done on the computer. Changes can be made on the screen, and there is no need for galleys, or for cutting and pasting.

With the use of the painting and drawing programs, digitizers, imagemakers, and other graphic tools, it is possible for artists to create images on the screen. This artwork combined on the same page with the text, can be examined on the screen before printing. Once again, by this method, correction is simplified.

Finally, type and art, in page format can be output in the office, by means of a laser printer, which looks much like an office photocopier. The results are good. These pages then go to the offset printer.

Desktop will enable a writer's words and ideas to reach a large number of readers more economically than ever before.

Desktop publishing appeared in 1985, when the first programs capable of composing text on a computer were produced. It is the application or personal computers to the entire printing process. It is a means of producing documents, advertising leaflets, magazines and even books on equipment which can be housed on a large desk. The basic equipment or hardware consists of a computer complete with a visual display unit, a keyboard, and a movement sensing device known as mouse, an optical scanner, and a laser printer. The program, or software needed to operate the equipment consists of a "page description language" which translates the image on the computer screen into a set of digital instructions that the laser printer can follow, and a composition program to drive the entire system. Once the image has been transferred to the computer, it can be modified, saved, and printed out like any other data.

Increasingly, writers make use of computers and word processors, which allow them to revise easily what they write. They can insert, delete or move words and sentences, and see the results on a screen without having to retype entire paragraphs or pages. Editors work in many ways. Today many publishing houses allow an author to turn in an electronic manuscript, one which has been written on a word processor or computer. In this case, the copy is on a floppy disc rather than on paper, but for convenience in reading it is essential that the author also submits the entire manuscript printed out on a paper. When the editor is ready to begin editing, the disc can be put into the editor's computer and all the work done right on the disc. By using a modem a telephone connection between computers -the editor and author can communicate directly through the keyboard. There are instances of authors and editors many miles apart working on the same manuscript at the same time-editing, rewriting and correcting that manuscript by computer.

In recent years the computer has become a valuable tool for technical illustrations. Today illustrators and authors can make their own graphs, charts, and blueprint style drawings on a home computer with excellent results. Changes are easy to make, and they can even be done.

 

THE LITERARY AGENT

After a great deal of work, long periods of hope, and often longer periods of despair, the writer has finished writing the book. The manuscript having been neatly typed and double-spaced is ready to be submitted for publication. It is at this point that many new writers feel helpless. It's obviously not enough to write the book - it must be read. And the words set down on manuscript paper by the writer cannot be read by a number of people until they are put into the form of a book and thus made suitable for reading. A publisher and only a publisher will do this.

But there are many publishers, and it is necessary to find the right one. A few writers may know someone in publishing and eagerly submit their manuscripts to their friends or ac­quaintances. Others may know of guides to publishing houses such as Literary Market Place or Writer's Market and select a potential publisher from among the many listed there.

Any of these methods may help, but at this stage the writer may want professional help, and one way he or she can obtain that help is from a literary agent. Literary agents are scouts for talented writers and often helpful and perceptive editors. They are also in business, and the success or failure in handling the affairs of a client will determine the success or failure of the literary agency. The agent is often in the best position to know not only what is salable and what is not, but also which publisher would be best suited to publish a particular work. There are all kinds and sizes of agencies - large ones with staffs o fifty and small ones with a staff of one.

The agent must always be on the lookout for new talent and be able to recognize the potentiali­ties of young, unknown authors. At the same time agents should be willing to encourage and promote an established author's work through guidance and constructive suggestions. The agent must also be in touch with publishers, must know what is being published by each house, and the taste of each editor. In many ways, a good agent acts as a clearinghouse for a publisher, eliminating the hopelessly bad and encouraging the good. It is for this reason that manuscripts submitted by careful agents, known for their taste and knowledge of the market, may often receive more careful attention than will a manuscript submitted by either an unknown authors or an irresponsible agent.

Many writers who fed they could use the services of an agent in marketing manuscript are with good reason puzzled u to how to find this agent. There are, however, various ways of finding a list of reputable, welt-established agents: through Literary Market Place or Writer's Market; through The Authors Guide, which is an association of writers; or by consulting a list provided by an organization called the Society of Authors' Representatives. With any of these lists on hand, the author should choose and write to one or even several agents, describ­ing the work he wishes to submit, perhaps enclosing an outline, synopsis, or sample chapters, giving • resume of his background and experience, and. of course, mentioning any previously published work.

