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>.

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..

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>.

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?

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

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>.

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

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

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.