How much interest would you get on 161 million a day?

Is justanswers.com a scam?

Yes, I think so. I have had to hire a number of attorneys for various legal problems...divorce, military pension, family trust, high exposure trucking accident, custordy, and only one charged for an initial consultation and he was completely unhelpful!!! Essentially you are interviewing them for a job and an applicant doesn't charge for that! If the free answer was to try to pull clients in...that is an interesting idea and might and might not work. Who knows. But the low credit card fees tells me they are doing something else. Not sure what...but something else. Sometimes these scams just want your info to sell to marketers. Not illegal, but icky! I'm sorry to disagree but its not a scam. I started as a customer and ended up working on the site as an expert. I posted many questions and if it didn't get answered, I just emailed them and they refunded my deposit with no questions asked. I was shocked myself but seriously, no questions asked. They just refunded. I finally decided to become part of the expert community. Customers are not required to accept an unhelpful answer and that is the scam part. The expert spends time answering and the customer reads it and never accepts leaving the expert without payment. But its worth it in the end. IT IS ABSOLUTELY A SCAM and I'm not even sure of whether or not it is legal. There are numerous ethical violations on the surface and I assume even more if you drill down into case study. First off, there is a serious "attorney/client privilege" issue considering all questions are posted for public consumption. Any attorney worth the paper their degree is printed on knows better than to engage in the disclosing of their legal opinion in a public forum. I have found numerous erroneous statements about particular companies which, if those companies ever get wind of this website, will cause the site owners as well as the attorney themselves serious legal issues which include being disbarred. After reviewing some of the attorney info and doing additional research, I have found at least 7 of the approximately 10 that I researched have significant malpractice lawsuits against them. It is clearly obvious that the site creator Andy Kurtzig thinks he found a loophole and has carte blanche to openly provide legal advice which is likely going to land him and anyone affiliated in legal hot water once the courts get their heads around the legalities. If this were a site where you asked a question and an attorney responded in private, then I'd say they are actually trying to provide a legitimate service. However, due to the fact that these are "opinions" by some of these less than ethical attorneys, I would tread lightly when considering any information from them as many of the "answers" I read are slanderous and inflammatory and if they anger the wrong company, they are going to be hit with defamation lawsuits which will involve the unsuspecting consumer who asked the "question" and both will be considered liable for damages. http://tinypic.com/r/344bf2r/6 phil <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=33fg6lk" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.tinypic.com/33fg6lk.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> I am leaning towards the new EIM you got was faulty if you have everything wired as instructions show,that buzz just should not be there.The VA is volt amps that a transformer is rated at you could actually install a 75 va transformer inside the furnace where the 40 va is now.but it seems unlikely that the EIM is causing the need for a larger capacity transformer. I do believe you need a new EIM but it is possible the old transformer is weak. if you have an amprobe you can twist your w wire going to furnace around a screw driver ten loops pull the screw driver out and hang the amprobe around the wire turn the unit on when the call for heat begins read the amps it draws if anything close to .40 replace the transformer.Its the unit of electrical load being used you know if the full load was being used that the transformer produces,it would blow the fuse in the furnace control board or overheat the transformer. rpen7111 THE 24V GROUND IS THE 24V COMMON!! YOU DO NOT WANT THE HOT WHITE WIRE GOING THERE!! IT WILL BE A DIRECT SHORT!! BILLY DOES THIS ALMOST DAILY! AND VIA CUSTOMER IGNORANCE IS RATED EXCELLENT! THE WHITE WIRE IS ELECTRICALLY HOT! IT IS FROM THE THERMOSTAT, IT IS NEVER TO BE OUT TO A GROUND, 24 V COMMON IS FINE TO GROUND, IT IS GROUNDED AT THE TRANSFORMER! JustAnswer experts says 40VA =.40Amps < 04/11 00:57:50 if you have an amp probe you can twist your w wire going to furnace around a screw driver ten loops pull the screw driver out and hang the amp probe around the wire turn the unit on when the call for heat begins read the amps it draws if anything close to .40 replace the transformer.Its the unit of electrical load being used you know if the full load was being used that the transformer produces,it would blow the fuse in the furnace control board or overheat the transformer. rpen7111 THIS EXPERT SAYS A 40 VA RATED TRANSFORMER HANDLES .40 AMPS ! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! 