Once the agent has shown interest, in a work, he or she will read that work without charging the author a fee. There are some agents, however, who do charge a reading fee for each manuscript submitted and others who charge what they call an editorial fee.

Once the writer has found an agent who is willing to submit the manuscript to a publisher, the relationship between writer and agent car, be very close. It is of course, best that the writer understand just what can and cannot be expected of the agent.

The agent reads and evaluates the manuscript to the publisher, who in the agent's judgment is best suited to publish it.

 

NEWS

News is everything that adds information to what we know already. However, not every addition of what we Know already is news.

EXAMPLE: the fact that the KLM plane has landed at the airport, according to schedule, does indeed add information but it is not news. Because that sort of information is usual and it is to be expected. It would be news when the KLM plane has landed at the airport after having been kidnapped. Because that is UNUSUAL.

News is therefore UNUSUAL. News is about a current event or development. News is about conflict, strife, competition. New is about disaster and war. News, however, is also a memorable peaceful event 9like the inauguration of President Mandela on May 10, 1994) and peaceful developments like elections in. That's news.

Another important aspect of news can be PROXIMITY and INVOLVEMENT: a natural disaster in Holland wilt interest the Dutch listeners more than a horrendous flood in Bangladesh. A plane crash in Europe will hardly interest the listeners in Southern Africa when a British Airways plane is involved. It will be hot news when the crashed plane belongs to Air Namib and was carrying the South African soccer team.

This is obviously true, but on the other hand it is not necessarily true that "distance breeds indifference". For instance, we are interested in the presidential elections I the US. The US is tar away, but such development is also of importance for us. An event far away thus captures people's attention when' it has tar-reaching consequences: the release of Nelson Mandela was world news, which in many countries was broadcast live.

The editor of the newsroom must ensure that major events of the day are covered. The editor prepares a diary for the day; convenes an editorial meeting; assigns stories to the journalists/reporters; ensures the smooth operation of the newsroom and coordinates the work of the editorial team.

News journalists/Reporters should keep a diary with contacts and telephone numbers; note down ideas and follow up leads; have a nose for news; have ideas for stories; keep in touch with sources of news, should show initiative, should get background information of the event or topic.

News Journalists/Reporters should identify themselves as News Journalists/Reporters.

News Journalists/Reporters should be patient when covering meetings, rallies and press conferences, but they should also be inquisitive, should not take yes/no for an answer and verify the Information. Should listen and observe attentively. Should give both sides of a story. Should observe the surroundings of an event to give colour to the story. Should understand the community and its politics, culture and behaviour. Should see to it that they are trusted by the community. should reflect the society as they see it in the field should keep contact with the radio station. should know how to handle the recording machines. should be able to edit and voice their stories. check the equipment before leaving the radio station: tape recorder, microphone, batteries, etc.

News Journalists/Reporters should NOT infringe on people's privacy, politics, culture and religious values.

News Journalists/Reporters should NOT force people to be interviewed.

News Journalists/Reporters should be careful in dangerous situations.

Bear in mind for which target group you are making your programme. It does make a difference for your text and for your presentation whether your programme is a news-programme, or a documentary, or a programme for women or for school-children or for trade unions.

It does take a difference whether you are preparing a programme for broadcasting in the morning, or in the evening. Likewise it does make a difference whether your programme is broadcast during the working hours of a week day or during Sundays.

Remember that you cannot possibly be objective, however much you try to present the truth. It will always be the truth as you see. It. Because It is you who selects the facts. It is you who presents the facts in a certain order.

At the same time the listener is not objective either. Your listener is, in fact, even less objective, as he/she can simply reject your message if that does not fit in with his/her beliefs or opinions.

EXAMPLE: you are a Palestinian journalist and make a programme aimed at American Jews about the Palestinian fight for freedom. Y_fiu speak of "freedom lighters" and yau mean the guerrillas of the liberation movement. They have learned to think o! them in terms of "terror­ists" and for them "freedom fighters" are their own militants. You speak of the Israeli government as "the Jerusalem regime".Thsy. think of it as "the government, democratically elected".

That does not mean that you should adapt your texts to suit the listener, but you should be aware if its possibly misunderstanding. In that case it might be advisable to explain why you use the term "freedom lighters* and why they are not "terrorists".

