Thursday, June 7, 2007

MLA INTERNET SOURCES

To See how to do cite sources from the Internet, please go to the following website or see the copy of the site below:

http://www.mla.org/style_faq4

NOTE!!!! AFTER THE FIRST LINE, THE 2ND, 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH LINES, ETC. OF A WORK CITED ITEM SHOULD BE INDENTED. HOWEVER, THIS BLOG WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO INDENT.


Scholarly Project

Victorian Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett.

May 2000. Indiana U. 26 June 2002
www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/>.

Information Database

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet. 19

June 2001. Lib. of Congress, Washington. 18 May

2002 .

Personal Site

Lancashire, Ian. Home page. 28 Mar. 2002. 15 May

2002 .

Book

Nesbit, E[dith]. Ballads and Lyrics of Socialism.

London, 1908. Victorian Women Writers Project.

Ed. Perry Willett. May 2000. Indiana U. 26 June

2002
nesbit/ballsoc.html>.

Poem

Nesbit, E[dith]. "Marching Song." Ballads and Lyrics

of Socialism. London, 1908. Victorian Women

Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett. May 2000.

Indiana U. 26 June 2002
www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/nesbit/

ballsoc.html#p9>.

Article in a Journal

Sohmer, Steve. "12 June 1599: Opening Day at

Shakespeare's Globe." Early Modern Literary

Studies 3.1 (1997): 46 pars. 26 June 2002

.

Article in a Magazine

Levy, Steven. "Great Minds, Great Ideas." Newsweek

27 May 2002. 20 May 2002
news/754336.asp>.

Work from a Library Subscription Service

Youakim, Sami. "Work-Related Asthma." American

Family Physician 64 (2001): 1839-52. Health

Reference Center. Gale. Bergen County

Cooperative Lib. System, NJ. 12 Jan. 2002

.

Work from a Personal Subscription Service

"Table Tennis." Compton's Encyclopedia Online. Vers.

2.0. 1997. America Online. 4 July 1998.

Keyword: Compton's.

Posting to a Discussion List

Merrian, Joanne. "Spinoff: Monsterpiece Theatre."

Online posting. 30 Apr. 1994. Shaksper: The

Global Electronic Shakespeare Conf. 23 Sept.

2002
0380.html>.

Friday, June 1, 2007

MLA Documentation

The following abbreviated list of MLA style models for documenting sources is taken from a much longer resource found at:

NOTE: THIS BLOG WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO INDENT. HOWEVER, THE 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH LINES OF A CITATION MUST BE INDENTED!!!


http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

If you need additional help, check the resource first, then check with your teacher.

Web site entry

Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site .

Web page on a web site


"Caret." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 April 2006. 10 May 2006 .

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. 10 May 2006 .

Stolley, Karl. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The OWL at Purdue. 10 May 2006. Purdue University Writing Lab. 12 May 2006 .

Article in a web magazine (as opposed to a scholarly journal
)

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Online Publication. Date of Publication. Date of Access .

Article in an online scholarly journal (requires volume and issue numbers, plus paragraph numbers if they are available)

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 33 pars. 8 May 2006 .

Article in a popular periodical (as opposed to a scholarly journal)


Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.

Article in a scholarly journal (adds volume and issue numbers and changes how the year of publication is presented)


Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages.

Book with author


Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Book with more than one author (reverse the name of the first listed author only; do not use titles such as Dr.; do include Jr., Sr., etc.)

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.

Corporate or organizational author


American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Random, 1998.

Edited book

Hill, Charles A. and Marguerite Helmers, eds. Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Work in an anthology or collection (begin with author’s name; do not reverse editor[s] names)


Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.

No author provided: list and alphabetize by title of article/book.

WELCOME NEW CLASS

WELCOME EPI GW6 CLASS OF SUMMER 2007

We will use this blog to post our work this term. You will be able to access this blog from anywhere on the planet. Also if you want your friends or family to see your work, you can send them here. This is our common space. I hope you enjoy it.

David Pearson

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Comparing the American's culture with the Saudi Arabian's

Nassar Alnassar, Sultan Almutairi and Fahad Alghanem

GW6

David Pearson

15 May 2007


 


 

Making comparisons is the first thing that some people do when they arrive in a country that has a different culture. People form all countries around the world have their own culture, values, customs and way of life. Some cultures have at least one or two common things with others. For instance, a lot of countries have the same religious values, customs and even dating rules. On the other hand, there are these countries that have their own independent culture that is almost unique. Because America is the country of immigrants, the American culture has a lot of similarities with other cultures around the world. However, American culture is completely different than Saudi culture. In fact, culture is not the only different thing between these two countries. The work system in the United States is more strict and fair. Moreover, When Saudis come to the United States, they will be surprised when they see how friendly the people are. Also, they will notice the big difference in the food, weather, and the geography of the United States.

There are so many differences between Saudi Arabia and the United states. People are different in the way they treat each other, and the way they treat foreigners. People in United States are friendly and smiley, especially in South Carolina whose motto is "smiling faces, beautiful places" because of its people. Also people when they deal with each other, they treat people as if they just knew them. Consequently, it is hard to find what is called in Arabic "wasstah," a relationship with a person who is of high regard in society. People who have wasttah can get better jobs, and more opportunities. Furthermore, people from different parts of the world cannot imagine the way they will be treated when they visit the United States. Americans treat foreigners in a friendly way. Foreigners will never feel discriminated against in the U.S. Moreover, foreigners who are Muslims may be surprised by the type of food in the U.S because most of the foods in America contain pork. In Islam, eating pork is prohibited.

There are also other differences that distinguish the U.S from Saudi Arabia. The first one is the weather. In the United States, the weather is cool during the year, and it rains a lot during the summer, not to mention the fact that the United States is a huge country so it has many different weathers. Incidentally, since the United States is a huge country, foreigners may be surprised when they learn that they will spend about seven hours by plane to cross the country from the west to the east.

What differentiates Saudi Arabia from the United States is that the Saudi people are conservative about their culture and values that they can not accept new things in their culture. Unlike the United States, Saudi Arabia is smaller and has a very hot and dry weather. One of the other things that distinguishes Saudi Arabia from the U.S is that Saudi people are not as friendly with foreigners as Americans. The reason is that most of the foreigners come to the United States to study or to find a good life, and most of them are usually higher class people. However, most of the foreigners in Saudi Arabia are from the lower classes. They come to Saudi Arabia to find money in any way no matter how. One of the good things about Saudi culture is that families are the most important thing in people's lives. They see families as their candles that light their way towards future success. They see themselves in their families. They reach out to them. They help them, and they take care of them. This habit is not common in the United States. When boys or girls reach the age of 18, they become totally independent from their families so they lose their family relationships as time passes.

Finally, American culture is completely different than Saudi culture. The work system, food, friendliness, and the weather are the first things travelers from Saudi Arabia will notice. As long as Saudis live in the United States, they will find more differences, especially the ones related to people and communities. In general, by spending more time in the United States, Saudi Arabians can easily adapt to American culture. Americans, on the other hand, will find it really difficult to adapt to life in Saudi Arabia.

Smoking

Sultan Almutairi

David Pearson

GW6

May 11, 2007

Who wants to jeopardize his health? Nobody. Then why do huge numbers of people worldwide smoke. There must be a reason for them to smoke. A lot of consequences might happen to them. And sooner or later, they are going to suffer from this bad habit, unless they quit early. Although people know the consequences of smoking, they still smoke. Many years ago people were encouraged to smoke to be relaxed and cool, but today they are begged not to smoke because scientists have proved that smoking is so hazardous that it causes death sometimes. Many reasons cause people to smoke. Some of these reasons are Advertisements and Smoking Addiction.

The consequences of smoking are enough for smokers to quit, but they do not know how dangerous these diseases are. If people knew what the diseases are, they would never hold a cigarette. Smoking causes lung diseases, cancers and heart diseases. Furthermore, depending on the number of cigarettes they smoke per day, "smokers are six times more likely to die from different mouth related cancers" ("Mouth" par. 1). However, smokers should quit smoking immediately. According to Healthy Living, "Quitting smoking greatly reduces the risks of all tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer, many other cancers, heart diseases and other respiratory illnesses" ("Sleeping" par. 12).


