#Format and Structure of Argumentative Assignment

[derived-centrosaur]

Arrhinoceratops brachyops

(Re-upload because I forgot to sign it)

This is the first of a series of paintings I plan to do on the fauna of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation.

This image took me quite a while. There was a lot of digging and cross-referencing and swapping taxa. Originally I was inspired by a small farm pond near where I live, the pond scum, dead leaves, and dark branches looked like a good setting to plop a dinosaur into.

But which one? My go-to is always a ceratopsid because they're my favorites, and I'd been wanting to do some Horseshoe Canyon stuff for a while. So, the initial candidates were Pachyrhinosaurus (because it's my favorite) and Anchiceratops (because of the body fossil, more later). I decided against Pachyrhinosaurus as it's known from at least 3 separate monodominant bonebeds, one for each species within the genus, and at least 2 of those are floodwater accumulations. So, to me I think Pachyrhinosaurus + water would equal a wildebeest crossing the Mara composition, rather than a moose in a lake situation.

So I began on an Anchiceratops in the water.

But I couldn't leave well enough alone, I knew a little about the odd body fossil assigned to Anchiceratops and it's potential implications from an old TetZoo post (on TetZoo v2, which now no longer works properly so no images). So I went to digging and found that particular fossil got a proper description by Mallon and Holmes in the New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs book.

Side-note: This specimen is referred to in older works under the accession number NMC 8538 but in Mallon & Holmes (2010) it is referred to as CMN 8547. My best guess is that the designations got changed when the National Museum of Canada restructured itself into the Canadian Museum of Nature. I spent an entire day trying to find Lull's 1933 overview only for it to get a passing mention under the old number, but with a photo to confirm it was the same thing

Regardless, this fossil is a complete skeleton from the first to last vertebra, including every rib and every toe and every finger save for 2 hooves on the left hand. Unfortunately the skull is almost completely gone, only 4 fragments of the frill remain and they're barely enough to show it must've been a chasmosaurine. So, why was this touted as Anchiceratops for almost 100 years? In their description the authors make a compelling argument that Sternberg assigned it to Anchiceratops by default as he was likely unaware of any other ceratopsids from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Edmonton Formation at the time).

This body fossil is odd amongst ceratopsids for a couple reasons. normally ceratopsids are very conservative in their postcranial morphology, with the only notable differences manifesting as slight familial differences between centrosaurines and chasmosaurines, and differences due to different absolute sizes. CMN 8547 conversely has a few trait that ordinarily could be diagnostic, but without sufficient overlapping material (the head) it can't be directly compared to any of the chasmosaurines within the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. These include 2 extra sacral vertebrae, 1 extra dorsal vertebra, and 1 extra cervical vertebra. That extra cervical is particularly interesting because it's part of the syncervical, a uniquely ceratopsid structure composed of the first 3 (in this case 4) neck vertebrae fused together to hold the weight of their massive heads. The ribs are very thick for its size and additionally the olecranon process of the ulna is large and the deltopectoral crest of the humerus is HUGE. Taken together these traits have been interpreted as possible indicators of semi-aquatic habits; a Mesozoic hippo!

But who is it!? I'm painting a very specific body fossil, standing in the water where it's less than visible, and it's a ceratopsid. It needs a head! Another specimen is mentioned in the Discussion section of the description that preserves a skull and left forelimb, ROM 1493. This specimen, they report, had been previously assigned to Arrhinoceratops and later to Torosaurus. Torosaurus? that's an odd dinosaur to show up at this time and place, so I checked their citation on that; Farke (2007) in a different book on my shelf! There is no ROM 1493 mentioned, but ROM 1439 is! It's only mentioned in passing, basically stating that 'a thin frill is not enough to diagnose fragmentary fossils.' The mention is not suggesting this mystery overlapping specimen is actually Torosaurus. So I checked the Arrhinoceratops citation, Tyson (1981), which was also mentioned within the Torosaurus paper. In that paper this second Arrhinoceratops specimen is mentioned right near the beginning and is labelled as ROM 1439. So Mallon and Holmes made a typo. Further, Tyson states that at the time of her study ROM 1439 is both not fully prepared and its location unknown.

I done a Hail Mary and google searched ROM 1439. Lo, and behold! that specimen was both found and prepped, and then described in 2014! It has a badly crushed skull, partial neck and most of the left arm. Of the overlap with CMN 8547 the two important elements are the syncervical and the humerus (the ulna is not preserved in ROM 1439). The humerus does have the huge deltopectoral crest, but what is left of the syncervical is composed of only 3 vertebrae. Still not helpful.

I'd gone about as far as the fossils could take me, it was time to make a judgement call. I reckoned that the large deltopectoral crest was a unique defining trait that I could use to justify the pairing. The syncervical mis-match could be due to the poor state of preservation of ROM 1439, so maybe. This leaves Arrhinoceratops as a very tenuous identification for the body fossil, and while this is a super shaky referral, it's better than Anchiceratops which from what I could find has no known postcranial material; several skulls, but no bodies. Therefore, I continued on with my painting!

Below is my master process file from after my taxonomic super sleuthing spree.

I got a little wrapped up in the dinosaur and lost the focus on the environment I originally started with, but I do like how it turned out.

More Horseshoe Canyon to come!

References:

The body fossil CMN 8547:

Mallon, J. C., Holmes, R. (2010) Description of a Complete and Fully Articulated Chasmosaurine Postcranium Previously Assigned to Anchiceratops (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) in M. J. Ryan, B. J. Chinnery-Allgeier, & D. A. Eberth (eds.) New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium, pg. 189-202. Bloomington; Indiana University Press

The Torosaurus 'identification"

Farke, A. A. (2007) Cranial Osteology and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid Torosaurus latus. in K. Carpenter (ed) Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs, pg. 235-257. Bloomington: Indiana University Press

The Arrhinoceratops mention

Tyson, H. (1981) The Structure and Relationships of the Horned Dinosaur Arrhinoceratops parks (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 18: pg. 1241-1247

The Arrhinoceratops second specimen

Mallon, J. C. et. al. (2014) New Information on the rare Horned Dinosaur Arrhinoceratops brachyops (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 51: pg. 618-634

[eldar-of-zemlya]

To Boldly Sew: The Creation of Star Trek's Iconic Wardrobe

Gene Roddenberry’s arguments with NASA, costumes crafted from shower curtains, male characters in miniskirts, and why the gold command uniforms were actually green—this is the story of Star Trek’s groundbreaking wardrobe and the visionary work of the man behind it, Bill Theiss.

If you’d like to read the formatted article with easily accessible references, you can also find it on AO3.

During the production of the original Star Trek, the creative team faced numerous challenges, the most persistent being, unsurprisingly, the show’s limited budget. These restrictions had a significant impact on many aspects of the series, including one of its most crucial visual elements: the wardrobe.

Each week, the costume department was tasked with creating original outfits for the show’s characters. Alien civilizations had to look distinct and believable without distracting from the storyline—all while staying within a tight budget. To achieve this, the team employed clever tricks, such as repurposing and dyeing old uniforms, turning garments inside out, and even fashioning costumes from unconventional materials like vinyl shower curtains.

"Sometimes a show will call for 30 or 40 costumes," explained Star Trek’s costume designer William "Bill" Theiss. "And since we film back to back, that means I have to design, get approval from the producers and director, and construct the costumes in six to eight days." [Source]

Commander Spock and Lieutenant Tormohlen don "protective suits" fashioned from shower curtains as they investigate the mysterious death of a mannequin crew member. (Season 1, Episode 4, "The Naked Time.")

