Scene from Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

Foreshadowing is a device used in writing to elude to a future event. It is a tool writers use to  give a hint about what will happen later in the story. The best way to understand foreshadowing is use universally well known stories as examples.

In the Boy Who Cried Wolf, every time he cried “wolf” to draw the townspeople to his aid, they warned him that one day there would be a real emergency, and no one would help him because they wouldn’t know if he was joking or in real need. In the end, the wolf got the sheep because the boy’s multiple pranks destroyed their trust; thus confirming their fears.

In a horror movie, when the protagonists are frightened by something suddenly jumping out at them that turns out to be a benign object, but later are brutally killed by an axe murderer jumping out at them, the benign object gives the watcher a clue about later happenings in the movie.

The Star Wars saga are absolutely riddled with examples. In Star Wars, when Ben Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that his father was killed by Darth Vader, he was both eluding to a future conflict and speaking metaphorically about Anaken Skywalker’s “death” and rebirth as Darth Vader. In the Phantom Menace, we see young Anaken’s shadow shaped like Darth Vader’s profile, eluding to his eventual change. For more information on the Star Wars Saga, check out the Lucas Film website.

Then refers to time in a sequence of events or in reference to the past. I was much thinner back then. First I went to the supermarket, then I saw a movie.

There is nothing more to it.

Which is used to begin a useful piece of information that gives additional information to the reader, but is not essential in conveying the basic information. For example, “Universe Today, the website which I get my space news from, just received a huge grant from the National Science Foundation. The phrase accompanying the “which” in this case is separated by commas. It expands upon the information, but is not an essential part of the sentence.

Clear as mud? Wise Geek provides a great description of the proper usage of these two words. Just get past the first paragraph because you need a Bachelor’s Degree in English Grammar to understand it.

How will eating peanuts affect her peanut allergy? (Verb)

Eating the peanuts had the effect of causing her to break out in hives. (Noun)

There are some special cases where the reverse is true. Affect is used a lot in psychology to talk about someone’s mood:

She had a sad affect when she broke in hives from eating peanuts.

The hives had the effected her by making her itchy and uncomfortable.

A CV or Curriculum Vitae is a more comprehensive portfolio of all of your work and academic achievements. It can include your resume, a cover letter, letters of recommendations from previous employers, or professors, samples of your work; especially if applying for a writing job and photocopies of certificates or diplomas/degrees and transcripts that you have earned. I consider a CV to be a job hunting bible.

Various countries have norms that they expect in a CV and resume. For example, in India, a photograph is preferred for anyone working in the public sector, especially in hospitality, whereas in the United States, job applicants cannot be discriminated against on the basis of age, sex or creed, therefore adding a photograph is discouraged. In the 1980′s computer and keyboard skills were something to make a note of on a resume, but in today’s job market, many of these skills are just expected of any potential candidate as a minimum for even applying.

In summary, make yourself a CV in a binder with protected sheets. Put your original copies of any relevant documents (save for the ones you have framed on your wall) and make this your comprehensive history of your education, your work experience, samples of your work, letters of recommendations and certificates/degrees. Also remember to include information about any volunteer experience as this helps to round out your image and helps to make you look like a team player.

The word Mrs. is followed by a period in the US, but not in the UK. In the US, I would go by Mrs. Cain. In the UK, I would be Mrs Cain. Mrs. stems from Mistress which is the feminine form of Mister or Master. In modern English, however, there Mrs. isn’t short for anything; that is, there is no long form of the word.

A woman may retain the Mrs. in front of her name if her husband dies, or if they divorce. Although most people that I know don’t follow this rule; the formal rule about a woman who retains her last name upon marriage or hyphenates her maiden name with her husband’s doesn’t take the Mrs. in front of her name, but I know of many people who do this anyway. Interestingly, when single mothers were becoming more common but not totally accepted by society, it became custom to refer to them as Mrs. so that they wouldn’t be discriminated against.

In the case of lesbian couples who have taken a common last name, Ms. Manners has suggested the following term when addressing both women; Mmes Cain, but Ms. Manners isn’t the boss of how to address people and I know of one couple who go by Mrs. and Mrs.

In summary, if in doubt about a woman’s marital status, refer to her as Ms. unless she expresses a preference.