 

There are many factors that cause people to smoke. Advertising is one of these factors and the most effective one. Tobacco companies promote their products around the world. Furthermore, they exploit the reputation of the countries they are in. For example, the U.S. tobacco companies promote their products outside the U.S using the American Lifestyle. According to William Ecenbarger, "the ads are seen as a way of learning about the United States itself" (Ecenbarger 50-7). In addition, students in China said, "Every day we listen to the Marlboro music hour. We enjoy Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. We smoke American cigarettes and wear American clothes. We are eager to gain more information about American life" (qtd. in Ecenbarger 50-7). And children outside the United states think that every one in the U.S. smokes (Ecenbarger 50-7). However, some countries—including the U.S.--banned cigarette commercials on TV and radio. Therefore, these companies use what is called Brand-Stretching, "advertising nontobacco products and services named after their brands" (50-7). For example, "In Malaysia, a music store called Salem Power Station wraps customers' tapes and CDs in plastic bags bearing the Salem logo" (50-7).

Another way of promoting cigarettes is to distribute them to young people for free. According to William Ecenbarger, "A jeep decorated with the yellow camel logo pulls up in front of a high school in Buenos Aires. The driver, a blond woman, begins handing out cigarettes to 15- and 16-year-olds during their lunch break" (Ecenbarger 50-7). The tobacco companies focus on young people because they easily are influenced. According to William Ecenbarger, "if a young person hasn't begun by 18, he or she is unlikely ever to smoke" (Ecenbarger 50-7).


 

Another reason why people smoke is smoking addiction. According to E-health-MD.com, "smoking addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping smoking would cause severe emotional, mental, or physical reactions" ("What Is" par.1). Some smokers try to quit, but only a few succeed. According to E-health-MD, "Most smokers want to stop and do indeed try, but only one in three succeeds in stopping permanently before age 60. By this time, much harm may have been done to the body--some of it irreversible" ("What Is" par.4). They are addicted to tobacco because of the drug in tobacco, Nicotine. It affects smokers and makes them relaxed. Furthermore, when smokers want to quit smoking, they must go through a stage called withdrawal. According to the American Diabetes Association, "Symptoms of withdrawal include: being irritable, sweating, having headaches, diarrhea, or constipation, as well as feeling restless, tired, or dizzy" ("why Quitting" par.1).

To sum up, smoking is a bad habit that is hard to stop. Advertising and Smoking Addiction are what make it easy to start smoking and very hard to quit. Furthermore, after smokers quit smoking, they experience the bad feeling of withdrawal, but later as the American Diabetes Association says, they "enjoy the benefits of quitting, such as having more energy" (par. 2). Smoking jeopardizes your health, So stop smoking.


 


 


 


 

Works Cited

Ecenbarger, William. America's new merchants of death. "cigarette makers targeting youth in the third world". Reader's Digest v. 142. Apr. 1993. P. 50-7.

"Mouth Diseases and Smoking." HC: Health Canada. 2005-05-01. hc-sc.gc.ca. 2007-05-14 < http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/tobac-tabac/body-corps/disease-maladie/mouth-bouche/index_e.html>.

"Sleeping With A Killer: A Report from Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme." HC: Health Canada. 2005-05-01. hc-sc.gc.ca. 2007-05-14< http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/swk-dat/intro01_e.html>.

"Why Quitting Is So Hard." American Diabetes Association. diabetes.org. May 14, 2007<
http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/smoking.jsp>.

"What Is A Smoking Addiction?" E-Health-MD. October 2004. Health Information Publications. May 14, 2007 < http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/smoking/SMO_whatis.html>.

The Causes of Virginia Tech Tragedy

David Pearson

GW6

April 30, 2007

"Massacre," "Bloodbath," "32 killed people," "backlash," "ordeal," and "Chu." These words reflect what happened at Virginia tech when a student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed 32 innocent students before turning his gun on himself. At first he killed two students in a dormitory. Two hours later, the shooter went to the engineering building to continue his crime. The consequence of the second shooting is that 30 students were gunned down. Between the two shootings Chu went to a post office to send NBC news a package that contained some pictures and video clips of himself. People are wondering what caused this student to commit this crime. There are many factors involved in this crime such as mental illness, oppression, the ease of buying guns and violent video games.

One cause of the massacre at Virginia Tech is the gunman's mental illness. The gunman was a threat to himself and everybody else. According to Chorn.com, "On Dec. 13, 2005, a magistrate ordered Cho to undergo an evaluation at Carilion St. Albans, a private psychiatric hospital. The magistrate signed the order after an initial evaluation found probable cause that Cho was a danger to himself or others as a result of mental illness"(
Apuzzo par15). Furthermore, one of the experts said that the killer, Cho Seung-Hui, had mental illness not only because of the pressures of studying but also because of the lack of encouragement from his family. According to ABC7Chicago.com:

"This type of mental illness that this poor man had was not something that was likely precipitated by teasing or bullying," he said. More likely, he said, is that Cho had a biological psychiatric disorder that may have worsened in recent years because of the pressures of college life and his leaving the support of his family."(AP par 24)

Moreover, the shooter, an English major, had aggressive and pessimistic writing. His teacher, Lucinda Roy, noticed when she looked at his papers that they indicated a potential for violent. Consequently, she reported what she noticed to the police officers because she wondered if Cho were mentally illness or not. However, the police officers could not decide whether or not they should arrest him because the violence was not obvious in his writings, and the police officers could not base their decision on the teacher's feeling. According to CNN.com Cho's teacher said "Cho, an English major, never wrote about guns or killing people... But his writing was disturbing enough that she went to police and other university officials to seek help" she added "the threats seemed to be underneath the surface" ("Shooter" par.8).

In addition to his mental illness, his feeling of being oppressed is one of the causes of the shooting. Oppression sometimes leads to aggressive behaviors. And being oppressed might be a reason that Cho killed people. He may have felt it would restore his dignity. According to Dissident1's blog, "It doesn't matter what form of oppression it is, the inevitable consequence of oppression is aggression" (Dissident par.1). Cho's classmates were ironic when he read in class. A student at Virginia tech says "As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, 'Go Back to China'" ("Va. Tech" par.4). Consequently, Cho made a dire decision, which was to kill students.

It is understandable that a person with mental problems and a weak personality would do such a crime, but it is depressing that such people can get guns easily. Buying guns in the U.S. is a piece of cake. A person who wants to buy a gun "needs only two forms of ID" (Reich par. 1). Thus, the gun culture in the U.S. contributed to this matter. But what if it had been difficult to get guns? Would Cho have killed those innocent students? Definitely not. At the very least Cho would have committed a crime with fewer effects.

There was also less chance that students would have been killed if Cho had not been influenced by video games. Many people have blamed violent video games for displaying violent scenes which increase people's aggressive thoughts. According to Pam Willenz, "Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life.

The reason that people blame violent media is that there was a video game called GRAND THEFT AUTO 3("Fox news" par. 1). The game displays acts similar to those at Virginia Tech. According to MSNBC, "Violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor" (par. 14).

In conclusion, there are many causes that made Cho commit this crime. One cause is Cho's mental illness. Another cause is his feelings of being oppressed. The ease of buying guns in the U.S. is also a cause of this tragedy. In addition, many people believe that violent video games had an impact on Cho's life because of the similarity between one of the video games and the shooting in Virginia Tech. There are at least three causes of this tragedy, but none of them justifies his deed.


 

Work Citied

Apuzzo, Matt. "Virginia Tech Gunman Sent Material to NBC Before He Died." Houston Chronicle (2007): 15 pars. 30 Apr. 2007 <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4724976.html>.

Benedetti, Winda. "Were Video Games to Blame for Massacre?" MSNBC. 20 Apr. 2007. 01 May 2007 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18220228/>.

Dissident. "oppression leads to aggression." Online posting. 2 Feb. 2007. 1 May 2007 <

http://www.rationalresponders.com/oppression_leads_to_aggression>.

"FOX NEWS blames Virginia Tech shooting on violent games (GRAND THEFT AUTO)." Online posting. 16 Apr. 2007. 3 may 2007 <http://digg.com/world_news/FOX_NEW

S_blames_Virginia_Tech_shooting_on_violent_games_GRAND_THEFT_AUTO>.

Reich, Robert "U.S. needs a prescription for gun control." Market Place 18 Apr. 2007. . 23 Apr.2007<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/04/18/PM2007

04184.html?refid=0>.

"Shooter's Writing Dripped with Anger." CNN.Com (2007). 30 Apr. 2007 <http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting/index.html>.

"Va. Tech Killer Picked On, Classmates Say." CBS News 19 Apr. 2007. 1 May 2007 <
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/virginiatechshooting/main2703671.shtml>.


 


 

Willenz, Pam. "VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAN INCREASE AGGRESSION." APA Online. 23 Apr. 2000. 01 May 2007 <http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html>.