Why do you want to communicate to inform; to bring news; to expose; to tell the truth about lies or propaganda; to convince; to forward arguments for your opinion; to mobilize; to use persuasion to make the listener do certain things

Now that you know what you want to communicate, to whom, and why, you will have to decide on the form. It may be a news-item, a news report, a documentary, an interview or a commentary. Whichever form is decided upon, it will always have to do with: SOUND. In radio-journalism, that sound will, for a large part of your programme, consist of the SPOKEN WORD. If is the HUMAN VOICe that you, a* a radio-journalist, communicate.

• In a news item you always begin with the news and then you explain what the problem is. This is only so in pure news broadcasts. In News Reports, etc. it may be different.

News Report: this is a follow-up of the news item in the news-bulletin. Your news-report need not begin with the news again: Suppose you were present at the Inauguration of your country's president. You do not have to bring the news that is done from the studio, either in the preceding news-bulletin or in the presenter's text. You may therefore start with general noise of the surroundings and then give your impression of the general atmosphere, gradually building up to your interview with some important persons.

What you have to say should be understandable at first hearing. The listener cannot ask questions. The listener cannot turn back to the first sentence if that has not been understood. You should at the same time also avoid the conversational talk of the disco, the classroom or the cafe. Because in such conversations you often not even finish your sentence, because somebody else asks a question or gives his/her own opinion.

The first sentence must capture CURIOSITY. It must be intriguing, unusual. EXAMPLE: "It was a day I will never forget..." the second sentence must the EXPLAIN and INFORM:

 

What is Text?

Understanding What Computers See as "Text" is Important in Web Development

When you start out writing HTML, most training classes, books, and Web pages will tell you you need a "text" editor. But what exactly is a text editor? Many people assume that if you can read letters on your computer, that means that you are reading text. For the purposes of writing HTML, this is not always the case.

Types of Computer Text
Text on a computer can be formatted in many different ways, some of the best known types of text are:

· Notepad or Simpletext files

· Word documents

· Acrobat files (PDF)

· Graphics (that include text)

· Web pages (or HTML)

Notepad or Simpletext Files

Notepad (for Windows) and Simpletext (for Macintosh) are programs that write standard text that the computer sees as text. These programs are not terribly complicated, with few features. You can't change the look and feel of your text with these programs.

You are writing, essentially, ASCII text, which is unformatted letters that the computer reads. You can use Notepad or Simpletext to write your Web pages. On the PC, Notepad files are written with the.TXT extension. On the Mac, Simpletext files have the Simpletext icon and can have the.TXT extension.

Word Documents

Word documents and documents written by other word processors are more complicated. You have the option to change the look and feel of your text, such as the font color and face, the leading of the lines, paragraph and line breaks, and much more. You can even embed graphics into Word documents.

When you write a Word document, you are writing text with code embedded in the document. These hidden codes tell the computer where you want your font to change color, how to embed the graphic, and what font face to use for the entire document. The only way to use Word to write your Web documents is to either save the document as text (and write out all the HTML) or use the built-in feature that Word now has to save as a Web page. This results in either HTML or XML depending upon your version of Word. On the PC, Word documents have the extension.DOC. On the Mac, Word documents use the Word icon, and may have the.DOC extension.

Acrobat Files

Adobe Acrobat files are written in several ways. You can use the Acrobat program to build your files directly, but the most common way is to layout your document in a layout program or word processor and then print the document to the Acrobat file. Acrobat is a proprietary document layout format. To the computer, the PDF files will seem like images. You can't do anything but look at them. Only if you have the editing program, Adobe Acrobat and Distiller, can you edit them.

The text in PDF files, for the computer's purposes, has been changed into something not text. The entire document is encoded into a PDF file that can be read by Acrobat Reader, and edited by Acrobat. You cannot write HTML files with Adobe Acrobat. PDF files have the.PDF extension and have the Acrobat icon.

Graphics that Include Text

Graphics can go on Web pages, and you can even make graphics that include (or are) text. But these are not Web pages. Graphics are built in a graphics program such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Once text is put in an image, the computer can no longer distiguish that text as text. It is only part of the image. There are many extensions that are graphic files, but the most common ones on the Web are.GIF and.JPG.