24 VOLTS / 40 VA = 1.6 AMPS - 20% FOR A CONTINUOUS RATING = 1.3 AMPS CONTINUOUS NOT .40 THATS RIDICULOUS PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING THIS IMPOSTER SAYS AFTER THIS IS SUSPECT THIS SAME EXPERT SAID GROUNDING COMMON IS A SHORT JustAnswer experts says 40VA =.40Amps rpen7111 : Hello, Im Robert Sorry you are having a problem.together we can solve it.It sounds like a ground wire safety on a capacitor is burned into or a capacitor is bad.I would look at any indoor or outdoor capacitors and see if they are ok.some high tork capacitors like on compressor start relays have a small fuse that will overheat and burn out.please let me know if this helped. I DEFY ANYONE TO SHOW ME WHERE A FUSE IS ON A CAPACITOR!!!!!!!! rpen7111 : its got to be a jumper wire that failed and protected a motor or compressor.If this helps please give me 3 or higher rating,thanksRobert duihoot : not lookiing for someone to guess at the problem you gave at least three answers duihoot : looking for one rpen7111 : YOU JUST DONT UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING I SAID WAS ONE PROBLEM IN 3 POSSIBLE MOTORS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TELL YOU ONE PLACE TO GO LOOK YOU NEED SOME SERVICE EXPERIENCE TO UNDERSTAND YOU ARE OUR HANDS,EYES,AND IF WE TELL YOU TO CHECK AT THE CAPACITORS THEN THATS ABOUT AS SIMPLE AS IT GETS,READ THE CAPACITORS OR AT THE POTENTIAL RELAY ON THE COMPRESSOR,OR HIRE SOMEONE TO COME OUT PLEASE HAVE A NICE AND FIND THEM FOR YOU.PLEASE HAVE A NICE DAY K,M,A ROBERT duihoot : really if you dont know what the error code means just say so duihoot : and not really wanting to kiss you aZZ but thanx for the offer will let you know if i change my mind LOOK AT RPEN TELL CUSTOMER KISS MY A,, AND STILL NOT BOOTED! NOTICE HOW BILLY HAS NO PROBLEM BEING SURROUNDED BY MORONS! NEVER PEER REVIEWING WHEN IT SHOULD BE DONE AND DOING IT TO ANYONE BETTER THAN HIM WHICH IS NOT HARD TO DO! I WAS SO GOOD AT GETTING HIS CUSTOMERS TO ACCEPT MY WISDOM HE WENT BALLISTIC! Hello, I'm Robert Sorry you are having a problem.together we can solve it.Hi,if you are using the R & C from the furnace transformer to power the 24 volts on EIM try using a separate transformer 40 va.we have had a few units not operate properly on the same transformer,fan relay not lowering va enough so fan comes on but when heat tries to operate it could be because of higher load. make sure the system is set up for gas heat.if not that also will cause a problem, if there is some kind of hum or noise when the power is turned on low voltage from the transformer will cause relays to click or hum. I hope this is some help to you but if you put the old board back on and everything worked it sounds like a faulty EIM we have had some of those also,if I have helped please give me a good rating if not I have tried hard to look up what you are using to be sure it is supposed to operate properly.thanks Robert rpen7111 : RIDICULOUS BULL PURE FANTASY AND BILLY DOES NOT PEER REVIEW JUST COMPETENCE!! I DEFY ANYONE TO SHOW ME THIS SAID ANYWHERE!,... if you are using the R & C from the furnace transformer to power the 24 volts on EIM try using a separate transformer 40 va.we have had a few units not operate properly on the same transformer,fan relay not lowering va enough so fan comes on but when heat tries to operate it could be because of higher load. make sure the system is set up for gas heat.if not that also will cause a problem, if there is some kind of hum or noise when the power is turned on low voltage from the transformer will cause relays to click or hum. I hope this is some help to you but if you put the old board back on and everything worked it sounds like a faulty EIM we have had some of those also,if I have helped please give me a good rating if not I have tried hard to look up what you are using to be sure it is supposed to operate properly.thanks HE SOUNDS LIKE A RETNNN! THIS BUFFVVV SAYS A 40 VA RATED TRANSFORMER HANDLES .40 AMPS ! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! 24 VOLTS / 40 VA = 1.6 AMPS - 20% FOR A CONTINUOUS RATING = 1.3 AMPS CONTINUOUS NOT .40 THATS RIDICULOUS PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING THIS IMBECILE SAYS AFTER THIS IS SUSPECT THIS SAME EXPERT SAID GROUNDING COMMON IS A SHORT http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7nxzt-hi-billy-sorry-trouble-again-meant-ask.html THE ABOVE IS ONE OF 300 FROM GREG KELSEY HOME INSPECTOR ALL AS STUPPP AS THIS! http://colombes-plombier.fr BILLYS FAKE PICTURE FROM A FRENCH PLUMBERS AD! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7ahih-billy-we-ve-resolved-grounding-issue-caused-furnace.html Here I answered a customer billy could not for a year!this was ANOTHER sore spot with him. Submitted: 161 days and 4 hours ago. Category: HVAC Value: $30 Status: CLOSED B Optional Information: Brand: Ruud Type of HVAC: Heater & Furnace What have you tried so far?: Only observed symptoms Expert: Billy replied 132 days ago. What was your model number Customer replied 120 days and 6 hours ago. Billy, I just returned from an out-of-town trip to find the house stifiling hot. Apparently, the furnace finally decided to respond to the 75 degree setting I had left it on during testing. This situation is so baffling. When I rhen reset the thermostat to a reasonable setting, it was back in it's old routine of cycling on for a few seconds only. Apparently it is capable of working properly sometimes, without any apparent change of conditions. Having replace the board, flame sensor, and gas valve, and