M A N T E X N E W S L E T T E R Writing - FREE stuff - Technology Number 41 - February 2001 ----- ISSN 1470-1863 ---- 0----- Report writing for scientists Do scientists and engineers have special needs when it comes to academic writing? Many people seem to think so - especially because the 'report' and its structure are such an important part of writing in science and social science. So we have posted FREE downloadable notes that spell out what a report is expected to contain and explain each part of its structure. Many thanks to Dr Esther Daborn at Glasgow University for permission to reproduce her work. It's at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/reports.htm 0----- Books about Books - Announcement Matheson Books have posted a list of nearly 2,000 books about books, encompassing books about collecting, book selling, bibliography, bibliographic studies, and the history of libraries. http://www.mathesonbooks.com 0----- FREE software - EasyCleaner. EasyCleaner is a small program which searches Windows' registry for entries that are pointing nowhere. Deleting these entries really does speed your computer and frees up disk space. It also lets you delete all kinds of unnecessary stuff like temporary files and backups. You can search for duplicate files and it can also delete or point out invalid shortcuts in the start menu. http://www.saunalahti.fi/tonihele/ 0----- What does a web essay look like? Some online courses now require coursework essays [US: term papers] to be submitted as 'web essays'. These are a group of pages with hyperlinks which exploit the potential of writing in HTML. For many people, this will be a new form of academic writing. It's a logical extension of using the Web, especially if the subject lends itself to non-continuous writing. But what would such an essay look like? I asked some first-year undergraduate students for permission to show their work, and the first example has just been put onto our site. It shows what can be done with relatively simple coding, and includes tutor comments. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/t171/t171-12.htm 0----- Quick Tip: Scan That Disk! Spring cleaning time isn't here yet. In fact, it's two months away or more. But you should run ScanDisk at least three or more times before spring. Make it a monthly habit, to find and fix problems on your hard drive. You can find ScanDisk easily. In Windows 95 just go - Start -> Help -> Scandisk o----- Critical Opinions Novelists are sometimes notoriously odd in their judgements. Here is Joseph Conrad on D.H. Lawrence: "Filth. Nothing but obscenities" ... err.. and that's it! Source: BookEnds - www.bookends.co.uk 0----- FREE Out-of-Print Book Searches Newsletter subscriber Catherine Hawley has started a 'books by post' business specializing in literary criticism and related material. "As an Open University post graduate student I would hope that I can offer a particularly relevant and helpful service. People can enquire by post as well as by email and the web site or phone. I ship abroad too. UK orders are dispatched by first class post either the same or the following day. I will also do 'no obligation' book searches where if I find the book then I will quote the prospective buyer a price and P+P with the description, but they are not obliged to buy it if they don't like the price or condition." CL Hawley Books 26 Belgrave Street, Skipton, Yorkshire. BD23 1QB Phone 01756 792380 Email: clhawley@cwcom.net http://www.ukbookworld.com/members/clhawley 0----- 'Affiliate Selling' - Again! One or two readers reported bugs in the system when they went for further details of the excellent book on e-commerce we reviewed last month. The bugs have now been eliminated - but if you missed the review, here it is again. 'Make money whilst you're asleep' - that's how affiliate programmes are often described. Basically, a company trading on the Net will pay *you* for customers you send to their site. They will do all the work for you, and even create Web pages if you don't have your own. Some people are making a living wage out of the arrangement. The details are fairly simple, but you do need a clear guide, plus a list of all the relevant addresses - and this book has them all. If you want to make a cheap, simple, and trouble-free entry into e-commerce, this is an excellent place to begin. Highly recommended. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/helm.htm 0----- Coming soon! * Wan2Learn? - teaching with texting * Dreamweaver in Easy Steps * Online Search Strategies * Studying a Long Novel (c) Copyright 2001, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm Please retain the copyright and subscription information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and subscription information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to unsubscribe, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-41-February-2001 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library