Longman idioms dictionary pdf download

Complete the sentences with words from the box. Then underline the full idioms. S New York is incredibly exciting. He looked very dejected. It her right for trying to cheat.

She's just in a bad mood. Write at the end, or in your notebook. CouLct ClLs. Basically, it's just keeping up with the Joneses. S You may rest assured that we will do everything we can to help. On the first morning we met our instructor, Kevin, and he made it clear we were going to hit the ground running. We had to build a raft and then sail it down a river; he said it would sort out the sheep from the goats. That made me feel very uneasy, but I put a brave face on it.

The next day was even worse - abseiling down a cliff - but I was determined not to throw in the towel. By the third day I was beginning to realize we were all in the same boat, and probably all feeling equally vulnerable. I survived. Underline them. For example, somebody can be in the driving seat of a vehicle , which means they are literally in control of the vehicle. When we use the phrase metaphorically, we mean the person is in control of a situation.

Other examples are: They've decided to wait for Literal meaning: 'wait to be able to see more clearli the dust to settle. Metaphorical meaning: 'wait for an unsettled situation to become calm: I'm sure we're on the right Literal meaning: 'on the right road, path, or track: track. Metaphorical meaning: 'acting in a way that will bring a desired result: opp on the wrong track.

Metaphors from particular areas of activity can sometimes describe particular thoughts, ideas, etc. For example, boxing expressions often describe people in difficult situations: The minister is on the ropes now. The boss found himself in a tight corner. Idioms derived from card games are sometimes connected to keeping plans and ideas hidden. She plays her cards close to her chest. I think he's got something up his sleeve. For example, in the past a blacksmith was a person who made things out of iron.

If a boy wanted to fight, he would put a piece of wood on his shoulder; he fought against the first person who knocked the piece of wood off. I think she's still got something up her 3 That boy has a on his shoulder about his height.

I don't know why it bothers him. S After the recent criticism, I think she's in quite a tight 6 I don't understand why he always plays his cards so close to his 2 Rephrase these situations using a suitable idiom.

S The company is doing badly and is likely to fail. And what is the meaning of the final idiom? Put them in the correct column below. S make sb less confident by saying or doing sth unexpected. Some particles create a new meaning, but still with a connection to the base verb: Lets eat in this evening. Some particles change the meaning of the base verb from literal to figurative: These big bills are eating into my savings.

Many phrasal verbs are transitive, i. Transitive phrasal verbs are of two types: separable and inseparable. With separable phrasal verbs, the object can usually go before or after the particle; with inseparable phrasal verbs, the object must go after the particle. Dictionaries often show the difference like this:.

This shows you that the object can go before or after 'up': Don't tear up the letter. I Don't tear the letter up. But note that, if the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and particle: Don't tear it up.

NOT Don't tear up it. There are also a small number of phrasal verbs where the object always goes before the particle: I showed the students around the school. NOT I shO'lved around the students. This shows you that the object cannot go between 'take' and 'against'; it must go after the particle: He took against Sam after that.

NOT He took Sam against. The plane put down in a field. Don't put yourself down so much! I put my name down for the day trip to put 5b I 5b'5 name down for 5th write sb's name on a list so the seaside. I put her anger down to stress. I put it down for I to poor management. The helicopter put down near the river means 'the helicopter near the river: 4 She talked me out of leaving means 'she me not to leave: 5 The dog was put down means 'the dog was by an injection: 6 She put my address down means 'she down my add re-ss: 3 Complete the sentences with the correct particle.

Underline the phrasal verb and its object. Check your answers on page before you do Exercise S. Nouns formed from phrasal verbs may be hyphenated, e. Police are interviewing passers-by who witnessed the breakout at Hyde Prison last night.

IThe government has been forced into a climbdown after the revelations of a cover-up I 1here was a sharp intake of breath from the public gallery during the judges summing-up Following the outbreak of violence, the police have requested backup from the army. Glossary '. A bystander is someone who watches what is happening, e. SYNS onlooker, look on v.

Will there 7 2 Did the police cover up the facts? We 4 Someone broke out of prison last night. The 6 Will the team back us up? S The party was really boring; we made a quick and went to a club instead. Write Tor F. No, they 2 Is Bess having a rest? Yeah, that was a long walk. She's completely 3 The article isn't as strongly worded as it was. No, it's been 4 What's for dinner? I think there are some from lunchtime.