grounded the hell out of everything, we're no further along with this. Did you ever get a chance to forward my problem to other more experienced experts? Tim Hello, I'm a moderator for this topic. It seems the Professional has left this conversation. This happens occasionally, and it's usually because the Professional thinks that someone else might be a better match for your question. I've been working hard to find a new Professional to assist you with your question, but sometimes finding the right Professional can take a little longer than expected. I wonder whether you're ok with continuing to wait for an answer. If you are, please let me know and I will continue my search. If not, feel free to let me know and I will cancel this question for you. Thank you! Rachel Customer I would like an answer to my question, but I must insist that whoever takes over familiarize themselves with my previous communications on this problem as I've been struggling with this same question for SEVERAL months and do not want to cover ground I've already covered. If we can't get an answer sometime soon, I'm going to have to break down and bring in someone locally, and I don't want to have to do that. V12TECH This unit uses flame rectification, this is a DC signal of micro amps that returns to the ignition module via the modules sense/ burner grnd terminal . It transmits the weak DC signal to the module to prove a flame exists and is safe to continue operating . I did not see if the port on the induced draft assembly, where the induced draft proving switch's tubing connects was reamed out good? It will obstruct and cause a wavering pressure thus pop open intermittently which is difficult to spot, I don't trust the flash codes myself, as there are only several possibilities to rectify this situation . I have a routine I use for these , I clean the pilot assembly's mounting brackets surface areas and the burners surface areas touching the pilot assembly mounts, basically we are making a nice conductive path to home, being the burner grnd/sense terminal. In addition I use 105C degree rated wire and connectors and run a ground wire in addition to the units grounding back to the terminal that is used for sense or burner grnd, usually they are common in the circuit board. Remember it is only transmitting the faint DC signal that passes through the flame, a flame is a poor conductor and only transmits micro amps DC and that is easily stopped by a patina or moisture or corrosion etc, it does not take much and it is easily disrupted and restored. In fact many times new components seemingly rectify an issue, often the restoration of a ground path for the flame signal is really what fixed everything and if you try the old equipment, it is operative about 40% of the time according to manufacturers. Johnson controls makes a nifty flame simulator ($24)that simulates a nice DC signal that will work on any flame rectification system! it plugs in with the existing flame proving circuit and clamps to ground with a clip, If it wont run with this, no question the boards/module is defective, assuming all limits and safeties are closed, I often bypass them to test with them jumped to see what is going on..jumper clip the pressure switch once it has closed. For the pressure switches I use tattle tales to tell me if any control opens,even if a brief second, that is hard to spot unless gazing at it while it pops opens for 1 second , pressure switches on the threshold will waver and not be evident by watching , tattle tales have a flag that pops up if what it monitors trips or opens. You can by the and pressure switch for what a service call will be alone online and its very easy.Its not worth spending time troubleshooting parts that cost 10 minutes labor as in sensor and pressure switch and any auto reset limits. 1 yr of this is not worth this trouble, unlesss you had a $400 board i would sawp out the pressure switch, sensor limit and module, it wont be much online and if the pressure orifice is not clogged it will run no doubt with the system refurbished. I dont just replace a board and leave old cheap components there to fail next 6 months being a free call back and cutting my profits in 1/2. If a service tech is doing sub $300 service calls much he will be fired, go broke,etc. I had bosses tell me this in the early 90's. V12Tech41256.6775286458 http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7npf1-ge-az61ho9dabw1-heat-pump-i-m-trying-interphase.html Expert: Billy replied 16 days and 10 hours ago. This unit normally takes the RAK series stat. But the wiring is the same for a standard stat except the reverse valve is powered by B. Do you have 5 or 6 wire conductor run? Billy POOR BILLY, WHAT HE MEANS IS REVERSING VALVE ENERGIZED IN HEAT MODE, RATHER THAN THE COOL MODE AS ARE ALL UNITS BUT RHEEM/RUUD. THE GE BILLY IS TRYING TO GIVE ADVICE ON IS NOT ENERGIZED IN HEAT MODE! THIS IS CONTRARY TO THE INDUSTRY STANDARD AND ANY ACTUAL TECHNICIAN WHO HAS DONE THIS WORK IN REALITY WOULD HAVE TO KNOW THIS! THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BILLY BEING A SUB PAR EXPERT! YET THE MOST ABUSIVE MANIPULATIVE USING DIRTY TRICKS TO GET NEW EXPERTS BOOTED THAT SPANK HIM "STEALING" CUSTOMERS WHEN IT IS SIMPLY THE CUSTOMER CHOOSING WHO IS BEST NOT BY SOME PECKING ORDER! WHICH WAS OK BY JA YET INFURIATED BILLY! I WAS WARNED BY SEVERAL EXPERTS ABOUT BILLY