My Problems With Essay Writing

John,

I just want to add here that I am having a difficult time with your take on essay writing.

I am 31 and I haven't been in school in over 13 years. When I was in highschool, I was taught to write my essays in a totally different style. Details were not as important as information and structure.

I am trying to overcome this defecite in my writing but it is difficult for me. If you have any suggestions such as web sites, or books I can read to help me with this let me know.

Process Essay Re-write

As Christmas keeps getting closer and closer, I find myself getting ready to start some shopping. I do not take the “normal” approach to my shopping. Instead of fighting traffic on Stillwater Avenue, being shoved in the crowded isles, and waiting in mile-long checkout lines, I have discovered that shopping online is the most stress-free and physically safe process of getting my gifts. There are three simple steps to shopping online for the holidays. The first thing I do is to make a list of items I want to buy and who I want to buy for. I call this the “Wish List”. The next step, which is my absolute favorite, is to find a Web site that sells a variety of these items and start browsing and adding gifts to my cart. The last thing I have to do, which is the worst part of my Christmas shopping experience, is to weed through all of the items I have put into my cart, and choose the items that are what I really want to purchase, not what I have put in the cart on a whim.


Before I even get on the Internet, I devise a list of everyone I want to buy for and what I want to get them. I write down everyone I intend to buy gifts for on one side of the paper. For my kids and four nephews, I usually have to get an itemized list of Lego sets, Bratz dolls, Barbies, board games, Video games, and books. For my husband and my dad, I usually have to list many items from Craftsman and VIP. My mom and sister are the easiest to itemize for; they love to read. My brother is a tech geek so any computer games, or software are perfect for him. I try to write down a few things for everyone, so that I will have a variety to choose from once I start shopping.



After the Wish List is done, I get to start looking for the perfect Web site to do my holiday shopping. I try to make the site I choose a popular site that people know. This way I feel safer when giving my personal information during the checkout process. My two absolute favorite places to shop are Amazon.com and Overstock.com. While Amazon has more of a variety of toys, games, books, and computer software, Overstock has great prices. The actual shopping is my favorite part of the Christmas gift buying process. I love to spend hours browsing and adding items to my cart. I guess I'm still a kid at heart because I can spend an eternity in the toy section finding just what I think the kids will love. I also have a great time in the book section. I am a total book worm and it can take me literaly days to find just a few books for my mom and sister because I get so caught up in reading the excerpts and writing books down for myself in the future. I find it hardest to get through the tool buying experience. I hate tools. I don't understand the difference between mm. and in. and I never know which brand is best. What I usually end up doing is getting gift cards from Sears or Home Depot that way I can spend more time shopping for what I enjoy.



When I have finally finished adding all my items to my bag, I go to the checkout. Here is where I have to spend more than a few minutes organizing my items that I have piled into my cart. I get so caught up in the shopping that I don't pay much attention to the quantity and price of the items I have selected. I tend to go way overboard with the Add Item To Cart button. I get so excited thinking about how much my daughter is going to love all those baby dolls or how my sons will go nuts when they get the $90 Lego set that when I get to the checkout, I need to take a deep breath and think about the effect their joy will put on my wallet. It is not unusual for me to have over $1000 worth of items in my cart by the time I am finished shopping. I hate going through and removing so much, but by the time I am finished, my head is a little clearer and I am more sensible about my purchases. All I have to do now is push the check out button and my Christmas shopping is done.


Christmas shopping used to be an event I dreaded and put off until last minute. Now I just make my list, go online, and shop until my heart is content. My shopping is usually done by November, but sometimes there is the occasional spontaneous buy that I just have to get for someone. I usually have all my gifts and wrapping done before the beginning of December. I just love that I can sit back and relax next to my Christmas tree with a nice cup of hot cocoa with my husband and my children singing Christmas carols as I wait for UPS to deliver my packages. I smile when I think of all the other people who are sitting in traffic or shoving each other around the packed aisles, and waiting in the horrendous checkout lines to buy their gifts. I can’t wait to start my shopping for this year.

