How do polaroid cameras work? - An explanation for everyone who wishes to have one

How do polaroid cameras work?

Once you press it, the rollers move the reagent and the photograph through the several layers. The reagent causes the four chemicals to react as well as the silver compound layers to process. From there, the photograph begins to develop. Out of the polaroid camera appears a grey image creating a chemical reaction before our eyes.Everybody is familiar with the look of a polaroid instant camera and knows that by pressing the shutter button, the picture appears almost instantly. But how do polaroid cameras produce physical pictures within such a short time? The secret of polaroid cameras lies in the film that is being used. In order to understand this process better, it is beneficial to know the basic physics behind traditional photography. Normal films consist of a plastic base that is covered with particles of a silver compound. In comparison to black and white films, which have only one layer of silver compound, colour films contain three layers of silver compound. Each of these are sensitive to different hues of light. The top layer is sensitive to blue light, the second layer to green and the bottom layer to red. When the film is exposed to light, the sensitive particles of the different layers react to the colours and form a colour pattern. To create an actual photograph out of this pattern, the film has to be developed further by using special chemicals. The film of traditional cameras has to be processed separately, meaning outside the camera. Here is where the secret of polaroid cameras comes to light. The instant film that is being used in polaroid cameras already provides all the necessary chemicals for developing a photograph. These chemicals can be found in additional layers which are placed underneath each colour layer. This specific arrangement of the many layers is highly important since a chemical chain reaction takes place when the “reagent” is set off. 

 

The reagent is a mixture of elements including white pigment, acid neutralizers and light-blockers. Before the button on the polaroid camera is pressed, the reagent material remains in the traditional white frame of polaroid photographs. This way, it is kept away from all of the developing chemicals until the shutter button is pressed. Once you press it, the rollers move the reagent and the photograph through the several layers. The reagent causes the four chemicals to react as well as the silver compound layers to process. From there, the photograph begins to develop. Out of the polaroid camera appears a grey image creating a chemical reaction before our eyes.

[373 words]

The European Council

Emina Ribo, Carola Ponjevic, Christine Hartinger


First versions

The European Council The European Council, one of the several institutions of the European Union, plays an important role when it comes to setting a general political direction. It became an official body of the European Union in 2009, when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. As (The following sentence doesn’t connect to the previous one. What does the E.C do? → meet when other countries can not find solutions)  the EU is often confronted with difficulties, which cannot be solved by the individual member states, the heads of state or government of every EU country (good knowledge of the MNN’s - it’s not capitalised since it doesn’t refer to a specific title) meet and decide on a general political direction as well as on the EU’s priorities (what kind of priorities? economic or social ones; priorities for a specific year?). The decisions are made by consensus (It is not clear what you mean. I would instead rewrite the sentence and mention what consensus actually is: “The process of making decisions is based on the consensus principle”. → connects to the next sentence too) This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by the qualified majority depending on the nature of the treaty. In addition, (avoid linking words, connect instead to the previous sentence by writing “People who take part in the voting are..) the Commission President, the European Council President and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (= you obviously have studied the MNN very well, great!) take part, but (It works but I’d use “however”; higher register) they are not allowed to vote. The meetings (doesn’t connect so well to the previous sentence, I would mention the voting: The meeting, in which these votings take place, are usually being held every six months in Brussels) take place twice every 6 (MNN!! number 1-10 in words!!) months usually (I think the word order is a bit misplaced here; it’s probably better to start with: The meetings usually take place twice every…) in Brussels. However, the president (MNN!! You refer to a specific president → capital letters), Herman van Rompuy, can convene (Well chosen vocabulary) a special meeting if needed. No conclusion sentence! Summarise! Why is the European Council so important? Link it to the introduction sentence! [180 words]

