INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Most ballads are composed in four four-line stanzas. The first two lines will rhyme and the third line will not, creating an AABC rhyme scheme. You can also try a rhyme scheme where the second and fourth line rhyme and the third line does not, creating an ABXB rhyme scheme. You can also try writing eight-line stanzas if you’d prefer and create your own rhyme scheme for the ballad. Modern ballads often have longer stanzas and a more loose rhyme scheme. The first line of the ballad is important, as it draws the reader into the story. Introduce your main character or characters in the first line.  For example, in Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” the first line introduces the two main characters in the story: “William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll.”  In John Keats’ "La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” the first line addresses the main character of the story with a question: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms…”. Stick to one to two main characters maximum, and one or two minor characters only if they are absolutely necessary. The ballad should focus on key details of one story with a small set of characters, not multiple main characters and plots at once.  For example, in Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” there are two main characters, William Zanzinger and Hattie Carroll. Minor characters like a policemen and a judge are also mentioned. In John Keats’ "La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” there are two main characters, the knight-in-arms and the belle dame, or the woman. In a typical ballad, the chorus is the third or fourth line in the stanza that repeats throughout the piece. The chorus should be relevant to the rest of the ballad and contain strong imagery that sticks in the reader’s mind.  For example, in Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the chorus is a variation on the line “The bright-eyed Mariner.”  In Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” the chorus appears at the end of each stanza and is several lines long: “But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears/Take the rag away from your face/Now ain't the time for your tears.” Follow a set rhyme scheme in each stanza. Repeat certain words or phrases over again in the ballad. Use simple language that is descriptive to create a sense of rhythm in the poem. For example, in Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the speaker repeats words like “eye” and “Mariner” in the ballad: “He hold him with his glittering eye-/The Wedding-Guest stood still,/And listens like a three years’ child:/The Mariner hath his will.” Have your characters speak in the ballad, using quotation marks around their speech. Keep the dialogue short and tight. Only provide the most essential details of the character’s thoughts in the dialogue. For example, in Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the Mariner tells a story of being at sea to the wedding guests a few stanzas into the ballad: “The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared/Merrily did we drop/Below the kirk, below the hill,/Below the lighthouse top.” Like any good story, a ballad should have a beginning, middle, and end, with a powerful climax or realization in the latter half of the poem. The climax could be the most dramatic thing that happened to the speaker or the main character. It could also be the moment the main character realizes the reality of their situation. For example, in John Keats’ "La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” the climax comes in the tenth stanza when the knight-in-arms realizes he is being entrapped by the belle dame: “I saw pale kings and princes too,/Pale warriors, death-pale were they all:/They cried- ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci/Thee hath in thrall!’” The final stanza in the ballad should sum up the key theme or idea in the piece. It should leave the reader with a powerful image or wrap up the sequence of events. It can also put a twist or spin on the events in the ballad, making the reader reconsider the original events. For example, in John Keats’ "La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” the ballad ends with the knight-in-arms responding to the question posed to him in the first stanza after revealing he woke from the spell of the belle dame, though he now lives alone in a lifeless world: “And this is why I sojourn here,/Alone and palely loitering,/Though the sedge is withered from the lake,/And no birds sing.”

SUMMARY: Follow the structure of a ballad. Introduce the main character to the reader. Limit the number of minor characters. Use a memorable line as the chorus. Include rhyme and repetition. Use dialogue in the ballad. Build to a climax or realization. Have a powerful last stanza.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: To end up with the correct size insert, it makes sense to first print out the text for your invitation.  Once you see how much length and width you need for a text box, you can work back from there to arrive at the finished sizes of your backing paper(s).
Summary: Print out your invitation text.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Most hard drives connect via USB, so you'll just need to plug the USB cable into an open port on your Mac. You'll typically find at least one USB port along each side of the Mac. Some Mac-specific drives may come with a Thunderbolt or FireWire cable instead. If this is the case, you'll need to plug it into the correct port, or get an adapter if you don't have the proper port on your Mac. If the drive is formatted and connected properly, it will appear on your Mac's desktop as a drive with a USB or Thunderbolt icon.  The drive icon may not appear on your desktop even though it is connected properly. You can check for the drive in the left frame of any Finder window, under the "Devices" heading. You can set drives to appear on your desktop by clicking the Finder menu, selecting "Preferences," and then checking the "External disks" box.  If the drive does not appear in Finder or on your desktop, see the next section. Double-click the drive on your desktop or select it from the left frame of a Finder window to view the contents of the drive. You can start dragging and dropping files into the drive, or copy files to your Mac's internal hard drive.

SUMMARY:
Plug the hard drive into the Mac using the cable that came with it. Check for your drive on your desktop. Open the drive to view its contents.