S She coughed throughout your performance. I know, I found it really. They were unhappy with the way things were. That's right; he has often 8 Have the discussions come to an end yet? The letters in the grey squares spell out an expression.

What is it? The expression in the grey squares is Unit 2 1 Match with a-j. S It's nothing personal: you really mustn't take it to e shoulder.

I think we're on the wrong g sails. S I occasionally let my rule my 6 If someone criticizes me, I tend to take it to 3 Are the sentences in the questionnaire in Exercise 2 true about you, sometimes true, or not true?

Write your answers, or talk to another student. Who put you up? I can't work out what 2 Rewrite the part of the sentence in italics, using a phrasal verb that keeps a similar meaning. Make any other additions that are necessary. S We had to have our dog killed. Unit 4 1 What related phrasal nouns and adjectives are formed from these phrasal verbs? Write them in the correct column below.

He's finished. Very protective of daughter, AlIce. Alice Beck: Attractive and charming on the surface, Alice likes to play it cool with men, but deep down, she's qUIte shy. Loves her father, but very much under his thumb.

Has a quick temper; friends think she's mad as a hatter. Sadly, thick as two short planks. OPP deep down. He's mad keen on Alice. I was hopping mad. It just doesn't look that way on the surface I top. S She's a very dominant woman; she certainly has her husband under her finger I thumb.

In other words, he's mad. In other words, he's thick as 3 Ella didn't show Luis her true feelings. In other words, she played 4 Ana adores horse-riding.

In other words, she's it. S Don just talks and never listens. In other words, he loves the sound of his 6 I love Caz, but she's crazy. In other words, she's mad 7 Mona does everything Pete tells her to. In other words, she's under 8 Grandad can put up with anything. Most of the group are very quiet - we need a a live wire a person who is lively and full of energy live wire like Jez to get us talking. We could do with a bright spark here to bring a bright spark INF 1 a lively and intelligent person.

Some bright spark left the door unlocked! How stupid. She always asks Dad for help with cash because a soft touch INF a person from whom you can easily she knows he's a soft touch. I don't know if Ash would be right for the job; an unknown quantity a person or thing whose he's a bit of an unknown quantity. Mrs Andrews runs the business and people the salt of the earth a good, reliable, honest person.

He's tough, ambitious, and he's nobody's fool- nobody's fool a person who is too clever to be he's our best hope as a manager.

SYN no fool. I hate dealing with Rupert; he's a nasty piece a nasty piece of work a person who is unpleasant, of work. He's a bit of a cold fish. Write P or N. Then circle the full idioms. Andy Cracker 1S a great boss: hardworking, honest. He's a real family man too and he adores his kids. They only have to ask for something and they get it; he's a 2 touch.

Mrs Bolton's been here for years and she's now approaching retirement. She's the salt of the 3 , and will do anything for Andy. But things have to be done in a particular way - 'Mrs Bolton's Way'; she's a 4 of habit. Mandy O'Neill is new in this department.

She used to be in sales, and my friend Sally says she's a bright 6 and 7 fool. I'll reserve judgement on her till I get to know her better. Tim Richards - What can I say? I just can't stand him.

I don't trust him at all; I think he's a nasty 8 , actually. Write in your notebook, or talk to another student. Well, ours has all the qualities. When things went wrong and Dad left us, Mum went to great lengths to hold the family together. She was always there for us, but trusted us to make our own decisions. When we needed a shoulder to cry on , it was Mum we turned to , not our friends. But what sets her apart from the other mums is her concern for others.

She's always giving someone or other a helping hand. We thank our lucky stars that she's our mum! Patti , 16 have sb's best interests at heart care about sb and want to improve their situation. S Dad always makes a special effort to keep them amused. She thinks she can twist me round her little finger, but she can't! He'd walk all over my parents ifhe had the chance. It took me years to learn to stick up for myself. Ifit weren't for me, her room would be disgusting! Also take sb for granted be so accustomed to sb that you don't appreciate them.

If you can twist sb round your little finger INF, you can persuade them to do anything you want. If you get round sb, you persuade them to do what you want, often by being nice to them. If you win sb over, you get their support by persuading them you are right. S If you have things all your own way, you do what everyone else wants. It's not fair! S U's only nice to me because she wants my help. Don't let things like finance or hou sehold chores drive a wedge between you. Remember that things said in the heat of the moment can be hard to forgive later.