AND THEY WERE RIGHT! HE WOULD POST WITH FAKE ACCT AND IP PROXIE AND DEBIT CARD AND NOT EVEN DISCUSS ANYTHING USUALLY! ONE TIME HE SAID I HATE CHAT AND LEFT 5 SECONDS AND RATED BADLY! EASILY DONE. IF THEY ABUSE PEER REVIEWS THEY WILL SHILL AND STAT PAD TOO AS HE DOES WITH GREG KELSEY FAKE HOME INSPECTOR WHO ASKS THE SAME THING 300 TIMES TO BILLY ONLY.ALL EXCELLENT RATED OF COURSE. . Billy saying that the TH6220 thermostat must be jumpered e to aux,see below,... This unit has no E terminal for what we classify a emergency heat. But it does use the electric heat. In the TH6220 this requires putting a jumper between E and Aux terminals. COMPLETE FABRICATION http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7npf1-ge-az61ho9dabw1-heat-pump-i-m-trying-interphase.html Expert: Billy replied 16 days and 10 hours ago. This unit normally takes the RAK series stat. But the wiring is the same for a standard stat except the reverse valve is powered by B. Do you have 5 or 6 wire conductor run? Billy POOR BILLY, WHAT HE MEANS IS REVERSING VALVE ENERGIZED IN HEAT MODE, RATHER THAN THE COOL MODE AS ARE ALL UNITS BUT RHEEM/RUUD. THE GE BILLY IS TRYING TO GIVE ADVICE ON IS NOT ENERGIZED IN HEAT MODE! THIS IS CONTRARY TO THE INDUSTRY STANDARD AND ANY ACTUAL TECHNICIAN WHO HAS DONE THIS WORK IN REALITY WOULD HAVE TO KNOW THIS! THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BILLY BEING A SUB PAR EXPERT! YET THE MOST ABUSIVE MANIPULATIVE SUSING DIRTY TRICKS TO GET NEW EXPERTS BOOTED THAT SPANK HIM "STEALING" CUSTOMERS WHEN IT IS SIMPLY THE CUSTOMER CHOOSING WHO IS BEST NOT BY SOME PECKING ORDER! WHICH WAS OK BY JA YET INFURIATED BILLY! I WAS WARNED BY SEVERAL EXPERTS ABOUT BILLY AND THEY WERE RIGHT! HE WOULD POST WITH FAKE ACCT AND IP PROXIE AND DEBIT CARD AND NOT EVEN DISCUSS ANYTHING USUALLY! ONE TIME HE SAID I HATE CHAT AND LEFT 5 SECONDS AND RATED BADLY! EASILY DONE. IF THEY ABUSE PEER REVIEWS THEY WILL SHILL AND STAT PAD TOO AS HE DOES WITH GREG KELSEY FAKE HOME INSPECTOR WHO ASKS THE SAME THING 300 TIMES TO BILLY ONLY.ALL EXCELENT RATED OF COURSE. . Billy saying that the TH6220 thermostat must be jumpered e to aux,see below,... This unit has no E terminal for what we classify a emergency heat. But it does use the electric heat. In the TH6220 this requires putting a jumper between E and Aux terminals. COMPLETE FABRICATION reply to this post rate flag #1 04/11 06:47:35 http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7ahih-billy-we-ve-resolved-grounding-issue-caused-furnace.html Here I answered a customer billy could not for a year !this was ANOTHER sore spot with him. Submitted: 161 days and 4 hours ago. Category: HVAC Value: $30 Status: CLOSED Billy, we've resolved the grounding issue that caused the furnace not to light, and I think I remember that everything was working OK at the end of last heating season. Now however, it behaves thusly: upon setting thermostat to heat and lowering the temperature setting below ambient, the ignighter succeeds in lighting the main burner, which runs for about three seconds and then cuts out. The blower comes on and runs for a couple of minutes until it realizes the burner is not longer running and then shuts off. This whole cycle repeats periodically until I shut system off at thermostat. Any ideas? Thanks, Tim Optional Information: Brand: Ruud Type of HVAC: Heater & Furnace What have you tried so far?: Only observed symptoms Expert: Billy replied 160 days and 23 hours ago. First lets cover the basics...Have you cleaned the flame sensor with steel wool yet? Billy Customer replied 160 days and 18 hours ago. I'll try that, although you may not recall, the sensor is relatively new as I am pretty sure that is what we replaced to cure the flashing green light problem that brought me to you in the first place. I'll let you know. Expert: Billy replied 160 days and 18 hours ago. Let me know after the cleaning what happens, code etc. Billy http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7ahih-billy-we-ve-resolved-grounding-issue-caused-furnace.html Here I answered a customer billy could not for a year!this was ANOTHER sore spot with him. Submitted: 161 days and 4 hours ago. Category: HVAC Value: $30 Status: CLOSED Billy, we've resolved the grounding issue that caused the furnace not to light, a https://forums.craigslist.org/?ID=230934976 Peer review was a good idea, but some experts were colluding with others to eliminate the competition that way.... on very thin pretexts. alumalite /phil Billy1961 began a methodical brazen campaign to eliminate the competition,Quoted from words of phil/alumilite in JA forum Explanation That was way brighter than most of us here, including me. why did you opt out? Phil/alumilite, PHIL/ALUMILITE, SAID I WAS ONE OF THE BEST AND BILLY WAS ABUSING PEER This question below began billys campaign against me. http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7ep3s-fan-lennox-electric-furnace-model-es4-20-1- works.html Here below months and 70 peer reviews later, Billy interjects yet factually incorrect,proven wrong,then rudely harasses EXPERT in public! before the customer and negative peer reviewed on this as well. http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/7kzxb-first-problem-error-code-01-restart-when.html http://www.scbar.org/MemberResources/EthicsAdvisoryOpinions/OpinionView/ArticleId/1211/Ethics-Advisory-Opinion-12-03.aspx

