Wednesday, November 27, 2019

How to Pronounce Deng Xiaoping

How to Pronounce Deng Xiaoping In this article, we will look at how to pronounce Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³), the name of one of the most important politicians in China during the previous century and one of the main forces behind Chinas economic development. Below, I will first give you a quick and dirty way if you just want to have a rough idea of how to pronounce the name. Then I’ll go through more detailed description, including the analysis of common learner errors. Pronouncing Deng Xiaoping if You Don't Know Any Mandarin Chinese names usually consist of three syllables, with the first being the family name and the last two the personal name. There are exceptions to this rule, but it holds true in a vast majority of cases. Thus, there are three syllables we need to deal with. Deng - Pronounce as dang, but replace a with the e in theXiao - Pronounce as sh plus yow- in yowlPing - Pronounce as ping If you want to have a go at the tones, they are falling, low and rising respectively. Note: This pronunciation is not correct pronunciation in Mandarin. It represents my best effort to write the pronunciation using English words. To really get it right, you need to learn some new sounds (see below). How to Actually Pronounce Deng Xiaoping If you study Mandarin, you should never ever rely on English approximations like those above. Those are meant for people who dont intend to learn the language! You have to understand the orthography, i.e. how the letters relate to the sounds. There are many traps and pitfalls in Pinyin you have to be familiar with. Now, lets look at the three syllables in more detail, including common learner errors: Dà ¨ng  (fourth tone): The first syllable rarely causes serious problems for speakers of English. The only things you should pay attention to is the initial, which is unaspirated and unvoiced. The vowel sound is a relaxed central sound close to the schwa in English the.  Ã‚  XiÇŽo  (third tone): This syllable is the hardest of the three. The x sound is produced by putting the tongue tip just behind the lower teeth and then pronouncing an s, but slightly further back than a normal s. You can also try to say shhh as when telling someone to be quiet, but place your tongue tip behind the lower teeth. The final isnt all that difficult and sounds close to what I mentioned above (yowl minus the l).  Pà ­ng (second tone): This syllable is relatively close to the English word with the same spelling. It has slightly more aspiration on the p and sometimes have an added, light schwa (central vowel) between the i and the ng (this is optional). The are some variations for these sounds, but Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³)  can be written like this in IPA: [təŋ É•jÉ‘ÊŠ pÊ °iÅ‹] Conclusion Now you know how to pronounce Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³). Did you find it hard? If you’re learning Mandarin, dont worry; there arent that many sounds. Once you’ve ​learned the most common ones, learning to pronounce words (and names) will become much easier!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