Theiss was a key figure in shaping the visual identity of Star Trek’s universe. Over the course of the show’s three seasons, he designed costumes for a wide range of characters, from blue-skinned Andorians to the infamous Orion slave girls, and even the Nazi-inspired inhabitants of the planet Ekos. (Interestingly, the episode Patterns of Force, featuring Ekos, was banned from German television until 1995 due to its controversial themes.) [Source]

Theiss first met Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry while Roddenberry was developing the show’s pilot. At the time, Theiss had gained attention for his innovative work on the science fiction play The Veldt, based on Ray Bradbury’s short story of the same name. This caught the eye of Star Trek writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, who introduced Theiss to Roddenberry. By then, Roddenberry had already interviewed over a dozen costume designers but had yet to find someone who could bring his vision to life. Theiss’s creative approach, which often involved crafting unique costumes from unconventional materials, immediately resonated with Roddenberry. Their collaboration would continue for decades, even though, amusingly, Theiss never learned how to sew. [Source]

After the original Star Trek series was canceled, Theiss and Roddenberry remained close collaborators, working together on various projects until Roddenberry’s passing in 1991.

Left: William Theiss adjusts Susan Oliver's costume on the set of the 1965 pilot episode, "The Cage."

Right: William Theiss and Leonard Nimoy on the set of Season 2, Episode 26, "Assignment: Earth" (1968).

When designing Star Trek’s now-iconic multi-colored uniforms, Roddenberry drew inspiration from the color-coded uniforms used on American naval vessels, where quick role recognition was essential in low-visibility environments. As a former military pilot during World War II and later a police officer, Roddenberry had firsthand experience with structured, hierarchical organizations. These influences shaped not only Star Trek’s command structure but also its visual design. [Source]

Each division was assigned a distinct color: engineers, communications officers, and security personnel wore red; medical staff and scientists were dressed in blue; and command officers wore—believe it or not—green. (But more on that later.) All uniforms were paired with dark ash-colored trousers and high boots.

Star Trek is not typically associated with realism, which makes it surprising to learn that NASA was involved in the show’s production, offering advice to ensure it was "scientifically believable." Among their suggestions was the idea that 23rd-century astronauts might wear form-fitting jumpsuits. However, Gene Roddenberry dismissed the concept, humorously referring to the design as “long underwear.”

NBC, on the other hand, had entirely different priorities. The network insisted that female Starfleet officers wear more revealing attire, a demand that clashed with Roddenberry’s vision of a future where women were treated as equals to men. In the first pilot episode, The Cage (1965), Roddenberry boldly dressed female characters in pants—an unconventional choice for 1960s television. However, after much debate with the network, a compromise was reached: miniskirts. Highly fashionable at the time, they were paired with shorts and dark tights, blending contemporary trends with Star Trek’s futuristic aesthetic. [Source]

Captain Pike and a group of serious women in pants protect the heroine from an ass-headed very wise alien. The first pilot of Star Trek, "The Cage" (1965).

Years later, when NBC faced accusations of sexism and objectifying women, Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, defended the wardrobe choice in a BBC interview. She explained that the miniskirts weren’t unusual or inappropriate for the era:

“I was wearing them on the street. What's wrong with wearing them in the air? I wore 'em on airplanes. It was the era of the miniskirt. Everybody wore miniskirts.” [Source]

Grace Lee Whitney, who portrayed Janice Rand, echoed Nichols’s sentiment, adding that she “didn't think the women should be in pants” and that she wanted to “look like Flash Gordon” on screen. [Source]

Meanwhile, costume designer Bill Theiss had his own, more subtle approach to creating “revealing” costumes.

“He felt that revealing non-sexual flesh (the outside of the leg, off one shoulder, the back) promised that the viewer would see more — but they never did,” explained screenwriter D.C. Fontana, citing the gown worn by Lt. Palamas in Who Mourns for Adonais? as a prime example. [Source]

Lieutenant Palamas's "ancient Greek" dress from the episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" alongside William Theiss's original sketch for the design.

When designing the original Star Trek uniforms, Theiss was tasked with creating something that reflected military influences while also looking futuristic and remaining inexpensive to produce. His approach was practical:

“As for where I get my ideas from… well, I don’t get them from my dreams or anything. Mainly, I get them from fabric that I see that’s available; I look for interesting patterns in the material itself,” Theiss once explained. [Source]

For the first two seasons, the Star Trek uniforms were made from velour, a newly invented fabric that was cheap, easy to maintain, and had an appealing sheen under studio lights. However, velour had its drawbacks: it tore easily (as evidenced by Captain Kirk’s frequent shirt-ripping battle scenes...) and shrank significantly after dry cleaning. Since the costumes had to be cleaned after every episode, viewers may notice that the uniforms became progressively tighter throughout the first two seasons. By the third season, velour was replaced with double-knit nylon, a more durable fabric used in professional baseball uniforms.

Left: Kirk's velour shirt from Season 1, Episode 10, "The Corbomite Maneuver." Right: The same shirt in Season 2, Episode 22, "By Any Other Name." Shatner is diligently sucking in his stomach.

This brings us to another interesting aspect of the original velour uniforms—their appearance on screen.

“It was one of those film stock things,” Theiss explained. “It photographed one way—burnt orange or gold. But in reality, it was another; the command shirts were definitely green.” [Source]

So, what color was Captain Kirk's uniform really? In truth, Kirk's uniform—like the rest of the command crew's—was olive green. However, under the bright studio lighting and the quirks of 1960s film stock, it appeared gold on screen. The greener hue becomes more noticeable in scenes filmed on location with natural light. The difference is also evident in photos of the original uniforms on display, such as those taken at an exhibit in Detroit, USA. In one image, taken under dimmer lighting without flash, the fabric looks closer to its true green color; in another, taken with flash, it appears more golden.

Left: Kirk's velour shirt photographed without flash—olive green. Right: Kirk's velour shirt photographed with flash—yellow gold.

This might come as a surprise to Star Trek fans, but it makes sense when you consider that Kirk's alternate uniforms—the wrap-around tunic and dress uniform—were distinctly green. This wasn’t an intentional design difference; those variations were simply made from a different fabric that didn’t react to light the way velour did.

“The problem is that a lot of my work is seen on screen for only two to three seconds, and even then, it might be in bad light or at a bad angle,” Theiss noted. “But then, you can't really justify taking two hours to light and block a scene just to showcase a costume.” The play's the thing, according to Theiss. "That's what it's really all about. It's not about the costumes." [Source]

The color discrepancy of the uniforms became an interesting challenge when animators began working on Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973. They had to decide whether to depict the uniforms in their originally intended green or the gold shade that had become iconic to audiences.

At the time of Star Trek's release, many viewers were watching on black-and-white televisions, making it impossible for them to discern the true colors of the uniforms. At the Kirk/Spock convention, @kiscon, I spoke to a longtime Trek fan who told me she had no idea what color the uniforms were when she first watched the show as a teen. For those fortunate enough to see the series in color, however, the command uniforms became strongly associated with yellow. As a result, changing the uniforms to their intended green in Star Trek: The Animated Series would likely have confused audiences who had grown accustomed to the gold appearance on screen.

Ultimately, the gold uniform was canonized in The Animated Series and used in all fan materials until the release of the Star Trek feature films. Meanwhile, the trousers—whose color had also been slightly distorted on film—remained their original dark ash shade.

Because of these discrepancies, fans often debate which version of the uniform to follow when cosplaying or creating visual content. Many cosplayers choose to replicate the original olive-colored velour, trusting that proper lighting will naturally recreate the golden appearance seen on screen. Others opt for the now-iconic gold shade, reflecting the way the uniform has been depicted in official materials for decades.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973).

Ironically, NASA was right in its assumption that jumpsuits would become the norm for astronauts, and Roddenberry was forced to use them in the first feature-length Star Trek film, 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The multi-colored shirts were rejected by the studio as too garish, and the miniskirts worn by Uhura and most of the female crew members were already considered a relic of the sexist 1960s by 1979.

William Theiss, who designed the costumes for the original series, was too busy with other projects to work on the film, so Gene Roddenberry brought in a new costume designer, Robert Fletcher, who created the Starfleet uniforms now remembered as the worst in the franchise's history. In an effort to avoid comparisons to military uniforms, the studio opted for muted tones ranging from pale blue to dirty beige and nude shades. The result? The Enterprise crew looked more like spa staff than starship officers, and some background extras in nude-tone bodysuits appeared practically naked on screen. Not only did these uniforms make it impossible to distinguish the characters' ranks and departments, but they were also surprisingly impractical. The suits were sewn onto the actors' shoes, meaning they needed an assistant every time they went to the bathroom.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).

