the Venerable Bede

Known for his illustrious manuscript, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, St. Bede's history is one of the most referred to primary source of English History (there are 4 hand-written copies of the book in existence today). Few details are known of this man's life. He was born in Ireland in 673 and at 7-years-old he went to live at a monastery. There he learned the of the christian life and morals, dedicating his life to the will of God. Besides writing, he had many interests: cooking, studying cycles and patterns in nature, history, music, translating books from olde english into irish, carpentry, and grammar. He was ordained at the age of 30 and lived the rest of his live in submission to the order of monks in Jarrow, England under Abbott Ceolfrith. In 735, he lay dying but was only concerned with praising God and offering thanks to his Creator--ending his life by singing the Gloria Patri.

If you ever find yourself in Jarrow, England, there is a fascinating-sounding museum: Bede's World

ELEMENTS TO MAKE A WRITER GREAT part 2

writing a conclusion-

DOs (not everything that follows will automatically work for every situation or audience--use your own judgement)

• wrap up your thoughts and bring your paper to a strong conclusion
• be persuasive and convincing
• stay within the perimeters that you have already set
• speak with authority
• commend yourself and censure the opposing position (within reason)
• magnify or minimize the importance of facts previously presented
• excite your hearer's/reader's emotions
• review what you have already said
• end positively, leaving the reader in a good mood
• it should be the best part of your writing--do not disappoint
• give your audience something that he can take away and remember, enriching his life
• appeal to ethos and/or inspire action

DO NOTs

• introduce new information in the conclusion
• chase rabbits =)
• restate your thesis verbatim
• use "highfalutin, mumbo-jumbo" (i.e. flowery syntax)
• leave your reader/hearer with unanswered questions

6 ideas of how to conclude:

1. use a quotation or appeal to trusted authority
2. call to action
3. restate what you were talking about
4. use an illustration
5. chronologically unite everything discussed
6. summarize and predict