Lunar Sputnik Apollo N1 Vostok Saturn Soyuz Gemini

I now know why the United States of America had to place an astronaut on the moon.

The CCCP launched the first rocket into space and they were the first to orbit the earth. The CCCP put the first satellite into space and relayed the first radio signals from space back to earth. They were also the first to have a capsule return safely to earth and they brought back the first photographs from space of the earth. They were the first to put an animal in space, the first to put a human being in space, the first to put a woman in space, the first to put civilians in space. The CCCP were also the first to put two crewed rockets in orbit simultaneously, and the first to have one of their cosmonauts compete a space walk. The only thing left was for someone to safely land on the moon and get back.

Therefore Kennedy's rhetoric for a moon landing was a much needed statement at a time when Russia had consistently won hands down, time and time again.

Season 10

Thank you Bro for the Mountfield petrol engine lawn mower that I found in your skip when I visited you a decade ago. As an anniversary treat, I may strip it down and spray it this year. A fantastic machine that starts first time after each winter break, still put to use ten years after it was discarded.

Well done

Well done Luis Suarez for accepting the punishment. Some commentators seem to think that the award was too harsh, and I for one agree with that view. Which is a bit strange seeing that I have never been a fan of Luis Suarez following the Ghanaian incident.

But fair play, accepting the award is a huge step up to the mark, and worthy of the support that Liverpool football club are giving the player.

I would share a drink with him anytime, which is something that I would never have thought myself saying during and following the World Cup. Luis Suarez, stay with Liverpool, because British football needs you. And I for one would pay to see you play, and I've never been to a Premiership game.

Important numbers

Anyone in the U.K. Feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call CALM on 0800 58 58 58 or THE SAMARITANS on 08457 90 90 90

Now there's two numbers that are worth noting down and keeping safe. Please remember, you don't need to keep your problems bottled up. If you need help then seek it. I can't tell you the ins and outs of mental ill health as I'm not qualified to do so. I was touched by the news today regarding the need to treat 17 year olds as juveniles and not as adults if detained, and the story of two 17 year olds who committed suicide over what can only be described as trivia. And that's the real problem isn't it? The problems are not trivial for the person affected by whatever it is that is going on in their life. We are all different, and different things impact upon us in different ways.

So chin up and keep those numbers tucked away in case you, your loved one, or a friend ever need them.

Poem: Why?

Why?

You tried to spread your hate
What for?
As you are now no more

Planting bombs to kill and maim
Why then?
Like loser boys and not men

Causing death and injury to many
How come?
Were you devoid love from mum

This is not what she wanted
So why?
Did you cause many to die

As you spread your vile poison
For what?
We locked down you were caught

Your evil failing to break us
And why?
Because our resolve will never die

You tried to break our city
And now?
We wonder why what who how


Roger Bennett
Penrhyncoch, Wales 2013
All rights reserved

Poem: Boston

BOSTON

Weaving your way through crowds that throng
Some of whom had been friends to you
Moving as one with hate and spite
Cowards plotting in place of love
And bringing shame to family

Failing to break us who are strong
You took limbs and souls of a few
While we only done what was right
Keeping one hand inside our glove
And responding with unity

Your shame will last for time so long
While remembering those we knew
We shall forget you more each night
The ones that lost the right to love
And now you mean nothing to me

For we Bostonians are strong
Your carnage will not cloud our hue
Nor diminish our strength and might
As we know the meaning of love
And you learnt that you could not flee

Roger Bennett
Penrhyncoch, Wales 2013
All rights reserved

Why?

It was inevitable given the trauma of the Boston Marathon attacks that I would turn yet again to poetry. Over the course of a few days I wrote two poems about the atrocity. They are titled 'Boston' and 'Why?'. I used a different style when writing each of the poems. 'Boston' was written on the afternoon following the capture of the second suspect. The poem is written with four feet per line, and five lines per stanza with the rhyming scheme ABCDE linking each stanza, with the word 'and' at the start of each fifth line.

The poem 'Why?' began with the opening stanza being jotted down as I thought of the words while getting changed to go out on the Saturday evening. The remainder of this second poem was written in a coffee shop on the Sunday afternoon . 'Why?' is written with six words in each of the first and third lines of each stanza. With two questioning words appearing in each second line. The second and third lines rhyme to provide the scheme ABB.