On the other hand, if you walk away, you may be storing up problems for the future. My advice is: go for a short walk to calm down, then you can discuss the matter sensibly. You'll need to give each other space in the marriage. Glossary be made for each other INF be perfect partners. Write G or B. Do you agree with all the points? You're free - nothing's holding you back and no one's nagging you because the dishes are piling up in the sink.

You can do as you please any time, day or night. RUDY Not for me. I'm bored and lonely. Yes, you answer to no one, but I'd far sooner be in a loving relationship. I'd give anything to meet the right person. Now that I've finished with him, the thought of going through the same thing again doesn't bear thinking about. I don't want another distressing break-up. Glossary hold sb back stop sb being as successful as they should be. SYN please yourself.

I'd give anything to meet her. I'd give my right arm to have Anya back. OPP Her boyfriend 2 I don't have to explain my actions to my boss. OPP I have to 3 There's less and less work.

OPP I've just 5 He didn't stand in the way of my success. OPP She 5 Complete the texts with one word in each case. Then underline the full idioms, phrasal verbs, or phrasal nouns. Danny was quite possessive, so when I 1 with him, I was relieved that at last I could do 2 I pleased. But not long after the 3 of the relationship I was terrIbly lonely, and I regretted what Id done. Now Id give 4 to have him back.

I feel guilty about Donna. I know I 5 her down badly, and I'm sure she was sick of me 6 her about. But the truth is, Id far 7 be Single and be able to please 8 in what I do. And getting married just doesn't 9 thinking about; I'm far too selfish. I'm sure there's a little sign above my head that says, 'I want to get married'! Id give my right 10 to meet Mr Right! Or do you have a different point of view?

What is it about your own flesh and blood? I've got two sisters. They used to fight like cat and dog when they were kids, and there's little love lost between them now. But as soon as an outsider criticizes either of them, they immediately close ranks and turn on them. It's a bit the same with me and my wife. When we're together we argue, but when we're apart, we're miserable as sin. How do you account for that? I guess living on top of each other doesn't help, and I'm sure we take each other for granted a lot of the time.

But families are strange! He gets commission on top of his salary. The books were piled on top of one another. S His surname's different from his brother's. How do you explain that? If so, why? S Have any members of your family ever turned you?

If so, who? The firstborn often gets the most attention and is put on a pedestal; the last to be born is the baby and tends to get away with murder. Some studies have backed this up, suggestIng that middle children who feel left out may distance themselves from others and become loners. It is important, therefore, that parents make a point of lavishing attention on the middle child and praising their achievements.

Glossary, result in sth cause a particular situation to happen. Where does it go? Write it at the end. It's true that the firstborn IS put on a 1 and the third child gets away WIth 2 but in my case it didn't 3 In me becoming an underachiever.

Quite the opposite. I made a 4 of ensuring that I wasn't squeezed 5 or 6 of attention. In fact, I craved attention and fought really hard to excel In everything.

I became an overachiever. Now, I don't feel left 7 by my parents. We have a very good relationship and I feel they 8 me up in everythIng I do.

Mind you, they still 9 more attention on my younger sister than me. But I don't mind that now. If so, is there any truth in what the text says?

One minute I'm on top of the world, the next I'm at the end of my tether, or crying my eyes out at some silly romantic movie. I'm so short-tempered - the slightest thing winds me up. A guy in the office was tapping on the radiator earlier, and I just went off the deep end and screamed my head off at him.

Poor man - I have since apologized. Pregnancy has stirred up feelings I didn't know existed! It's such a new experience; I guess I just need time to take it all in. Glossary for no apparent reason without an obvious cause. SYN at your wits' end. The meaning must stay the same. TAKE 2 The boy was making a lot of noise. HEAD 3 She couldn't stop crying.

DEEP 6 The news made everyone angry. STIR 7 Please don't make her angry. WIND 8 I'm feeling extremely happy. Then write your answers in your notebook, or talk to another student.

So, first I spend time alone with her, sides. I try to involve both parties in the dispute, cooling her down, then I bring in whoever she but ensure that I keep any meeting on an even has upset.

It's a stressful job, and I have to keep my keel. That's easier said than done, especially if emotions in check. When I go home, I can pour my they're dying to have a go at each other. Someone heart out to my husband: he doesn't mind at all!

SYN calm sb down. I'm on your side in this matter. She always sides with my brother. Phonics Reading Books For Kids Phonics reading is a popular and effective method used for teaching language to young children when they begin to learn reading and writing. Smart Phonics is an easy-to-teach 5 level series for elementary school children who are studying English as a foreign language.