 

"Wisconsin Web Site Sold Gun to Va. Tech Shooter." ABC7Chicago.Com (2007): 24 pars. 30 Apr. 2007 <http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=nation_world&id=5220576>.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Gun Control in America

For some reason, many people say that America should not have gun control. However, others say if the American government does not take any steps toward gun control, the whole society will be in danger. This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against gun control.

Many Americans say that America should not have gun control because they use guns for sporting activities. Others say that they carry guns for personal protection or self defense. In 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student at Virginia Tech University, killed 33 people, including himself, using guns. Chris Mucklow, a 22-year-old sociology student at the same university, said, “I wish I had had a gun that day. I wish some of the professors had had guns on them. They could have taken the shooter down” (Frei par.12).

Even though lots of deadly shootings have happened all around America, the American government has not yet taken any steps toward gun control. The latest shooting was in Virginia, where 33 people were killed by a madman who bought two guns. He was able to buy these guns because there were no strict regulations. As I mentioned before, some people think that if someone had had a gun at that time, he or she could have killed him before he killed all of those people. Brendan Quirk, an engineering student at Virginia Tech University, said, "You can't control guns with more guns" (par.15).

In conclusion, we can prevent cases, like this one in Virginia, from happening again by limiting the ability to get guns easily. The American government should legislate for gun control. If not, there might be another shooting soon.


Work Cited

Frei, Matt. "Washington Diary: Virginia Shootings." BBC News. 18 Apr. 2007. 19
Apr. 2007 .


Anas Ghandorah

The Gun Control

Many people who live in the United States have guns. Many of these people use their guns for hunting. It is very easy to have a gun in the United States. As a result, there are many negative effects of how easy it is to buy a gun. After what happened at Virginia Tech, many people are asking the government to legislate more gun control. However, some people still believe that the best way to defend yourself is to have a gun.

There is gun control in the United States, but it is weak. For example, the shooting that took place at Virginia Tech caused by a mentally ill student. If there was a strong gun control, this student would not have two guns in short time. The Virginia Tech shooting showed that the government needs more gun control. Many people are mad at the government, because they think that the government has to focus more on this issue. One of the students at Virginia Tech, Chris Mucklow, said to the BBC News reporter that the government should have more background checks and that would help to find out if people have mental problems or criminal history (Frei par.12). Another student, Brendan Quirk, said that “you can not control guns with more guns for chrissake” (Par.15).

There are some people who want to keep their guns. Most of them are against gun control. They use their guns to protect themselves. They believe that if you have a gun, you will be safe. Chris Mucklow, who is a student at Virginia Tech, said “I wish I had had a gun that day. I wish some of the professors had had guns on them. They could have taken the shooter down” (par. 12).

Gun control is important to keep everybody safe. The government should make strict rules that help to control guns. Even though the government can not take away all the guns, they can be more careful giving people the rights to have guns. Some people like to have guns just for hunting, but other people use their guns to steal and kill innocent people. Therefore, the government should make new rules to keep crimes and firearms violence to the minimum rate in the United States society.

Work Cited
Frei, Matt. “Washington Diary: Virginia Shootings.” BBC News. 18 Apr. 2007. 19 Apr. 2007 .

Mohanad Alsherebi

Friday, May 4, 2007

Being Much Safer

Amjad Roboey
Dived Pearson
G/W 6
April 29, 2007

A week ago, the history of the U.S. changed when the dimwitted killer, as I like to call him, killed 32 people in Virginia. The killer got his gun as easy as getting a coke from a grocery store. This ease of carrying a gun causes a lot of trouble. Nowadays, people argue whether adults can carry guns or not as if they are brainless.

I strongly believe that people should not be allowed to bear arms. This right does nothing but increase the chance of violent accidents crimes. Many people think that guns are necessary because they can be used as protection at certain times. Everyone wants safety, but allowing more and more people to purchase guns will not help achieve this. Most of the people who commit violent crime, such as the man who killed students at Virginia Tech last week, had easy access to these guns. The person who sold the guns did not know the intentions of the shooter. There are so many people who buy guns that it is hard to separate the people with good intentions from those with bad intentions. However, if we could stop the selling of guns, then there would not be crimes and it would decrease the number of killings. Consequently, people will feel much safer so that they will not need to buy weapons.

Also, we have police to protect us in situations where we may be harmed. Having policemen everywhere for protection is a very helpful and a convenient resource. If the government wants legislating better safety systems in campuses, they should spread groups of policemen in all campuses. I certainly agree with Brendan Quirk who has interviewed by BBC. He stated, “you can’t control guns with more guns…” (Frei par 15). This is true. There really isn’t a point in having more guns. You will only increase violence. It is like the idiom, you cannot fight fire with fire.

There seems to be no solution right now to the issue of holding guns in Congress. It is not a simple to decide nether people can carry guns nor not. There are two strong sides for carrying guns and against it. According to the article Gun Laws Not Likely To Change, there are many political reasons in this issue. “Democrats have not said much on this issue because they might lose votes in areas that support guns” (Frei par 19). I think carrying guns is not a good idea. Therefore, this issue needs immediate attention. If nothing is done, we will see an increasing homicide rate. Government and societies need to do the best to avoid this problem and we.

Work Cited
Frei, Matt. “Gun Laws Not Likely To Chang.” Washington diary: Virginia shootings. Washington, BBC News. 26 Apr. 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6566763.stm

Best Wishes..
Amjad Roboey

Gun Control

Luay Alghalibi
David Pearson
Gw:6
April 27, 2007
Gun Control

Deciding whether or not there is a need for more gun control in America is a difficult subject about which to write. However, I don’t think the question should be gun control or no gun control, but rather I think it should be better gun control than what is currently in place in the United States.

I think that gun store owners should be held more responsible for who they sell guns to. Gun owners should have to do background checks before selling someone a gun. For example, store owners should have to call police to see if the person that wants to buy the gun has a criminal record. There are a lot of people who say this wouldn’t make a difference though. As the article Washington diary: Virginia shootings reads, “Would John Markell, the owner of the Roanoke firearms shop really have wanted to sell Cho the 9mm Glock if he had read some of these pages? After all four guns sold from his shop had already been reportedly involved in other homicides” (Frei par. 17). I think that the store owner should be held responsible for who he sells guns to, and he should be held accountable for any crime that happens with a gun he has sold
.
I don’t agree that weakening the rules of gun control would help decrease the crime in the United States. Many people think that if everyone had guns, then no one would kill each other because they would be afraid of being shot themselves . I agree with Brendan Quirk who is quoted in the article Washington diary: Virginia shootings as saying, "You can't control guns with more guns for chrissake" (par. 15). Trying to control guns while giving people more guns will just cause more chaos and murders. There has to be some sort of control on who can or can not own and carry guns or else people will easily be able to commit crimes with guns.

Lastly, there are lots of people who argue that guns don’t kill people, but people kill people. This argument is no longer valid since obviously there are some people in America who are unable to control their mental states and keep themselves for harming other people. While people are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the murder, allowing people less access to guns would help decrease the chance for the murder in the first place.

Solving the issue of gun control in the United States is a problem that is not easily fixed. Many politicians try to stay neutral on the topic because so many people have different opinions about it. It is difficult to make the majority of the country happy with new legislation about guns. However, in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, it is obvious that tightening the current legislation in place and adding some extra precautions that would make it harder for criminals to get guns would help the situation.

Works Cited

Frei, Matt. “Washington diary: Virginia shootings” BBC Washington. 18 Apr.2007.
23 Apr.2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6566763.stm

Friday, April 27, 2007

the Gun Control in the U.S


"But I wish I had had a gun that day" (Frei par. 12). This was a wish of a student who witnessed Virginia's bloodbath. At Virginia Tech a student, suffering from mental problems, killed 32 students before turning his gun on himself and committing suicide. This tragedy was not the first one America has witnessed. "America has witnessed at least 19 fatal school shootings in the last decade" (par. 1). But who should be held responsible? Some say immigration should be held responsible, but it is not a reasonable accusation since immigrants have played a significant role in developing sciences and founding companies. "America's high-tech industries are powered by foreign brains…Almost a third of Silicon Valley start-ups since 1995 were founded by Indians or Chinese"("American" par.3). Consequently, a reasonable blame should be on the gun control laws in United States. Some people argue that the United States should have gun control, but others are against it.