I suppose that writing poetry is my way of dealing with many of the things that happen, and which I find difficult to comprehend and thereby make sense of. It had been a difficult week emotionally, and for some people that will appear quite strange as I am neither American nor do I live in Boston. But I do have a good friend who lives in the city and two other friends who moved away to Florida. This association and the fragility of my mental health may go some way towards explaining the emotion that appears in my poetry and prose.

I intend to upload the poems 'Boston' and 'Why?' to the poetry page of this Blog, and as always all rights are reserved.

Hard fighting

It's great to see that Boston and the Federal authorities fought hard and tough and thereby swiftly brought the cowards to justice.

Well done to everyone involved in the successful investigation and the successful prosecution of the manhunt. I found the whole thing terribly upsetting and was frequently reduced to tears as the lockdown proceeded and was widely publicised on news channels, social media and news apps. I retired to bed last night disappointed that one of the alleged murderers had escaped, and woke up in the UK this morning to hear that joyful news that he had been apprehended. It was still upsetting to see and hear the news, but at least the emotions were balanced by the knowledge that the Lockdown had been a success and that he was unable to flee the scene.

Well done to one and all. I shall continue to say a prayer for those taken too young and for those injured during this murderous atrocity. But I shall also say a 'thank you' for the successful and astonishingly prompt outcome of the investigation. An outcome that reduced their potential to murder and maim numerous more Bostonians and visitors to the area.

God Bless America

Boston

My heart goes out to everyone involved in or affected by the dreadful murderous events at the Boston Marathon. I was reduced to tears watching the news as it unfolded and had to turn off the broadcast. Even today I have problems viewing or hearing about this particular news. Yet again a coward or cowards cause the harm.

Whether it's an IED hidden at the side of the road to kill, a car bomb to kill, someone with a gun in a cinema, or roaming on an island, or a gang kicking to death a defenceless vagrant; wherever you are, it's the same old story of the cowards inflicting the harm. A bomb amongst spectators, a gun when others don't have a gun, a knife when others don't have a knife, or group numbers to overwhelm the victim. It's rarely aggression on a level playing field. It's always an unbalanced equation where the perpetrator has a clear advantage. This is why we must never bend. We must also brush aside our sensibilities and do unto others that which they choose to do or try to do to us. I know that we should turn the other cheek, and that everyone should love their enemy. But when you cry while watching what should have been a happy event, you also start to understand that society needs to develop a different set of rules to deal with extremes. Whether its homeland homegrown silly reason terror, or what we tend to term international 'extremists'; the outcome is nevertheless extreme. The outcome is also not limited to geography, as history has shown that we have had our fair share of car bombs and nail bombs in the United Kingdom. Soft targets are soft, but we need to stop being soft with those who do this stuff.

Torture them by all means if it's going to help in gathering intelligence or assist our understanding of what drives them to extremes. Do not hesitate to extradite them to those countries who would like to house them in their systems and thereafter prosecute them. Stop treating them as equals, and instead begin to understand that those who engage in violence and murder, thereby relinquish their right to the systems that are in place to protect others. It's time to make sure that those who deal in violence, begin to understand that they and their families will pay big time. It's time for those who govern our countries to stop pussy footing around, and instead start fighting back hard.

Gwent Fire Brigade 30 Year Reunion

This is one of the Gwent Fire Brigade Young Firefighter 30 year Reunion photographs taken in Newport Gwent (Monmouthshire) in April 2013 in a pub at the Pill end of Commercial Street

Poetry for a friend

Scottish

I am a Scot from the city of hills
That Burgh nestling amongst deep crevices
My anthem consists of the blowing wind
As my tartan flutters to form its liege
My Scotland is not just about the brave
It's also a place of art and culture

Popular plays draw the crowds and fill tills
With Cathedrals of song for services
And religion I shall never rescind
My strong castle you can but try to siege
For I am a true Scot and not a slave
With identity that shall never rupture

Roger Bennett, 2013
All rights reserved

This poem was written with a Scottish friend and actor in mind. The 'city of hills' refers to his hometown Edinburgh. The 'blowing wind' is of course the bagpipes. The reference to religion is deliberately neutral to cater for a diverse society and the many denominations that now exist beyond the main two. The line 'my strong castle' has nothing to do about structures, but instead refers to strength of character. This theme continues with the last two lines. The poem was written with five feet per line and two stanzas each consisting of six lines. The rhyming sequence ABCDEF applies to each of the stanzas rather than the lines within. The first four lines were written in March and the remainder of the poem completed in April. The gap between the two writing sessions occurred because I wanted to write a poem called 'O Benrhyncoch' about Matthew Wilson MC and another about James Ashworth VC, along with completing some artwork, and spending time with our grandchildren.