Lyudmila Retinskaya. Kem Chhean. How about audios and workbooks? Grammar Practice [Longman] 1. Grammar Practice for Elementary 2. Grammar Practice for Pre-Intermediate 3. Grammar Practice for Intermediate See more 4. Nadia Kassimovna. Thank you.

Colorful art and photographs illustrate the 32 pages of lively activities, including reading and writing practice, comprehension, critical thinking exercises and word puzzles.

Includes special dictionary pages and dictionary skill tips and colorful bookmarks with vocabulary-building tips. Phonics: 25 Printable Storybooks for Kids Each book consists of a 9-page short story that is simple and fun.

It will help children learn to read with joy. Parents can print the stories and let the kids color the black-and-white cartoons as they are learning to read.

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New English File Intermediate Class cd's. Macmillan English - Upper Intermediate - L. Does each paragraph contribute to your main point? Does your beginning introduce your topic and provide any necessary contextual information? Does your ending provide a satisfying conclusion? Make sure that all your key ideas are fully explained. If you add evidence, make sure that it all supports your point and includes any needed documentation. You may find it helpful to outline your draft to see all the parts readily.

Look closely at your title to be sure it gives a sense of what your text is about. The following guidelines can help you check the paragraphs, sentences, and words in your drafts. Does every sentence in the paragraph relate to that point?

Does each one follow smoothly from the one before it? Do you need to add transitions? How else might you begin? How else might you conclude? Sometimes these words help introduce a topic, but often they make a text vague. For example, do you need to replace verbs like be or do with more specific verbs?

Your writing will almost always be better without such predictable expressions. Proofreading This is the final stage of the writing process, the point when you check for misspelled words, mixed-up fonts, missing pages, and so on. Use your finger or a pencil as a pointer.

Ask someone else to read your text. Here are some guidelines for collaborating successfully. This is especially important when collaborating online. Without tone of voice, facial expressions, and other body language, your words carry all the weight. Remember also that what you write may be forwarded to others. Group members may not all have access to the same equipment and software. Name files carefully.

Appoint one person as timekeeper and another person as group leader; a third member should keep a record of the discussion and write a summary afterward. Here one writer recalls when he first understood what a paragraph does. The words themselves were mostly foreign, but I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose. They had some specific reason for being inside the same fence.

It offers tips and examples for composing strong paragraphs. There is, of course, nothing naturally abhorrent in the human impulse to dwell in marketplaces or the urge to buy, sell, and trade. Rural Americans traditionally looked forward to the excitement and sensuality of market day; Native Americans traveled long distances to barter and trade at sprawling, festive encampments. In Persian bazaars and in the ancient Greek agoras the very soul of the community was preserved and could be seen, felt, heard, and smelled as it might be nowhere else.

Often, but not always, you might start a paragraph with a topic sentence, as in this example from an essay about legalizing the sale of human kidneys. Dialysis is harsh, expensive, and, worst of all, only temporary. Acting as an artificial kidney, dialysis mechanically filters the blood of a patient. It works, but not well.

With treatment sessions lasting three hours, several times a week, those dependent on dialysis are, in a sense, shackled to a machine for the rest of their lives.

Adding excessive stress to the body, dialysis causes patients to feel increasingly faint and tired, usually keeping them from work and other normal activities. See how this strategy works in another paragraph in the essay about kidneys. In a legal kidney transplant, everybody gains except the donor. The doctors and nurses are paid for the operation, the patient receives a new kidney, but the donor receives nothing. Sure, the donor will have the warm, uplifting feeling associated with helping a fellow human being, but this is not enough reward for most people to part with a piece of themselves.

In an ideal world, the average person would be altruistic enough to donate a kidney with nothing expected in return. The real world, however, is run by money.

We pay men for donating sperm, and we pay women for donating ova, yet we expect others to give away an entire organ with no compensation. If the sale of organs were allowed, people would have a greater incentive to help save the life of a stranger.

I came to the United States in at age 3 with my family and immediately stopped speaking Spanish. Whether or not you announce the main point in a topic sentence, be sure that every sentence in a paragraph relates to that point. Edit out any sentences that stray off topic, such as those crossed out below. Previous generations of immigrants were encouraged to speak only English. When someone poses a question to her in Spanish, she often has to respond in English.