How do you write project report?

How to Write a Project Report1. Why is the report important?If you wish to secure a good mark for your project, it is absolutely essential that you write a good report. It is the report which is marked, not the program or anything else you might have constructed during the project period. No matter how significant your achievements, if you do not write up your work, and write it up well, you will obtain a poor mark. It is essential to understand that the report will be read and marked by a number of examiners (normally 2 - 4), only one of whom - your supervisor - will have any familiarity with the work which the report describes. Examiners are not mind-readers, and cannot give credit for work which you have done but not included in the report.2. What are the examiners looking for?Each project report is marked initially by two examiners, one of whom is the supervisor. Each examiner fills in an online mark form, giving marks for various aspects of the report and an overall mark. Studying the mark sheet will give you a good idea of what aspects of the report are important. The notes to examiners which accompany the mark sheet use the terms ``perfect'', ``quite good'', ``abysmal'' and so on to describe the attributes of a particular numerical mark (e.g. 5 is ``satisfactory''). There is a separate document which goes into great detail about what precisely ``satisfactory'' means in particular contexts, but I'm not sure that these definitions are widely used: most examiners believe that they have an accurate and objective understanding of what is ``satisfactory''.Note that supervisors might specify on the mark sheet that a particular aspect of the project is to be assessed - for example, a review of the project area - even if that area is not covered in the project report. Decisions on what is to be assessed are the supervisor's responsibility, but you should be aware of the standard headings, think carefully about what you present (or do not present) under each, and discuss and agree it with your supervisor.Remember that your report is an academic dissertation, not a popular article or commercial proposal. For example, rather than describing only a series of events and a final product, try to establish criteria, present arguments, derive principles, pose and answer questions, measure success, analyse alternatives and so on. Where a project has been undertaken with industrial support, the significance of that support for the project, and the relevance of the project to the supporting industry, should be discussed.3. The mechanics of writingThe problem you have to solve is this: to transfer your own experiences of doing the project, and the knowledge you have gained, from your brain onto paper in a coherent, logical and correct form. There are several ways of achieving this. Different authors have different techniques. My own method, which I think is quite common among technical authors, is to write as quickly as I can, without regard for coherency, structure or order, until I have written down (or rather, typed in) all the points I can think of. If my brain is running faster than my fingers and a thought pops into my head which belongs in another part of the document, I skip to the end of the page and insert a few words there to remind me to expand that point later, then resume where I was. The aim is to transfer as much relevant material from brain to paper as quickly as possible. This method has been called the ``brain dump''. It is practised, I think, by some writers of fiction as well as by technical authors.After three hours of ``brain dumping'' I might have four or five pages of disorganized text. I then spend perhaps six hours putting the text into order and tightening up the prose, after which I might have three pages of good-quality prose. This method of writing is an iterative process, with periods of ``brain dumping'' alternating with periods of tidying-up.At the rate of three pages of polished text every nine hours, a typical 60-page PR3 project report will take you about four weeks to complete, working full-time. You must allow time to prepare the appendices (e.g. program listings) and illustrations. Good-quality illustrations, in particular, take a long time to prepare. You should therefore allow at least six weeks to write the report.If you kept a note-book during the project period, you will find the writing-up process much easier.4. How to write wellMany students appear not to realize how difficult it is to write well. Any type of writing (except perhaps advertising copy) is difficult, but technical writing is particularly hard. There are many books which address the subject of good technical writing. By far the best among those which I have seen is Scientists Must Write by Robert Barrass (1982). Though published over twenty years ago, this superb little book is still in print. There are several copies in the J.B. Morrell library, but since it costs only £11.19 (from the Internet Bookshop), you would be well advised to buy a copy and to read it from cover to cover.4.1. PrecisionYou must strive first to be absolutely precise. When you write, it is not sufficient that you know what you mean; neither is it sufficient that your writing admits of the meaning which you intend: it must admit of no other meaning. What you write must not be capable of misinterpretation. Take exceptional care to choose the right word for the occasion. Do not, for example, write ``optimum'' if you mean ``good''. ``Approximate'' means ``close'', so ``very approximate'' means ``very close'' - which is not what many people seem to think it means.4.2. VigourPrecision in writing is mainly a matter of taking sufficient care. Good writing is not only precise, however, it is vigorous, and that is much harder to achieve. It helps if you have read widely, especially novels. Here are some hints which might help you to write forcefully and vigorously.Prefer short sentences to long sentences. Prefer short words to long words, provided that the short word has the meaning you need. Terseness is a great virtue in technical writing. (But don't go too far; remember Horace's observation: ``Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio''.) Avoid circumlocutions. ``In almost all sectors of the computing marketplace'' can be replaced in most contexts by ``almost everywhere''.The question of whether to use the passive voice in technical writing is a thorny one. Most older writers still write ``a program was written ...'' rather than ``I wrote a program ...''