The art of academic writing is not easy to master. 【小题1】 Academic writing is the skilful exposition and explanation of an argument, which the writer has carefully researched and developed over a sustained period of time. 【小题2】 But the joy of reading and sharing with others, one’s succinctly composed piece of argument, is incomparable.

Before beginning to write, the writer must ask himself a few questions – Why am I writing? What is it that I intend to share with others? What purpose will my writing serve? Have I read enough about the topic or theme about which I am going to write? 【小题3】 Because academic writing is a serious activity – it makes one part of a shared community of readers and writers who wish to disseminate and learn from well-argued pieces of writing.

The structure of an argumentative essay should take the form of – Introduction (which should be around ten percent of the entire essay), Body (it should constitute eighty percent of the piece) and the Conclusion (again, ten per cent of the essay). 【小题4】 The body should include cogent and coherently linked paragraphs and the conclusion should re-state the argument and offer a substantial ending to the piece.

Mind mapping is a great way to plan out projects, ideas, and plans. 【小题1】 Here are the four steps of mind mapping and how you can apply it in your life.

Before you start, think about what it is that you want to mind map about. If we take the example of presenting to an audience, ask yourself, "What exactly do I want to tell my audience?" and "What do I want them to leave knowing?" 【小题2】 Once you know your question, write that down in the middle of the page.

【小题3】 Don't try and edit yourself. No matter how crazy, wild, or stupid something may seem at first, get it down onto your mind map. You can remove ideas later. Editing yourself at an early stage will not produce your best ideas.

After your initial brainstorm, giving yourself a few days will produce more ideas and expand others. A few days later, come back to your mind map and give yourself another hour or two with it. 【小题4】 Meanwhile, you may also see ideas that don't work—you can leave them just in case they bring more ideas later. After this session, you will have a lot of ideas, answers, and steps.

The next stage is where you make small changes about these ideas and start to structure the next steps. You now need to decide in what order you will move forward. Once you have all your ideas and points numbered, you can then move those to your to-do list manager and place them in the right order. You may find that as you begin working on your project, you change your order round. 【小题5】.

In a recent business magazine article, a president said, laughter in the workplace is a waste of time. This is a place to do business, not to laugh. Some researchers, however, disagree with his words. As scientists have learned more about the brain, they’ve discovered that smiles and laughter stimulate(刺激)the brain, which can help increase happiness and reduce pain.

Why do we need laughter in our lives? Laughter is a powerful tool for our health. In a number of studies, that were carried out, it was shown that people who are more humorous have stronger immune systems (免疫系统) while people who feel stressed have weaker immune systems. Humor can help make your immune systems stronger.

Here are some tips to add more humor to your life:

Laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have a positive attitude towards yourself and your worries will become lighter too.

Don’t worry when people laugh — just appreciate it. Be funny. Look for the humorous side of and otherwise difficult situation.

Prepare a first-aid laughter source. This could include books, cartoons, CDs or videos. Write down the amusing things that happen and save them for a sad day.

Be open to silly things. Humor is the child within yourself. Laugh with others for what they do, rather than what they are.

Research has shown that laughter is indeed the best medicine, so make time for humor now.