Some people in the U.S are calling for gun control. According to a student in Virginia tech, "You can't control guns with more guns for chrissake[sic]" (qtd in Frei par. 15). They complain about the gun control laws saying that it is easy in the U.S to bear arms. For instance, when a man wants to buy a gun, "He needs only two forms of ID" (Reich par. 1). This ease of buying guns increases the number of people who commit crimes. Therefore, the government should create a database for people who have mental problems or have entered psychiatric hospitals so that the firearms shops can use it to identify those people. Matt Frei, a reporter for BBC news states in his article, Washington diary: Virginia shootings, that if there had been a background check in Virginia, firearms shops would not have sold two guns to Cho Seung-Hui, who killed the 32 students at Virginia Tech:

If the state of Virginia had been obliged to conduct a thorough background check and seek references before granting Cho the right to bear arms, they might have discovered what his teacher Lucinda Roy knew from his writings: that he was a deeply disturbed individual who fantasised [sic] in his creative writing exercises about shooting people in the face - first one eye, then the other. (Frei par. 16)

On the other hand, there are people who do not want gun control. Some of them have been trained to hunt and use guns since childhood. Consequently, it is hard for them to stop practicing their favorite activity, especially, when it comes to states like Vermont where people do like hunting. According to Matt Frei, "His liberal home state of Vermont hates fast-food as much as it likes hunting" (Frei par. 20). Also these people want to bear arms for self-defense. For example, "If Professor Liviu Librescu, the 76-year-old Holocaust survivor who died wedging himself against the door to stop the gunman from killing his students, had had a weapon, perhaps he would he [sic] alive today" (par.14).

To sum up, the United States should have gun control. In many tragedies that the U.S has witnessed, the gun was an important element. In addition, if there were no guns for sale in market, people who have mental problems or criminals would not even think about killing people.


Works cited

"American Idiocracy." The Economist 24 March 2007: 40.


Frei, Matt "Washington diary: Virginia shootings." BBC News on the Web 18 April 2007. 23 Apr. 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/Americas

/6566763.stm>.

Reich, Robert "U.S. needs a prescription for gun control." Market Place 18 Apr. 2007. . 23 Apr. 2007<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/04/18/PM200704184.html?refid

=0>.


Saturday, April 21, 2007

Biryani

Biryani is “a delicious Pakistani/Indian rice dish which is often reserved for very special occasions such as weddings, parties, or holidays such as Ramadan” (Nazia). It takes on a wide variety of cultural influences. Biryani is most common in India, where it originated. It is made of a mixture of spices, and meat. The main ingredient is rice. The spices include saffron, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, etc. They give the Biryani its rich and very flavorful taste. Since Biryani is Indian cuisine, there are two varieties. One involves meat. The other variety involves vegetables since many Indians can not eat beef for religious purpose. Personally, I like both styles. They are both very delicious.

There are several ways to prepare this delicious dish, since it is made in different ways in different regions of India. I prefer the most popular form which originates in a place called Hyderabad. The dish is made out of a base of rice. I usually use a packet that comes with a special seasoning. It is called Biryani mix. First, I mix this with the rice after I have fully washed and drained the rice. Then I take out some freshly prepared chicken breast pieces. I choose to use these because they taste good when mixed with the dish. After that, I put several spices such as coriander and cumin blended with the chicken. All of these are put into a pot that is medium sized. Finally, I let it sit on the stove at 350 degrees temperature for almost an hour. Once it seems cooked, I take the pot and dump the meat with the rice. One important thing to remember is that you must mix the rice well or it will clump together or stick to the pot. You should let the mixture of meat and rice cook for approximately an hour or so. Once done, you can decorate the Biryani with bay leaves and other decorative items.


Work Cited

Nazia. “Chicken Biryani.” 8 Apr. 2007
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Biryani/Detail.aspx


Amjad Roboey..

Friday, April 20, 2007

Luay Alghalibi
GW: 6
How to take care of pets.

Taking care of a pet is a lot more responsibility than most people think. Most of the time People know how much fun having a pet is, but they do not realize that there is also a lot of work in taking care of an animal. Pets need lots of attention, discipline, and love.

When you first get a pet, you must pay a lot of attention to the pet so they will learn to trust you. If you have a dog, you must show the dog that you care for it so that it will learn that you are there to take care of it and not hurt it. Dogs need to trust you so that they are not aggressive towards you. It is also important that you teach the dog to trust anyone else that might be around it. Many times, dogs are very protective of themselves, and if they don’t trust the people that are around it, they can become mean. You must show the dog, from the very beginning that you are not going to hurt it or leave it. You can do this by being very patient and attentive. Paying a lot of attention to the dog when you first get it is the first step in taking care of it.

Not only must you show the dog attention, but also you must discipline and train the dog. The dog has to know that it must go outside to use the bathroom, so as soon as you get the dog, you must train it to go outside. You have to set a schedule and teach the dog that there are certain times when it will go outside. This takes a lot of time but dogs learn by routine and eventually they will learn the schedule. You must also discipline the dog to obey you. It is important to show the dog that you are in control and it must do what you tell it does. Disciplining a dog can be very time-consuming and difficult but with patience, you can teach the dog how to behave as you wish.

Lastly, it is very important, to show the dog lots of love. Dogs are very loving towards their owners and need that love in return so that they will continue to be well disciplined and behaved around you and other people. Dogs need to know that you love them and are happy that they are in your house. It is very important to always feed and bathe your dog to show them that you care about their health. You must always take them to the veterinarian to make sure they have all the health care they need also.

Showing a pet attention, teaching it discipline, and loving it by taking good care of it are all important things that you must do when raising it. All three of these things are crucial and neglecting only one of those things can make having a pet a very difficult situation. The benefits of having a pet are plenty and a lot of fun but it is also a lot of reasonability.

marriage in Saudi Arabia

Marriage in Saudi Arabia

Would you like to marry a Saudi girl? Well, you should do many steps before you get married in Saudi Arabia. You need to be an employee at government or privet company to be able to afford life expenses. Then you have to tell your mother that you decided to get married. You have to make a big wedding, which will cost you a lot before you get married.

First, you must be work at a public company or a respected company which gives you a good salary. In fact, marriage in Saudi Arabia is completely different from the US. For example, when you get married in Saudi Arabia, you must pay for everything, such as your wife’s clothes, food, medical care, and everything else in your life. In my opinion, it is not easy to get married in Saudi Arabia because you have to be sure that you can afford all marriage expenses.

Second, you have to tell your mother that you have decided to get married because in my country the mother chooses suitable girl for her son. For example, when my brother wanted to get married, he told my mother. Then she started looking for suitable girl for him. After that, my mother told him that she found suitable girl for him. Then my brother went with my father to the girl’s house to talk with her father. After the girl and her father accepted my brother, he was able to see the girl and talk with her for a while to know whether or not he will like her.

Marriage in Saudi Arabia costs a lot of money because you must pay from ten to twenty thousand dollars dowry for the bride. In addition, you have to make a big wedding, which costs you at least ten thousand dollars. Also you must rent a new furnished apartment, which will cost you at least another ten thousand. After the wedding, you should have enough money to travel abroad to enjoy your honeymoon.

For me, I would rather stay single than pay all that money for marriage. What makes marriage different in Saudi Arabia is that you have to go through a long process and be qualified for married life. Finally, according to Cultural Homogeneity and Values, “In Saudi society in general, the role of women was basic to maintaining the structure of the family and therefore of society” (Cultural par. 2).

Work Citied
"Cultural Homogeneity and Values." Countries Studies. 2003. 10 Apr. 2007 <http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/21.htm>.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

We Can Not Live Without Hookah

The hookah is the greatest thing in the world. Hookah is an Arabic water pipe. Shisha is tobacco mixed with molasses and fruit flavors and is smoked in a hookah. It is very light and flavorful with a wonderful fruity aroma. Hookah is smoked for the flavor and not for any kind of effect. In most Middle Eastern countries, there are shisha cafés where people can smoke and drink coffee or tea.

First, choose which flavor that you like to smoke. Then, spread the shisha into small pieces and put them in the head of the hookah. After that, cover the head with a piece of tinfoil and make many holes in different places in the tinfoil. If you only make a few holes, that will not work as well as it is supposed to.

Second, put cold water in the bowl of water pipe. Also, you can put cold juice in the bowl, and that will make the smoke better and more enjoyable. However, you can put warm water, but that will not be as good as if you put cold water. In addition, when you put burning charcoal on the tinfoil, spread out the pieces of charcoal on top of the tinfoil and do not put them close to each other. If you put pieces of charcoal close to each other, that will make the smoke too heavy, and you will not be able to smoke for a long time.

Finally, there are some benefits of smoking hookah even if it is bad for your health. Some students like to smoke hookah while they are studying and doing their homework. Hookah makes you relax and helps you think. Some people like to buy their own hookah and to smoke at home while they are reading a newspaper or watching television.