How to Improve Your SAT Reading Score 8 Strategies

How to Improve Your SAT Reading Score 8 Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you struggling with an SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score between 300 and 500? You're not alone- hundreds of thousands of students are scoring in this range. But many don't know the best ways to break out of this score range and get a 600 or higher. Here, we'll discuss how to improve your SAT Reading score specifically and why it's so important to do so. Unlike other fluffy articles out there, we'll be focusing on actionable strategies.Put these eight strategies to work and I'm confident you'll be able to improve your SAT Reading score. Brief note:this article is suited for students scoring below 600 on EBRW. If you're already above this range, my perfect SAT Reading score article is more appropriate for you. Also, the current SAT (as opposed to the old SAT)has a single 800 Reading and Writing score, which combines your individual Reading and Writing test scores. So technically, when I talk about a 600 Reading test score, I'm referring to a30/40 Reading test score,which combines with your Writing test score to get you 600. In this guide, I'll use 600 and 30 interchangeably to mean the same thing. We won't talk about Writing here, but if you want to improve your Writing score, too, check out my guide on how to raise your low SAT Writing score. In this article, I'm going to discuss why scoring high is a good idea, address what it takes to score a 600, and then go into specific SAT Reading tips andstrategies. Stick with me- this is like building a house. First, you need to lay a good foundation before putting up the walls and pretty windows. In the same vein, we need to understand why you're doing what you're doing before we dive into our top tips and strategies for SAT Reading. Note that I will talk mainly about getting to 600, but if your goal is 500 or lower, these concepts still equally apply. Before we begin, here is the table of contents for this article in case you want to come back to this later or jump around: Raising Your SAT Reading Score: Understand the Stakes Know That You Can Get a 600 SAT Reading Score What It Takes to Get a 600 (or 30) in SAT Reading Strategy 1: Save Time on Reading Passages by Switching Your Reading Strategy Strategy 2:Learn to Eliminate the 3 Wrong Answers Strategy 3:Find Your Reading Skill Weaknesses and Drill Them Strategy 4: Only Use High-Quality SAT Reading Sources Strategy 5:Don't Focus On Vocab Strategy 6:Skip the Most Difficult, Time-Consuming Questions Strategy 7:Understand All Your Reading Mistakes Strategy 8: Guess on EveryQuestion You Don't Know Raising Your SAT Reading Score: Understand the Stakes At this SAT score range, improving your low SAT EBRW score to a score in at least the 600 range will dramatically boost your chances of getting into better colleges. Let's use Penn State University as an example. The average SAT score for admitted applicants to Penn State is 1270. Its 25th percentile score is 80, and its 75th percentile score is 1370. Furthermore, its acceptance rate is 51%. In other words, a little more than half of all applicants are admitted. But the lower your SAT scores are, the worse your chances of getting in will be. In our analysis, if you score around 1000, your chance of admission drops to just 27%. But if you raise your score to 1200, your chance of admission goes up to 60%- that's a really good chance of admission! So improving your score by just 200 points makes a huge difference in your chances of getting into your target colleges. For the SAT Reading section, this is especially true if you want to apply to humanities majors and programs, such as English or communications. These programs expect your Reading score to be strong. If you score low, they'll doubt your ability to do college-level humanities work. Even if you're a math superstar and are applying to a science major, colleges still want to know that you can process difficult texts at a college level. A low Reading score will cast huge doubt on you. It's really worth your time to improve your SAT Reading score. Hour for hour,it's the best thing you can do to raise your chance of getting into college. Curious what chances you have with a 1200 SAT score? Check out ourexpert college admissions guide for an 1200 SAT score. Know That You Can Get a 600 SAT Reading Score This isn't just supposed to be a vague, happy-go-lucky message you see on a juice carton. I mean, literally, you and every other student can do this. In my job here at PrepScholar, I've worked with thousands of students scoring in the lower ranges of 300-500 on EBRW. Time after time, I've seen students beat themselves up over their low scores; they think improving them is impossible and say things such as the following: "I know I'm not smart." "I just can't read passages quickly, and I don't know how to improve my SAT Reading score." "I was never good at English, and my English teachers never told me I did a good job." This breaks my heart. Because I know that more than anything else, your SAT score is a reflection ofhow hard you work and how smartly you study. Not your IQ and not your school grades. Not how Mr. Anderson in 10th grade gave you a C on your essay. The truth is that SAT Reading is designed to trick you- and you need to learn how. Here's why: the SAT is a weird test. When you take it, don't you get the sense that the questions are nothing like what you've seen in high school? I bet you've had this problem: with SAT Reading passages, you often miss questions because of an "unlucky guess." You try to eliminate a few answer choices, but the ones left all sound equally good to you. So you throw up your hands and take a random guess. The SAT is purposely designed this way to confuse you.Literally millions of other students have the exact same problem you do. And the SAT knows this. Normally, in your high school English class, your teacher tells you that all interpretations of a text are valid. You can write an essay about anything you want, and English teachers aren't allowed to tell you your opinion is wrong. This is because they can get in trouble for telling you what to think. But the SAT has an entirely different problem. It's a national test, which means it needs to create a level playing field for all students around the country. It needs to fairly compare students with each other. As a result,every question must have a single, unambiguously, 100% correct answer. There's only ever one correct answer. Find a way to eliminate the three incorrect answer choices. Imagine if this weren't the case. Imagine each Reading answer had two answer choices that might each be plausibly correct. When SAT scores came out, every single student who got the question wrong would more than likely complain to the College Board that the test is flawed.The College Board would then have to invalidate that question, ultimately weakening the power of the SAT. The College Board wants to avoid this nightmare scenario. Therefore, every single Reading passage question has only one correct answer. But the SAT disguises this fact by asking questions with the following cryptic phrases: The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements? The first paragraph primarily serves to: In line 20, "dark"most nearly means: Notice a pattern here? The SAT always disguises the fact that there's just one unambiguous answer. It tries to make you waver between two or three answer choices that all sound plausible. And then you guess randomly. And then you get the question wrong. You can bet students fall for this. Millions of times every year. Students who don't prepare for the SAT in the right way don't appreciate this. But if you prepare for the SAT in the right way, you'll learn the tricks the SAT plays on you.And you'll raise your score. The SAT Reading section is full of patterns like these. To improve your score, you just need to do the following: Learn the types of questions the SAT tests, such as the ones above Learn strategies to solve these questions, using skills you already know Practicewith a lot of high-quality questions so you can learn from your mistakes The point is that you can learn these skills, even if you don't consider yourself a good reader or a great English student.I'll go into more detail about exactly how to do this later. But first, let's see how many questions you need to get right in order to get a 600 on SAT Reading. What It Takes to Get a 600 (or 30) in SAT Reading If you have a target score in mind, it helps to understand how many question you'll need to get right, which is known as your raw score, in order to hit your target scaled score (out of 600). Since SAT Reading combines with Writing to give you a single EBRW score out of 600, we're going to be looking at Reading test scores instead. In this case, we're aiming for a Reading test score of 30,out of 40 total points. Here's a rough raw-score-to-SAT-Reading-test-score conversion table - the exact conversions will depend on the test, but this chart will give you a close approximation of how many questions you can miss and still get a 30. (If you could use a refresher on how the SAT is scored and how raw scores are calculated, read this guide.) Raw Scaled Raw Scaled Raw Scaled Raw Scaled 52 40 38 31 24 24 10 17 51 39 37 30 23 24 9 16 50 39 36 30 22 23 8 16 49 38 35 29 21 23 7 15 48 37 34 29 20 23 6 14 47 36 33 28 19 22 5 13 46 35 32 28 18 22 4 12 45 35 31 28 17 21 3 44 34 30 27 16 21 2 10 43 33 29 27 15 20 1 10 42 33 28 26 14 20 0 10 41 32 27 26 13 19 40 32 26 25 12 18 39 31 25 25 18 Source: SAT Official Practice Test #4 Notice that if you're aiming for 600 overall and 30/40 on Reading, you'll need a raw score of about 36/52. This is a 70% score. This fact has serious implications for your testing strategy. In essence, you only need to answer about 2/3 of all Reading questions right.We'll go into more detail below about what this means for your testing strategy. Whatever you're scoring now, take note of the difference you need to get to 30. For example, if you're scoring 23, you'll need to answer about 15 more questions right on Reading to get to 30. Once again, even if your goal is something like 500 (i.e., 25/40), the same analysis applies. OK, so we've covered why scoring a higher SAT Reading score is important, why you are capable of improving your score, and the raw score you'll need to get in order to hit your target score. I hope a lot of this was useful and changed how you think about SAT Reading prep. Now, we'll look at actionable strategies you should use in your own SAT prep to maximize your Reading score improvement. 8 Strategies to Improve Your Low SAT Reading Score In this section, we give you our top eight SAT Reading strategies guaranteed to improve your low Reading score. Strategy 1: Save Time on Reading Passages by Switching Your Reading Strategy Based on my experience working with thousands of students, by far the most common problem test takers have with SAT Reading passages is this:they keep running out of time before they can get through all the questions. This is a problem because unlike SAT Math, passage questions aren't arranged by level of difficulty. Therefore, by not completing all the questions in time, you might miss some easy questions at the end that you would have gotten right, if only you'd had enough time. What's the cause of this? The most common one I see is that students are reading the passages far more closely than they actually need to be.Once again, this is a result of homework and what you learn in English class. In English, you've probably gotten (stupid) tests that quiz you about what Baron Meistoff said in a particular scene, or what color Tom's T-shirt was. So of course you've learned to pay attention to every single detail in a text. The SAT is different, though.For a passage that's 80 lines long, there might only be 10 questions. Many of these don't even refer to specific lines- instead, they'll talk about the point of the passage as a whole or the tone of the author. The number of questions that focus on small, line-by-line details is low. Therefore, it's a waste of time to read a passage line by line, afraid you'll miss a detail that a question might ask you about. The best way to read a passage? Skimming it on the first read-through. This is why I recommend thatall students use this SAT Reading passage strategy: Skim the passage on the first read-through. Don't try to understand every single lineor write notes predicting what the questions might ask. Just get a general understanding of the passage. You'll want to try to finish reading the passage within three minutes, if possible. Next, go to the questions. If the question refers to a certain line number, go back to that line number and work on understanding the text around it. If you can't answer a question within 30 seconds, skip it. (More on this strategy later.) This strategy is important because the questions will ask about far fewer lines than the passage actually contains. For example, lines 5-20 of a reading passage might not be relevant to any question that follows. Therefore, if you spend time trying to deeply understand lines 5-20, you’ll just waste time. Some students take this strategy to the extreme: they read the questions first before the passage. If a question refers to any specific lines, they then mark those in the passage, which they can later use as a guide to know what to focus on when they read the passage. Different strategies work for different students. You need to try out a lot to see which strategy leads to the best results for you. But by and large, I'm confident that you're spending way too much time reading the passage. Strategy 2:Learn to Eliminate the 3 Wrong Answers I spent some time above talking about how there is always one unambiguously correct answer. This has a huge implication for the strategy you should use to find the right SAT Reading answer. Here's the other way to see it: out of the four answer choices, three of them have something that is totally wrong about them.Only one answer is 100% correct, which means that the other three are 100% wrong. You know how you try to eliminate answer choices and then end up with a few at the end that all seem equally likely to be correct? Well, you're not doing a good enough job of eliminating answer choices. Remember, every single wrong choice can be crossed out for its own reasons. You have to learn how to eliminate three answer choices for every single Reading question. "Great, Allen. But this doesn't tell me anything about how to eliminate answer choices." Thanks for asking. There are a few classic wrong answer choices the SAT loves to use. Let's look at an example. Imagine you just read a passage that focuses on how human evolution shaped the environment. It gives a few examples. First, it talks about how the transition from earlier species likeHomo habilus to neanderthals led to more tool usage like fire, resulting in wildfires and shaping the ecology. It then discussesHomo sapiens 40,000 years ago and their overhunting of species, such as woolly mammoths, to extinction. After, we run into a question asking, "Which of the following best describes the main subject of the passage?" Here are our possible answer choices: A: The transition between Homo habilus and neanderthals B: The study of evolution C: How the environment shaped human evolution D: The plausibility of evolution E: The influence of human development on ecology Note that we're using five answer choices for illustration purposesonly- in reality, the SAT only has four answer choices per Reading question. As you're reading these answers, a few of them probably started to sound really plausible to you. Surprise! Each of the answers from A to D has something seriously wrong with it. Each one is a classic example of a wrong answer type given by the SAT. Let's look at just what these are. Wrong Answer 1 (A): Too Specific A: The transition between Homo habilus and neanderthals This type of wrong answer focuses on a smaller detail in the passage. It’s meant to trick you and make you think to yourself, "Well, I saw this mentioned in the passage, so it’s a plausible answer choice." Wrong! Ask yourself: can this answer choice really describe the entire passage? Can it basically function as the title of this passage? In the end, you’ll find that it’s just way too specific to convey the point of the overall passage. Wrong Answer 2 (B): Too Broad B: The study of evolution This type of wrong answer has the opposite problem as the one above in that it’s way too broad. While theoretically the passage concerns the study of evolution, it focuses on just one aspect of it, especially as it relates to the impact of evolution on the environment. To give another ludicrous example, say you talked to your friend about your cell phone and he said your main point was the universe. Yes, you were talking about the universe in that you both live in the universe, but this was clearly only a tiny fraction of your conversation. In short, answer choice B is simply far too generalto be a good answer to this question. Wrong Answer 3 (C): Reversed Relationship C: How the environment shaped human evolution This wrong answer choice can be tricky because it mentions all the right words. But of course the relationship between these words needs to be correct as well. Here, the relationship is flipped: the passage focuses on how human evolution shaped the environment, not the other way around. Students who read too quickly often make careless mistakes like these! Wrong Answer 4 (D): Unrelated Concept D: The plausibility of evolution Finally, this kind of wrong answer preys on students' tendency to overthink questions. If you’re passionate about arguing about evolution, for example, this answer might be a trigger answer for you since any