Luckily for us all, in the next film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), it wasn’t just Khan who was filled with rage—the cast themselves rebelled and outright refused to wear the dreadful jumpsuits again.

Despite the failure of his design, Robert Fletcher remained as costume designer for the next three films, promising changes. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the uniforms returned to a more military style, with the lead actors wearing maroon jackets with overlapping lapels that they could dramatically unbutton if their character was meant to look tired or stressed. If you look closely, you’ll notice that these maroon uniforms were actually redyed and slightly modified versions of the jumpsuits from The Motion Picture. The reason for the maroon color? It was the best shade that worked with the existing fabric from the first film. [Source]

William Theiss, reflecting on Fletcher’s designs, commented:

“Bob Fletcher is a very fine designer, and I mean that very sincerely. We don’t design the same way, and there’s no reason we should—or could. It’s apples and oranges. But my personal feeling is, if you go to a structured, woven fabric and do the kind of tailoring and structuring he’s done, it puts those costumes back, historically, 500 years, with shoulder seams and shoulder pads of that type.” [Source]

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Everyone turned red with anger.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Roddenberry reunited with Bill Theiss, and together they decided to bring back the iconic miniskirts as part of the uniform, but with a twist—they wanted to make them inclusive. In The Next Generation, male crew members were occasionally seen wearing the same miniskirts or “scants” (a hybrid of skirts and pants), reflecting Roddenberry and Theiss’s vision of a future where gender norms no longer dictated clothing choices.

However, the social climate of the 1980s and 1990s wasn’t as receptive to this progressive idea.

“Having both actresses and actors in skirts was meant to diffuse any sexist accusations that might have been associated with designs from the old show,” Theiss explained. “It’s also fashionably probable that, 400 years from now, men would wear skants. Even so, there was usually a problem on the set,” he admits, “because some wisecracks were always made.” Theiss emphasized that he wanted his actors to feel at ease in the designs. “I won’t force an actor or actress to wear something they’re not at least 80 percent comfortable with.” [Source]

While Theiss’s designs were undeniably groundbreaking, he was known to be a challenging person to work with. Constantly preoccupied with time and budget constraints, Theiss had little patience for anyone—whether they were directors, producers, or even Gene Roddenberry himself. He was even less tolerant of people who approached him simply to praise or critique his work, or even just to say hello. His philosophy was simple: “Better to be rude than to delay filming.”

Actors, extras, and costume assistants often recalled how Theiss would dart around the set, frantically hemming, tucking, and adjusting costumes between takes. Many of the alien outfits seen on the show weren’t actually "costumes" in the traditional sense. Instead, they were often assembled from patches, ribbons, scarves, curtains, and wire, with actors being "stitched into" them directly on set. [Source]

For example, Janice Rand's iconic beehive hairstyle was crafted from several wigs braided together over a cone. Grace Lee Whitney, who played Rand, recalls running back and forth between the dressing room and Roddenberry’s office with Theiss, constantly piling on more hair. Each time, Roddenberry would stare at her intensely, then declare, “Higher!” Whitney and Theiss would rush back to add more wigs until the hairstyle reached its iconic height. [Source]

One Smithsonian Institute employee, who worked with Theiss in 1992 while preparing for a Star Trek costume exhibit, recalls combing through the Paramount warehouse filled with racks and boxes of costumes. She was amazed to discover that most of the "costumes" were actually scraps of fabric neatly hung on a single hanger. Yet, when these scraps were sewn, tied, and pinned together, they became the iconic designs we now associate with Star Trek.

Andrea Weaver, one of Theiss’s fellow costume designers on the original series, remembers:

“Bill Theiss was a creative designer. His designs for Star Trek were original, rather than distilled from other sources or redefinitions of previous works. This is what I appreciated about Bill Theiss. I thought he was a truly unique and rare costume creator.” [Source]

William Ware Theiss’s contributions to Star Trek are legendary. His uniforms for both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation remain iconic, instantly recognizable even by those who aren’t fans of the franchise. His innovative, DIY approach to creating futuristic costumes brought a distinctive charm to the original series and left an enduring legacy.

Here are some of his most memorable designs:

Left: Season 2, Episode 11: "Friday's Child" Right: Season 3, Episode 13: "Elaan of Troyius"

Left: Season 1, Episode 15: "Shore Leave" Right: Season 3, Episode 20: "The Way to Eden"

Left: Season 2, Episode 1: "Amok Time" Right: Season 1, Episode 23: "A Taste of Armageddon"

Left: Season 2, Episode 9: "Metamorphosis" Right: Season 1, Episode 6: "Mudd's Women"

Left: Season 3, Episode 5: "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" Right: Season 1, Episode 15: "Shore Leave"

Left: Season 1, Episode 23: "A Taste of Armageddon"Right: Season 2, Episode 16: "The Gamesters of Triskelion"

Left: Season 3, Episode 11: "Wink of an Eye" Right: Season 3, Episode 8: "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"

[margridarnauds]

Something I'm tossing around in my head re: Chat GPT and academia is that...in some ways, I think it's a symptom, rather than the root problem. Not just of the structural ways that mainstream pedagogy + the general structure of academia (particularly in the States) sets some students up to fail, but in the way that a lot of work, even at the graduate and above level, is in itself treated as a product to be cranked out in the least amount of time possible as opposed to a work of dedication and love that requires thought and care and intricate research.

You want to get an undergrad degree? Crank out ~2-3 essays a year. These can be varying degrees of research, because the point is you need to get them in NOW and you need to get them in QUICKLY and you can't take any more time to do them than necessary.

(And for students who are later along in their academic careers, writing 8-10 page papers is nothing, but to that undergrad who's stepped into class for the first time? It might be the most complicated thing they've written.)

You want a PhD? Crank out that dissertation, and don't you DARE take longer than you should. How can you do it? We don't know, our obligation to you is over at five years. Also, you have a semester to come up with a ~25 page prospectus that gives a detailed plan for your dissertation before you can even begin WRITING it, which you'll have to get approved by your committee, so good luck!

Also, don't forget, while you're doing that, you need to keep submitting articles for publication, which you will, of course, have to format individually according to the style guideline of the journal you're publishing to! Publish or perish, so keep your head above the tide or you'll end up drowning!

And, on top of that, expect to write ~ten page presentations for conferences! Don't worry, you don't need to cite your sources TOO rigorously for this one, but you are going to need to make sure you know what you're talking about, otherwise you might be humiliated in front of the scholars you want to impress! Write, write, write! Create that Powerpoint!

You want academic tenure? Crank out that monograph! And don't forget to do it sooner rather than later while ALSO publishing articles and coming up with teaching plans!

Also, don't forget, with everything that you write, that it should be on something popular! Something in keeping with the latest trends, so you can be on the cutting edge! Wanted to do something else? Why did you enter academia if you wanted to follow your own research ideas?

And the point isn't that I think that Chat GPT is GOOD or that it SHOULD be used to write an entire paper. Frankly, I dummied a dissertation outline on it (note: my uni account...which I still hate that they provided for us...doesn't use it to train data, meaning that the environmental impact is minimal) and it was bland as fuck, factually inaccurate, and dated. I DON'T use it because, beyond the morality or ethics of the situation (which I think are more complicated than a black and white "It's harmless" or "It is an actual technological death cult aiming for world domination"), on a purely pragmatic level, my field is TERRIBLE for it.

RATHER my point is that it's hard to take arguments about the sanctity of human creativity seriously SPECIFICALLY with regards to academia when it's an industry that has systematically pried human creativity out of itself and encouraged creating an unsustainably massive amount of work at once if you want to survive and even though I am going to do everything possible to make sure my students DON'T use it for their assignments as a primary tool...I can kind of get why they would be drawn to it beyond just "they're lazy."