Danny Nightingale

You can see from my last few posts that I hold our military in the highest regard. Brave young men and women who choose to serve Queen and Country. Check out the following link if you wish to support Sgt Danny Nightingale who has served his country well and has helped to preserve freedom for others. Having done his duty to the highest standard; Sgt Nightingale now faces financial hardship defending his freedom from the unnecessary and continual legal actions against him.

http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/

Simply copy and paste the link into your server, or do a web search for "big brother watch"

More Poppy Fiels

My original sketches and ideas have now been outlined onto the watercolour paper ready for painting and this photograph shows the pencil construction lines. I opted for 7mm line spacing and large text for the poem as after all the words are the main part of the imagery. The intention is to paint the background and detailing and then paint in the poem rather than use an ink pen. I'm using A3 size 180 gsm acid free paper and Winsor Newton Artist quality water colour.

Poem and Artwork, All Rights Reserved R. Bennett, Penrhyncoch 2013

Poppy Fields

This is very much looking as if it is the image that will form the basis of my watercolour painting that I intend to complete to showcase my four stanza five feet per line poem called; 'Poppy Fields'. The poem begins with the Great War and ends by reminding the reader that each year those poppy fields will return. The idea with the image is to have the poem on the left hand side upper third of the page, possibly with the text painted rather than using an ink pen, and the stretcher party moving towards the poem but set in the lower third on the right hand side. The uniforms used are deliberately different and span over a century. These variety of uniforms are brought together to demonstrate the continuation of conflict and suffering and the need to care for those who are injured or have lost loved ones during military campaigns. We usually read books and view art from left to right. Therefore the poem is on the left as it's the main theme, and the different uniforms begin with the earliest also from left to right. The draped Union Jack can be taken either way i.e. a flag instead of a neutral coloured blanket covering the injured, or a flag draped over the body of a fallen comrade. The imagery supports the poem rather than dictating how the words are to be interpreted.

A Society

The Kenneth Burns work mentions the KKK. It's sad to note that the Ku Klux Klan was founded in the Confederacy in December 1865; although sources differ on it being the brainchild of six college students or six Confederate veterans. Or maybe they were students who fought for the Confederacy? Whoever were the founding fathers, it is disappointing to note that from the death throes of the Civil War came such a society. I never understood how the White Supremacists gained such a foothold in the States, but having watched the programme and learnt about the Civil War, it all starts to make sense. From Abraham Lincoln, through Nathan Bedford Forrest and onto to Jane Elliott. Civil liberties, enslavement, and racial segregation have been a hundred year plus struggle for the Union, and it has taken many strong characters to try to set the record straight each time parts of society ventures from the straight and narrow. I suspect that it is a struggle that will in many ways last another hundred years or more. Green eyed, blue eyed, brown eyed. The colour shouldn't matter, the simple fact is; they are all now Americans.

The Civil War

I'm watching the Kenneth Lauren Burns 1989 epic; 'The Civil War' narrated by David McCullough . Having watched seven episodes so far, I can safely conclude that if you don't know that much about the United States of America, then this documentary is a great place to start. I now know why there is a Thanksgiving and why it's on the date that it is. I know why the national cemetery is where it is. And i know a bit more about our cousins from across The Pond. It's all moving stuff, made more moving by the haunting soundtrack. Miss it at your peril as it inform, as to why the United States is what it is.

Jane Elliott

Social Media websites can be full of crap. There certainly seems to be an increase in spamming and re-posting of pointless statements and images. You know the kind of thing; "click 'like' if you can see the word"or "how many faces can you see?" And so on and of forth.

Indeed, much if not most of the re-posting is pretty pointless. I can handle pointless and stupid, but I can't help reacting to the gravely offensive. The one that I picked up on today emanated from across The Pond. It's geographical origins is relevant to this Blog post as the study that disproves the theory also originated from the United States. Cast your mind back to 1968 and the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Following the murder of Dr king Jr; Ms. Jane Elliott a teacher in all white and all Christian school located in Riceville, Iowa; taught her charges about discrimination using nothing more than eye colour and a reliance on the inherent bigotry and separation views of people and groups.