discussion concerning evolution becomes a chance to argue about its plausibility. Of course, even though this concept appears nowhere in the passage, some students just aren't able to resist choosing this answer choice. Do you see the point? On the surface, each answer choice sounds as though it could possibly be correct. But possibly isn't good enough. The right answer must be 100%, totally right. Wrong answers might be off by even just one word, so you need to know how to eliminate these. Carry this thought into every SAT Reading passage question you do. Next strategy: find your weak links and fix them. Strategy 3:Find Your Reading Skill Weaknesses and Drill Them Reading passage questions might look similar, but they actually test very different skills. Here at PrepScholar, we believe the major skills tested in SAT passages are as follows: Big Picture/Main Point Little Picture/Detail Inference Vocabulary in Context Function Author Technique Evidence Support Data Interpretation Analyzing Multiple Texts Whew, that's a lot of skills! More than is obvious when you're reading passages on SAT Reading. Each of these question types uses different skills in how you read and analyze a passage.They each require a different method of prep and focused practice. If you're like most students, you're probably better at some areas in Reading than you are at others.For instance, you might be good at getting the big picture of a passage but not so good at getting inferences. Or you might be really strong at pinpointing the author's tone but struggle with interpreting data correctly. If you're like most students, you also don't have an unlimited amount of time to study. You have a lot of homework, possibly sports and other extracurriculars, and friends to hang out with. This means that for every hour you study for the SAT, it needs to be the most effective hour possible. In more concrete terms,you need to find your greatest areas of improvement and work on those. Too many students study the "dumb" way. They just buy a book and read it cover to cover. When they don't improve, they're shocked. But I'm not. Studying effectively for the SAT isn't like painting a house. You're not trying to cover all your bases with a very thin layer of understanding. What these students did wrong was that they wasted time on subjects they already knew, and they didn't spend enough time on honing their weaknesses. Studying effectively for the SAT is like plugging up the holes in a leaky boat. You need to find the biggest hole and fill it. Then, you need to find the next biggest hole and fill that, too. You'll soon find that your boat isn't sinking anymore. How does this relate to SAT Reading? You need to find the sub-skills you're weakest in and then drill those until you're no longer weak in them. Fixing up the biggest holes. Within Reading, you must figure out whether there are patterns to your mistakes. Is it that you're running out of time with reading passages? Or that you don't get Inference questions? Or that you're really weak at interpreting details? For every question you miss, identify what type of question it is. When you notice patterns to the questions you miss, you must then devote extra practice to those sub-skills. Say you miss a lot of Inference questions (this is typically the hardest type of question for students to get on SAT Reading). You need to somehow get focused practice questions for this skill so you can drill your mistakes. Bonus: If all of this is making sense to you, you'd love our SAT prep program, PrepScholar. We designed our program around the concepts in this article, because they actually work.When you start with PrepScholar, you’ll take a diagnostic that will determine your weaknesses in over forty SAT skills - in Critical Reading, Math, and Writing. PrepScholar then creates a study program specifically customized for you. To improve each skill, you’ll take focused lessons dedicated to each skill, with over 20 practice questions per skill. This will train you for your specific area weaknesses, so your time is always spent most effectively to raise your score. There’s no other prep system out there that does it this way, which is why we get better score results than any other program on the market. Check it out today with a 5-day free trial: Strategy 4: Only Use High-Quality SAT Reading Sources SAT Reading passages are very specific in how they work. And SAT Reading questions are very specifically phrased and constructed to have bait answers. If you want to improve your Reading score, you have to use realistic SAT Reading sources.If you don't, you'll develop bad habits and accidentally train the wrong skills. Think about it like this: say you're trying out for the baseball team. Instead of practicing with real baseballs, you decide to practice with Wiffle balls.It's alot cheaper and easier, and hitting the ball makes you feel good about your skills. So you train and train and train with a Wiffle ball. You understand how the Wiffle ball curves when it's thrown, how to hit it, and how to throw it. Eventually, you try out for the baseball team. A pitch comes, but it's way faster than you've ever practiced with. It doesn't curve like a Wiffle ball does. Swing, and a miss. You've trained with the wrong thing, and now you're totally unprepared for baseball. This is not real baseball. SAT Reading works the exact same way. Train with poorly written tests, and you'll develop bad habits and unhelpful strategies. Far and away, the best sources for SAT Reading passages areofficial SAT practice tests.This is why we include these official practice testsin our SAT prep program- so that we can accurately gauge your progress and provide you with quality training. The problem is that there aren't that many official SAT practice tests available. Because you want to use these to train your endurance for the full-length test, it's best to try to conserve them. This means that to get enough SAT Reading practice, you'll need to use other materials, too. Our first suggestion is to use prep resources specifically geared toward the SAT.Be careful, though, sincemany test-prep companies tend to release poor-quality passages and questions (most books you see on SAT Reading are pretty terrible, too). Check out our picks for the best SAT prep books here. This is especially harmful for SAT Reading because the style of its passages and questions are quite complex, as opposed to SAT Math whose questions are more straightforward. To write realistic questions, you need to understand the SAT inside and out. That's why we've created what I believe are the highest quality Reading questions available anywhere. Here's what we've done: We've deconstructed every official SAT practice test- question by question, answer by answer. We've statistically studied every question type on the test and understand exactly how questions are phrased and how wrong answer choices are constructed. As head of product, I'm responsible for content quality. I hire only the most qualified content writers to craft our test content. This means people who got perfect SAT scores, who have hundreds of hours of SAT teaching experience, and who graduated from Ivy League schools. All of this results in the most realistic, highest quality SAT Reading questions. Even if you don't use PrepScholar, make sure that whatever resource you do use undergoes the same scrutiny we exercise.If you're not sure how helpful something is or notice lots of negative reviews, it's best to avoid it. Strategy 5:Don't Focus On Vocab Vocab gets way too much attention from students. It feels good to study vocab flashcards because it seems like you're making progress. "I studied 1,000 vocab words- this must mean I improved my Reading score!" This is why other test-prep programs love teaching you vocab- you feel as though you're learning something and it's worth your money. But the truth is that learning vocab isn't really helping you. Fortunately, vocab doesn't play a big role in your SAT Reading score anymore. This is especially true for the current version of the SAT, which no longer hasSentence Completion questions. (On the old, pre-2016 SAT, these were the questions that required you to fill in blanks with vocab words.) The reasoning behind this decision was that the College Board received a lot of criticism for forcing students to memorize advanced vocab that wasn't that useful in college or for future careers. (And students rejoiced everywhere!) That said, there are still some SAT Reading questions that ask about vocab, such as this one (taken from an official SAT practice test): As used in line 68, "hold" most nearly meansA) maintainB) gripC) restrainD) withstand Wait- "hold"? They're asking a question about the simple word "hold"? Yes, it's a common word- but the key to this question lies in understanding how a word is used in context.Hold can mean all the things listed in the answer choices, but only one of them is correct. Here are examples of words you'll need to understand in context for the SAT: ambivalent convey lament postulate These are somewhat advanced words, but they're nowhere near the level of the words you used to have to know, such as "apportionment" and "expropriated." If you have a pretty typical vocabulary of an American teen, there will be at most two to three SAT Reading questions that'll really stretch your vocabulary. But like I mentioned above, you can miss 16 out of 52 questions and still get a 30 on the Reading section. Don't go crazy studying vocab- most likely, it's not the best use of your time. That time is far better spent learning how to deal with Reading passages better.There are so many more questions about passages that it's a better use of your time to learn passage strategy and how to answer reading questions than it is to memorize vocab words. Strategy 6:Skip the Most Difficult, Time-Consuming Questions Here's an easy strategy most students don't do enough. Remember what I said above about raw score? To score a 30 (600) on SAT Reading, you only need a raw score of 36- that's just 36 correct answers out of 52 questions. But what does this mean for your strategy exactly?You can completely guess on 20 questions, get five of them right by chance, and still score a 600 on Reading. Once again, you can completely guess on 40% of all questions and still hit your goal! Skip questions carefree, like this woman does. Why is this such a powerful strategy? It gives you way more time on easy and medium difficulty questions- the questions you have a good chance of getting right. If you're usually pressed for time on SAT Reading, this will be a huge help. Here's an example: on the Reading section, you get 65 minutes to answer 52 questions. This is usually pretty hard for most students to get through, as it's just 75 seconds per question. The average student will try to push through all the questions. "I've got to get through them all since I've got a shot at getting each question right," they think. Along the way, they rush and make careless mistakes on questions they should have gotten right. And then they spend five minutes on really hard questions, causing them to make no progress and waste time. Wrong approach. Here's what I suggest instead.Try each question, but skip it after 30 seconds if you're still not getting anywhere.Unlike math, Reading questions aren't ordered by difficulty, so you can't tell right away which questions are harder or easier. This is why you should try out each one but move on if it's costing you too much time. By doing this, you can raise your time per easy/medium question to 100 seconds per question or more. This is huge! It's a 30% boost to the time you get per question.As a result, this raises your overall chances of getting easy/medium questions right. And the questions you skipped? They're so hard you're honestly better off not even trying them. These questions are meant for 700-800 scorers. If you get to 600, you have the right to try them out- but not before you get to 600. How do you tell which questions are going to take you the most time?This varies from person to person, but here are two question types that commonly take more time than others: Questions without line numbers that make you hunt for details: You can spend a lot of time rereading the passage looking for where Virginia Woolf mentioned a staircase. Questions that ask you to compare two passages: If you really struggle to understand passages, paired passages will be twice the trouble. Do your SAT Reading prep with all of this in mind. If you get stuck on a question, think about what type of question it is, and figure out whether there's a pattern to the questions that consistently trip you up. Strategy 7:Understand All Your Reading Mistakes Every mistake you make on a test happens for a reason.If you don't understand exactly why you missed a question, you'll make the same mistake over and over again. Too many students scoring at the 400-600 level on SAT Reading refuse to study their mistakes. It's harsh. I get it. It sucks to stare your mistakes in the face. It's draining to learn difficult concepts you don't readily understand. So the average student will skip reviewing their mistakes and instead focus on the areas they're already comfortable with. It's like a warm blanket. Their thinking goes like this: "So I'm good at Big Picture questions? I should do more Big Picture problems! They make me feel good about myself." The result? No score improvement. You don't want to be like these students. So here'swhat you need to do instead: On every practice test or question set you take, mark every question you're even just 20% unsure about. When you grade your test or quiz, review every question you marked and every incorrect question. This way even if you guessed a question correctly, you'll make sure to review it. In a notebook, write down the gist of the question, why you missed it, and what you'll do to avoid making that mistake in the future. Have separate sections by subject and sub-topic (e.g., Big Picture, Inference, Vocab, etc.). It's not enough to just think about it and move on. It's not enough to just read the answer explanation. You have to think hard about why you specifically failed on a question. For Reading questions, you must find a way to eliminate every single incorrect answer. If you were stuck between two answer choices, review your work to figure out why you couldn't eliminate the wrong answer choice. If you don't do this, I guarantee you will not make any progress. But if you do take this structured approach to your mistakes,you'll now have a running log of every question you missed as well as your reflections on why you made the mistakes you did. No excuses when it comes to your mistakes. Strategy 8: Guess on EveryQuestion You Don't Know You might already know this one, but if you don't, you're about to earn some serious points. TheSAT does not have a wrong answer penalty. On the old SAT, each wrong answer deducted 0.25 points from your raw score. This required you to have a smart guessing strategy. But no longer! Now, there is no penalty for getting a wrong answer. This means there's no reason to leave any question blank. So before you finish the Reading section,make sure every blank question has an answer filled in. You don't want to look at your answer sheet and see any blank questions. For every question you're unsure about, make sure you guess as best you can.If you can eliminate even just one answer choice, you'll have a much better shot at getting it right. If you have no idea, just go ahead and guess! You have a 25% chance of getting it right anyway. Most people know this strategy already, so if you don't do this, you're at a serious disadvantage. Overview: Tips for Raising Your Low SAT Reading Score Those are the main strategies you should use to improve your SAT Reading score. If you're scoring around 350, you can use these to get to 500. If you're scoring around 470, boost your score to 600. I guarantee it- as long as you put in the right amount of work and study as I suggest above, you're bound to hit your goal score on test day. The main point, though, is this: you need to understand where you're falling short and drill those weaknesses continuously. You also need to be thoughtful about your mistakes and leave no mistake ignored. This is really important for your future. Make sure you give SAT prep the attention it deserves- before it's too late and you get a rejection letter you didn't want. Finally, if you want to go back and review any of the above strategies, here's a quick listing: Strategy 1: Save Time on Reading Passages by Switching Your Reading Strategy Strategy 2:Learn to Eliminate the 3 Wrong Answers Strategy 3:Find Your Reading Skill Weaknesses and Drill Them Strategy 4: Only Use High-Quality SAT Reading Sources Strategy 5:Don't Focus On Vocab Strategy 6:Skip the Most Difficult, Time-Consuming Questions Strategy 7:Understand All Your Reading Mistakes Strategy 8: Guess on EveryQuestion You Don't Know What's Next? We've got a lot of useful guides you can use to raise your SAT section scores. For Math, read my detailed guide to improving your SAT Math score. You can also learn how to raise your SAT Writing scoreoryour SAT Essay score. What's a good SAT score for you personally?Useour step-by-step guide to figure out your SAT target scoretoday. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Allen Cheng About the Author As co-founder and head of product design at PrepScholar, Allen has guided thousands of students to success in SAT/ACT prep and college admissions. He's committed to providing the highest quality resources to help you succeed. Allen graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude and earned two perfect scores on the SAT (1600 in 2004, and 2400 in 2014) and a perfect score on the ACT. 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Thursday, November 21, 2019