Most people prefer to smoke hookah in hookah cafes which are popular in many Arabic countries. These people enjoy talking to their friends and watching games in hookah cafes. According to Zach Tomaszewski, "smoking shisha can last two hours or more and is a very peaceful, social occasion generally filled with good conversation with friends" (par. 1). You only live one life, so smoke hookah and enjoy.

Work Cited
Tomaszewski, Zach. "Snark Dream Shisha Exports." 28 Jan. 2004. 4 Apr. 2007.

Mohanad Alsherebi

Opinion Paper

The following is an excerpt from an article on the BBC News website, April 18, 2007. The larger article describes Virginia Tech where 33 students died of gunshot wounds recently.

The section of the article below describes the debate over "The Right To Bear Arms," that is, to carry a gun. I would like you to write an opinion essay where you argue either that America should or should not have gun control.

In the article you will find information to support both sides of the argument. And I would like you to quote the article at least two times with in text citations and a work cited section. The information for the work citation is immediately below, including the webpage address. I suggest you click on the webpage and take a look at the photos and the longer article. Also, YOU MUST click on the webpage so that you can COUNT PARAGRAPHS for the intext citation. For example, (Bob par. 12).

Good Luck

Gun Laws Not Likely To Change

Washington diary: Virginia shootings
By Matt Frei
BBC News, Washington
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6566763.stm
Last Updated: Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 09:15 GMT 10:15 UK

America has witnessed at least 19 fatal school shootings in the last decade.

[I cut a large section out of the article]

Right to bear arms

On the sports field between the hall of residence where Cho Seung-Hui shot his first two victims and the Norris Hall where he gunned down the remaining 30, I spotted Chris Mucklow, a 22-year-old sociology student who loved soccer.

He was sitting by himself and crying silently. I asked him, whether he thought there should be stricter laws against gun ownership. "More background checks, absolutely," he replied. "But I wish I had had a gun that day. I wish some of the professors had had guns on them. They could have taken the shooter down."

It was an opinion I heard from many students at Virginia Tech and it goes beyond the abstract debate about the "right to bear arms", enshrined in the Constitution. It is about self defence in the face of a rampaging menace.

If Professor Liviu Librescu, the 76-year-old Holocaust survivor who died wedging himself against the door to stop the gunman from killing his students, had had a weapon, perhaps he would he alive today.

But it strikes me that this is a reaction rather than a solution. "You can't control guns with more guns for chrissake". That's how Brendan Quirk, an engineering student who watched as the victims jumped from the second story windows of Norris Hall put it.

If the state of Virginia had been obliged to conduct a thorough background check and seek references before granting Cho the right to bear arms, they might have discovered what his teacher Lucinda Roy knew from his writings: that he was a deeply disturbed individual who fantasised in his creative writing exercises about shooting people in the face - first one eye, then the other.

Debate

Would John Markell, the owner of the Roanoke firearms shop really have wanted to sell Cho the 9mm Glock if he had read some of these pages? After all four guns sold from his shop had already been reportedly involved in other homicides.

George Bush watches Laura Bush sign a memorial
Mr Bush said it was impossible to make sense of such violence
Yes, this tragedy has sparked a debate about gun control but mostly outside America. Even Australian Prime Minister John Howard, that stalwart friend of George W Bush, was quick to blame "the US gun culture".

But on Capitol Hill, the Democrats, who have sunk their teeth into every other aspect of the administration, have remained largely silent on the issue. Gun control puts voters off in swing states, their research has discovered. Best to say little about it especially with an election approaching.

Remember Howard Dean, the country doctor turned governor, turned Presidential candidate, turned Chairman of the Democratic Party? He railed against George W Bush "shooting from the hip" but he never really spoke out for gun control. Why? Because his liberal home state of Vermont hates fast-food as much as it likes hunting.

Despite this week's bloodbath there will be no overwhelming demand for gun control in this country. Like evangelical Christianity, baseball and a love of Pumpkin Pie it is just one of those things that separates Europeans from Americans.

Will the next shooting take place at another university, a high school, a nursery or a secretarial college?

In our hotel they were handing out ribbons made by the staff, displaying the colours of Virginia Tech. Orange and red. It was a touching gesture. On campus thousands of students gathered with candles in hand to commemorate the dead.

Earlier in the day they had sat in silence in the football stadium to listen to President Bush explain that the victims found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. America is at its most impressive when it grieves and remembers. But will the soul-searching ever produce legislation and will it make schools safer?

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

How to Make Kabsa

If you have not eaten Kabsa, you have not eaten yet. Kabsa is a staple traditional dish in Saudi Arabia. It is one of Saudi’s most famous dishes. You should try this dish to find the real food. The most important ingredients in this dish are rice and meat. There are three steps to make this dish.

The first step in making Kabsa is having ingredients that this dish contains. Although rice and meat are the most important ingredients, the dish cannot be made without other ingredients. Besides rice and meat, like chicken or lamb, your kitchen should include oil, onions, garlic, tomato puree, tomatoes and carrots. Spices are also required, such as cardamom pods and sticks of cinnamon. You can add raisins and almonds to the dish for adornment.

After having all of these ingredients, the second step is to prepare the ingredients for cooking. First of all, you have to rinse three cups of rice and soak them for 15 minutes. While the rice is soaking, cut two medium onions into slices, pound five cloves of garlic, chop two medium tomatoes, grate two medium carrots and open the can of tomato puree.

you are now ready to cook. Add oil to a big deep pot and sauté the onions to brown in the same pot without adding water. Then, add the meat, the garlic, the carrots, the tomatoes and the tomato puree to the onions and stir for 5 minutes over low heat. Afterwards, add six cups of water to the pot that contains the meat and the vegetables and add the spices as well. The amount of the water depends on the amount of the rice. You have to put 2 cups of water for one cup of rice. Cook the whole ingredients that you put inside the pot for about 20-25 minutes. After the required time, remove just the cooked meat and keep it in a warm place and add the rice to the pot. Cook the rice for 15 minutes over low heat. Arrange the chicken on a platter over the rice and add the raisins and the almonds after you sauté them. Your magnificent dish is ready.

Finally, you should try Kabsa because it is nutritious. It can give you the energy that you need for your day. These kinds of food give you a picture about food in other cultures. Just try this dish and you will be addicted to it. Quentin and Suraiya Ranson , Americans who tried Kabsa, say, “We will return to Kabsa again, and again” (Par. 10).


Work cited

Ranson, Quentin, and Suraiya Ranson. "ROCK THE KABSA." Vueweekly. 4 Apr. 2007
http://www.vueweekly.com/articles/default.aspx?i=2808.


Anas Ghandorah

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism

Every year many students are suspended from universities. Why? they Plagiarise. The University of Indiana defines plagiarism as “using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information”(Indiana par.1). In other words, stealing people's ideas is just like stealing their property. Writers spend a lot of time crafting their work, but plagiarists spend only a moment to complete their work by copying other's ideas. Plagiarism affects both the plagiarizer and the person whose ideas are being stolen. Plagiarism is very common. There is a long history of plagiarism with many famous examples. Modern technology has made it mach easier to plagiarize. Fortunately, there are many ways to avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism has a long history. Many people used to plagiarize and nobody cared about that. Plagiarism was a normal practice for a long time. Even Shakespeare plagiarized in a lot of his work. Plagiarism is stealing others' work and ideas, and that is what makes it a bad behavior. According to Malcolm Jones, "As concepts go, plagiarism isn't that old. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson as the first person to use the word plagiary to designate literary theft--and he was making a joke. That was at the beginning of the 17th century, when everyone, including Shakespeare, still borrowed other people's work and remade it" (par. 10).

Plagiarism only became a serious issue after the American revolution, about 200 years ago. The U.S congress passed a law “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries”(qtd. in Masterson 632). They started to legislate against plagiarism. For example, in the United States an author can sue plagiarists in federal court. Also, Plagiarism in college is never acceptable. In the 1980s, there has been a significant increase in the amount of litigation in courts in the USA concerning punishments imposed by colleges and licensing boards“(Standler "Cases Against Plagiarists in Colleges" par.1). To save authors' and owners' rights, all books are now protected from plagiarism by copyright. Plagiarism is a violation of the copyright. After March 1, 1989, “ any work created in the USA is automatically protected by copyright, even if there is no copyright notice attached to the work “ (Standler "The Law of Plagiarism" par.3).