The lessons which the astute Ms. Elliott recorded for prosperity were an attempt to help the children understand the irrelevance of superficial racial differences and thereby assist the children to understand the then swelling equal rights movement. The thrust of the lessons was to suggest that people with certain eye colours are different from people with other eye colours. Of course we know that is untrue, but how else do you differentiate in an all Christian and all white group when trying to show differences that simply aren't there? It is easy to recognise the kind of suggestions that could be made to the children. It could be suggested that people with blue eyes are unreliable and arrive late. This could be supported by reference to someone who has blue eyes and meets the stated criteria, thereafter all blue eyed children in the class are tarnished by the same statement. You could say something about green eyed people and then suggest that they need to eat less food, thereafter depriving them of a certain treat. Or, keep the brown eyed children in-doors during playtime. The sad part being that any statement can be turned on its head, and whichever way the wind blows, the children as a group follow. Now this isn't a scientific nor detailed explanation of something which a lovely lady has spent her life studying, understanding, and teaching. But it should be enough data for you to understand the thrust of the subject.

So when someone re-posts a "blue eyed people are lovely" statement on a social media website, you can now understand why the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. No they are not, blue eyed people simply have blue eyes. Some are lovely, and some are little horrors. Others are both lovely and have moments of trouble. Some are hateful and some are caring. You see folks; we are all blue eyed, green eyed, brown eyed, whatever colour eyed people, and all of those colours don't bring about any distinction or differences whatsoever. If you don't believe me, then pop across The Pond and ask Ms. Elliott.

Published

I'm proud to announce the publication of one of my poems. Indeed, this is my first poem to be published outside of my Blog. There was of course no fee, but I am nevertheless proud of the fact that the Editor of the Cambrian News chose to publish the poem on page 18 of the Thursday 28 March 2013 Edition of the newspaper (it hits the streets before its publication date).

I would have suspected that my poem about the 1972 Munich massacre would have been the first one to have been published, but alas I have not yet heard from my friends who were submitting that piece to a Jewish Society magazine in their part of the United Kingdom. Todays published work is titled in Welsh 'O Benrhyncoch', which means 'from Penrhyncoch'. In the Welsh language the 'P' becomes a 'B' after the letter 'o'. The rest of the poem is in English.

The poem consists of three stanza's each of five lines. The rhyming scheme A,B,A,B,C is used, where 'c' does not rhyme throughout. The poem tells the story of Rifleman Matthew Wilson from our village of Penrhyncoch (often referred to as Penrhyn) who recently won the Military Cross and was also given the Freedom of the County of Ceredigion. My favourite line is; "of rotor blades whooshing in the sun". The poem was submitted to the Cambrian News on the advice of my eldest daughter. I hope that you enjoy reading the poem as much as I enjoyed constructing it;

O Benrhyncoch

The snipers bullet had struck his head,
Leading to a short dreamlike state,
With others thinking he might be dead,
A different shot had struck his mate,
The one he had run to protect.

Never reckless but always brave,
He then chose to move into open ground,
To draw attention and thereby save,
His injured comrade, upon hearing the sound,
Of rotor blades whooshing in the sun.

The Military Cross is the just reward,
For young Rifleman Matthew Wilson,
The granted freedom forms part of the hoard,
Bestowed upon our soldier son,
Of this lush valley which nestles Penrhyn.

Roger Bennett
Penrhyncoch
March 2013

All rights reserved

Joss Stone

I wrote this Joss Stone poem way back in June 2011 Joss Stone Rejoice to those who spotted the duo, And for making the emergency call, Praise the officers taking the lead, And to those who searched the Punto. Two now charged and unable to blag, Why they were there at all, Banged to rights they will plead, The reasons why a sword and body-bag. And when the jury find the guilt, The two from Manchester shall fall, Locked away so that others heed, What happens if blood would be spilt.  Roger Bennett Penrhyncoch  All rights reserved

Today is not about today; it's about your tomorrow

Here's wishing the PCS Union great success on today's DAY OF ACTION whereby they continue to strive to highlight Public Sector cuts, and the need to protect PAY and CONDITIONS and SERVICES. Today is not about today; it's about your tomorrow. The provision of services that are provided through our systems of taxation. It's our money, and it's your future, it does not belong to others to mess up.