. Many of your examiners might share this preference for, or prejudice in favour of, the passive voice, but this style is passing out of favour in all technical writing, and I advise you not to use it. Whatever you do, do not use the ``royal we'' (``we wrote a program'' when you mean ``I wrote a program'').There is general agreement that Latin phrases are best avoided in technical writing (but the occasional Latin quotation might lend a spurious air of erudition!) Nevertheless, many careful writers have their own favourite Latin phrases which find occasional use. The best rule is that a Latin phrase is acceptable if it abbreviates a circumlocutionary English phrase. Mutatis mutandis, for example, one of my own favourites, is permissible in place of ``making the appropriate changes'', since any English gloss seems to be ugly and unwieldy. ``I.e.'' (note the roman font and punctuation) is often useful in place of ``in other words'' or ``that is'', and is widely understood. Quite often, however, ``X, i.e., Y'' can be replaced by ``Y'', because the writer realized while writing X that Ysaid the same, only better. ``E.g.'' is overused and best used sparingly; prefer ``for instance'' or ``for example''.4.3. Spelling and grammarYou must take exceptional care to spell correctly. Poor spelling is a distraction to the proficient reader. In most cases there is very little excuse nowadays for spelling errors; there are many excellent spell-checker programs which make a good job of finding the errors for you, and excellent (paper) dictionaries which will tell you what the correct spelling is. Be especially careful with words whose common misspelling is a correct spelling of a different word, in particular the following pairs: lead/led; loose/lose; affect/effect. It is dangerous to allow the spell-checker to ``correct'' a misspelling by itself; many such hilarious ``corrections'' have been reported, for example recently in New Scientist.Believe the spell-checker. Very many people, for example, on finding that the spell-checker questions ``idiosyncracy'' [sic], say to themselves ``it must be missing from the dictionary file'', and leave the word alone. It is - for a good reason.If you have a medical condition which makes it difficult for you to spell correctly, make sure that your supervisor knows about it, so that it can be taken into account by the examiners.If poor spelling is a distraction which impedes understanding, poor grammar is more so. There are so many potential grammatical solecisms that it would be inappropriate to attempt to list them here. Read Fowler's Modern English Usage for guidance. This book has been revised several times since its first publication in 1926. The most recent (1998) edition is probably the best to use, not because its recommendations are more permissive or up-to-date, but because it draws attention to traps which it would not have occurred to Fowler in 1926 that anyone could fall into. The original 1926 edition is famous for its vigorous, fiery language, which has been successively watered down in later revisions.Take care with apostrophes. Historically, the apostrophe denoted the omission of one or more letters: don't = do not, John's book = John his book. For this reason, careful writers of British English restrict the possessive use of the apostrophe to animate possessors. You may write ``John's book'' but not ``the program's function'', since (so the argument goes) one cannot write ``the program his function'': you must write ``the function of the program'' instead. This rule is being steadily eroded under American influence, and will probably soon be obsolete.I mention the ``animate possessor'' rule in order to illustrate and to explain a very common blunder. Never use an apostrophe with a possessive pronoun. ``It's'' means ``it is'' (the letter that's omitted is an ``i''), not ``it his'', which is plain silly. One never sees spurious apostrophes in his, hers, ours, yours, theirs; so why does one so often see ``it's'' in place of ``its'', which is the correct possessive pronoun?The brain of the experienced reader, on seeing ``it's'', performs a lexical-level macro-expansion, replacing ``it's'' by ``it is''. This then fails to make syntactic sense in the context, necessitating a backtracking and re-parsing operation, and conscious expenditure of effort. It really does slow down, and consequently annoy, the reader. This crass and ignorant blunder probably does more to distract and to impede the reader of students' reports than any other grammatical solecism.Summary: ``it's'' = ``it is'' (needed rarely, if at all, in formal writing). ``Its'' is the pronoun (This is my program. Its purpose is to ... .) You almost certainly mean ``its''.Even if you yourself do not place a strong emphasis on good spelling and good grammar, most of your examiners do, some fanatically. Most examiners will be irritated by poor spelling and poor grammar. It is always worth doing whatever you can, short of bribery, to put your examiner in a good mood. Write well and spell well, for this reason if for no other!4.4. TypographyWhen I prepared my own final-year project report, I wrote it with pen and ink and handed the manuscript to the departmental secretary who typed it for me on an IBM typewriter. Modern practice is different, and now you yourself are responsible for producing a computer-typeset report. This means that you must be familiar both with the formal requirements set out in the Students' Handbook (restricting the number of pages, type size, width of margins, and so on) and with the rudiments of typography. You will not be penalized severely, if at all, if you violate typographical conventions, but good typography creates a subliminal impression akin to that of good proportion in a painting, and is desirable for that reason. Since it is a matter of simply learning and following the rules, you should try to do so. You should learn at least enough (for example) to know the difference