[zandyland]

Say, for the sake of argument, you want to make a bad programming language. Why would you do this?

Well, for instance, you might get your hands on a book of scripts to generate ephemera for celestial events, only to find out it was written for Microsoft QuickBasic for Macintosh System 7. You quickly discover that this particular flavor of BASIC has no modern interpreter, and the best you can do is an emulator for System 7 where you have to mount 8 virtual floppy disks into your virtual system.

You could simply port all the scripts to another BASIC, but at that point you might as well just port them to another langauge entirely, a modern language.

Except QuickBasic had some funky data types. And the scripts assume a 16-bit integer, taking advantage of the foibles of bitfutzery before converting numbers into decimal format. BASIC is very particular -- as many old languages are -- about whitespace.

In addition to all this, BASIC programs are not structured as modern programs. It's structured to be written in ed, one line at a time, typing in a numbered index followed by the command. There are no scopes. There are no lifetimes. It's just a loose collection of lines that are hopefully in a logical order.

So sure, I could port all these programs. But I'm sure to make mistakes.

Wouldn't it just be easier, some basal part of my brain says, to write your own language that some some modern ameneties, that you compile for your own laptop, that kind of acts like BASIC? A language where you just have to translate particular grammar, and not the whole structure of the program?

Of course it's not easier. But I'm already too far in to quit now.

Memory

Who doesn't love manual memory layout?

In QuickBasic, memory is "kind of" manual. The DEFINT and DEFDBL keywords let you magically instantiate types based on their first letter. I don't know how you deallocate things, because all the scripts in this book finish quickly and don't hang around to leak a lot.

In QuickBasic, this looks like

I guess that the second statement just overrides the first.

There is no stack in a BASIC program, so there will be no stack in my language. Instead you just give names to locations.

creates a symbol named age and makes it refer to 0x1F. The pointer operator should be obvious, and the walrus means we're defining a symbol (to be replaced like a macro), not doing a value assignment during the execution of the program. Now we can assign a value.

Atoms infer types. age knows it's an int.

You cannot assign a new type to an atom.

However, you can cast between types by creating two atoms at the same address, typed differently.

The language does not convert these, it simply interprets the bits as the type demands.

Larger types

Not all types are a single word. Therefore, you can use the range operator .. to refer to a range of addresses.

Note that strings are stored with an extra byte for its length, instead of null-terminating it. Assignment of a string that is too long will result in a compilation error.

Next and Auto

There are also two keywords to make the layout of memory easier. The first is :next which will place the span in the next available contiguous location that is large enough to hold the size required. The second is :auto. For all :auto instances, the compiler will collect all these and attempt to place them in an intelligent free location. :auto prefers to align large structs with 64-word blocks, and fills in smaller blocks near other variables that are used in the same code blocks.

String Allocation

Strings come with a macro to help automatically build out the space required:

This is equivalent to:

That is, a string with capacity 5, a current size of 0, and zeroes (null char) in all spots. This helps avoid memory reuse attacks. ZBASIC is not a secure language, but this is still good practice.

There is also another macro that is similar to a "string literal".

Verbose and annoying! Just like BASIC.

Array Allocation

Likewise, arrays have a similar macro:

Which expands in a similar way as strings, with a capacity word and size word. The difference here is that the type given may change the actual size of the allocation. Giving a type that is larger than a single word will result in a larger array. For instance, f64 takes up two words some systems, so array::empty!(5, f64) will allocate 10 words in that case (5 * 2). Larger structs will likewise take up even more space. Again, all this memory will be zeroed out.

Allocation order

As an overview, this is the order that memory is assigned during compilation:

Manual Locations -> Next -> Auto

Manual locations are disqualified from eligibility for the Next and Auto phases, so a manual location will never accidentally reference any data allocated through :next or :auto.

Here is an example:

This produces the initial layout:

Which, after the code is run, results in the memory values:

Note that types are not preserved at runtime. They are displayed in the table as they are for convenience. When you use commands like "print" that operate differently on different types, they will be replaced with one of several instructions that interpret that memory as the type it was at compile-time.

Truly awful, isn't it?

[imjustania]

How to nail 💅your Essays

No matter if you’re in university or school, you will need to write a research paper. Now this post will be dedicated to a normal essay structure, if you need to write an essay based assignment on medical, biological, chemical, or any other science, you need to be more specific, as writing a lab report has a couple extra steps.

Now, you have an essay due in two weeks? A week? Tonight? I’ve been there and I share your pain. I am currently in my last year in university studying for bachelor degree in Marketing, and oh boy let me tell you, the amount of essays I had to write was unreal. Therefore, let me share with you some of my essays skills, to help your speed run your own assignment.

Step 1: OUTLINE IT!?

Ok i think so many of you out there are missing this step. You cant expect yourself to sit in front of the computer and start typing away your essay? No you cant do that. You need to spend a good amount of time sitting down and outlining your essay. Figure out what goes where, and what sources to use for each section. Luckily for you, you have me here to tell you the basic outline structure of every essay. It consists of the:

Table of content (depends on how professional your essay is asked for)

Introduction

Main body

Conclusion

… THATS IT! Only 4 sections (and a half) to write your essay. However of course there is more to write then just that. Lets break down those sections

1) Introduction: When writing the introduction for your essay, it's important to start off with a bang! You want to give your readers a glimpse of what's to come and hook their attention right from the beginning. Make sure to include a strong thesis statement that clearly states the main argument or purpose of your essay. To make it even more engaging, you can provide some background information about the topic and give a brief outline of the main points you'll be discussing in your essay. Therefore, every introduction should have an hook, explanation what you’re writing, what you think will be the result or what is the point you’re writing your essay, and outline all the points of the main body (but simplify them)

2) Main body: In each section of your essay, it's important to provide a detailed analysis and offer supporting evidence for the points you introduced at the beginning. Take each paragraph as a chance to present a single main idea or argument and support it with enough evidence, examples, or citations to back up your claim. To make sure your ideas flow smoothly, use clear and logical transitions between paragraphs. Lastly, remember to give credit to your sources and include proper references for any external information you include in your essay. Here are some side tips for you

Try to have at least a minimum of 3 main body paragraphs . Each paragraph should have one point which helps support your main hypothesis or reasons or this essay.

Each essay will have different main bodies, depending on the subject. Sometimes your main bodies will be dedicated to presenting information about your topic. So for example, as a marketer, I had to write many reports. Most reports written will always include a main analysis of the company (so SWOT, PESTEL, Stakeholder analysis, mission and vision of the company, etc). Depending on what the essay require you to do, you should consider to present your points in that order.

Even your main body should have a proper structure of introduction, main points, and the conclusion.

Don’t forget to have a proper in-text citations depending on which format you use.

3) Conclusion: A conclusion is a chance to wrap up your essay by summarizing the main points and restating the thesis statement. Remember not to introduce any new information here; instead, provide a concise summary of the arguments you've made throughout your essay. Furthermore, this is your chance to leave a lasting impression on your reader by offering insights, implications, or recommendations related to the topic. A well-written conclusion should leave your reader with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of the importance of your essay's content.

4) References: The references section of your essay is where you list all the sources you have cited or referenced. It's important because it helps readers find and verify the credibility of the sources you used. When writing the references section, make sure to follow the specific citation style required by your institution or professor, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Include the author's name, publication year (if there is no publication year, then the article must not be reliable. It must always have a year), title of the source, publication information, and any other required details. Arrange the references alphabetically by the author's last name or by the title if there is no author (if there is no author try using the organisation or the website that published the text). Don't forget to double-check the formatting and punctuation for accuracy and consistency throughout the references section.

After your essay was outlines and you know exactly what you’re supposed to write… write it dude? Like you have the format, you have the sources, and you know your points. Just start writing… if you are having trouble getting started, then give a click to another one of my blogs on how to actually get started on studying.