HTML Files

HTML files are, like Notepad and Simpletext files, straight ASCII text. The main difference between HTML and TXT files is that you add special HTML codes in < and > brackets to call them out to the computer. In a sense, you are writing a lot of the special codes and information that Word documents write, but the information is not hidden.

You can write HTML files with many different programs. There are programs that look like Word and hide all the HTML tags from you. There are other programs that leave them in, but color code them, and many different combinations. HTML is how you write your Web pages. An HTML file has the extension.HTML or.HTM and usually has a Web browser icon (IE or Netscape, generally).

To write HTML, you need to use either Notepad or Simpletext (text editors) or an HTML editor.

HTML and Text Editors

When you write a Web page, you have to use a text based editor. What you should really read this as is an editor that is meant to create either ASCII text or HTML. If you write your Web page in Word, Word will automatically save the document as a.DOC file, and this is not text as the computer sees it. This is, as I mentioned above, textual characters with special formatting codes hidden in the document to tell the computer how to print and display the page. (Note, Word now has an option to save files as Web pages, which puts them into either HTML or XML depending upon the version of Word you have.)

Choosing an HTML or Text Editor
How you choose your HTML or text editor for writing your Web pages depends upon several factors:

· Do you want to learn HTML?

· Do you have money to spend on a tool?

· Do you want assistance with your Web page writing?

I Want to Learn HTML
If you want to learn HTML, or already know it, then you might be interested in using a text-based HTML editor, or straight text editor (like Notepad and Simpletext). These tools offer a lot of flexibility, but can be difficult for the novice to understand, as you have to learn both the tool and HTML. HTML Text Editors. Some popular text editors are: for the PC - HomeSite, and for the Mac - BBEdit.

I Don't Have Money for a Tool
There are some free HTML editors available, the most popular is Arachnophilia. But if you don't have any money for a tool, the easiest way to get started is with Notepad or Simpletext. They come ready to use on your computer, and many people wrote their first and their hundred first pages on them. I use a standard text editor for my Web pages every day.

I Want or Need Assistance
There are now many HTML editors that act like word processors. You simply type in your document, choose the fonts and colors, and save and it comes out a Web page. This is called "what you see is what you get" or WYSIWYG ("why-see-wig"). These editors make it very easy to create your Web page, but some of them can be very expensive. WYSIWYG Editors. Some popular WYSIWYG editors are: Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver.

To learn more about HTML Editors, go to my HTML editors subject page.

 

 

ТЕКСТИ ПРОЧИТАТИ, -НАПИСАТИ ЛИСТ-ЗАЯВКУ-ЩОБ ВА СПРИЙНЯЛИ НА ЦЮ РОБОТУ (2 ВАРІАНТИ РОБОТИ ЗНИЗУ)

 

What editors want

Based on my experience on both ends of the process, let me tell you what editors want. Editors want writers who understand grammar and syntax, who know how to gather accurate information, who write with clarity and without affectation, who know what their point is and get to it, and who exhibit intelligence and wit and style. Editors want those writers to submit their work on time, at approximately the agreed-upon length, in the requested format, about the agreed-upon subject. Editors want ideas they haven't thought of on their own. Editors want intelligent, informed, skeptical judgments and insightful observations about the world outside their offices. Editors want writers who work hard and have a professional's regard for craft and professional courtesy. Most of what we see is, sadly, useless. Most of it should never have been mailed, because the writer can't yet write, or wasn't careful, or didn't submit to an appropriate publication, or has nothing fresh to say, or sent in the story hand-scrawled on the backs of envelopes (don't laugh, I know the editor who got such a submission a few years ago). I know the hopes with which writers send us this stuff (I see that hope played out daily in these workshops), and I hate to step on anybody's dream, but the fact is most of what we get should never have left the writer's hand. Most of it wastes our time and, unfortunately, makes us cautious about trying to work with a new writer instead of relying on our stable of dependable if sometimes boring regular contributors. For what it's worth, here's my recipe for success, to the extent that there can be such a recipe:

Learn the fundamentals. And I mean learn them down to your bones. Editors have no time or patience for bullshit about "style" or "but-it's-the-content-that-counts." If your grammar and syntax and spelling are lousy, you're not stylish, you're childish. Yes, the content matters, but if you can't use the language properly, we're not interested. Be an astute, insightful observer. Fiction and non-fiction both rely on detail, detail, detail, on all the meaningful things that escape the attention of the distracted public-at-large. If you can't see and listen and think, you'll have nothing to say, and if you have nothing to say, you're going to have to print your own pages in order to say it. · Think. Editors get more witless comments, empty analogies, dumb comparisons, twisted metaphors, bad similes, and careless statistics than you can imagine. What gets our attention is the carefully reasoned, carefully researched, carefully written, acutely observed, thoroughly thought-out piece. Crawl over your piece word by word by word and question your assumptions, conclusions and choice of phrase at every turn. · Work very hard. If you think three people will be enough to tell you what you need for your story, talk to 10. Then, when you've had it, call an eleventh. I'm serious about this. I've lost count of how many times the last phone call, the one I didn't want to make because I was tired, made the story. You may send me a piece that quotes only one person, but if you've talked to 10, I'll know. Your piece will be informed, it will have a heft and a weight of convincing detail that's lacking in the less-researched, less-reported piece. If it's a work of fiction and you've only half-done the process of gathering what you need for convincing setting, character and dialog, I'll know within five sentences. · Be professional. That means on time, with a clean, proofread manuscript that delivers what you promised and what the editor requested. Surprise us with your talent and effort, not with a story twice as long as what we requested and on a different subject. · Carefully select your markets and be professional in your presentation. Brief, informative queries. Listings of your publication credits. SASE's. Clean manuscripts. If it's nonfiction, facts checked and double-checked (don't assume an editor will do this for you; it's *your* job). No quirky punctuation unless you've got a damned good reason for it; don't assume you're Cormac McCarthy when it comes to making up your own rules of dialog punctuation. · Be persistent. Query your favorite publications over and over again. Submit short stories to your favorites over and over again. Shop your cherished idea or story all over the place. After you've gotten into a magazine, bombard them with follow-up ideas and stories. We're neither deaf nor blind here in editorland, but we are distracted, and the people who get our attention are the ones who will not be denied. Not only do they get our attention, but they make the best writers because they bring the same persistence and determination to their research and writing. · Accept criticism. Even the blunt sort that hurts your feelings. Writing, like any art, is not for sissies. This isn't macho posturing, it's simple truth. Writing may be tougher than it needs to be sometimes, but you won't change anything by whining. Editors are not going to change to accommdate you, at least not when it comes to the fundamentals. As Robertson Davies said, Art precedes and transcends democracy. It is inherently elitist. You make it in the arts on merit and labor (yeah, I can name some exceptions too, but forget them; you can't count on being an exception). When things get tough -- and they will -- be tougher. Do all of the above, and I and other editors will publish your work and pay you, probably poorly. Do all of the above and do it with original style and grace, and we'll kiss you on the lips. Better yet, we'll call you with more assignments and make the effort to dig your next envelope out of the mail pile.

 

Finally, a word about talent. The dreaded T-word. It matters. And not everybody has it. I have never and will never tell a writer that it's time to give up. That's for each person to decide. But no amount of labor will make you a great writer unless you have a talent for it. Some people hear the music, some don't, and I can't explain why Person A was blessed and Person B was not. You can earn a living as a writer without much of it, provided you do everything else I've noted above. But don't kid yourself that talent doesn't matter. I hope this is helpful. That was my intention, at least. Writing is my life and something that I think is essential to a healthy culture. I wish it were done better by more people. Keep trying and keep working. We're watching for you out here, really we are.

· Take a break! Allow yourself some time between writing and proofing. Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help you get some distance from what you have written. The goal is to return with a fresh eye and mind. Leave yourself enough time. Since many errors are made and overlooked by speeding through writing and proofreading, taking the time to carefully look over your writing will help you to catch errors you might otherwise miss. Always read through your writing slowly. If you read at a normal speed, you won't give your eyes sufficient time to spot errors. Read aloud. Reading a paper aloud encourages you to read every little word. Role-play. While reading, put yourself in your audience's shoes. Playing the role of the reader encourages you to see the paper as your audience might.