A strong Trade Union is essential to balance the actions of over zealous poor managers who often have ill thought out plans that can be more about them and their perceived legacy than that which is needed for the greater good of the service that they should provide. Strong trade unionism is the natural outcome of a democracy that operates systems of paid employment instead of forced labour.

A strong trade union means more than protecting jobs, conditions, and levels of service provision. The Union is a collective, that provides support when others target you in the workplace. Don't think about how much it costs to join, but instead think about how much that it could cost you if you do not. You secure a knowledgeable friend who is there to help you when you are bullied. Someone to walk by your side when you take that long walk through the workplace while suffering from mental ill health and stress, but have been ordered in for some meeting or the other. A trained Union official who can put up his or her hand and say to a bullying manager "I'll stop you there, are you aware of rule so and so that prevents you asking, saying or doing what you are asking, saying, or doing to my member?" The Union is us, and we are the Union.

Don't cross the Picket Line and say "I can't lose a days pay", but instead realise that one days pay is small change compared to the rewards that Union membership brings with it. Better a day off now, than many days off scrambling for poorly paid temporary employment when you become unemployed as the cuts squeeze tighter. So join your Trade Union whoever they are, make an active contribution to their affairs, and of course if you drive past a PCS Picket Line today, toot your horn and voice your support.

Art Teacher

A very BIG thank you to Eileen, my 'art teacher' from across The Pond for her wonderful comments regarding my Snow Leopard painting that is showcased in an earlier Blog post. If any of you ever have the good fortune to come across Eileen and Bob; then grab the opportunity with both hands, sit quietly, listen and learn. And if you are as lucky as me; then form a good friendship as well.

James Ashworth VC

Ashworth

This cross of mine made of bronze,
Unlike my other, made for mother.
Is to honour those that do,
Rather than those that don't, and all other.

A soldier son of Kettering,
They named me James, one of the few names.
To whom this cross has been bestowed,
For deeds and acts, with bullets and flames.

But I would rather be there,
To touch and see, my loving family.
But then again those whom I saved,
Were also important people, close to me.

I chose to lead my fire team,
So don't feel bad, for this Grenadier Guard.
As this cross is not one to bear,
Instead it's there, to remind others of this lad.

Roger Bennett
Penrhyncoch
March 17, 2013

All rights reserved

Cymru am byth

"Thirty, three" said he,
"Nah, it couldn't be" said me,
"Surely not thirty, three?"
As that would be,
Too great a victory.

"Yes, it's true!" Said he,
"We got a try, you see",
'Two tries', thought me,
Knowing that he would agree,
It's 'Cymru am byth', for you and me.

Roger Bennett
Penrhyncoch
March 16, 2013

MP Fiona MacTaggart

Well done to Slough MP Fiona MacTaggart for her astonishingly generous Twitter pledge in aid of the Comic Relief charity :-)

A Day in the City

Well here I am in the City and a tad disappointed. Now don't get me wrong; the prospect was daunting, and I accept that the execution would have been difficult. Nevertheless, having made it to the last three of the regional thingy to win a car; it would have been nice to have seen it all through to its natural conclusion.

You see, the lovely people running the competition are giving away £5,000 at each of several regional locations for each winner to have a great day. The competition that is still running, involves competitors writing down in 150 words or less, what they would do with the money on the day. The marketing people offer themes such as water skiing up the Thames, or scoring a penalty at a Premiership Club. Of course these are good ideas, but nevertheless such singular things are solely about the winner. So I proposed spending the lot, every penny, and anything else that I could squeeze out of the situation; on as many worthy causes that I could target in the Cardiff area in one day of defined and thereby limited duration. I mean; even camera crews, helpers, presenters, and marketing people have to go home and have dinner.