If you want to go the extra mile, and also make the essay more professional here are some of my personal tips to accomplish that:

size 12 for normal text and size 14 for title (titles can be only bold)

Use text Times New Roman (ROMAN EMPIREEEEEEEEEE)

Double space of all essay

Have a cover page! You can find templates in the insert section of the word tabs.

Have numbers tag the foot of the page

And thats all for today folks! Hope this is actually useful to you, and if you are struggling with anything specific, then do let me know in the comment section or send me a question through the tumblr! Now thank you for reading, and leaving likes <3 don't forget to smile, because you’re beautiful.

[vtellswhat]

Dos and Don`ts of Thesis Writing

Dos and Don'ts of Thesis Writing

Writing a thesis is undoubtedly one of the toughest assignments a student has to face. It requires dedication, careful planning, and an understanding of academic standards. A well-written thesis reflects not only your hard work but also serves as a valuable contribution to your field. Here are some essential dos and don'ts to guide you through the thesis writing process.

To DO: Make a research and writing timeline

Thesis writing is quite extensive, involved researching, drafting, revising, and formatting. Start by laying down your timeline to set a calendar for each phase of the work. Allocate time for researching, the time taken while writing each section, and revising your content. This can help the project stay on track as the workload is divided into small tasks that have deadlines. Anyway, do not forget that there will be setbacks, and allow some time for those as well.

Don't: Procrastinate

While procrastination is the arch-nemesis of a well-written thesis, putting off research or writing until the last minute can lead to undue stress and often produces poor quality work. Conversely, work steadily over the long haul and treat your thesis work with the same respect you would any important assignment. Set small, achievable goals each week for steady advancement.

**Do: Conduct Complete Research

A good thesis should be supported with a good amount of research. Sufficient and diversified sources, such as books, journal articles, and respectable online databases, must be consulted to avoid any confusion later. Record your findings and categorize them to avoid misunderstandings later on. Keeping a research journal or database will help you track references and relevant ideas. Ensure that you gather contemporary information, as it builds strength to your argument and credibility to your work as well.

Avoid: Substituting with Unverified Sources

The internet has large amounts of information; however, not all sources are credible. In fact, it is best to stay away from websites and articles without credible authors, dates, or citations. Stay strictly with credible sources: academic journals, books, and official reports. Unreliable sources can weaken your thesis, while bad references usually detract from the researcher's credibility.

**Do: Craft a Good Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the backbone of your work. It should clearly state the purpose of your study and present your main argument succinctly. Take as much time as it takes to come up with a thesis statement that is specific, arguable, and supported by evidence. Your statement will guide the framework and content of your thesis so ensure it's well thought out and defensible. Summary

Don't Be Vague or Ambiguous

A vague thesis statement often leads to confusion and a lack of focus in your work. Refrain from vague words or too broad topics that cannot be discussed in detail. A narrow, specific statement lets you have a well-organized and coherent argument. If you have trouble with clarity, ask a professor or peer to give you feedback.

An outline is like a road map that gives you your thesis. Organizing the structure beforehand makes sure your ideas flow coherently. This can include sections like an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and conclusion. All of them should support your thesis statement and make for a cohesive narrative. Doing this can save you a lot of time when writing because it really serves as a clear outline to follow.

Don't: Write Without a Plan

The unstructured essay is typically disjointed or redundant in the thesis. One can really waste all this effort on ideas, then once pressed for coherence, he already jumped and can't get back into place. Be flexible to change your outline for a better one as your work goes along. Also, steer clear of tangential information that will only confuse you by not steering your thesis statement straight.

Do: Obey the Relevant Guidelines of Formatting Requirements

Most of the academic institutions have their specific requirements for thesis submission; discuss them with your thesis committee. Read and review these requirements meticulously even months before you submit it. Be particular about aspects such as citation style, layout of pages, font size, and margins. Tools or software for citation usually facilitate this process, so you don't have to worry about mistakes in citation.

Formatting appropriately shows that you are professional and fussy about details.

Do Not: Skip the Editing and Proofreading Stage

Grammar, spelling, and formatting errors will undercut even the best of you. After you've created a first draft, invest in time to read it back and edit your material for egregious inconsistencies in argumentation, so references are referenced correctly. You could consult with a peer, a professor, or professional editor; they may find things that you didn't. .

Ensure that the entire thesis is written in a consistent academic tone. Avoid using colloquial words but be clear and simple in your language. Consistency in style as well as tone adds fluency and credibility to work. In addition, use active voice wherever possible because this is stronger and more direct in writing.

Don't: Plagiarize

Academic writing is very serious about plagiarism issues. Therefore, never forget to properly cite the source to avoid committing accidental plagiarism. When you have borrowed someone else's ideas or theories or research, give proper credit to them. Plagiarism detection tools are useful to detect whether your work is original or not.

Conclusion

A thesis is excellent academic work that includes preparation, research, and writing. The dos and don'ts discussed above will help you design a well-stratified, credible, and engaging thesis paper. So, embrace the process with patience, sound organization, and be less hesitant to seek guidance if necessary. A well-prepared thesis not only brings in elements of successful academics but also is a good reward in researching and writing.

Need expert guidance for your PhD, Master’s thesis, or research writing journey? Click the link below to access resources and support tailored to help you excel every step of the way. Unlock your full research potential today!

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writebing/

[alexander-finance-blogs]

Corporate Finance Brilliance: The Ultimate Student Guide to Assignment Assistance

Embarking on the journey of corporate finance education can be both exhilarating and challenging for students. As the intricacies of financial concepts unfold, students often find themselves grappling with complex assignments, homework, and exams that demand a profound understanding of corporate finance principles. To navigate this challenging terrain successfully, it's essential to seek the right guidance and assistance. In this comprehensive guide, we explore the significance of corporate finance assignment help and provide invaluable insights for students striving for brilliance in their financial education.

Understanding the Essence of Corporate Finance Assignment Help

Corporate finance is a specialized field that requires a deep understanding of financial strategies, risk management, capital allocation, and valuation. As students delve into this intricate subject, they encounter assignments that demand critical thinking, analytical skills, and a solid grasp of theoretical frameworks.

Seeking corporate finance assignment help is not a sign of weakness; rather, it's a strategic move towards academic excellence. These services offer tailored support, providing students with the tools and knowledge needed to excel in their assignments and grasp complex financial concepts effectively.

Unraveling the Benefits of Assignment Assistance

Concept Clarity: Corporate finance assignment help services are designed to clarify intricate concepts for students. Whether it's understanding capital budgeting, analyzing financial statements, or evaluating investment decisions, expert assistance ensures that students gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Timely Submission: Assignments often come with tight deadlines, putting students under immense pressure. With professional help, students can meet these deadlines without compromising on the quality of their work. Timely submission is crucial for academic success and alleviates the stress associated with looming deadlines.

Customized Solutions: Each assignment is unique, requiring a personalized approach. Corporate finance assignment help services offer customized solutions that cater to the specific requirements of each task. This ensures that students receive tailored guidance, addressing the nuances of the assignment and contributing to a deeper understanding of the subject.

Learning by Example: Assignments often serve as practical applications of theoretical knowledge. By availing assignment assistance, students can access well-structured, high-quality solutions that serve as learning aids. These examples help students grasp the correct methodologies, enhancing their problem-solving skills.

Navigating the Assignment Landscape

As students embark on their corporate finance assignments, it's crucial to adopt a strategic approach to ensure success. Here are some tips to navigate the assignment landscape effectively:

Understand the Assignment Brief: Before diving into the task, carefully read and understand the assignment brief. Identify key requirements, such as the scope, format, and any specific instructions provided by the instructor.

Break Down Complex Problems: Corporate finance assignments often involve complex problem-solving. Break down the problems into smaller, more manageable parts. This approach makes it easier to analyze and solve each component, leading to a comprehensive solution for the entire assignment.

Research Thoroughly: A solid understanding of financial theories and principles is crucial for corporate finance assignments. Conduct thorough research to gather relevant information and support your arguments. Utilize reputable sources to enhance the credibility of your work.

