Cancers and Tumors

Cancers and Tumors Cancer is any of more than 100 diseases characterized by excessive, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which invade and destroy other tissues. Cancer develops in almost any organ or tissue of the body, but certain types of cancer are more lethal than others. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and second only to heart disease in the United States. Each year, more than 1.2 million Americans and 132,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer, and more than 1,700 people die from cancer each day in the United States and Canada. For reasons not well understood, cancer rates vary by gender, race, and geographic region. For instance, more males have cancer than females, and African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than persons of any other racial and ethnic group in North America. Cancer rates also vary globallyresidents of the United States, for example, are nearly three times more likely to develop cancer than are residents of Egypt.Birmingham Children's Hospital, S teelhouse Lane, B...Although people of all ages develop cancer, most types are more common in people over the age of 50. Cancer usually develops gradually over many years, the result of a complex mix of environmental, nutritional, behavioral, and hereditary factors. Scientists do not completely understand the causes of cancer, but they know that certain lifestyle choices can dramatically reduce the risk of developing most types of cancer. Not smoking, eating a healthy diet, and exercising moderately for at least 30 minutes each day reduce cancer risk by more than 60 percent.Cancer begins in genes, bits of biochemical instructions composed of individual segments of the long, coiled molecule deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Genes contain the instructions to make proteins, molecular laborers that serve as building blocks of cells, control chemical reactions, or transport materials to and from cells. The...

Definition and Examples of Prewriting Strategies

Definition and Examples of Prewriting Strategies In composition, the term prewriting refers to  any activity that helps a writer think about a topic, determine a purpose, analyze an audience, and prepare to write. Prewriting is closely related to the art of invention in classical rhetoric. The objective of  prewriting, according to Roger Caswell and Brenda Mahler, is  to prepare students for writing by allowing them to discover what they know and what else they need to know. Prewriting invites exploration and promotes the motivation to write (Strategies for Teaching Writing, 2004). Because various kinds of writing (such as note-taking,  listing, and freewriting) usually occur during this stage of the writing process, the term  prewriting  is somewhat misleading. A number of teachers and researchers prefer the term exploratory writing. See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: Writing ProcessComposingDiscovery Strategies (Heuristics)FocusingGeorge Carlin on Finding Something to Write AboutYour Writing: Private and Public Types of Prewriting Activities BrainstormingClusteringFreewriting Journalists QuestionsJournal WritingListingOutlinePentadReading Examples and Observations Prewriting is  the getting ready to write stage. The traditional notion that writers have a topic completely thought out and ready to flow onto the page is ridiculous. Writers begin tentatively- talking, reading, brainstorming- to see what they know and in what direction they want to go. -Gail Tompkins, Rod Campbell, and David Green,  Literacy for the 21st Century. Pearson Australia, 2010Prewriting involves anything you do to help yourself decide what your central idea is or what details, examples, reasons, or content you will include. Freewriting, brainstorming, and clustering . . . are types of prewriting. Thinking, talking to other people, reading related material, outlining or organizing ideas- all are forms of prewriting. Obviously, you can prewrite at any time in the writing process. Whenever you want to think up new material, simply stop what you are doing and start using one of [these] techniques... -Stephen McDonald and William Salomone, The Writers Response, 5th ed. Wad sworth, 2012 The Aims of PrewritingUsually, the prewriting activities help you find a good topic, narrow topics that are too broad, and look at purpose. You should finish the prewriting activities with at least a sentence and a list. Or you may have something as formal as a three-part thesis sentence and a fully developed outline. Either way, youll have laid the groundwork. -Sharon Sorenson, Websters New World Student Writing Handbook. Wiley, 2010 Prewriting as a Method of DiscoveryJeannette Harris stresses prewriting while stating that discovery occurs throughout the composing process, even in revision, when the writer is still retrieving additional information, making further connections, recognizing emerging patterns [Expressive Discourse, 15]. In prewriting as well as free-writing and keeping journals, ideas and forms are discovered by provoking memory. In addition, the personal nature of much prewriting and freewriting serve as an affirmation that the memory of the student writer has a valid place in the writing classroom. -Janine Rider, The Writers Book of Memory: An Interdisciplinary Study for Writing Teachers. Routledge, 1995 Prewriting and Revising[P]rewriting plans are not carved in stone; they are simply tools for generating and organizing ideas. Writers frequently change their minds as they write, eliminating some details, adding and changing others. Thats why some writers say that prewriting is a misnomer; they return to their plans over and over during all stages of the writing process, often revising and adjusting the plans as they go. -Lori Jamison Rog,  Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing. International Reading Association, 2011