Learning and Assessment Basics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learning and Assessment Basics - Research Paper Example It is therefore imperative to have these factors in mind when designing an appropriate assessment technique. To be more precise, an assessment technique that best serves learning must be integrated with instruction and curriculum. Characteristics of learners Although the characteristics of students may have some similarity, in the long run, they are as unique as finger prints. It’s of great importance for educators to monitor and have knowledge of the characteristics of their students. In fact, educators or teachers should keep a well updated profile of their students. This is very important when it comes to structuring tailor-made techniques of teaching, instruction and assessment. As an educator, there are various characteristics I can identify with learners. Firstly, majority of learners poses the ability to evaluate. Students like to quickly form opinions and can evaluate basically everything and especially their tutors. They can easily detect lack of competence, sincerity or enthusiasm (Wood & Cantillon, 2011). Tutors therefore need to be dedicated to doing their best to avoid giving students the opportunity to make evaluations especially the adverse one. Fallibility is another trait associated with students. Just like anybody else, students make mistakes and tutors should not lose patience when students make mistakes. ... Some grasp concepts fast but forget fast while others take time to understand new concepts but once they understand, they rarely forget. Often, those students that understands concepts fast gets bored when tutors keep on repeating the same thing while on the other hand, the ‘slow learners’ are left behind when the tutors rush. Another characteristic of learners is that they like to be recognized. Recognition is one way of motivating students and tutors can use different approaches to recognize special performances. Recognition should be prompt and proportional to the degree of performance. Other characteristics of learners include that different students poses different psychological characteristics that dictate when and how they learn. This makes students to perceive different things differently. Some students learn best early in the morning while others perform best later in the day. This is rather psychological and varies from student to student. They also react diffe rently to immediate environment like effects of sound and the setting of the learning environment (Aspin et al., 2011). Explain how your understanding of cognition and learning will influence your design of instruction and assessment with this group in mind. The two skills actually work hand in hand because it is one thing to learn and another to understand things in the classroom environment that influence the nature of instruction and assessment methods. Learning actually gives more formal skill and approach towards development of instructional and assessment methods while on the other hand, cognition helps instructors often to invent, discover, or simply stumble upon a strategy that works. According to the question, the knowledge I have gained through thinking and learning will