Seek Clarification: If any part of the assignment is unclear, don't hesitate to seek clarification from your instructor or peers. Understanding the task thoroughly is essential for producing high-quality work.

Excelling in Corporate Finance Exams

In addition to assignments, corporate finance exams can be daunting for students. Here are some strategies to excel in these assessments:

Practice Regularly: Regular practice is key to mastering corporate finance concepts. Solve sample problems, work on practice exams, and review class notes consistently to reinforce your understanding of the subject.

Time Management: Allocate your time wisely during exams. Prioritize questions based on their difficulty and allocate time accordingly. This ensures that you have sufficient time to address all aspects of the exam.

Review Past Assignments: Past assignments serve as valuable study material for exams. Revisit the solutions provided by assignment help services to reinforce your understanding of key concepts and problem-solving techniques.

Stay Calm and Focused: Exam stress can impede performance. Stay calm, focused, and confident during the exam. Begin with questions you find easier to build momentum and tackle more challenging questions later.

Conclusion

Embarking on the corporate finance education journey is an exciting endeavor, but it comes with its share of challenges. Seeking corporate finance assignment help is a strategic move that empowers students to overcome these challenges, gain a profound understanding of financial concepts, and excel in their academic pursuits. By embracing the benefits of assignment assistance and adopting effective strategies, students can navigate the intricate landscape of corporate finance with confidence and brilliance. Remember, the pursuit of knowledge is a journey, and with the right guidance, every step becomes a stride towards success.

[adbros]

Is school teaching us writing the proper way?

The argument that schools teach young people to write in a way that doesn't fully prepare them for the professional world is a topic of ongoing debate. There are several reasons why this perception exists:

Academic vs. Professional Writing: Schools often prioritize teaching academic writing, which includes essays, research papers, and structured formats. While these skills are valuable, they can differ significantly from the types of writing required in many professional settings. Academic writing tends to be more formal, structured, and focused on analysis, whereas professional writing often requires clarity, conciseness, and adaptability to various contexts.

Standardized Testing: Many educational systems place a heavy emphasis on standardized tests, like the SAT or ACT, which have specific essay formats and grading criteria. This can reinforce the idea that there is a single "correct" way to write an essay, which may not apply in the real world.

Lack of Real-World Context: Classroom writing assignments are often disconnected from real-world applications. Students may not see the relevance of their writing to their future careers, leading to a perception that what they learn doesn't apply outside the classroom.

Emphasis on Grammar and Syntax: While grammar and syntax are essential, an excessive focus on these elements can lead students to prioritize correctness over effective communication. In professional settings, clear communication and persuasion often matter more than strict adherence to grammatical rules.

Limited Exposure to Diverse Writing Styles: Schools may not expose students to a wide range of writing styles and formats used in various professions. This can leave students ill-prepared for the diversity of writing tasks they may encounter in their careers.

Digital Communication: With the rise of digital communication, professional writing has evolved to include emails, social media posts, and other forms of online communication. These mediums often have different conventions and expectations than traditional essay writing, and schools may not adequately address these shifts.

Changing Professional Landscape: The professional world is continually evolving, and the types of writing required can vary greatly depending on the field and industry. Schools may struggle to keep pace with these changes and provide relevant instruction.

It's important to note that while there may be limitations in how schools teach writing, academic writing skills are still valuable. Learning how to structure arguments, conduct research, and convey ideas clearly and persuasively are important foundational skills that can be adapted to various professional contexts. However, there is room for improvement in how writing is taught to better prepare students for the realities of the professional world. This might involve incorporating more real-world writing tasks, providing exposure to diverse writing styles, and emphasizing the importance of clarity and adaptability in communication.

[baggebythesea]

This is something we worry a lot about in academia. A lot of class work is - let's face it - busywork. You write a bad assay no one will read except a few grudging class mates and an overworked lecturer, BUT that teaches you skills like searching for information, structuring arguments, the scientific format and - maybe most importantly - training in perseverance.

LLM does none of that. LLM gives you an assay.

There are ways around it. Ways we can structure assignments that make it harder to use shortcuts (many of them requires more staff hours). But in the end of the day our ability to force you to learn only goes so far. You have to practice how to learn. You have to learn how to learn. And that takes work.

Something I don't think we talk enough about in discussions surrounding AI is the loss of perseverance.

I have a friend who works in education and he told me about how he was working with a small group of HS students to develop a new school sports chant. This was a very daunting task for the group, in large part because many had learning disabilities related to reading and writing, so coming up with a catchy, hard-hitting, probably rhyming, poetry-esque piece of collaborative writing felt like something outside of their skill range. But it wasn't! I knew that, he knew that, and he worked damn hard to convince the kids of that too. Even if the end result was terrible (by someone else's standards), we knew they had it in them to complete the piece and feel super proud of their creation.

Fast-forward a few days and he reports back that yes they have a chant now... but it's 99% AI. It was made by Chat-GPT. Once the kids realized they could just ask the bot to do the hard thing for them - and do it "better" than they (supposedly) ever could - that's the only route they were willing to take. It was either use Chat-GPT or don't do it at all. And I was just so devastated to hear this because Jesus Christ, struggling is important. Of course most 14-18 year olds aren't going to see the merit of that, let alone understand why that process (attempting something new and challenging) is more valuable than the end result (a "good" chant), but as adults we all have a responsibility to coach them through that messy process. Except that's become damn near impossible with an Instantly Do The Thing app in everyone's pocket. Yes, AI is fucking awful because of plagiarism and misinformation and the environmental impact, but it's also keeping people - particularly young people - from developing perseverance. It's not just important that you learn to write your own stuff because of intellectual agency, but because writing is hard and it's crucial that you learn how to persevere through doing hard things.

Write a shitty poem. Write an essay where half the textual 'evidence' doesn't track. Write an awkward as fuck email with an equally embarrassing typo. Every time you do you're not just developing that particular skill, you're also learning that you did something badly and the world didn't end. You can get through things! You can get through challenging things! Not everything in life has to be perfect but you know what? You'll only improve at the challenging stuff if you do a whole lot of it badly first. The ability to say, "I didn't think I could do that but I did it anyway. It's not great, but I did it," is SO IMPORTANT for developing confidence across the board, not just in these specific tasks.

Idk I'm just really worried about kids having to grow up in a world where (for a variety of reasons beyond just AI) they're not given the chance to struggle through new and challenging things like we used to.

[aeolianblues]

Preface: this is only in the body and not in tags because it’s difficult to format it in tags, it’s not meant to be read as more important than tags if you don’t want to, I’m just thinking out loud.

Seeing so many different takes on this in the notes — Some people arguing that disability will be negatively impacted by having accessibility aids taken away. Dyslexia and related conditions. Valid concerns. While I think it’s possible to accommodate that— I never knew a teacher to ever deduct more than half a mark on an entire test (overall) for bad handwriting or spelling, it’s possible to do away with deductions for these small things outside of like, grade 5 entirely. If teachers in my classes of 54 kids could do it in the 2010s, it’s possible to do it now too.

I’ve never liked nor understood mathematics on a computer. None of the symbols you need are available, rough work is impossible to do for calculations, it makes everything so messy. Same goes for physics, and chemistry formatting was also an absolute bitch digitally. That’s where pen/pencil and paper were absolutely needed. Even today, I prefer to do any non-text work by hand because what do you know! Tablets with pencils are still really expensive!

But on the other hand, writing for long hours was an absolute pain— many of us were worried that 3-hour long exams with long-format answers would actually give us some sort of wrist injury. I switched from playing the guitar righthanded (pressing the strings with your left hand) to playing the other way round, because after getting home from a 7h long school day my left (writing) hand could not take applying pressure while practising the guitar. As someone who’s job is coding on a computer and like dragging windows and spreadsheets, I do worry about things like carpal tunnel, though I still feel my hands are less stressed than when writing with a pen over 6 hours and really fast. I had to change how I write entirely to reduce finger and wrist stress.