Contrast Essay

I have three beautiful children. Their names and ages are Cameron 10 years old, Zachary 7 years old and Alexis 4 years old. Having had the privilege of parenting both sexes, I have noticed a huge gap in the way that my sons behave in contrast to my daughter. My sons tend to be extremely loud, and they are great at making a mess, to get them to cuddle is like pulling teeth. My daughter, on the other hand, is so mild spoken she needs a bullhorn to be heard over her two brothers. She is extremely neat, and is always asking for a kiss, a hug, or some lap time. In no way am I saying that my sons are spawns of the devil because they can surprise me sometimes and act like civilized children. My daughter is definitely not an angel sent from heaven either, she can get down and dirty with the best of them, but the differences in the mannerisms of my children are quite noticeable.

My sons’ idea of a clean room is a path through the toys big enough to walk through to get to the bed. They are forever asking where something is because they can’t find it in among the jumble of Matchbox cars, legos, and other various toys scattered from one wall to the other. Neither one of my boys knows the meaning of put your dishes in the sink when you’re finished eating, and to get them to take a shower more than once a week? Forget it. Now Alexis on the other hand will pick up her toys when she is done playing without being asked. She puts all her dolls in the toy box and her Care bears in the plastic bin to go under the bed. She always knows where to find what she wants to play with, unless of course one of her brothers has upset the toy box. My daughter is usually the one to clean the table of the dishes after a meal. She takes her plate and silverware to the sink and then proceeds to pick up her brothers’ left behind dishes as well. Bath time for Alexis is very simple and she feels she needs to have at least a bath a day. I think she gets dirty outside on purpose just so she can get into the tub before bed at night.

The noise volume in my home is about as loud as a heavy metal concert. Cameron and Zachary think they need to holler at each other to speak. The noise level also rises when they decide to play cars or trucks. One son is the ambulance complete with blasting siren and the other son is the police car with accompanying tire squeals, motor revving, horn blowing and sirens. My boys also cannot complete a task without banging, slamming, stomping, or creating a complete racket. Alexis tends to be milder spoken. She is sometimes so quiet I have to ask her to speak up. When she plays she does not feel the need to make the noises that her toys would make if they were real. The only exception to that is when she makes her babies cry. Even then though, she doesn’t make the windows rattle with her voice. My daughter also knows how to close a door or cupboard without slamming it shut, and she can set an object down without dropping it a foot before it hits the floor or counter.

I remember when my sons were babies and I could cuddle and hold them all day long without complaint. These days, I’m lucky to get a hug before bed. Cameron and Zachary want nothing to do with anything pertaining to “mom”. I don’t get waves goodbye at the bus stop and I certainly don’t get a hug in front of anyone else’s eyes. Alexis loves to cuddle. The first thing she asks for in the morning is a hug and kiss. She can sit on my lap at the computer for hours without getting up, and I always get a hug and waves goodbye at the bus stop from her. She even tries to get a cuddle here and there with her brothers, but it doesn’t pan out for her very often. They don’t want to be seen as “babies” for showing a little affection.

It’s amazing the differences between three children who have grown up together in the same house. I often wonder what life will be like five or six years down the road. Am I doomed to be tripping over dirty clothes and toys until both of my sons move on to college? Will Cameron still be so unorganized and loud? Will Zachary still wear more of his food on his face and hands than he gets in his mouth? Will either one of them voluntarily give me a hug? Is Alexis still going to be the quiet, modest little neat-freak she is now? Will she still be willing to show me affection openly? Only time will tell.