· Get others involved. Asking a friend or a Writing Lab tutor to read your paper will let you get another perspective on your writing and a fresh reader will be able to help you catch mistakes that you might have overlooked. In addition to following the general guidelines above, individualizing your proofreading process to your needs will help you proofread more efficiently and effectively. You won't be able to check for everything (and you don't have to), so you should find out what your typical problem areas are and look for each type of error individually. Here's how: Find out what errors you typically make. Review instructors' comments about your writing and/or review your paper with a Writing Lab tutor. Learn how to fix those errors. Talk with your instructor and/or with a Writing Lab tutor. The instructor and the tutor can help you understand why you make the errors you do so that you can learn to avoid them. Use specific strategies. Use the strategies detailed on the following pages to find and correct your particular errors in usage, sentence structure, and spelling and punctuation. Proofreading can be much easier when you know what you are looking for. Although everyone will have different error patterns, the following are issues that come up for many writers. When proofreading your paper, be on the lookout for these errors. Always remember to make note of what errors you make frequently—this will help you proofread more efficiently in the future! Do NOT rely on your computer's spellcheck—it will not get everything! Examine each word in the paper individually by reading carefully. Moving a pencil under each line of text helps you to see each word. If necessary, check a dictionary to see that each word is spelled correctly. Be especially careful of words that are typical spelling nightmares, like "ei/ie" words and homonyms like your/you're, to/too/two, and there/their/they're.Reading the paper aloud (and slowly) can help you make sure you haven't missed or repeated any words.Make sure each sentence has a subject. In the following sentence, the subject is "students": The students looked at the OWL website. Make sure each sentence has a complete verb. In the following sentence, "were" is required to make a complete verb; "trying" alone would be incomplete: They were trying to improve their writing skills. See that each sentence has an independent clause; remember that a dependent clause cannot stand on its own. The following sentence is a dependent clause that would qualify as a fragment sentence: Which is why the students read all of the handouts carefully. Review each sentence to see whether it contains more than one independent clause. If there is more than one independent clause, check to make sure the clauses are separated by the appropriate punctuation. Sometimes, it is just as effective (or even more so) to simply break the sentence into separate sentences instead of including punctuation to separate the clauses. When you have plenty of time to revise, use the time to work on your paper and to take breaks from writing. If you can forget about your draft for a day or two, you may return to it with a fresh outlook. During the revising process, put your writing aside at least twice - once during the first part of the process, when you are reorganizing your work, and once during the second part, when you are polishing and paying attention to details.

Use the following questions to evaluate your drafts. You can use your responses to revise your papers by reorganizing them to make your best points stand out, by adding needed information, by eliminating irrelevant information, and by clarifying sections or sentences. Find your main point. What are you trying to say in the paper? In other words, try to summarize your thesis, or main point, and the evidence you are using to support that point. Try to imagine that this paper belongs to someone else. Does the paper have a clear thesis? Do you know what the paper is going to be about? Identify your readers and your purpose. What are you trying to do in the paper? In other words, are you trying to argue with the reading, to analyze the reading, to evaluate the reading, to apply the reading to another situation, or to accomplish another goal?

Evaluate your evidence. Does the body of your paper support your thesis? Do you offer enough evidence to support your claim? If you are using quotations from the text as evidence, did you cite them properly?

Tighten and clean up your language.Do all of the ideas in the paper make sense? Are there unclear or confusing ideas or sentences? Read your paper out loud and listen for awkward pauses and unclear ideas. Cut out extra words, vagueness, and misused words.

Switch from Writer-Centered to Reader-CenteredTry to detach yourself from what you've written; pretend that you are reviewing some else's work. What would you say is the most successful part of your paper? Why? How could this part be made even better? What would you say is the least successful part of your paper? Why? How could this part be improved?

 

Calligraphy: Correcting Mistakes

So…you’ve done everything you can to avoid lettering mistakes but you still have a spelling error, a pen blot, or the cat decided your loaded pen was an interesting “cat toy” and batted it over your work (calligraphers who own cats understand what I’m talking about!) There are many methods of trying to fix lettering mistakes by scraping off the offending mark, using a “white out”, painting over it with gouache, or even going to the extreme method of “patching” with a solution of paper fibers but any of these methods rarely completely hides the mistake. If you can see the correction, assume everyone will see the correction. Tip: Never try correcting directly on a final project – always test your method first on a scrap piece of the same paper with the same ink! This will help you decide if it is more efficient to spend time correcting a mistake so it will be invisible or if you should start over.

There are a number of variables that will determine the success or failure of corrections:

· type of ink (waterproof, non-waterproof, pigment, dye)

· paper surface (rough, smooth, textured)

· paper content (weight, sizing)

· tools and quality of correction materials

· skill level of applying the techniques

Correcting Mistakes Before They Happen Correcting mistakes takes a lot of patience and a little bit of skill, so it’s a good idea to practice correcting mistakes using your favorite inks and papers so you will know in advance if a correction can be successful.Note: There is no guarantee that any method will completely hide an error.