In other instances, she tries to speak Spanish but falters over the past and future tenses. Situations like these embarrass Barrientos and make her feel left out of a community she wants to be part of.

Native Guatemalans who are bilingual do not have such problems. Analyzing cause and effect. The following paragraph about air turbulence identifies some of its causes. A variety of factors can cause turbulence, which is essentially a disturbance in the movement of air.

See how two social scientists use classification to explain the ways that various types of social network websites SNSs make user profiles visible. The visibility of a profile varies by site and according to user discretion. By default, profiles on Friendster and Tribe. Alternatively, LinkedIn controls what a viewer might see based on whether she or he has a paid account. Structural variations around visibility and access are one of the primary ways that SNSs differentiate themselves from each other.

See how the following paragraph divides the concept of pressure into four kinds. I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and selfinduced pressure. But there are no villains; only victims. One is to shift back and forth between each item point by point, as in this paragraph contrasting the attention given to a football team and to academic teams.

The football players enjoyed the attentions of an enthralled school, complete with banners, assemblies, and even video announcements in their honor, a virtual barrage of praise and downright deification. As for the three champion academic teams, they received a combined total of around ten minutes of recognition, tacked onto the beginning of a sports assembly.

After all, why should they? See how this approach works in the following example, which contrasts photographs of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton on the opening day of the baseball season.

The next day photos of the Clintons in action appeared in newspapers around the country. The one of Bill Clinton showed him wearing an Indians cap and warm-up jacket. The President, throwing lefty, had turned his shoulders sideways to the plate in preparation for delivery.

He was bringing the ball forward from behind his head in a clean-looking throwing action as the photo was snapped. In preparation for her throw she was standing directly facing the plate.

A right-hander, she had the elbow of her throwing arm pointed out in front of her. Her forearm was tilted back, toward her shoulder. The ball rested on her upturned palm. As the picture was taken, she was in the middle of an action that can only be described as throwing like a girl. See how one writer uses analogy to explain the way DNA encodes genetic information. Although the complexity of cells, tissues, and whole organisms is breathtaking, the way in which the basic DNA instructions are written is astonishingly simple.

Like more familiar instruction systems such as language, numbers, or computer binary code, what matters is not so much the symbols themselves but the order in which they appear.

In exactly the same way the order of the four chemical symbols in DNA embodies the message. The following paragraph provides brief definitions of three tropical fruits. I walked onto a patio speckled with dark stains, as if the heavens had been spitting down on it. I looked up; there were the two trees responsible. One was a lollipop mango tree. The other was a nispero tree. Beyond the patio, I saw a mammee tree, which bears large, football-shaped fruit. Here a paragraph weaves together details of background, appearance, and speech to create a vivid impression of Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier.

His father was a gas driller drilling for natural gas in the coalfields , his older brother was a gas driller, and he would have been a gas driller had he not enlisted in the Army Air Force in at the age of eighteen. In , at twenty, he became a flight officer, i.

Even in the tumult of the war Yeager was somewhat puzzling to a lot of other pilots. What was puzzling was the way Yeager talked.

He seemed to talk with some older forms of English elocution, syntax, and conjugation that had been preserved uphollow in the Appalachians. Cookbooks explain many processes step-by-step, as in this explanation of how to pit a mango. The simplest method for pitting a mango is to hold it horizontally, then cut it in two lengthwise, slightly off-center, so the knife just misses the pit.

Repeat the cut on the other side so a thin layer of flesh remains around the flat pit. Holding a half, flesh-side up, in the palm of your hand, slash the flesh into a lattice, cutting down to, but not through, the peel. Carefully push the center of the peel upward with your thumbs to turn it inside out, opening the cuts of the flesh.

Then cut the mango cubes from the peel. One such incident that has stayed with me, though I recognize it as a minor offense, happened on the day of my first public poetry reading. It took place in Miami in a boat-restaurant where we were having lunch before the event. I was nervous and excited as I walked in with my notebook in my hand. An older woman motioned me to her table. Thinking foolish me that she wanted me to autograph a copy of my brand-new slender volume of verse, I went over.

She ordered a cup of coffee from me, assuming that I was the waitress. Easy enough to mistake my poems for menus, I suppose. We shook hands at the end of the reading, and I never saw her again. She has probably forgotten the whole thing but maybe not. Illustrating a point with one or more examples is a common way to develop a paragraph, like the following one, which uses lyrics as examples to make a point about the similarities between two types of music. On a happier note, both rap and [country-and-western] feature strong female voices as well.

