How is figurative language used in this excerpt from Common Sense? Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read in it full grown characters.

C, Paine uses a simile to explain how important it is that everyone in the colonies support the goal of forming a new country independent of Britain. (Apex)

Explanation: Paine compares the union to the seed of a tree, using the word like. The word like signifies that the comparison is a simile

author – information on the internet with a listed author is one indication of a credible site. the fact that the author is willing to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, include his or her contact information) is a good indication that the information is reliable.

date – the date of any research information is important, including information found on the internet. by including a date, the website allows readers to make decisions about whether that information is recent enough for their purposes.

sources – credible websites, like books and scholarly articles, should cite the source of the information presented.

domain – some domains such as .com, .org, and .net can be purchased and used by any individual. however, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. these two are usually credible sources for information (though occasionally a university will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use, in which case use caution when citing). be careful with the domain .org, because .org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda of persuasion rather than education.

site design – this can be very subjective, but a well-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. good design make information more easily accessible.

writing style – poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible. in an effort to make the information presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing style closely.