Tutor profile: Isaac B.

At what point in a paper should a thesis statement be used or addressed?

In terms of standard formatting, a thesis statement is placed at the end of the introductory paragraph, setting up one’s essay. The flow of information in the essay should follow the order which was laid out in the thesis or introduction; these points should generally be in their own paragraphs composing the body of the essay and staying on topic to address the thesis statement accurately. The diction and syntax of the thesis statement should be drawn from in discussing and closing individual paragraphs in the body of the essay in order to keep the reader’s attention on the thesis, the purpose the essay. This will also subtly lead to conclusions of logical legitimacy as the simple, straightforward flow of information continues to reinforce and address the thesis’ topics. At the end of the essay, the thesis should be drawn upon again for the closing statements, nearly pedantically outlining how one’s essay did in fact support, expound upon, prove, etc. the thesis’ legitimacy, walking the reader to the logical conclusion of agreement and support for the thesis and it’s supporting points.

What is an allophone and how is it different than a phoneme?

A phoneme is a theoretical representation of a sound in a given language; usually, the sound most commonly corresponding with native speaker perception. An allophone is the actual realization of a sound in a given environment. A sound realization, or allophone, must be confirmed by a lack of minimal pairs. A minimal pair is an set of two words which share only one sound difference, meaning that single contrast is the meaningful difference (i.e., [væt] and [bæt] are minimal pairs in English). If there is a minimal pair, the contrastive sounds belong to separate phonemes. Conversely, if there is not contrast they must be allophones of the same phoneme. Sometimes, there are phonotactic rules which provide the native speaker with the recognized environment to produce one allophone over another; these are called positional variants or complementary allophones. The other kind is a free variant in which a native speaker unconsciously chooses which allophone to produce in a given environment with no constructive rules.

How did Viking settlement in 9th century France change the course of English history forever?

The Vikings began to settle a region in 9th century France which would come to be known as Normandy. Roughly 200 years later, William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England to claim the throne which had been promised him by his distant cousin Henry the Confessor approximately 15 years prior. Henry II had sworn to uphold this agreement, but took the thrown for himself when the time came, claiming bloodline legitimacy over pacts. With the backing of Emperor Henry IV and the approval of the Pope, William said across the English Channel and engaged Henry II and his forces at Hastings. The battle is said to have ended quickly with the death of Henry II by arrow volley. Therefore, William, Duke of Normandy, became know to history as William the conqueror. He introduced Norman nobles and Norman French as the high-society language over the Old English Speaking Saxons, ushering in the Middle English Period, changing the language and socio-political climate of England forever.