between the hyphen, minus, en-dash and em-dash, and when to use each of them.The best and most famous typographical reference book is Rules for compositors and readers at the University Press, Oxford by Horace Hart, known colloquially and universally as ``Hart's Rules''. It is a small book which you should probably read from cover to cover, but you may skip the section on Russian orthography if your report contains no Russian words. This book, like Fowler, has been revised continually since its first publication (in 1904, though it was in use within the O.U.P. since 1893). The latest edition is dated 1983. It is still in print, almost a century after its first publication, and at £8.79 (from the Internet Bookshop), well worth buying.4.5. IllustrationsYour report should generally contain illustrations (figures or diagrams), but they must be relevant. Ask yourself if the illustration helps the reader to understand the text. If the text is readily comprehensible without the illustration, delete the illustration. If it is not, it is usually better to make the text clearer than to add a diagram.All illustrations should be prepared by an appropriate program, such as pic, xfig or grap. They should not be hand-drawn. The only common exception to this rule is circuit diagrams: given the current state of the art in schematic-entry packages, a hand-drawn circuit diagram is usually preferable to a computer-drawn one.If possible, include figures close to the text which refers to them, rather than all together in an appendix. Circuit diagrams are, again, a possible exception to this rule. It is normal to list tables and figures at the beginning of the report, after the table of contents.5. StructureSaepe stilum vertas. - Horace 5.1. Top-level structureAt the top level, a typical report is organized in the following way.Abstract. (This is a couple of paragraphs - no more - which summarizes the content of the report. It must be comprehensible to someone who has not read the rest of the report.)Introduction. (The scope of the project, setting the scene for the remainder of the report.)Previous work. (One or more review chapters, describing the research you did at the beginning of the project period.)Several chapters describing what you have done, focusing on the novel aspects of your own work.Further work. (A chapter describing possible ways in which your work could be continued or developed. Be imaginative but realistic.)Conclusions. (This is similar to the abstract. The difference is that you should assume here that the reader of the conclusions has read the rest of the report.)References and appendices.5.2. ReferencesReferences must be relevant. A typical PR3 project report might contain about one page of pertinent references, if the initial research period was well spent. Do not include references which you have not read, no matter how relevant you think they might be. If you refer to standard material which is covered by a large number of text-books, choose one or two really good ones and cite those, rather than a long list of mediocre texts.There are many styles for citing references. Although strict standards (e.g. British Standards) for citing references exist, my advice is not to bother with them; instead, find a reputable journal in the library and copy its style. Alternatively, copy the example below. It's important to be consistent, complete and unambiguous; beyond that, it doesn't matter much what you do.Example citation style:Citations in text: Mander, in ``Notes on a system specification method'' [Mander 1983], gives the following ...... as described by Briggs [1983a] ...Thimbleby's guidelines [Thimbleby 1983] suggest that ...Different methodologies have been examined [Tully 1983].Several recent publications in this field [Wand 1980d, ACM 1971] have been very influential.List of references at end of report:ReferencesACM 1971.Association for Computing Machinery, Second symposium on problems in the optimisation of data communication systems, ACM (1971).Briggs 1983a.J.S. Briggs, ``The design of AIR and its use in Ada separate compilation'', in SERC workshop on Ada software tools interfaces, ed. P.J. Wallis, University of Bath (1983).Downes 1982.V.A. Downes, S.J. Goldsack, Programming embedded systems with Ada, Prentice-Hall (1982).Mander 1983.K.C. Mander, Notes on a system specification method, York Computer Science report no. 61, University of York (1983).Thimbleby 1983.H.W. Thimbleby, ``Guidelines for `manipulative' text editing'', Behaviour and Information Technology, 2, 127 - 161 (1983).If you adopt this style, when you cite a reference, you need not repeat the author's name or authors' names (``Jones and Sanderson [Jones & Sanderson 1999] have shown ...''). Write instead: ``Jones and Sanderson [1999] have shown ...'', and list the reference as ``Jones & Sanderson 1999''.Alternatively, a system of numbered references, such as the default format produced by the Unix refer tool in conjunction with troff, is acceptable. I myself much prefer numbered citation styles, which I find much less obtrusive and easier on the eye; e.g. ``Jones and Sanderson¹ have shown ...'' or ``Jones and Sanderson [1] have shown ...''. These forms, which are allowed by the regulations in the Handbook, seem to be the two dominant citation styles in academic journals.You may wish to refer to electronic sources, particularly material found on the World-Wide Web. It is not enough to put ``found on WWW'' in place of a citation. The web page ``Bibliographic Formats for Citing Electronic Information'' gives advice on citing on-line sources.If possible, avoid citing unpublished literature. It is however acceptable to cite university reports, such as this Department's YCS series, and PhD theses (although getting hold of the latter can be almost impossible).