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Business environment challenges or trends that threaten the long run Essay

Business environment challenges or trends that threaten the long run performance and survival of the company. Develop a coheren - Essay Example The businesses are also tasked with corporate social responsibility issues and the same time expected to observe business ethics in their daily operations. Facebook Company Case Analysis This company is situated in the United States and it serves over a billion clients in the internet, making it the largest social networking site. Its an internet corporation company that runs the social networking site whereby people express their views and communicate all over the work. By the year 2012, the company had over 4500 employees working on various capacities in the company. The main competitors of Facebook are MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, IGLOO, among other companies that offer internet social services (Strategic Management Insight, 2013). STEEPLE Analysis of Facebook SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMICAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICAL LEGAL ETHICAL Lifestyle changes New inventions and development Economic growth Sustainable energy Trade polices Employment laws Reputation Career and leisure attitudes I ndustrial focus on technological effort Taxation Global warming International trade regulations Contract laws Business ethics Labour and social mobility Rate of technological transfer Competition Threats from natural causes Political stability Consumer protection Client confidentiality From the STEEPLE Analysis, the challenges facing Facebook range from social, technological, economical, environmental, political, legal, and ethical problems. The users and the governments have been expressing privacy concerns leading to legal suit against the company (Marketing Mix, 2013). The privacy issues have made most consumers to question the business ethics of the company resulting to reduced confidentiality. Facebook being the market leader in social networking services enjoys the benefits that come with economics of scale, but the company profits are also subjected to global economic performance. The lifestyle changes and social mobility of most users is also affecting the company since some begin to see Facebook as a social interaction site for the younger generation. Facebook pays tax from their businesses with rates changing from time to time thus largely consuming their profits. There is stiff competition from related companies like Twitter and MySpace who have launched aggressive campaigns and products to outshine Facebook. Facebook was a result of technological invention and others are also exploiting the same to come up with other related services that are likely to give Facebook a strong competition. Facebook being a company with global footing is vulnerable to problems with corporate social responsibility being a major concern facing most companies and Facebook is not exempted. All businesses are expected to practice business ethics in their daily operations to avoid conflicts and hence Facebook must abide by it. Competition is a major threat to all businesses as Facebook is facing competition from MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Challenges facing Facebook Cor porate Social Responsibility (CSR) The role of the business is critical in ensuring that the corporate social responsibility is well taken care of since businesses can only flourish when the communities around them and their ecosystems are well taken care of (Hart, 1995). There is growing recognition that everything we do has a positive or negative impact on

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Communication Paper Essay Example for Free