Sounds easy in theory, but like I mentioned earlier, it is quite daunting in execution. I know this because I spent a lovely day with my eldest in Cardiff yesterday, thinking and chatting and preparing in case I pulled it off and was selected. We realised that you need to source a roof box and bars, a bike rack and number plate, and so on and so forth. You need to do a trolley dash to load the car and the roof rack before heading off to the Food Bank and then offloading the stuff. It all takes time, and not all of it is great television. You need many hands as you pull up on Albany Road and remove several hundred books from a charity shop and then load them into the show case car. Being a city that is turned over in part to pedestrians; you need to have accessed a trolley that fits in the car, and can be used to transport the books to a different Charity shop for them to dispose of and thereby benefit. Then you need the same trolley to take some food parcels around the city and hand out to some of the Big Issue sellers, along with a hot drink each on what has turned out to be a bitterly cold morning.

Bikes, cycle helmets, and fluorescent stuff for the cycling charity. A camcorder for the hospice that sends families on holiday experiences, an iPad here, a food hamper there. Tickets for shows, and of course a manual wheelchair for a Day Centre as that often struggles through lack of equipment when taking folks out on treats.

So lots to do and not enough hours for filming, checking, shooting, moving, talking, giving, and listening. I don't blame the casting team, the organisers, or the manufacturer. Simply because I understand how these things work. The idea was daunting and not easy to pull off. My answers to the questions may have been the wrong answers, and me being me, may not be the kind of me that they wanted or even needed. But all of that to one side, I do pray that the winner does something worthy and doesn't blow £5k on themselves. I don't begrudge them doing that, but it does seem to me like a wasted opportunity. As that folks would cut across one of my main themes in life: 'we are only here for what we can do for others'.

So as I settle down to another lazy day of coffee, reading, writing, music, and poetry please don't feel for me. Disappointed yes, but its been a great 72 hours thinking of how to help others. Having read this Blog Post, why don't you settle down to a cuppa and spend some time thinking of all of the local charities and worthy causes that you could support, and thereafter work out what they truly need, and what you could do for them.

How to construct an essay and other academic writing

Having been fortunate enough to obtain a First Class Honours degree and secure the award of the Michael MccGwire Prize during my Masters degree; I periodically come across someone who asks me to read an essay or other academic piece.  Therefore I thought that it would be prudent to upload some notes to help others.  In all instances, the academic regulations and rules of an institution take precedence over anything written here.

The first rule that a student needs to research and thereafter understand is that of constructing a sentence.  Writing a sequence of words starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop; does not necessarily mean that a sentence has been created.

So STEP 1 is yours to learn unaided by me.  Enter the phrase “how to construct a sentence” into an online internet search engine and thereafter read articles on the subject so that you then understand what is expected of you when writing an academic piece.  Note that the use of quotation marks before and after a sequence of words in a search engine, will limit the engine to search for that particular phrase.

STEP 2 is about the specifics of the required spacing that has to be inserted along a line, between lines, and from the edge of the paper to the margin.  The margin has to be of a sufficient size to enable the paper to be bound and for the binding arrangement not to interfere with the visibility of the text on the left hand side of the page.  With this requirement in mind, it follows that inserting a gap of 25mm is a minimum requirement, but please note that your institution might insist on a gap of 30mm or more.  Line spacing should be at least 1.5 in order to assist the marker in examining and commenting on your work.  Whenever you end a sentence, press the ‘space bar’ twice before starting the next sentence.

The next comment is of a general nature and is here to assist the student to understand exactly what it is that they are trying to convey to their academic tutor.  STEP 3 is about telling a story and understanding the importance of adequate planning prior to writing anything down on paper or vigorously typing onto the screen.  Your academic piece is a story, a bit like a ‘news story’ in that this story is being relayed to someone who knows nothing about the subject.  You must forget that your tutor has probably forgotten more than you currently know, and instead think of them as a blank canvas.  Constructing the story in a manner that assists their understanding is the primary objective of the academic piece.   

This leads us nicely onto STEP 4 and an analysis of how we will construct our story.  We relay the story through sentences and paragraphs and sections that contain key ideas and themes.  In general terms one sentence should naturally lead onto the next sentence so that the story builds, just like an orchestra moving towards its major movement.  Little bits sound, others sound, instruments link, and then the crescendo that brings the individual parts together.  So if sentences link to form paragraphs and paragraphs stand alone or link to form sections, then we need to understand how many of which go where.  In extremely broad terms a paragraph consists of twelve to fourteen sentences.  The paragraph takes you neatly through that aspect of the story and deposits you neatly into the next paragraph.  The next paragraph takes up where the previous paragraph left off and leads you nicely through the next part of the story.