Graf #10 My Research History

As I grow older I realize all of the reasearch I have done in my life.
There is of course the reasearch I have done in highschool for all those silly papers that defined me as a good student. The hours spent in the library (online wasn't even part of my vocabulary back in the '90s) reading informational books and reference manuals.
There is the reasearch I did when I wanted to get my first job. What hours could I work, did I really want to give up all my weekends, what type of job was right for me. That was researched by trial and error. Mostly error on my part. The housekeeping job was a nightmare, the job in the kitchen at UMO was disgusting. I finally found my niche at KFC working the cash register and dealing with customers.
Getting my first real vehicle took some research. I say my first real car because my first car was an '86 Chevy Celebrity with 124,000 miles and a bad transmission. I needed an automatic, I had to have A/C, and a tape player.
Having children took some research. I had to research names, how to care for an infant, what I needed in order to cloth, feed, and take care of my baby.
I researched many different careers to find one that suited me and that I wanted to go to school for. I needed a career that would allow me to stay home to work, and had good pay. Medical Transcription fit right in with what I wanted.
So here I am 31 and starting my college education. I'll have plenty of research in my future as we are going to be looking for a bigger home, a new vehicle, where I want my children to go to school if we move out of Bangor... the list goes on and on. It will never end I know but the research is worth every minute.

Annotated Source List First 3 Items

1. Sicile-Kira, Chantal. Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum. New York: Penguin Group, 2006

An informative book written by a mother of an autistic teen. This book includes information varying from health risks to useful treatments to self-esteem and self-care issues as well as practical and easy to understand recommendations on how to deal with the day to day issues an autistic child goes through. I am so glad that I purchased this book it is definitely a keeper and is sure to help me through some of the difficult times I am sure to have as my son gets older.

2. Nothbohm, Ellen and Zysk, Veronica. 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Texas: Future Horizons Inc., 2004

An informative book written by two women who write about Autism professionally in major publications. The book has ideas from everything from potty training to behavior modification to personal hygiene. This book has given me a few ideas, but it is mostly geared towards parents with younger children. I have gotten some good information from this book in matters of behavior modification.

3. Haerle, Tracy. Children with Tourette Syndrome A Parent’s Guide. Maryland: Woodbine House, Inc.1992

This is a handbook written for parents of children and teens with Tourette syndrome. It has information about treatments, academic problems, social problems and a whole section on the educational rights a child with disabilities is entitled to. I found this book very useful. I especially liked the information about academic problems a child with Tourette syndrome may develop.

Contrast Essay Revision Intro I

Essay intro 1

I have three beautiful children. Their names and ages are Cameron 10 years old, Zachary 7 years old and Alexis 4 years old. Having had the privilege of parenting both sexes, I have noticed a huge gap in the way that my sons behave in contrast to my daughter. My sons tend to be extremely loud, a they are great at making a mess, to get them to cuddle is like pulling teeth. My daughter, on the other hand, is so mild spoken she needs a bullhorn to be heard over her two brothers. She is extremely neat, and is always asking for a kiss, a hug, or some lap time. In no way am I saying that my sons are spawns of the devil because they can suprise me sometimes and act like civilized children. My daughter is definately not an angel sent from heaven either, she can get down and dirty with the best of them, but the differences in the mannerisms of my children are quite noticeable.

Contrast Essay Intros 1 and 2

Essay intro 1

I have three beautiful children. Their names and ages are Cameron 10 years old, Zachary 7 years old and Alexis 4 years old. Having had the privilege of parenting both sexes, I have noticed a huge gap in the way that my sons behave in contrast to my daughter. My sons tend to be extremely loud, messy and prickly when it comes to cuddling. My daughter, on the other hand, is mild spoken, neat, and very cuddly. In no way am I saying that my sons are spawns of the devil and my daughter is an angel sent from heaven, but the differences in their mannerisms are quite noticeable.

Essay intro 2

I have three children, two sons and a daughter. The differences between them are numerous. While my sons tend to behave the same in their manners and behavior, my daughter is totally opposite. My boys are extremely disorganized and their manners are atrocious. My daughter is a neat freak and her manners, while not perfect, tend to be way better than my sons’. Cameron and Zachary are loud. You can tell from outside the house where they are playing inside the house. They holler, yell, and slam things around constantly. Alexis is milder than her brothers. She speaks softer, closes doors more quietly, and only screams when things aren’t going her way. I love to cuddle. Cameron and Zachary run the other way when I open my arms for a hug. Alexis on the other hand is content to sit on my lap for hours and watch t.v. or play on the computer.