Communication Paper Essay I would like to take this time in welcoming you to this presentation on communication marketing in health care. We will first be identifying different and most common communication used by consumers and health care providers, such as e-mail, a web-based forum, and/or electronic medical records just to name a few. We will also be discussing the benefits to the patients, an aspect relating to the values and importance of maintaining patient confidentiality when using these types of communication, some reasons that these types of communications are an effective way of communicating between consumers and their providers, how these types of communications may differ from others, and lastly, how might media and social networking change communication in health care today and years to come. Now, join with me as we discuss the different types and most common communication used by consumers and their health care providers. Many communication channels are used in healthcare, each with different properties. These channels may be synchronous or asynchronous, mobile or fixed, secure or no secure. Because of this, participants must decide which channel best suits the issue about which they need to communicate. Synchronous channels such as telephones and face-†to-†face meetings allow both parties to communicate at the same time, enabling information to flow freely in real time. Synchronous channels are ideal when discussing time-†sensitive issues and exchanging dense information. It is not always convenient, however, for a patient and physician to schedule time to communicate using synchronous channels because they can lead to delayed care, telephone tag, and frustration—when these channels fail to connect, some healthcare issues remain unaddressed. Yet, generally only pagers and synchronous communications are available for patient-†physician  communication. Asynchronous channels such as email, fax, and blogs enable each party to communicate when it is convenient. These channels may be used safely for issues that are no urgent or time-†sensitive. Because time is not a factor when using asynchronous channels, both patient and clinician can be more reflective in their messaging. Asynchronous channels, however, should not be used for medical emergencies or time-†sensitive issues. Another characteristic of communication channels is whether they are fixed (connected to a wire) or mobile. Thanks to advances in technology, many communication channels that were once fixed are now wireless, such as telephones and text messaging. Presenting new technologies is challenging when dealing with an industry entrenched in using the same telephone, fax, and pager systems for decades. Many problems in healthcare stem from the industry clinging to these outdated methods of communication, without understanding the benefits brought about by newer solutions. For example, electronic pagers, which have been abandoned by most industries, are still the core device for hospital communications. While physicians extensively use a mobile core phone outside the hospital, these phones are often banned from being used inside, despite evidence that in most areas of the hospital this technology is safe. Email is often discouraged for clinical communication for security reasons, and more advanced technologies such as instant messaging, videoconferencing, group teleconferencing, or web-†based collaboration are almost unheard of in clinical care—despite evidence that proves the effectiveness and safety of these technologies in healthcare. While physicians have found newer tools such as email useful, they are typically used only in limited situations and not commonly employed to communicate with patients. The reasons for physicians’ reluctance to use e-†communication with patients include concerns about malpractice litigation, fears of being barraged with emails, and the absence of a model that reimburses them for consulting with patients electronically. Communication in healthcare fails for many reasons: necessary personnel cannot be identified or located; they may not be available or may not respond in a timely manner; or the communication channel of choice may not be well suited to the task at hand— for example, e-†communication such as  email should not be used for time-†sensitive issues such as a patient having a heart attack, or in situations that require a dense exchange of information. Pagers, for instance, are more appropriate for time-†sensitive issues, while telephones, in-†person or videoconferencing meetings, or web-†based collaboration tools are more efficient options for exchanging dense information, such as detailed c ase reports. Because case reports require much discussion among physicians, using email only slows down the discussion process. With the ability to reduce costs, telemedicine has been shown to be such an effective medical practice in several instances that its growth and application in the health care industry have raised greatly. One of the reasons for patient satisfaction with telemedicine is a reduction in waiting time, travel time, and the time involved in arranging appointments. The absence of all these issues can facilitate health communication by eliminating many of the burdens involving in standard health care. There also some challenges to the patient privacy with web-based communication just as in a facility. Because multiple individuals in telemedicine communication, exposure of confidential records to all parties concerned becomes a threat to the privacy of the patient. Additionally, even through medical doctors accept the obligation of maintaining their patients’ privacy rights, the other assisting parties involved in the telemedicine communication may not be held to the same standards (Turner, 2003). As a result of this risk to patients’ privacy rights, telemedicine has struggled to gain acceptance for the legal and medical communities (Sanders Bashshur, 1995). However, again, as time progresses and this issue tackled by the medical and legal communities alike, solutions should be found to eliminate privacy risks to patients. Furthermore, these solutions should generate increased acceptance of telemedicine practices by all parties concerned and, likewise, should alleviate the fear and frequency of breached to patient privacy laws. In conclusion to the communication marketing in health care, we were able to identify the different types of communication such as e-mails, web-based and  medical records. We were able to point out some benefits and different aspects for the patients values and the importance in maintaining the patients confidentiality and the risks of safety in these types of communications. We were also able to understand the reasons as to how these types of communications are effective between the consumers and their providers and how they differ from other forms of communications as well. Thank you for your time and efforts in taking the time to better understand the communication through telemedicine present and future. References: http://www.uapd.com/wp-content/uploads/Telemedicine-Its-Effects-on-Health-Communication.pdf http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/wp/Communication_Healthcare_WP_0724FINAL.pdf

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Expectations in the Movie The Hours Essay -- Movies Film Woolf Brown V

Expectations in the Movie The Hours We expect those endowed with a gift - be it artistic, intellectual or circumstantial - to cultivate that gift and use it as a vehicle for excellence in life. In the movie The Hours Virginia Woolf, the 20th Century British author; Laura Brown, a doted-upon 1951 Los Angeles housewife; and Clarissa Vaughan, a 2001 New York editor; struggle with their gifts and the expectations they, and others, have for themselves. All three women are obsessed with finding the right balance between living, freedom, happiness and love. The Hours attempts to use one day to reflect Woolf s life and the impact her work has had on others. In the movie, Woolf is writing Mrs.Dalloway which Brown is reading and Vaughan sort of lives out. Woolf s novel connects the three women and affects their actions. It should be noted that Vaughan gets a lot less attention than Woolf and Brown and seems to be more of a manifestation of Mrs. Dalloway. Vaughan, like Mrs. Dalloway, is a great party planner and is in the process of planning a party for a friend. Vaughan also projects Mrs. Dalloway's outward confidence and inward confusion. THE GIFTS AND THEIR PRESSURES A main theme throughout the movie is freedom. All three women actively seek it and at the movie's end each woman chooses what she thinks is best: Woolf drowns herself, Brown leaves her family and Vaughan finally lets go of her longtime friend and past lover, Richard. Each woman's decision, fueled by the circumstances which surround her, is reached after much thought and deliberation. Woolf s concern is Leonard's sanity and happiness. She realizes the great pressure she puts on him and sees her suicide as a way of freeing him from being responsible for ... ... Biography, Volume 6: Modem Writers, 1914-1945. Gale Research,1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *"(Adeline) Virginia Woolf." Feminist Writers. St. James Press, 1996.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *"Virginia Woolf." Gay & Lesbian Biography. St. James Press, 1997. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *Gay, Peter. "On not psychoanalyzing Virginia Woolf."American Scholar. Spring 2002 *Lee, Hermione. Virginia Woolf: A Biography Chatto and Windus, 1996. *Bell, Quentin. Virginia Woolf: A Biography Harcourt (New York, NY), 1972 *The Hours (The movie) DVD Extras Expectations in the Movie The Hours Essay -- Movies Film Woolf Brown V Expectations in the Movie The Hours We expect those endowed with a gift - be it artistic, intellectual or circumstantial - to cultivate that gift and use it as a vehicle for excellence in life. In the movie The Hours Virginia Woolf, the 20th Century British author; Laura Brown, a doted-upon 1951 Los Angeles housewife; and Clarissa Vaughan, a 2001 New York editor; struggle with their gifts and the expectations they, and others, have for themselves. All three women are obsessed with finding the right balance between living, freedom, happiness and love. The Hours attempts to use one day to reflect Woolf s life and the impact her work has had on others. In the movie, Woolf is writing Mrs.Dalloway which Brown is reading and Vaughan sort of lives out. Woolf s novel connects the three women and affects their actions. It should be noted that Vaughan gets a lot less attention than Woolf and Brown and seems to be more of a manifestation of Mrs. Dalloway. Vaughan, like Mrs. Dalloway, is a great party planner and is in the process of planning a party for a friend. Vaughan also projects Mrs. Dalloway's outward confidence and inward confusion. THE GIFTS AND THEIR PRESSURES A main theme throughout the movie is freedom. All three women actively seek it and at the movie's end each woman chooses what she thinks is best: Woolf drowns herself, Brown leaves her family and Vaughan finally lets go of her longtime friend and past lover, Richard. Each woman's decision, fueled by the circumstances which surround her, is reached after much thought and deliberation. Woolf s concern is Leonard's sanity and happiness. She realizes the great pressure she puts on him and sees her suicide as a way of freeing him from being responsible for ... ... Biography, Volume 6: Modem Writers, 1914-1945. Gale Research,1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *"(Adeline) Virginia Woolf." Feminist Writers. St. James Press, 1996.Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *"Virginia Woolf." Gay & Lesbian Biography. St. James Press, 1997. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCÆ’Ã ¡ *Gay, Peter. "On not psychoanalyzing Virginia Woolf."American Scholar. Spring 2002 *Lee, Hermione. Virginia Woolf: A Biography Chatto and Windus, 1996. *Bell, Quentin. Virginia Woolf: A Biography Harcourt (New York, NY), 1972 *The Hours (The movie) DVD Extras