Repetition, parallelism, and transitions are three strategies for making paragraphs flow. One way to help readers follow your train of thought is to repeat key words and phrases, as well as pronouns referring to those key words. Not that long ago, blogs were one of those annoying buzz words that you could safely get away with ignoring. Unlike a big media outlet, bloggers focus their efforts on narrow topics, often rising to become de facto watchdogs and self-proclaimed experts.

Blogs can be about anything: politics, sex, baseball, haiku, car repair. There are blogs about blogs. Predictably, the love of cinema has waned. And wonderful films are still being made. The disease was bubonic plague, present in two forms: one that infected the bloodstream, causing the buboes and internal bleeding and was spread by contact; and a second, more virulent pneumonic type that infected the lungs and was spread by respiratory infection.

The presence of both at once caused the high mortality and speed of contagion. Yolanda, the third of the four girls, became a schoolteacher but not on purpose. For years after graduate school, she wrote down poet under profession in questionnaires and income tax forms, and later amended it to writer-slash-teacher. Today the used-book market is exceedingly well organized and efficient.

Campus bookstores buy back not only the books that will be used at their university the next semester but also those that will not. Those that are no longer on their lists of required books they resell to national wholesalers, which in turn sell them to college bookstores on campuses where they will be required. This means that even if a text is being adopted for the first time at a particular college, there is almost certain to be an ample supply of used copies.

But while a brief, one- or two-sentence paragraph can be used to set off an idea you want to emphasize, too many short paragraphs can make your writing choppy. Opening paragraphs. In the following opening paragraph, the writer begins with a generalization about academic architecture, then ends with a specific thesis stating what the rest of the essay will argue. Academic architecture invariably projects an identity about campus and community to building users and to the world beyond.

Yet in other cases, the architectural language established in surrounding precedents may be more appropriate, even for high-tech facilities. The bottom line is that drastically reducing both crime rates and the number of people behind bars is technically feasible. Whether it is politically and organizationally feasible to achieve this remains an open question. Sometimes you can rely on established design conventions: in academic writing, there are specific guidelines for headings, margins, and line spacing.

No matter what your text includes, its design will influence how your audience responds to it and therefore how well it achieves your purpose. To keep readers oriented as they browse multipage documents or websites, use design elements consistently. In a print academic essay, choose a single font for your main text and use boldface or italics for headings. In writing for the web, place navigation buttons and other major elements in the same place on every page.

Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to fill pages with unnecessary graphics or animations. Aim for balance. Create balance through the use of margins, images, headings, and spacing. Use color and contrast carefully.

Academic readers usually expect black text on a white background, with perhaps one other color for headings. Make sure your audience will be able to distinguish any color variations in your text well enough to grasp your meaning. Use available templates. To save time and simplify design decisions, take advantage of templates.

In Microsoft Word, for example, you can customize font, spacing, indents, and other features that will automatically be applied to your document. Websites that host personal webpages and presentation software also offer templates that you can use or modify.

The following guidelines will help you make those decisions. The fonts you choose will affect how well readers can read your text. Decorative fonts such as should be used sparingly.

If you use more than one font, use each one consistently: one for headings, one for captions, one for the main body of your text. Every common font has regular, bold, and italic forms. Layout is the way text is arranged on a page. An academic essay, for example, will usually have a title centered at the top and one-inch margins all around.

Items such as lists, tables, headings, and images should be arranged consistently. Line spacing. In general, indent paragraphs five spaces when your text is double-spaced; either indent or skip a line between paragraphs that are single-spaced.

When preparing a text intended for online use, single-space your document, skip a line between paragraphs, and begin each paragraph flush left no indent. Use a list format for information that you want to set off and make easily accessible. Number the items when the sequence matters in instructions, for example ; use bullets when the order is not important. Set off lists with an extra line of space above and below, and add extra space between the items on a list if necessary for legibility.

White space and margins. To make your text attractive and readable, use white space to separate its various parts.

In general, use one-inch margins for the text of an essay or report. Headings make the structure of a text easier to follow and help readers find specific information.

Whenever you include headings, you need to decide how to phrase them, what fonts to use, and where to position them. Phrase headings consistently. Make your headings succinct and parallel in structure. Whatever form you decide on, use it consistently. Make headings visible. Position headings appropriately.