Unless you (as the last person said) want to get rid of homework entirely and have kids do their work in front of you, writing won’t really reduce AI cheating. A kid on a time crunch will choose to handwrite an essay they got chat gpt to write for them than sit and take the precious time when late to come up with the contents and structure their arguments themselves. This is not me advocating for AI, but telling you that this is what I saw in my final years, which was just as AI was beginning to take off amongst university students.

You know how you tackle that? You teach your students time management. Facilitate their essay writing process in stages. Set smaller milestones that they need to meet. Professors who broke up a large assignment into smaller bits with incremental deadlines took SO much stress off my shoulders compared than ones who just assigned you one fuckoff-giant project and left you to flail. I built a whole compiler within a 3 month semester, and it was the least stressful project I’ve ever done because we had smaller and well-structured deadlines every two weeks that also helped us really understand the architecture of a compiler and helped me think through the process of building one.

And I know, some people will say ‘if university students in their 20s need to be taught basic things like time management then we’re all doomed’, but what else are you trying to teach kids when you get into the argument about whether AI helps or hinders? The material they need is mostly available either online or now easily structured through AI. You’re teaching them how to think about things, structure their ideas, put together larger pieces of work incrementally; doesn’t that also include teaching them how to spread out and structure their work? It’s literally what workplaces would call ‘project management.’

Teach them that, and a lot of things they may have previously been intimidated by and felt unable to start (you know when something’s so vast you don’t know where to start and just freeze instead?), they will all fall into place and make sense, and allow your students not only to begin their work, but to know how to break down bigger problems in future and also how to set themselves milestones to keep track of their (/their teams’) progress themselves. What do I know.

An ex-colleague of mine was complaining to me the other day about the ai problem in her students' papers, and I told her, "Just make your students hand-write them in class. Easy." She looked at me like I was insane and tried to explain how that would never work, but I just said,"That's how we did it for a thousand years. The invention of word processors doesn't erase all that."

To me it seems obvious. Readings are done out of class, handwritten essays are done within it. No more ai papers.

[sarallokesh37]

Mastering the IB Extended Essay: Your Complete Guide to Scoring High

One of the most challenging yet rewarding components of the IB Diploma Programme is the Extended Essay (EE)—a 4,000-word independent, self-directed piece of academic research. At first glance, writing an essay of such length might feel like standing at the base of Mount Everest with no climbing gear. But with the right support, strategy, and structure, you can conquer this mountain with confidence.

At Tychr, we understand that the Extended Essay is not just another assignment—it's a significant academic milestone. That’s why we offer comprehensive guidance to help IB students turn this complex task into a powerful learning experience.

What Is the IB Extended Essay?

The IB Extended Essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from the list of approved Diploma Programme subjects. It provides students with an opportunity to investigate a topic of special interest and develop the independent research and writing skills expected at university.

Whether your subject is History, Biology, Economics, Literature, or even Visual Arts, the EE gives you the freedom to explore an area that you're passionate about. You’ll develop a research question, plan your investigation, conduct research, analyze your findings, and present your arguments in a structured format.

Why the EE Matters

The EE is more than just a requirement—it’s a preparation ground for college-level academic writing and research. Here are some key benefits:

Critical Thinking: Encourages deep inquiry and analysis.

University Prep: Builds writing and referencing skills.

Subject Mastery: Develops expertise in a specific academic field.

Points Matter: A strong EE (along with TOK) can contribute up to 3 points toward your final IB score.

The Structure of a Winning Extended Essay

A successful Extended Essay follows a clear, academic structure:

Title Page

Abstract (optional in new guidelines)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Body (with subheadings and research)

Conclusion

Bibliography

You’ll be expected to:

Formulate a precise research question.

Show critical analysis and personal engagement.

Use reliable sources, both primary and secondary.

Follow a consistent citation style (MLA, APA, or Chicago).

Keep a reflections space, recorded in your RPPF (Reflections on Planning and Progress Form).

How Tychr Helps You Succeed

Writing the EE on your own can be overwhelming, which is why Tychr’s Extended Essay tutors are here to help. With over 3,500 students served across 70+ countries and 200+ schools, our team has the experience, expertise, and empathy to guide students every step of the way.

Our services include:

Topic brainstorming sessions to identify strong, feasible ideas.

Guidance on forming research questions that are narrow, focused, and IB-compliant.

Weekly one-on-one mentorship to track progress and answer doubts.

Essay structuring support and editing feedback.

Citation and referencing workshops to ensure academic honesty.

Proofreading & grading simulation using IB assessment rubrics.

We don’t just coach—we empower.

Proven Results from Our Students

Don’t just take our word for it—check out our top achievers:

Giulia – Accepted at Oxford University with outstanding IB scores.

Ananjan – Scored a perfect 45/45 and made it to Imperial College London.

Rushil – 45/45 IBDP graduate, now at Georgia University.

These students, and 30+ more, trusted Tychr with their academic journey. Their success stories started with the Extended Essay—and so can yours.

Hear It from Our Tutors

Our expert mentors don’t just teach—they coach, motivate, and refine.

“The EE is like training wheels for university research. We help students find their voice, shape their thoughts, and bring structure to their creativity.” – Tychr EE Mentor

Seamless Support Experience

We make EE support smooth and stress-free:

Join a WhatsApp group with your mentor for instant doubt-solving.

Get monthly progress updates to track improvements.

Access our repository of IB-approved EEs, samples, and guides.

Attend sessions led by IB examiners who know exactly what assessors look for.

What Makes a Great EE Topic?

Struggling to pick a topic? Consider these tips:

Choose something you're genuinely curious about.

Ensure the topic is narrow enough to cover within 4,000 words.

Ask yourself: Can I find reliable sources?

Think interdisciplinary: Link TOK concepts or global issues to make your essay more impactful.

Example Topics:

To what extent has urban gentrification impacted housing affordability in East London? (Economics)

How does the symbolism in George Orwell’s 1984 reflect the political climate of post-war Britain? (Literature)

What factors influence the solubility of different types of sugar in water at room temperature? (Chemistry)

Final Tips to Ace Your EE

Start early. You’ll need months, not weeks.

Stay consistent with research and writing.

Use your supervisor wisely—but don’t rely on them to fix everything.

Proofread meticulously. Spelling and formatting matter!

Reflect genuinely in your RPPF—it adds credibility and insight.

 Ready to Write Your Best Extended Essay?

The IB Extended Essay might seem intimidating, but with Tychr, you're never alone. Our personalized support, proven track record, and strategic tutoring approach make us the top choice for IB students worldwide. Please visit site for further queries: https://www.tychr.com/unlock-your-potential-with-ib-extended-essay-tychr/

[avinsha]

Master IELTS with Our Live Tutor-Taught Online Course

Preparing for the IELTS exam can be a daunting task, especially when you're aiming for a high band score that could unlock opportunities for study, work, or immigration. With the vast number of resources available online, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

That’s why our IELTS Live Tutor-Taught Course Online is designed to give you structured, personalized, and result-driven preparation—so you can master every component of the test with confidence.

Whether you're targeting IELTS Academic or General Training, our IELTS Live Tutor-Taught Course provides everything you need to succeed: live expert guidance, interactive sessions, focused practice, and the motivation of a real classroom—delivered conveniently through our virtual platform.

Why Choose a Live Tutor-Taught IELTS Course?

Unlike pre-recorded video lessons or self-paced modules, a live tutor-taught IELTS course offers real-time interaction with professional instructors.

This means you can ask questions, receive immediate feedback, clarify doubts, and stay on track with your study plan. Personalized attention makes a significant difference, especially for a language-based exam where fluency, coherence, and nuance matter.

Here are a few key benefits of enrolling in our IELTS Live Tutor-Taught Course Online:

1. Real-Time Interaction and Support

With live classes, you're not just passively absorbing information—you’re actively engaged. Our certified IELTS tutors host live sessions where you participate in speaking activities, writing tasks, listening practices, and reading drills.

The live format enables meaningful feedback that helps you identify and fix your weak areas faster.