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

How do the directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski present Macbeth to their audiences? Essay

How do the directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski present Act I scenes I to IV of Macbeth to their audiences? In your work you must make reference to the techniques used by each director to create atmosphere and a sense of good and evil. You should pay special attention to the portrayal by each director of the character of the witches, Macbeth and Duncan. In this essay I am going to explore the different representations of the Shakespeare play Macbeth by directors Trevor Nunn and Roman Polanski. The scenes I will focus on are act I scenes I until act I scene 4. In these scenes I will pay specific attention to the Witches, Macbeth and King Duncan to show how the good and evil atmosphere in the play affected the events that befall. The witches are going to play a strong part in my essay because I believe that the supernatural is a major part of the play’s concept. The witches have a profound affect on Macbeth and so the plot is greatly governed by their actions. The atmosphere they produce has a great affect on the audience The atmosphere is important because it gives the audience strong first impressions of what the play in trying to show. The portrayal of good and evil interlink with the atmosphere and are important in showing how Macbeth starts off with noble thoughts and is brought to corruption by the three witches. I will start off by looking at how Trevor Nunn expressed his interpretation of the Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Trevor Nunn makes the play into a stage performance. The whole play is summed up with Trevor Nunn’s comment: ‘I want to photograph the text’ In my opinion I think this is just what he did. The sound effects were made openly by the actors and there are no scenic effects, just groupings and close-ups in coloured light. This gave the play the perfect setting for the atmosphere that Shakespeare was trying to portray, he wanted a strong feeling of uneasiness and the supernatural, and the close set gave just this. After the play is introduced the 12 actors in the cast appear to be sat in a circle. A bright light behind illuminates each character so that each of the actors’ faces appear to be light or dark or in some cases only half in shadow. Trevor Nunn used this opening as a way to give the audience a quick insight into which of the characters has an evil side and which are good. The scenes were performed in the centre of the circle while members of the cast who were not involved with the scene watched from outside. This works well because of the positioning of the lights; they illuminate the participating actors only and the light does not shine on the other members of the cast. The lighting arrangement on the stage allows the cast to appear to vanish. An example of this technique is after the witches have meet Macbeth: they appear to disappear in to thin air when in fact they have just stepped out of the light. The play involves many close-ups and extreme close-up shots. This is because there is no scenery in the background, unlike Polanski’s version, so the cameras pay specific detail to facial features and body movement. The camera often shows a group of people before zooming in on the face of a particular character so as to show the circumstance s/he is in. This helps develop the plot and give more depth to the different characters and their personalities. The costume in the play is very important in expressing good and evil. The costumes are mainly black and white because of this; white being associated with pureness and black being associated with evil. The white of King Duncan’s costume resembles purity and holiness while the green/black costumes of the witches resemble flagitiousness and the unnatural. During Act 1 Scene 4, Macbeth and Banquo help King Duncan to his throne where the Royal Crown is placed upon his head. The Crown is a very important stage prop because it reminds everyone that King Duncan is a powerful character. It is very important to the plot because it is Macbeth and Banquo who support the crown and Macbeth kills both Banquo and Duncan to get to it. King Duncan also possesses a crucifix which he wears around his neck. Although he appears to be holy, the crucifix shows the audience that his faith in God. However, there is also a possibility that Duncan wears the crucifix because he fears the supernatural and he believes that the crucifix will protect him. At the beginning of the play we see that Macbeth is wearing a black costume. This means that the audience does not know whether he is noble or corrupt and this adds suspense to the atmosphere. I think that the use of this co-ordination is very good because it allows the audience to use the colour sense for good and evil to aid in their understanding of the plot. The atmosphere is very important in the play. It keeps the audience interested and adds an extra depth to the plot. The stage set creates a feeling of claustrophobia that adds to the evil and unnatural. When they are accompanied by the fact that the cast are wearing monochrome costume and the black, featureless background the atmosphere is very strong and mystical. The atmosphere with the witches is especially powerful. The witches speak using rhyming couplets and to a different rhythm to the rest of the play. There is a chorus in which they all join in: ‘Double, double, toil and trouble: Fire, burn and cauldron, bubble’ Act 4 Scene 1 The alliteration with the repeated ‘d’ and ‘b’ sounds make the chant sound very powerful and is very catchy. The supernatural aspect in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is very important and Trevor Nunn has captured it very well. By using the stage techniques previously explored, he captured the battle of good and evil between the witches and King Duncan. At the beginning of the play, we hear the witches scream of chaos against Duncan’s words of prayer. This strong image of good versus evil and the strong supernatural actions of the witches gives the play a powerful start. The lighting position he uses allows the witches to suddenly vanish giving a strong supernatural effect. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth calls on the supernatural through the earth (this has strong connotations with the Devil’s presence in the Earth) using methods that would have been thought suspicious in Shakespeare’s time. In Trevor Nunn’s version of Macbeth, Macbeth appears to be young, valiant and noble. However as the play progresses we are able to see the changes occur in him. This change is much more apparent because of the fact that Macbeth starts off so innocent – we are able to see the change more clearly. Banquo appears to be older than Macbeth, a veteran maybe, who shows little fear and appears at the start of the play to be a noble man. He is dressed in slightly less dark clothing which inter-links with the evil/good dress code. Roman Polanski’s version is a very different interpretation of Macbeth. The most noticeable difference is that he has presented his rendering as a motion picture. More colour and music is used to aid the portrayal of the plot to the audience and there is much more background detail. The film shows a lot of strong images, for example, the witches on the beach at the prelude of the play. The ability to edit scenes using computers and the possibility of picture enhancing allows a much more realistic play that the people of today can deal with more easily. The realism of the film helps the audience understand the plot using visuals, which are much more effective in assisting cognition. The play starts off with the credits appearing with battle sounds playing. The camera appears to be moving towards the battle scene but it never gets there. The first scene is the battlefield, littered with bodies and burning remains of chariots, soldiers are roaming around salvaging what they can. When the witches appear on a deserted beach, they perform a ritual involving blood, spit and a severed hand. They bury them in the sand and perform their opening lines from Act 1 Scene 1. Roman Polanski uses many effects that can only be used in a motion picture. The use of mid shots and long shots are possible because Polanski’s Macbeth has a very detailed background. The different screen shots are combined using wipes and fades that can only be used in films. Polanski has used special effects to emphasis the circumstance, for example, music or sounds of the event like marching and battle sounds. Zoom is often used to show up more detail in the background or foreground. For example, in the background the zoom is used to give the effects of expanse on the beech and of the countryside. In the foreground the zoom can focus on different relevant facial features such as eye shifting. Extreme close-up shots a give very good aspect view of important actions that are too difficult for the audience to spot from mid or long shots. The camera angle varies throughout to make the most of different views, this helps maximise the impact of the film on the audience. The atmosphere in this version is not as intense as in the Trevor Nunn version. This is partially due to the expanse in which the scenes are set and very little of the claustrophobia that is entrapped in the Nunn version exists in this environment. The special effects that have been utilised by Polanski enhance the effect of the atmosphere. Though the same text is used, visual detail like different backgrounds helps stimulate the eyes as well as the ears. Also, the sound affects used by Polanski are much more intricate than Nunn’s because he has used computer effects for the battle sounds. The music he uses adds depth to the actions the cast are performing and plays a major part in boosting the strength of the atmosphere. The lighting does not play as large a part as in Trevor Nunn’s Macbeth. However, the different angles at different times of day hitting the surrounds can cause effects that are very clever. For example, near the beginning of the film the witches are on the beach and when they depart, the light reflecting off the water makes it appear as if they are walking on water (The supernatural affect of this would have been good). From what I can tell, no artificial light is used, unlike in Trevor Nunn’s where artificial light is all that is used. The costume in Polanski’s version is very extensive. Each individual character has their own dress colours; they appear to wear what they want. The Knights wear armour and the women wear colourful dresses, the men wear trousers and boots and the children wear similar smaller versions. The witches had to be portrayed as dilapidated so their clothes are ragged and shabby. One of the witches wears a mask and make-up to make her appear more of a reject of society, a freak. Modern audiences need special effects like this to keep them interested in the film. Macbeth and Banquo appear younger in this version. Macbeth appears to be a valiant young man who has now proved himself in battle while Banquo fights beside him having already proven his valour. After having analysed both productions, I believe that they are both very strong interpretations of Macbeth. I found that Polanski’s version was more easily understandable because there were many things providing the outline of the plot both orally and visually. However, Nunn’s was more moving because he captured the atmosphere that I think Shakespeare wanted to encapsulate when he wrote the play. I think that Nunn expressed his interpretation very strongly. His statement about wanting to photograph the text was defiantly what he set out to do and what I think he achieved. Roman Polanski swapped a couple of the scenes around to try and help the audience understand more easily. However, Trevor Nunn kept to the text indefinitely. This is backed up by the fact that he stated he wanted to ‘photograph the text’. I think that they both portrayed Macbeth as I had imagined he would have been. He appears to start of a picture of heroics, which gradually changes for the worse. They are both young and have proven their honour in battle. The theme of good and evil was very well portrayed in Trevor Nunn’s version. The witches created more of an atmosphere than in Polanski’s and the lighting worked very well in helping the witches appear as if they were disappearing. However, Polanski did a very good job of creating an evil atmosphere using a motion picture. He was able to use computers and colour more vividly.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Role of British Rule in Rise of Communalism in India