If you are not following a prescribed format, you get to decide where to position the headings: centered, flush with the left margin, or even alongside the text, in a wide lefthand margin. Position each level of head consistently. In print documents, you can often use photos, charts, graphs, and diagrams.

Online or in spoken presentations, your options expand to include video and printed handouts. A discussion of Google Glass might be clearer when accompanied by this photo. Tables are useful for displaying numerical information concisely, especially when several items are being compared. Presenting information in columns and rows permits readers to find data and identify relationships among the items. Pie charts can be used to show how a whole is divided into parts or how parts of a whole relate to one another.

Percentages in a pie chart should always add up to Plotting the lines together enables readers to compare the data at different points in time. Be sure to label the x and y axes and limit the number of lines to four at the most. Some software offers 3-D and other special effects, but simple graphs are often easier to read.

Diagrams and flowcharts are ways of showing relationships and processes. This diagram shows how carbon moves between the Earth and its atmosphere. Flowcharts can be made by using widely available templates; diagrams, on the other hand, can range from simple drawings to works of art. Avoid clip art.

Position images as close as possible to the relevant discussion. Italian Economic Growth Rate, — If you use data to create a graph or chart, include source information directly below. Large files may be hard to upload without altering quality and can clog email inboxes. Linking also allows readers to see the original context. To include your own video, upload it to YouTube; choose the Private setting to limit access.

Be sure to represent the original content accurately, and provide relevant information about the source. Whatever the occasion, you need to make your points clear and memorable.

This chapter offers guidelines to help you prepare and deliver effective presentations. Spoken texts need a clear organization so that your audience can follow you. The beginning needs to engage their interest, make clear what you will talk about, and perhaps forecast the central points of your talk.

The ending should leave your audience something to remember, think about, or do. In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln follows a chronological structure. A tone to suit the occasion. In a presentation to a panel of professors, you probably would want to avoid too much slang and speak in complete sentences. Slides and other media. Organize and draft your presentation. If in drafting you find you have too many points for the time available, leave out the less important ones. Thank your listeners, and offer to take questions and comments if the format allows.

Consider whether to use visuals. Remember, though, that visuals should be a means of conveying information, not mere decoration. You then offer only a brief introduction and answer questions. What visual tools if any you decide to use is partly determined by how your presentation will be delivered: face to face?

You may also have to move furniture or the screen to make sure everyone can see your visuals. Finally, have a backup plan. Computers fail; the internet may not work.

Have an alternative in case of problems. Presentation software. Here are some tips for writing and designing slides. Use slides to emphasize your main points, not to reproduce your talk. A list of brief points, presented one by one, reinforces your words; charts and images can provide additional information that the audience can take in quickly.

On slides, sans serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica are easier to read than serif fonts like Times New Roman. Your text and illustrations need to contrast with the background. Dark content on a light background is easier to see and read than the reverse. Decorative backgrounds, letters that fade in and out or dance across the screen, and sound effects can be more distracting than helpful; use them only if they help to make your point. Indicate in your notes each place where you need to advance to the next slide.

Label handouts with your name and the date and title of the presentation. Practice, practice, and then practice some more. Your audience will respond positively to that confidence. If possible, practice with a small group of friends to get used to having an audience. Speak clearly. Pause for emphasis. In writing, you have white space and punctuation to show readers where an idea or discussion ends.

Stand up or sit up straight, and look at your audience. Use gestures for emphasis. To overcome any nervousness and stiffness, take some deep breaths, try to relax, and move your arms and the rest of your body as you would if you were talking to a friend.

To read an example presentation, go to digital. This chapter provides a description of the key elements of an essay that argues a position and tips for writing one. To be arguable, a position must reflect one of at least two points of view, making reasoned argument necessary: file sharing should or should not be considered fair use; selling human organs should be legal or illegal.

Necessary background information. Sometimes, we need to provide some background on a topic so that readers can understand what is being argued. To argue that file sharing should be considered fair use, for example, you might begin by describing the rise in file sharing and explaining fair-use laws. Good reasons. By itself, a position does not make an argument; the argument comes when a writer offers reasons to support the position.

You might base an argument in favor of legalizing the sale of human organs on the fact that transplants save lives and that regulation would protect impoverished people who currently sell their organs on the black market.

Convincing evidence. For example, to support your position that fast food should be taxed, you might cite a nutrition expert who links obesity to fast food, offer facts that demonstrate the health-care costs of widespread obesity, and provide statistics that show how taxation affects behavior.