Many people plagiarize to reduce the amount of work they have to do and to make their work more attractive. Even though plagiarism is popular around the world, it is not legal. Plagiarism is prohibited because it is stealing someone else’s ideas without permission. Plagiarism is the same as stealing someone’s car or stealing someone's money. There are many famous examples of people who plagiarized and were caught plagiarizing.

Stephen Edward Ambrose, a famous American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, was a professor of history in several universities from 1960 to 1995. Many people first became aware of who he was when he was kicked out of Kansas State University because he asked lots of annoying questions to President Richard Nixon during a speech. Ambrose wrote many popular books, but he was caught plagiarizing in one of them ("Stephen Ambrose" par.2).

Ambrose was accused of plagiarism in his book, The Wild Blue. He took several passages from Thomas Childers’s book, Wings of Morning, without including any quotation marks.

According to Fred Barnes, “The two books are similar in more than just subject. Whole passages in ‘The Wild Blue’ are barely distinguishable from those in ‘Wings of Morning.’ Sentences in Ambrose's book are identical to sentences in Childers's. Key phrases from ‘Wings of Morning,’ such as ‘glittering like mica’ and ‘up, up, up’ are repeated verbatim in ‘The Wild Blue.’ None of these--the passages, sentences, phrases--is put in quotation marks and ascribed to Childers” (Barnes 1).

Modern technology has made plagiarism much easier to commit. For example,there are now a lot of websites that provide free articles or essays and help people to plagiarize easily. The Internet helps plagiarists get millions of sources in just a second. In fact, there are many websites that sell articles, essays, and whatever the plagiarists need for just a few dollars.

There are many other ways to commit plagiarism, such as copying and pasting others' ideas, or by sharing these ideas with friends online. A bad way to plagiarize is to steal others' ideas by translating them from another language to English to make it difficult for readers to notice the plagiarism. According to the website plagiarism.org “Plagiarism has never been easier than it is today. Before the internet, cheating was labor-intensive and obvious. Potential plagiarists had to find appropriate works from a limited pool of resources, usually a nearby library, and copy them by hand” ("Plagiarism.Today par.1"). Now, it is very easy to find articles in any language and translate them in just a few seconds.

plagiarism is more bigger problem than most people think. It is an ethical problem. It means degrades who reads your paper. Nowadays, there are some organizations and websites that help to detect plagiarism .These sites may help reduce plagiarism. According to plagiarism.org, “Turnitin and iThenticate offer plagiarism detection services that address this growing problem of intellectual property theft and dishonesty. Organizations around the world have found that an effective plagiarism detection service when combined with plagiarism education serves as an enormously effective deterrent to digital plagiarism” (par.6).

There are a lot of people who plagiarized unintentionally. Joe McGinniss, who is an American writer, has plagiarized Accidentally. He took several passeges from the work of William Manchester, the historian who wrote the definitive account of John F. Kennedy's assassination. People ask if Mcginniss is “a plagiarist or ... just a lazy reporter?” (Painton par.1). William Manchester plans to sue Joe McGiniss, “after pinpointing 187 instances where he claims the author largely lifted his prose” (par.1).

Another example of unintentional plagiarism is Kaavya Viswantan who claims she unintentionally “copied portions of her novel ‘How Opal Mehata Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life’ from two adult novels by Megan McCafferty” (Smith). After that, Viswantan apologized to McCafferty for her unintentional plagiarism. She said, “I sincerely apologize to Megan McCafferty and to any who feel they have been misled by these unintentional errors on my part” (The Harvard Crimson par.5).

This unintentional plagiarism could happen to anyone. But to keep from being a plagiarist, writers need to know ways to avoid it. While writers are searching for information, they must write down the name of each of their sources. Another way is for writers to give themslves "plenty of time to research and write" their essays (Depauw par.22). In this way, writers will have time to know if their topics are suitable or not, and they will know whether or not they can write about them. writers also need to trust themselves and not say they don’t have ideas. All writers have ideas, but they are afraid of plagiarism. “Even the best writers are often unaware of their good ideas, and think they have nothing” (Depauw par.27).

In conclusion, history has shown that plagiarism is common.Even though plagiarism is a crime and a disrespectful deed, many famous and ordinary people were accused of it. Unfortunately, modern technology helps people to steal others’ ideas more easily whether they intend to or not. However, there are several ways to avoid plagiarism. Students should be careful not to plagiarize because it can ruin their academic career.

Works cited


“Avoiding Plagiarism.” Depauw University. 13 Apr. 2007 <http://www.depauw.edu/admin/arc/writin_center/plag.asp>.

Barnes, Fred. "Stephen Ambrose, Copycat." The Daily Standard. 1 May 2002. 13 Apr. 2007<http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/738lfddv.asp>.

Jones, Malcolm. "Have You Read This Story Somewhere?"
Newsweek. 4 Feb. 2002.13 Apr. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/ login.aspx?direct= true& db=aph&AN=5955051&site=ehost-live>.

Masters, Salathiel. California Law Revier
15 Apr 2007

Painton, Priscilla. The LAST Brother. SIMON & SCHUSTER, 1993. Find More Like This Teddy, we hardly know ye. 16 Apr. 2007 <http://web.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=105&sid=f7098673-96cc-4774-aca9-266d30dc9b77%40sessionmgr108>.

"Plagiarism Today." Plagiarism.Org. 14 Aug.-Sept. 2003. 12 Apr. 2007 <http://plagiarism.org/plagiarism.html>.

“Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It.” Indiana University. 27 Apr. 2004.09 Apr. 2007<http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml>.

Smith, Dinita. "Find More Like This Novelist Says She Red [sic] Copied Books Several Times." New York Times 27 Apr. 2006: pa 16-a 16. Academic Search Premier.EBSCO. Unive. of South Carolina Lib. 16 Apr. 2007
<http://web.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/ehost/delivery?vid=9&h..>.

Standler, Ronaled Plagiarism in Colleges in USA. 3 Feb 2007.12 Apr 2007 <http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm>.

"Stephen Ambrose." Wikipedia. 9 Apr. 2007. 13 Apr. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Ambrose>.

The Harvard Crimson 23 Apr. 2006. Wikipedia. Cambridge. 16 Apr. 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaavya_Viswanathan#_note-14>.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

                How to Write a Good Essay

       Do you want to write a good essay? You need to know the steps of writing an essay. Also you need to choose a topic that you know a lot about. Before you begin writing the essay, look up some information you might need in your essay so that you can be sure your paper will have good information and will cover the main idea of your essay. The essay should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
       First, you should write the introduction. In the introduction, a good writer usually begins with a lead-in or a hook, which is a sentence that grabs the reader’s attention. You can write the hook in many ways. According to Coshe.com, “You can use a quote, an obscure fact, a question, or some ingenious opening sentence that smacks of relevant cleverness” (Figueroa par. 3). Then, you can give background information about the topic you are writing about. When you finish writing the background of your topic, you should write the thesis, which is the main idea of your essay. After that, you should write the main supporting ideas, which you will write about in the body, the following paragraphs.
       Second, you should write the body. Usually the body has at least three paragraphs unless you are writing a comparative essay, which usually has two paragraphs for the body. Each paragraph of the body should begin with a topic-sentence which is one of the main supporting ideas of your thesis. After writing the topic-sentence, you should write information about your main supporting idea and you should also give examples of what you are writing to make your ideas clear. While you write the body, you might want to use others’ ideas. If you want to use someone else’s idea, you must mention the source and the name of the idea’s owner; otherwise, it will be considered plagiarism. And take into consideration that if you cite too many writers, readers will wonder if you have any ideas of your own.
       Thirdly, you should write the conclusion. The conclusion is the paragraph where you tell the readers what you have already told them in the body. In other words, you should restate the main idea and the main supporting ideas of your paper in this paragraph. A good conclusion usually ends with a punch-line which is the last sentence of your paper. It is the sentence you want the readers to remember the most.
       To sum up, a good essay must have an introduction, body, and conclusion. A good essay begins with an interesting sentence that makes the reader want to keep reading your paper. The body should have the main supporting ideas and examples. The last thing is the conclusion where you write the main idea and the main supporting ideas of your paper. You should also remember to end your paper with a punch-line.

                                             Work cited
Figueroa, Emiliano. “The Introduction.” Online posting. 24 Apr. 2003.
        05 Apr. 2007 <http://www.coshe.com/intro.htm>.

Sultan Almutairi

Monday, April 2, 2007

Married or Single

Do you like to be free? Well, you don’t have to get married if you want to be free. Most people don’t know about how much effort a committed relationship takes. When I talk about marriage, I feel that I should mention responsibility, freedom, and life expenses, which I think are the most important things that you have to think about before you decide to get married.