The European Council The most influential body of the EU is the European Council. This institution is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States (you successfully avoided MNN’s:)), the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the European Commission and Herman Van Rompuy, who is the current President of the European Council. The President is elected for two and a half years and can be re-elected once. He is responsible for coordinating the work of the European Council and ensures that decisions are put into practice. The European Council, which meets at least four times a year, focuses on setting the general political direction of the European Union, sets priorities and debates sensitive issues (good collocation). For such a highly significant institution it is inevitable to have a certain decision-making process. If the Treaties do not provide otherwise, the European Council decides by consensus (This way is ok, because you mentioned what it is → decision-making process). In some cases they reach decision by unanimity, which means that every Head of State or Government needs to agree (on what? → on the decision; it is not clear what you mean here). If someone does not approve, the change (I would add “proposed change” → It’s clearer what you mean) cannot come into force. Other matters are decided on by qualified majority though. The presidents (MNN → You refer to specific presidents, namely the one from these states) themselves are not allowed to participate in this voting. Although the European Council is not a legislative body, thus not allowed to pass laws, it is still the mainstay of the European Union setting all of its directions.

Our version (by Emina Ribo, Carola Ponjevic, Christine Hartinger)

The most influential body of the EU is the European Council. It became an official body of the European Union in 2009, when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. This institution is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the European Commission and Herman Van Rompuy, who is the current President of the European Council. The President is elected for two and a half years and can be re-elected once. He is responsible for coordinating the work of the European Council and ensures that decisions are put into practice. The European Council, which meets at least four times a year, focuses on setting the general political direction of the European Union, sets priorities and debates sensitive issues. The decision-making within the Council follows a certain rule: If the Treaties do not provide otherwise, the European Council decides by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by the qualified majority depending on the nature of the Treaty. If someone does not approve, the proposed change cannot come into force. The Presidents themselves are not allowed to participate in this voting. Although the European Council is not a legislative body, thus not allowed to pass laws, it is still the mainstay of the European Union setting all of its directions.

Our final version The most influential body of the EU is the European Council. It became an official body of the European Union in 2009, when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. This institution is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the European Commission and the current President of the European Council. The President is elected for two and a half years and can be re-elected once. He is responsible for coordinating the work of the European Council and ensures that decisions are put into practice. The European Council, which meets at least four times a year, focuses on setting the general political direction of the European Union, sets priorities and debates sensitive issues. The decision-making within the Council follows a certain rule: If the Treaties do not provide otherwise, the European Council decides by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter depending on the nature of the Treaty. If someone does not approve, the proposed change cannot come into force. The Presidents themselves are not allowed to participate in this voting. Although the European Council is not a legislative body, thus not allowed to pass laws, it is still the mainstay of the European Union setting all of its directions.

Link to Feedback on essay about Bosnia

Here is the link of the feedback Monika Maric gave us for our essay about Bosnia and the EU:

Feedback of Bosnia

Link to post about Bosnia

Monika Toma uploaded the new version of the paper about Why Bosnia should join the EU on her blog. Here is the link:

Why should Bosnia join the EU

EU individual paragraph

Brainstorming

Why is 2013 the European Year of Citizens? --> mention 20th anniversary

Maastricht Treaty ---> why is it important? What was invented? Was it a big change for the people?

Mention EYCA --> what is their aim? Mention new law proposals!

What does the European Year of Citizens stand for? --> one big EU community, interests of citizens, European citizen need to be aware of the regulations they can benefit from, the meaning of being in the EU

2013 - The European Year of Citizens

When looking back at the year 2013 people will mostly reflect on what they have experienced in the past months. However, 2013 bears a relevant meaning in connection to the EU as well. The year 2013 is named “The European Year of Citizen” and thus is significant for the citizens of the European member countries. The reason behind this title is first and foremost the 20^th anniversary of the European community which was established through the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty led to the foundation of the Euro and introduced new regulations for the EU concering policies and, of course, citizenship. This particular treaty made traveling and living abroad and many other affairs for EU citizens easier. On that account this year’s focus of interest lies on civil rights and many organisations such as the EYCA (European Year of Citizen Alliance) are zealously making an effort to convey the meaning of being a European citizen to the people. One of their aims is to make people aware of the many ways they can benefit from the EU. They also want to put forward many new law proposals for the citizens’ interest. In the end it is very important for us to use these great opportunities that the EU offers.  