Classification essay 2

One thing I always try to remember when I get into my vehicle and buckle up is that I am not the only person going out today. I have to keep my guard up at all times and be aware of all the drivers who seem to have no clue that they are not alone on the road. If I happen upon an obnoxious driver who seems to be trying to push everyone else off the road, I try to steer clear of them. If I happen upon on a slow poke who is too busy looking out their driver’s side windows at the events going on outside, like the old woman I almost rear-ended yesterday, then I try to remember to keep my foot near the brake because more than likely they are going to be slamming their own brakes on in the near future so that they can look at an accident on the opposite side of the median. Finally, if I meet with one of the drivers who think they can drive with their knees while they are doing other things with their hands, my advice to myself is to keep a sharp eye on them until they pass, because sooner rather than later they are going to make a mistake. I try to keep these three classifications of horrible drivers in my mind at all times.
The first classification of terrible drivers is the obnoxious drivers. These are one of the worst types of drivers to encounter. A majority of these offenders are the Tailgaters. These are the people who like to drive so close to my rear bumper, that I can’t see their front bumper in my rearview. They seem to be in such a hurry that they weave too and fro behind me looking for their moment to pass, even though I am doing the posted speed limit. Another bad habit these drivers have is when they try to pass everyone who is in the left hand lane by speeding in the right hand lane and then trying to cut back into the left lane without their blinker causing drivers in the left hand lane to slam on their brakes so that they don’t hit the offender. This happens to me at least two times a day. Just yesterday while driving on Broadway, I had some smart ass kid think that he could pass me in the right hand lane and then try to cut me off before his lane ended. Too bad for him, it didn’t happen. I sped up so that he couldn’t get in my lane and he had to stop and wait for the traffic behind me before he got into the left lane. These people seem to think that they own the road and have every right to do as they please even if it goes against the law. Ironically these people are also the biggest majority of the middle finger throwers.

The next types of drivers are the Rubberneckers. These people are usually older in age and seem to be driving just below or right exactly at the speed limit. When these drivers encounter anything distracting, especially a car accident or someone stopped on the side of the road by a cop, they immediately slam on the breaks and crane their necks to see what happened. These people in my opinion are too nosey to be on the road. They tend to cause traffic backup, rear-end accidents, and general irritation among the drivers behind them. Just this week I had to slam my brakes on for an elderly lady who decided that the blasting they are doing on the side of Stillwater Ave. was more important than driving her car. She slowed down to about 10 miles per hour and I’m surprised that she didn’t get a kink in her neck from watching the opposite side of the road.

Finally, we come to the worst types of drivers out there. I have classified these drivers as “driving with their heads up their asses”. These are the folks who are always chatting on the phone and driving their vehicles with their knees. They never notice when the red light has turned green because they are too busy on the phone, doing their makeup in the rearview, or digging for a new CD to put in the stereo. I was behind one of these losers last week. The girl was sitting at a red light and when it turned green, she still sat there. She was too busy looking at her visor trying to find a CD to listen to. I honked my horn and was treated to a view of her middle finger as she finally got moving. These people also seem to think that it is perfectly alright to blast their music so loud that their vehicle windows almost shatter from the amount of bass coming through the speakers. Not only do they feel the need to blare their music, but they roll all of their windows down so that everyone within a mile can hear what they are listening to. Like the guy yesterday who wasn’t pulling over for the ambulance going by because he couldn’t hear the siren. These are the drivers that I give a wide berth to. They tend to weave when they drop the phone while driving and they also seem to be deaf from all the loud music pouring out of their windows.

There is so much to pay attention to now when I drive my car. Not only do I have to deal with all the construction going on, and watching out for people crossing the road, now there seems to be an outbreak of highly unqualified drivers out there. I try to avoid getting to near to the rear-end of another vehicle on the road for two reasons. There are the Rubberneckers to watch out for and I do not want to be labeled as a Tailgater. As for all those people out there who talk on their cell phones and blast their music while driving, well, I try to keep a sharp eye out for them. They don’t pay attention and I don’t want to be around when they mistake the gas for the break because they are so deep in conversation they forget they are driving. I’ll be leaving for school in a few minutes, and my stress level is rising. I hope I make it there in one piece.