In my opinion marriage has a lot of responsibility that makes it too hard. These include raising children and taking care of them, being responsible of your wife and your life expenses. In fact, most of my friends who got married early got bored because they didn’t live their life because they felt that they couldn’t even talk to any girl because of their wives.

I’m sure that everyone likes to be free. However, you can’t be free if you are married man. For example, when my brother wanted to come to the US to visit me, his wife refused to let him leaves her alone. Actually, my brother told me that he wishes that he doesn’t get married to get his freedom back. Also, I think that if you like any beautiful girl, you won’t be able to date her if you are married man.

Finally, I think it is a big deal that you can’t afford the life expenses if you are married such as, rental expenses, children clothes and other stuff, your wife needs and your house needs. Actually I’ve met a friend here in America who’s working as a waiter and gets $2 per hour. That friend told me that he is suffering from life expenses that he can’t buy his wife’s birthday gift.

In conclusion, I prefer to live as a single man, until I feel that I can make a serious relationship because I respect the word marriage. My advice to any man who wants to get married is to mull it over before doing it.

Fahad Alghanem

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Who Am I ?

One day, when I was walking home with Angelina Jolie, three guys in a black car started to shoot at us. I jumped on my horse's back and chased them. During the chase, they crossed railway. While I was crossing after them, a train came from nowhere and hit me. And that was exactly the minute when I hit the floor after falling from my bed.

In all my 24 years I had never thought that I could be a hero one day. Usually, when I'm not sleeping I love to stay home watching movies, comedy series or anything that comes on TV on week days. Also, I love to work on my computer a lot. I love computers because I graduated from an industrial high school, and computers became my major since then.

Anyway, I wasn't surprised when Angelina walked with me to my home. The main questions were: what brought Angelina Jolie to Saudi Arabia? And why did she come to Riyadh, the capital city? I was working with ExxonMobil when I had this dream. It was Right before I quit working with Exxon and started working with the famous DHL express company. In my dream, I wanted to see the chances between me and Angelina to get togather. So, I logged on a compatibility website. I wrote Nassar Alnassar, my name, in the first blank, and Angelina Jolie in the second blank. When I pushed the button that says "Match", the answer was very clear and written in a large font. The computer said: "YOU WISH "

Keep Your Freedom.

Who loves to stay in jail forever? I believe nobody will answer this question positively. We all know that happiness is freedom. You may not know it yet, but when you get married you put yourself in jail. You are not free anymore. You are chained to your responsibilities. Furthermore, you are forced to work hard until you die.

Married people are like prisoners. They are the prisoners of responsibility and their families. When a man gets married, he looses his freedom or at least 70% of being free. He has a few hours to be out of his home. Also, there is a person who asks him everyday about where he has been? And why he is late? I have this friend who I used to hang out with and go anywhere with at anytime. We used to travel, no matter for how long, and sometimes he slept over when we got back late from somewhere. One day, my friend here got married. Consequently, now I barely see him. We, single people, still have our freedom, and we still travel and go wherever we want. Sometimes he tells us, that he wishes if he could come with us, but he can't because he can't leave his job and family.

Marriage will not only control your free time. Marriage will add a lot of responsibilities to your life. As a single person I don’t care if I can't have two or three meals a day. I don’t care if I walk to school or ride a bike to somewhere I want. I don’t care if I can make it home today, because I can sleep at a friend's place. When you get married, you have other things to think about. You have your wife, your home and maybe some kids. You are responsible for provides a good life and home for them. You can't just accept the life however it goes. Also, on holyday you have to visit your wife's family plus your own. special occasions will also be doubled, and you are responsible to choose and buy a lot of presents.

In addition, when a man gets married he is forced to work harder. He has to work more in order to get more money. He should be the one who supports his family with all their needs. In fact, the hard work increases year after year of marriage. when he has kids, he has to work even harder to get them money for clothes, schools, cars and even college needs. If one day he doesn't provide something to his children or wife, she and her family will start blaming him and annoying him all the time. So, one way or another he finds himself forced to work harder at least to avoid headaches and problems.

In my country we have this phrase "the golden cage", that means "Marriage", I guess that is right. Marriage can be golden, but it's also a cage. So, go ahead people, lock yourself in that cage forever. And for you who are still single, spread your wings and fly guys, anywhere, anytime and any day. Everyone has choice in life, to be single or married, but who wants to be a prisoner for life?

Who am I???????

Girls if you are looking for fun, that is me. But if you are looking for a hero, I will think a bout it!!! Hey everybody. This is Mohanad and you can call me "MO." I am from Saudi Arabia, and please do not be scared. I am very nice and cute. I was born on August 8, 1987 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I am studying in Columbia, SC. I like traveling, making friends, and all kinds of sports and especially soccer. I like to party and to do anything for fun. I enjoy smoking "shisha" and driving crazy. If you want to know more about me, just ask me, and do not feel shy!!

Mohanad Alsherebi

                      Sultan Almutairi

       I will never forget my first day in United States when I spent hours in the cab just trying to find the hotel where I lived my first two weeks in the U.S. The reason why I could not find the hotel is that the only English word I had to describe the hotel was “EPI” and nobody knew what “EPI” meant. It was funny. Oops, I forgot to tell you that my name is Sultan. I am twenty years old. I am currently studying English at EPI. I plan to go to USC and begin studying computer science.
       my personality is somewhat odd. I am a talkative person. I argue a lot with my friends just because they think I have opinions about everything!!
        If you ask me what I do not like, my answer would be " slowpokes".

The Simple Life

Do you like to be free? Do you want to be in heaven all your life? Some people like to be free while others prefer to be married. Being single is better than being married because it has less responsibilities. It has less cost, and it is uncomplicated.

Single people have less responsibilities. For example, I have a right now to travel everywhere without complaints from a wife or children who I have to stick with all the time. When you are single, you do not have to care about anybody else except yourself. Also, you can make your own things without thinking about a family who is like a pain in the nick. For example, one day, I asked my married friend to come with me to the beach for two days, but he refused because he had to be beside his kids until they finish their exams.

When you are single, you save your money. If you get $6000 each month and you are single, you can spend $2000 for yourself and keep 4000 for the future. But if you are married, you need to give at least $2000 to your wife who is usually not working, and have to spend about $2000 on your children. Then a week before the end of the month, you find yourself out of money again.

To live a simple life, don’t stick with a family. When you are single, you will have more free time. My friend, who is married for a year, used to play piano in his free time. Now he can not even breathe because he has a lot of problems with his family that makes him has diabetes.

In conclusion, the best life is to live single without problems, such as, a lot of responsibilities and a lot of cost money. Just live single. Live in heaven.

Amjad Roboey

Amjad Roboey

Some years ago, something happened to me I will never forget. I was 12 years old. While I was playing on the banister in my home, I have suddenly fallen down from one floor. I broke my both arms and my right leg and two front teeth. It was heart! I thought I’ll never ever be able to walk again. But fortunately, I’m here now with my friends running and jumping like a horse.
My name is Amjad, some of my friends call me “MJ.” Don’t ask me why because I don’t know either. I was born on July 26th, 1987, In Makah, Saudi Arabia. I lived in Riyadh for 2 years, and then I moved to Jeddah. I lived there for 3 years, and finally, I went back to Makah, and I have been there about 10 years. And now, I’m in the USA. I have been here since October 15th, 2005. I’m studying in EPI in the highest levels. I’ll attend USC next fall “hopefully.”
I love my parents. I love my nephews. I have the six back. I like to play soccer, and I used to play with a team called Al-shabab when I was in high school. I can pop my shoulder out of joint and put it back in. I like to dance a samba and Arabic dance. I think that’s all. If you want to know more, don’t feel shy. Just ask me.

Friday, March 30, 2007

The benefits of being single

Lauy Alghalibi


Can you imagine how much freedom you will lose by getting married? Being single is better than being married. Many people would rather be single than married because single people have less responsibility, less cost, and more freedom. Being married can put you under a lot of obligations.

One positive thing about being single is having less responsibility. Single people are not required to care about anything except themselves. For example, I have a friend who was one of my closest friends, but after he got married, we did not meet as much as we used to. However, we are still friends. Another example of the benefit of being single is a party I had once. And I invited many friends and they all came to it except Ahmade because he is married. His wife wasn’t feeling well that day. Thus, he had to stay at home taking care of her. Her problems are now his problems and vice versa . Marriage comes with a lot of responsibility. You can’t just do what you want anymore because you have to think about the other person. Something as simple as going to a friend’s party becomes a joint decision.