2. Structured Curriculum Tailored for Success

Our IELTS Live Tutor-Taught Course follows a proven curriculum that covers all four test modules: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

We break down each section into manageable lessons, using practical techniques and time-saving strategies tailored for both IELTS Academic and General Training candidates.

3. One-on-One Speaking Practice

The IELTS Speaking test is often the most nerve-wracking for students. With our live tutor-taught format, you receive individual speaking sessions that simulate real test conditions.

Tutors evaluate your fluency, pronunciation, and coherence while offering tailored tips to improve your performance.

4. In-Depth Writing Feedback

Unlike automated systems, our tutors manually review your essays and writing tasks. We help you understand how to structure your arguments, use formal language, and meet task requirements.

Every writing assignment is analyzed using official IELTS band descriptors so you know exactly where you stand and what needs improvement.

5. Flexible Scheduling and Access

We understand that many students juggle work, school, or family responsibilities. That’s why our IELTS Live Tutor-Taught Course Online offers flexible schedules including evening and weekend classes.

All sessions are conducted via high-quality video conferencing software, accessible from any device—so you never have to compromise your preparation due to time or location.

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[rabbitindisguise]

Losing my marbles over this article

aparently something they're just glossing over as a cause (and brushed off in favor of smartphones because of course the blame is shifted onto the youth for adult's mistakes) is how the No Child Left Behind act has led to teachers simply not instructing highschoolers and middleschoolers how to read books.

"This development puzzled Dames until one day during the fall 2022 semester, when a first-year student came to his office hours to share how challenging she had found the early assignments. Lit Hum often requires students to read a book, sometimes a very long and dense one, in just a week or two. But the student told Dames that, at her public high school, she had never been required to read an entire book. She had been assigned excerpts, poetry, and news articles, but not a single book cover to cover."

Not a single book! If someone is reading YA novels they're going above and beyond because they're not even requiring a single book in some of these classes.

"It’s not just the frenetic pace; they struggle to attend to small details while keeping track of the overall plot." "Anthony Grafton, a Princeton historian, said his students arrive on campus with a narrower vocabulary and less understanding of language than they used to have. There are always students who “read insightfully and easily and write beautifully,” he said, “but they are now more exceptions.” Jack Chen, a Chinese-literature professor at the University of Virginia, finds his students “shutting down” when confronted with ideas they don’t understand; they’re less able to persist through a challenging text than they used to be. Daniel Shore, the chair of Georgetown’s English department, told me that his students have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet." "But middle- and high-school kids appear to be encountering fewer and fewer books in the classroom as well. For more than two decades, new educational initiatives such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core emphasized informational texts and standardized tests. Teachers at many schools shifted from books to short informational passages, followed by questions about the author’s main idea—mimicking the format of standardized reading-comprehension tests. Antero Garcia, a Stanford education professor, is completing his term as vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English and previously taught at a public school in Los Angeles. He told me that the new guidelines were intended to help students make clear arguments and synthesize texts. But 'in doing so, we’ve sacrificed young people’s ability to grapple with long-form texts in general.'" "Mike Szkolka, a teacher and an administrator who has spent almost two decades in Boston and New York schools, told me that excerpts have replaced books across grade levels." "'There’s no testing skill that can be related to … Can you sit down and read Tolstoy? ' he said. And if a skill is not easily measured, instructors and district leaders have little incentive to teach it. Carol Jago, a literacy expert who crisscrosses the country helping teachers design curricula, says that educators tell her they’ve stopped teaching the novels they’ve long revered, such as My Ántonia and Great Expectations. The pandemic, which scrambled syllabi and moved coursework online, accelerated the shift away from teaching complete works. In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of about 300 third-to-eighth-grade educators, only 17 percent said they primarily teach whole texts. An additional 49 percent combine whole texts with anthologies and excerpts. But nearly a quarter of respondents said that books are no longer the center of their curricula. One public-high-school teacher in Illinois told me that she used to structure her classes around books but now focuses on skills, such as how to make good decisions. In a unit about leadership, students read parts of Homer’s Odyssey and supplement it with music, articles, and TED Talks. (She assured me that her students read at least two full texts each semester.) An Advanced Placement English Literature teacher in Atlanta told me that the class used to read 14 books each year. Now they’re down to six or seven."

look what captialism took from us smdh. Trying to make schools "streamlined" by forcing them to do arbitrary testing to get funding, and ruining the ONE thing that schools are supposed to always be good at: basic literacy.

It's not even about what kind of books they prefer (to me at least), it's about having never even getting the opportunity to read books in the literary canon at all. They can like where the sidewalk ends even- but they can't form an opinion on Jane Eyre if they've never even read the damn thing. (I haven't, but I've read the works of Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, etc that were popular with teachers when I was growing up. It's not the specific texts per se as it is depth of time period and subject matter.) For many of them, they won't even know some of these books exist without explicitly being given them, much less understand the historical contexts without guidance.

Like. Reading is a skill. No one enters the world knowing how to read a book. It is a skill that must be taught, and is often best taught in schools where they can go chapter by chapter with analysis and reflection using essays that can be graded for accuracy in a group with peers. And the result of this no longer being taught in gradeschool is that college educated adults will have the skills equivalent of highschoolers from a decade ago. It's no longer the case that college will just not net you a job- it will not even provide you an education on par with older college graduates. Kids are just too far behind.

Ppl on the other hellsite losing their minds over this in every imaginable direction lmao

[rabbitholereads]

K-6th Grade Poetry

Genre: Poetry, Science, Non-Fiction, Picture Book

Age Range: 8-12 years

Summary: There is a poem for each major body in the solar system plus a few extras. Each poem is in a different style and there is a section explaining the type and structure of the poem as well as additional information about the subject.

Why did I choose this book to review?: I found this in a list of poetry books for children by the School Library Journal. It sounded interesting and my local library had a copy.

Evaluation: I will be evaluating the book's illustrations, language, and format.

The illustrations for this book range from landscapes to planet portraits to starscapes and fit the subject and central idea of the poem well. For the poems that talk about the surface of the planet, landscapes are used to give an idea of what the planet looks like. The gas giants get planet portraits that show off the beautiful colors or odd shapes. Jupiter is special because its illustration is covered by the poem, combining the two elements into one. There are also sections in the book that explain the format and content of the poem as well as expand on the science of the subject, and these often have small illustrations showing different aspects of the planet, star, or other celestial form. One of the poems is about the asteroid Arrokoth which has an odd shape. The illustration shows the lumpy asteroid and how it is shaped like similarly lumpy poem chosen to represent it.

The poetry of the book is unique to each entry, with no subject or type of poem repeated. This makes the book more interesting since it adds another interactive element to the poem - why was this style chosen for this subject? The author offers reasoning for each one, but the book actively challenges readers at the end to make their own poems and perhaps choose a different style for ones already made. Through the books very existence, it also negates the argument that the arts and sciences can't co-exist. The reader can love space and poetry or art, just like the author. Oftentimes we put people into one category or the other, and this book says, "Why not both?" In addition to the poem and the poetry explanation, there is also a page that gives more detail about each planet, usually focused on one or two major details that we know about. These sections will often expand on something mentioned in the poem, offer diagrams, or explain how we discovered it. There is also a "Glossary of Space Terms" in the back along with additional sources and resources for the excited space lover to use to learn more so they can create their own space poems. I think this would be an excellent book for use in a classroom, especially as a way to combine assignments from English and Science class into one project.

The format of this book is different from most books. I got the physical copy, and every poetry page is actually an extra long page folded in half backwards so the fold opens from the middle and goes to the right. This gives each entry an illustration page on one side, the poem facing the the illustration, and the space and poetry info on in the inside of the fold-out page. It gives the appearance of four separate pages in the space of just two, and gives each aspect of the book its own space. It's possible that a digital version of this book would be a decent replication of this look, but there's no denying that there's just something inherently fun about an unordinary shaped book. It does, however, need a little help to close right so the pages don't get creased or dog-eared.

Lewis, A. W. (2024). A planet is a poem (O. Averill, Illus.). Kids Can Press.

[tutorsindia152]

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