Correction Tools and Techniques First we’ll look at some tools helpful for making corrections, and then we’ll look at three methods of correcting lettering mistakes:

Changing an incorrect letter Scraping off errors and/or ink blots Painting over errors

Tools for Corrections What you need:

· dip pen and nib

· your favorite ink or the ink you use for most of your work

· paper samples you would use for a final copy (e.g. watercolor paper or pen and ink paper)

· scratch pen nib gouache paint (opaque watercolor)

· small round (pointed) sable or synthetic brush

· soft brush mixing palette (a small saucer will work fine) small bowl of clean water

Tools for Corrections: Soft Chinese Hake Brush, Scratch Nib, Round Paint Brushes, Gouache, Glazed Porcelain Mixing Palette Note that we’ve added a few more tools to our calligraphy tool box:

Scratch Nib: These are used for creating scratchboard drawings and are available in most art or craft stores. They are excellent for using as a scraping tool because they are very sharp, have a smaller surface area than a safety razor blade and will fit in calligraphy pen holders. They are available in various shapes and I’ve found the pointed type (#112) works well.

Gouache Paint: Gouache is a water-based, opaque paint similar to watercolors. Paints usually are available in a variety of grades; typically student grade (low) or artist quality grade (highest). Try to get the artist quality grades as these will have the best pigments and are the most stable (e.g. permanent). No point spending time painting out a mistake only to have it eventually turn color! Note: Paper correction fluids are formulated to work with standard bond papers and are not suitable for permanent lettering corrections.

Gouache paints can be purchased individually or in various color sets. A small set consisting of the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) with a tube of white and black would be useful if you are interested in expanding your calligraphy repertoire to include illuminated letters.

If you are only interested in gouache for corrections, a tube of white and a couple of tubes of yellows (e.g. lemon yellow, ochre, etc.) is all that is necessary. Note that papers are not normally pure white – particularly watercolor papers – and since the gouache white is a pure, bright white, a little yellow will be required to match various paper surfaces. Tip: Take a sample of your papers to the art store when purchasing gouache – a staff member can help you select mixing colors to match your papers.

Brushes: Any small, round, pointed brush (generally in the #1, #0 size range) suitable for watercolor painting can be used with gouache. Brushes come in a wide variety of qualities from the finest, expensive professional quality Kolinsky sable to inexpensive synthetic fibers. A student quality red sable brush is preferred as the natural hairs are best for holding water, but a good quality synthetic brush can be also be used. Tip: A good quality watercolor brush will retain the point after it’s dipped in water. If the brush hairs or fibers “splay” out (poor quality or worn out) and will not come to a point, replace the brush.

Soft Flat Brush: This brush is used for brushing off bits of ink from scraping and is also great for brushing away eraser crumbs. It’s not a good idea to use your hand or fingers as the oils might cause ink bits or letters to smear. Pictured is a flat 1″ Chinese Hake brush with goat hairs – very soft and inexpensive – perfect for keeping paper surfaces clean.

Mixing Palette: Palettes are used for mixing paint and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and materials for a range of media. Any palette for water media is best, as wooden, acrylic or glass palettes are better suited for oil and acrylic painting. Plastic, glazed porcelain or enamel is preferred - a plain, white saucer will work just fine (patterns and colors will interfere when trying to mix colors). Plastic is very inexpensive (about a $1.00 and up) but some paint colors will stain the surface and be difficult to remove. Glazed porcelain will cost a little more (about $7.00 and up) but cleans up very well and will last for years. Whatever you decide to use, inspect the surface to ensure it is smooth without any rough areas as these can damage the brush hairs.

Correction Techniques Grab yourself a few paper samples and letter some mistakes – spelling errors, shake a few ink blots over it, how about a smear or two?