Being single is also less expensive than being married. When you are single, you only have to pay for things that you need. For example, when you buy groceries, you only have to worry about having enough food in your house for you. However, if you are married, you must spend enough to cover everyone in the house. Another example is health insurance. If you are single, your health insurance just covers your medical expenses, but if you get married, you must also have enough health insurance to cover their medical expenses. This can be quite expensive if they have health problems. Lastly, if you are married, you must always have money to support your spouse. Sometimes when you are single, there are times when you don’t have a lot of money. This would not be a good situation if you were married because you are no longer just worrying about yourself. Being single is much cheaper than being married. Even the actual wedding is quite expensive.

Being single also allows for more freedom. If you are single, you can make the decisions to do whatever you want to do no matter the consequences. Hopefully, you’ll still make the right decisions, but at least you are making them without having to think about someone else’s opinion. Something as simple as buying a car is better when you are single than when you are married. You may want one car, but if you are married, your spouse may want another car .Therefore, you must discuss how many car to bay and come to a compromise. But if you are single, you can just buy the car that you want without having to consult with anyone else.

All of these benefits of being single are connected. If you are single and spending less money, you have the ability to have more freedom over what you do and, therefore, have less responsibility for someone else. For some people, being married might be what they want, but I believe that being single is the better option. Being able to make my own decisions, and not having to worry about someone else while being able to spend my money as I wish seems like a much better option.

Anas Ghandorah

My father once told me, “If someone hits you hit him.” Therefore, I decided to be braver. One day when I was young, a boy made a mistake and started a fight with me. I don’t want to deceive you, so I should tell you the boy was not that strong. I remembered what my father had told me and started to hit him. I kept hitting that boy for five days continuously. Then, I realized what my father meant by that advice: I had to protect myself not behave as if I lived in a jungle. This little story might show you how “strong” I am, but it has really changed my picture of life. I am Anas Ghandorah who likes people to treat him the same way he treats them. I can say that the best teacher I have ever had in my 19 years, besides my father, is life.

Luay Alghalibi

When I’m not impressing people on the dance floor with my dance moves, I am usually impressing people on the soccer field with my smooth moves there. Originally from Saudi Arabia, I am in the USA hoping to major in computer science, a field in which I’m sure I will also impress people one day. You can usually find me shooting pool (another area where my reputation precedes me) or chilling with my friends in 5 points. I like fast cars, rap music, and ice cream. However, when you cannot feel the cool breeze that is Luay Alghalibi and find me, that is because I’ll be in the library studying English so that I can go to the University of South Carolina in the fall.

Mushal Alfarieh

If you are looking for someone who makes you cry, sorry you are on the wrong page. But if you are looking for someone who can cheer you up, I am your man. I am Mushal Alfarieh from Jubail Industrial city, Saudi Arabia. I was born on March 19, 1988. I like traveling, playing soccer, and of course playing my favorite video game “Play Station.” I set realistic goals for myself to reach, and continue to have a positive outlook on every aspect of life. Every obstacle that I have had to overcome has only made me stronger in mind, body, and spirit. Finally, I like to do things that give me a good reputation.

Being Single is the Best Way to Live

Who loves to stay in jail forever? When you get married, you put yourself in jail. You do not have freedom. You are chained to your family and responsibilities. And you are forced to work hard until you die.

Married people are prisoners because they do not have freedom. They have to spend their time with their families. Married people have to stay with their children and try to teach them everything about life. For example, one of my friends used to hang out a lot and spend most of his time with us before he got married. Now that he is married I meet him only once a month or even less. He can’t play soccer with us as before even if he would love to. We used to travel a lot, but not anymore. His wife wants him to stay with her all the time and to give her all his attention.

When you get married, you have more responsibilities than single people. Married people have responsibilities for their wives and their children. For example, my friend used to take responsibility for himself, but after he got married, he had to take care of his wife and his children and be responsible for them. He has to advise them and to help them when they need it. He is responsible for their health and education.

After they get married, many people have to spend more money than when they were single. They have to pay for most things at home. Married people have to take care of their families and make them happy. For example, they have to pay for the food, clothes, and bills. One of my friends, who got married, used to spend a lot of money for fun. He spent his money everywhere without care. But after he had a wife and children, he could not do the same thing. He has to count his money every time he buys something to save as much as he can.

Before you get married, you should think about it a lot. It is not an easy issue. You will put yourself in jail. Marriage takes away your freedom. Also, you will have more responsibility, and that will cost you a lot. So, live your life and have fun before you decide to go to jail.

Mohanad Alsherebi

Free Life

Do you like being free? Some people prefer to be free while others prefer to be married. Being single is better that being married because single people have less responsibility. They have less cost, and they have less complicated lives.

Single people have less responsibility. They have the ability to do things that they would never do if they were married. For example, I once asked my friend to play soccer with us, and he could not because his wife needs him to be next to her and in front of her eyes all the time. This is just one small thing. There are other things, such as taking care of children and controlling the information they get that might hurt them.

We can save our money by being single. When people get married, they are expected to have money all the time even if they do not have any. They do not realize that their money is being pulled out of their wallets. I did not realize that till I found out how much money my father spends everyday. He spends money for food, schools, cars, clothes and unexpected demands all the time.

We make our lives more complicated when we get married. When we need to make a decision about anything while we are married, we have to think about ten other things at the same time. For example, when married people need to buy a car and they like sport cars, they cannot think only about their desire. They have to think about the consequences of buying that kind of car, such as the size of the car, the price, the color and the safety.

In conclusion, all of us should be free. We know now that being single is better than being married because being single has less responsibility, less cost and it makes our lives less complicated. The choice between being married or being single will control your life.

Anas Ghandorah

This is not my opinion. I was compelled to write about this topic.

Being Single is Better than Being Married

       Who loves being in hell? People in general are divided in two groups, married people and single people. The first group is sick of life. They have nothing exciting to do in this life. They have a lot of responsibilities and must focus only on their children and not other people. On the other hand, there are single people who are free and relaxed. A lot of reasons make being single better than being married. Single people do not have to worry about children or going home early. They are free and hardworking and they do not have a lot of responsibilities.
       Single people do not have to worry about taking care of children or being at home most of the day. In Arabic society a man usually marries after a long history of causing trouble, flirting with women and hooking up with girls. So, as soon as a guy gets married, he kills the idea of being happy in his life. When a man marries, he should take care of his home, job, wife and children. And that would make his life more difficult unless he has two hearts!
       Single people are free and hardworking. They are free and ready for anything that could show up in their life. They don’t have to care about anything except themselves. Also they are hard workers due to their freedom. But married people cannot do as well as single people do. Married people usually are in a bad mood, so they cannot accept the idea of working hard.
       In comparison to married people, single people don’t have a lot of responsibilities. They can travel alone and do
whatever they want. Married people, however, cannot do whatever they want. When a man enjoys life either by traveling or by being nice to other women, immediately his wife goes crazy. At that point, his life turns into hell.
       In conclusion, being single is the right choice for those who want a better financial and psychological life. They don’t have to care about children or spend much time at home. they are hard workers so that they can fulfill their dreams, and they do not have marriage problems.

Sultan Almutairi

Single Status

Can you imagine how much freedom you will lose by getting married? Being single is better than being married for many reasons. One reason is that single people have less responsibility. The second reason is to have less cost. Also, single people have more freedom than married people do.

First of all, single people have less responsibility than married people do. Single people only care about themselves because they do not have wives or children. For example, one of my friends is studying at a university. He does not have any obligations towards anybody. He just has to pay the tuition to the university and to concentrate on his studies everyday. As a result, single people have nothing to be anxious about since they are single.

Secondly, single people do not spend a lot of money. Also, they do not have to pay a lot of expenses. For instance, they do not rent a big house to live in. They agree to live in an apartment or a studio because the apartment and the studio cost less money than the house. Also, single people can save their money for the future. They probably want to buy a nice car. So single people spend less money than married people.

Third, single people have freedom. They can go everywhere with no obligation. For example, my brother can stay outside of the house until midnight hanging out with his friends with out receiving calls from anybody, for example, a wife or children. Moreover, he can travel from one place to another without thinking about anybody else.

In conclusion, single people can have a better life than married people because single people have less responsibility, save a lot of money, and have more freedom. Being single is the best thing ever.

Mushal Alfarieh

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

New and Improved Grammar Writing 6 Web Blog

Welcome to the New and Improved Grammar Writing 6 Web Blog. Feel free to post comments. Enjoy!