``References'' are always cited in the text. Other works you've made use of but not cited should be listed in a section called ``Bibliography''.Note that ``et al.'' requires a period after the abbreviation ``al.'' (for ``alia''). It means ``and others'', and may be used only to refer to people, typically in lists of references. It is the animate form of ``etc.'', which also requires a period.5.3. Lower-level structureStructure is a recursive concept. A well-structured report has its top-level sections well ordered, and it is easy to get this right; but each section must in itself be well ordered, and that is more difficult.Most paper documents, and many on-line documents, are read linearly from beginning to end. This is certainly true of an examiner reading a project report. Consequently, the writer of a well-structured document avoids forward references wherever possible. Try to avoid writing ``... as we shall see in chapter 10, ...'', especially if the material in chapter 10 is essential to an understanding of the text at the point where the reference occurs. Occasionally such references are unavoidable, but more often than not they are a sign that the text needs to be re-ordered.In the old days, re-ordering text entailed ``cutting and pasting'' with real scissors and real paste. Nowadays, the word-processor has made these operations so easy that there is no excuse for slovenly structure. Take your time, and keep rearranging words or phrases within sentences, sentences within paragraphs, paragraphs within sections and sections within the whole report until you have got it right. Aim for a logical progression from beginning to end, with each sentence building on the previous ones.If the chapters are numbered 1, 2, 3, ..., then the sections within (say) chapter 1 will be numbered 1.1, 1.2, ... . It is permissible to sub-divide a section: the sub-sections within section 1.1 will be numbered 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ... . Do not however nest sub-sections to more than four levels: sub-sub-section 1.2.3.4 is acceptable, but 1.2.3.4.5 is not. It is quite possible, with care, to write even a large and complex book without using more than three levels.Footnotes are a nuisance to the reader. They interrupt the linear flow of text and necessitate a mental stack-pushing and stack-popping which demand conscious effort. There are rare occasions when footnotes are acceptable, but they are so rare that it is best to avoid them altogether. To remove a footnote, first try putting it in-line, surrounded by parentheses. It is likely that the poor structure which was disguised by the footnote apparatus will then become apparent, and can be improved by cutting and pasting.6. The role of artefacts in projectsDeep down, all students seem to believe that their project is ``to write a program'' (or, ``to build a circuit''). They believe that they will be judged by how much their program does. They are amazed when their supervisor is unconcerned about the inclusion or non-inclusion of a listing in the report. They fear that they will be penalized if their program is small-scale or if they do not make grandiose claims for its power and functionality. This leads to reports heavy with code and assertions about code, but light on reasoning. Students omit the reasoning because they are short of time and think the code more important, and thereby they lose credit they could have had. It leads also to the omission of testing. Hence there are assertions about the extent of implementation, but no evidence (in the form of records of testing) to back them up.In summary, credit for the implementation is not the whole story; you should not feel under pressure to make claims that you cannot support. Your reports should clearly separate specification, design, implementation and testing. ``The program does X'' should more honestly be ``I wanted the program to do X; I designed it to do nearly-X; I implemented it to do most-of-X; my testing shows that it did some-of-X(and here is the evidence of that)''. Taking this advice into account can much improve your mark.7. You and your supervisorWriting is a solitary pursuit. Whereas your supervisor will guide you through the early stages of your project work, you must write the report on your own. It is a University assessment, and the rules on plagiarism and collusion (do consult the Students' Handbook!), and the conventions which restrict the amount of help a supervisor can give, apply. Nevertheless, most supervisors will be happy to read and to comment on drafts of sections of your project report before you hand it in, if you give them enough time to do so. It's also a good idea to ask your supervisor to suggest some high-quality past projects in a similar field to yours, and to look them up in the departmental library. This will give you an idea of what is required. 8. SummaryGood writing is difficult, but it is worth taking the trouble to write well.Leonard was trying to form his style on Ruskin: he understood him to be the greatest master of English prose. He read forward steadily, occasionally making a few notes. ``Let us consider a little each of these characters in succession, and first (for of the shafts enough has been said already), what is very peculiar to this church - its luminousness.'' Was there anything to be learnt from this fine sentence? Could he adapt it to the needs of daily life? Could he introduce it, with modifications, when he next wrote a letter to his brother, the lay reader? For example: ``Let us consider a little each of these characters in succession, and first (for of the absence of ventilation enough has been said already), what is very peculiar to this flat - its obscurity.'' Something told him that the modifications would not do; and that something, had he known it, was the spirit of English Prose. ``My flat is dark as well as stuffy.'' Those were the words for him.

How much interest would you get on 161 million a day?

Add your answer:

How long has Wells Fargo been in business?

What is 100000 dollars in pounds?

How many palindromes are there between 1-300?

Is justanswers.com a scam?

How do you write project report?

How much would a 161 pound woman weigh on mars?

How much is 161 lbs in kg?

How many spectators attended the 2011 NFL game?

71 equals how much percent of 161?

What is the era of a apatosaurus?

How much did the New York Yankees pay for CC Sabathia?

How do you write 161 million 971 thousand dollars?

What is 161 plus 50?

What are the gross worldwide earnings for the movie Australia?

What is the worlds lagest Muslim population?

How much times does 4 go into 161?

How much is 355 lbs in kilogram?

Resources

Top Categories

Product

Company