1. Changing an Incorrect Letter

Before discussing the more “invasive” techniques of correction, let’s look at the easy one! Because calligraphy is constructed stroke by stroke rather than written, sometimes you can be fortunate enough to be able to change the wrong letter into the right letter. A good example would be changing the lowercase (Miniscule) Italic letter “c” to an “a”, “e”, “d” or “g”. In this example, an “a” can be easily changed to a “d” by simply adding the ascender and blending it into the “a” downstroke. This is the only method of correcting an error that would be completely invisible. The success will depend on the letter style, a consistent pen angle and how seamlessly one can “blend” strokes together. It would be more difficult to turn the “a” into a “g” because the terminal stroke of the “a” would be visible, so we would have to attempt one of the more invasive techniques to hide the terminal stroke.

2. Scraping Method This method utilizes the scratch nib – place the nib in a calligraphy pen holder and, holding the nib at an oblique angle, try gently scraping off the ink. In this example, we are attempting to remove the bar from an Italic letter “e”. Try to keep from disrupting the paper surface as much as possible, especially if the paper has a very smooth surface (e.g. hot press paper.) Scrape a little at a time pulling the scratch nib towards you, and using a soft brush to brush away any ink bits dislodged from the paper. It takes a very light touch and holding the scratch nib at an angle to avoid digging into the paper. The success of removing the mark depends on how much the ink has soaked into the fibers. This method works best with inks that sit on the surface of the paper and if the paper has a bit of tooth or roughness.

3. Painting over Errors If your tests have determined that scraping will not remove the mark, you could try fixing any scraping marks adding a bit of gouache, or try painting out the error. First, you will need to mix a color that will blend with your paper color. Squeeze a bit of white gouache onto your mixing palette, and load your round brush with a little clean water. Tip: A new tube of gouache might have a bit of gum arabic at the top to keep it from drying out. Squeeze a little paint out the tube until the gum arabic is gone. Remove any excess water by blotting the brush – the brush should be damp but not have any water dripping. If you are familiar with painting techniques, what we want is an almost dry brush.

Important: Remember with this technique you are adding water to your lettering, and non-waterproof inks will dissolve and spread if too much water is applied making a bad situation worse. Also note that some inks labeled “waterproof” might not be completely waterproof and dissolve as well. This is why it is important to test correction techniques before applying them to your final work.

Mix the tip of the brush with a bit of the white gouache, and paint a few strokes on your paper sample. If it is too white for the paper, squeeze out a bit of yellow (or whatever color you need to match) somewhere away from the white, pick up a tiny bit with the brush and mix it with the white. Paint a few test strokes again, and repeat adding and adjusting tiny bits of yellow and white until the strokes are invisible when dry.

JOURNALISM

There are many criteria that help to define the essential idea and effectiveness of journalism. However all of them are focused on the appropriate dimension — if the means of information of mass media have a positive influence on a person or not? One might be well aware, that the importances of history, the moral progress, are expressed by person as an individual. Nowadays it is wide-known that spiritual emptiness, moral nihilism, inability of democratic institutions, terrorism, environmental crisis, decreasing of intellectual level, break-down of a family and other dangerous phenomena has become normal even in the countries that reached the tops of civilization. We can’t avoid the direct ques­tion if such symptoms of degradation were not affected, even decisively, by the journalists? The honest answer to this question will be YES. If we placed the spirit in the second or the tenth place, we would derange our ability to discern the truth. Contemporary intellect has chosen the direction of continuous breaking up, thus devastating harmonious personality, integral of the spirit and creating the man of “bare obviousness”. Having lost spiritual compass, thus cultural rules of conduct for perception of the world, submitting the postulates of subject conscious, flat positivism, anthropological transformation, that shakes the world several centuries in succession, the journalism found itself in the state of self-deduction, stopped to be “the votary of truth”, every time considerably avoiding putting things and people in their proper place. In other words it avoids establishing order, balancing the nature and society, and harmonizing relations between the nations in accordance with the principles of equity.

For the journalism to become a proper social service, personal scientific adviser who can determine essential methodological and theoretical parameters, directions is important. The collection of scientific articles motivates complex approach to the journalistic phenomena in the following dimensions: a) history — actual practice — theoretical and methodological orientations (trends) for the future; b) the journalism of “speed” (reflecting) — publics of thinking — forecasting publics; c) journalists’ training system — creative personality — journalistic deontology; d) traditions, operating of present-day Ukrainian Mass Media — European issues — foreign experience. It contains the documents that reflect moral type of thinking in the sphere of mass communication on the one hand, and the directions and trends determined by All-Ukrainian scientific and practical conference “National journalism and European choice of Ukraine” (April, 2000).