Feedback summary 1

• Topic sentence should connect to the topic --> Mention the EU in the topic sentence already
• Replace "However" because you want to say that it was an important year for the EU as well.
  However suggests right the opposite!
• Connect the second and third sentence: "2013 bears a relevant meaning....as it was named...thus is significant"
• After "On that account" --> comma!!
• "...to convey the meaning of being a European citizen to the people." --> replace "to the people" with to the outside world --> much broader
• Register: write "several new law proposals" instead of "many new law proposals" as it is higher register
• "In the end" doesn't suggest a conclusion sentence.
  Write: "To sum up, ... " 

rewritten paragraph

The year 2013 bears a relevant meaning in connection to the EU as it was named “The European Year of Citizen”. As the name suggests, this year is very significant for the citizens of the European member countries. The reason behind this title is first and foremost the 20^th anniversary of the European community as it was established through the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty led to the foundation of the Euro as well as new regulations for the EU concering policies and, of course, citizenship. This particular treaty made traveling and living abroad and many other affairs for EU citizens easier. On that account, this year's focus of interest lies on civil rights and many organisations such as the EYCA (European Year of Citizen Alliance) are zealously making an effort to convey the meaning of being a European citizen to the population. One of the EYCA's aims is to make people aware of the many ways they can benefit from the EU. The organisation also wants to put forward several new law proposals for the citizens’ interest. To sum up, it is very important for us to use these great opportunities that the EU offers.  

Feedback summary 2 

• Watch out! --> "an" European citizen
• Conclusion sentence:  doesn't sum up! Mention the whole idea of the EYOC, then you can mention it is important for us to use the opportunities as we are EU citizens
• Still too many "many"s --> replace with great deal of
• in connection WITH the EU
• foundation--> introduction
• concering --> concerning

Final version

The year 2013 bears a relevant meaning in connection to the EU as it was named “The European Year of Citizen”. As the name suggests, this year is very significant for the citizens of the European member countries. The reason behind this title is first and foremost the 20^th anniversary of the European community as it was established through the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty led to the  introduction of the Euro as well as new regulations for the EU concerning policies and, of course, citizenship. This particular treaty made traveling and living abroad and a great deal of other affairs for EU citizens easier. On that account, this year's focus of interest lies on civil rights and organisations such as the EYCA (European Year of Citizen Alliance) are zealously making an effort to convey the meaning of being an European citizen to the population. One of the EYCA's aims is to make people aware of the many ways they can benefit from the EU. The organisation also wants to put forward several new law proposals for the citizens’ interest. To sum up, the EU citizens are truly at the heart of this year's concern. 

Feedback from teachers

• First sentence suggests that 2013 was the only year which was given a name
• Replace "the reason behind this title" with "The reason why this theme was chosen"
• It takes very long to get to my point --> delete the introduction of the Euro f.e.
• "This (particular) treaty --> don't repeat yourself!
• use "term" instead of "affairs"; following word order is incorrect
• I suggest replace "easier" with "facilitate"
• Replace the underlined "on that account"
• "focus of interest" --> Leave it to "focus"
• write the whole name of the organisation and the abbrevation in paranthesis
• "zealously making an effort" --> no Coll. 
• Replace "the meaning of being a.." with "what it means to be"
• "for the citizens' interest" --> use "to benefit the citizens"
• Conclusion sentence is not strong!

Second Final Version

Each year bears a relevant meaning in connection to the EU and this particular year was given the name “The European Year of Citizen”. As the title suggests, this year is significant for the citizens of the European member countries. The reason why this theme was chosen is first and foremost the 20^th anniversary of the European community as it was established through the Maastricht Treaty. In honor of this treaty, which facilitated traveling, living abroad and a great deal of other terms for EU citizens, this year's focus lies on civil rights and organisations such as the European Year of Citizen Alliance (EYCA) are making an effort to convey what it means to be an European citizen to the population. One of the EYCA's aims is to make people aware of the many ways they can take advantages of the EU. The organisation also wants to put forward several new law proposals to benefit the citizens. To sum up, it is not without reasons that the EU has given 2013 a special meaning as it affects everyone who resides within the borders of the EU.