‘The News’ is the requirement of STEP 5; as it is the process whereby the author tells the reader what they are going to read via an introduction.  Then uses the main body of the essay to tell the reader what the news story is all about.  Thereafter finishing with a conclusion and or summary that are used to tell the reader what they have just read.  The author does not repeat phrases in all three sections, but instead uses commentary and themes to tease in the ideas when forming the introduction and alternative phrases to reinforce the message when writing the conclusion.  The key point being that the essay begins to take on a structure that makes sense and is easily readable.

Making sense is also the relevance of STEP 6 as it is here that we use footnotes or endnotes (as preferred by your institution of the specific tutor dealing with your paper) to further explain and explore items that are mentioned in your story, but where further explanation across the page would clutter the detail and muddle the link between sentences and paragraphs.  For example we may use an acronym and these combination of letters need to be explained to the reader.  If the same acronym is widely used throughout the essay, then we can mention its full title when it is first used and thereafter use the acronym.  But with multiple acronyms we would want to limit the clutter within the essay and put the explanations into the notes.  The footnotes are also used to further elaborate on people, their current of previous role, and the duration of such roles.  These are simple examples of endnote or footnote usage, but remember that there are no restrictions as to what the notes can be used for.  Try thinking of the notes as something that enables you to de-clutter and also support your essay.  

STEP 7 is about ‘the wood for the trees’ syndrome.  All too often, what we write for others to read; is not exactly the message that we were trying to convey.  Grammatical errors and the difficulties in using a second language are obvious problems that impact on this aspect of an essay.  But quite often the confusion is caused by our excitement and rush to write down what we believe are key observations, without first thinking them through.  Thereafter we read the same piece as meaning what we intended, instead of recognising what is actually written on the page.  This is where impartial proof reading by a friend can pay dividends prior to submitting your work.  Does my essay answer the question? 

The next step is about pushing the boundaries beyond that which was stipulated by the person setting the question.  STEP 8 is about originality of thought and the inclusion of ideas for further research.  Irrespective of how good a student is; no one can answer a particular question in full within a given number of words.  There will always be an alternative view that has to be left unexamined, or some area however vague, that is worthy of exploration if you had the time and word count limit to do so.  Therefore make sure that you briefly inform your tutor in the conclusion to the essay of your ideas for further research.

Striving to achieve academic excellence is the requirement of STEP 9 as it’s the bit that gives the credibility to the work.  This is where we prove understanding, and prove that learning has occurred.  I recently read an undergraduate essay whereby the student made no reference whatsoever to any academic text or author.  I can only imagine that which has been missed during the study period, or that which may even be a direct lift from another text.  Including correct citations and references from other sources of material is an important aspect in academia.  It helps to show that you have read and understood material, and have similar or differing views to that author.  You may even find an error, whereby something written by someone else can be proven to be incorrect.  Or the source material may be misleading, whereby that author deliberately used specific information to tailor their argument while omitting other information from their sources that showed their argument to be flawed.  Reading, quoting, and citing other material is not cheating.  This academic excellence demonstrates learning, understanding, relevance of arguments, application of material within context, supporting arguments to your core themes, opposing arguments that contain flaws and the reasons why these flaws exist in your opinion, the limitations of other material, the lack of credible material within a specific field, the opportunities that exist for further research.   

STEP 10 is about learning and applying the academic citation method of your institution or the preferred method of your tutor so that you accurately and meticulously cite all references stated in your work.  No academic essay or paper should be deposited for marking without the student referencing all sources of information that were considered during the writing of the work, and no work should ever be written without searching and reading such sources. 

Remember to keep simple notes when you read academic material so that you can find a particular comment or observation with ease.  It’s good practice to start a page with the title, author and full citation of the work in the form required by your institution or tutor.  Then make notes whenever you notice something relevant and worthwhile to your studies.  To avoid clutter it is good practice to leave a line gap between each note, and to end each note with the page number relevant to the observation.  When you are reading such material it is inevitable that you will have some original thought.  When such brilliance does occur, don’t forget to mark the note in a way that stipulates that this is your idea.  This will assist you when you return to your notes in a few days or weeks after reading the material.

I hope that you have found this brief summary useful.  But please remember, the requirements of your academic institution or the specific preferences of your tutor far outweigh the observations written here.