The Indian society has never been homogeneous in nature. It has always been a diversified, multicultural, and multireligious society. But through out its history the Indian masses what ever their religion, cast and race was lived without any hostility and enmity. Communalism emerged only during the British rule, so one can very easily assume Communalism as modern phenomenon not an ancient or a medieval one. Communalism emerged during the British rule due to the three main reasons. The divide and rule policies of the British.The emerging competitiveness in the political and social structure of the society and also the conservativeness of the society of that time which slowed economic growth. The war of independence of 1857 in which the Muslims and the Hindus fought side by side against the foreign intruders compelled the British to devise a plan to widen the communal difference between the the Indian masses. The British intimated the Hindus because they find them less hostile than the Muslims which were the former rulers of the subcontinent.This widened the gap between the communities and the Muslims felt cornered. This was the basic reason why the Muslim elite considered to found a separate country for their fellow Muslims. (Sociology of Communalism) Was Partition Inevitable? The Indian Muslims and Hindus have been living side by side for centuries. Despite their cultural and religious differences both the communities have prevailed side by side without any notable hostility between them.The rise of Communalism in the late 19th Century further accelerated by the British rulers and lack of generosity shown by the Indian nationalists made the Muslim population feel vulnerable. This feeling of vulnerability further led to the demand of separate state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah the strongest voice in the favor of the partition was himself a leader of Indian National Congress. But the Congress leadership failed to guarantee the Muslims their representation in the post-ind ependence political and social system. This compelled the Muslim leadership to seek for alternatives i.e. partition. Thus one can conclude that partition was not inevitable if the Muslims have given sound guarantees regarding their social, political and economical future. (How a Continent divided? ) Works Cited Asghar Ali Engineer, Sociology of Communalism; Retreived from World Wide Web on March 23rd 2007, http://www. countercurrents. org/comm-engineer190503. htm Eqbal Ahmad, How a Continent Divided? ; Retrieved from World Wide Web on March 23rd 2007, http://www. geocities. com/CollegePark/Library/9803/eqbal_ahmad/continent. html

Thursday, November 7, 2019

A Lifelong Experiment What Made E. E. Cummings Creative

A Lifelong Experiment What Made E. E. Cummings Creative A Letter Proposing the Topic One of the most mysterious and by far the most original writers of the century, E. E. Cummings has become a symbol of creativity in writing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Lifelong Experiment: What Made E. E. Cummings Creative specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the incredible length that he would go to to express the slightest change in his characters’ emotions, E. E. Cummings can be considered a once living proof of the fact that in literature, every single letter or even comma, for that matters, plays its important role and that, once out of the traditional order, these elements can help convey the slightest changes in the characters’ fleeting emotions, as well as the author’s witty commentaries and observations in the most subtle way. Although a number of Cummings’ works have been analyzed to death, the roots of his creativity have not been researched well enough. Even with his ability notice extraordinary elements in the most mundane aspects of life, Cummings needed a specific source to get his inspiration from. Analyzing his life, the specifics of major works and the factors that enhanced Cummings’ writing process, the given essay is going to research what stood behind Cummings’ creativity, whether this was the influence of other people or the effect of the environment, which Cummings lived in. It is worth mentioning that the given issue has not been researched well; there are only a few works devoted to the sources of Cummings’ inspiration, one of them belonging to Catherine Reef, and other having been written by. Hence, the issue is relatively new and worth studying. Although the topicality of the problem might seem rather little, it is necessary to keep in mind that Cummings’ key goal was to search for new ways of artistic expression in literature, which will always remain on the literature agenda . That being said, the driving force behind Cummings’ works is well worth studying. Bibliography Researching the life of a writer is not easy; since most of what a person writes comes from his interpretation of specific events in his/her life rather from the description of these events, it is very easy to get carried out by discussing the implications of the given person’s biography details. In addition, with such people as E.E. Cummings, one of the world’s most famous abstractionist writers, it is hardly possible to tell the reality and the fantastic world that these people lived in apart. That being said, it is still necessary to add that there are a number of detailed biographies of E.E. Cummings’ life.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To start with, Catherine Reef must be best known for helping shed some light on E.E. Cummings’ life path . Bay-cheng and Cole, on the other hand, seem to be more into dealing with the specifics of Cummings’ poetry and novels. The omnipresent Harold Bloom also managed to capture the key events of Cummings’ life in a bottle. It is quite impressive that, in contrast to the rest of the authors mentioned above, Bloom actually manages to tie in the specifics of Cummings’ biography and the unique writing style that Cummings developed as a result of his several encounters with specimens of the Abstractionist art. Pyramid Diagram: Creative Approaches Adopted by E. E. Cummings in Poetry and Novel Writing E. E. Cummings and His Sources of Inspiration: The World Viewed Upside Down Cummings’ works could never be fully understood; each of them seems a puzzle, which, once turned around, will necessarily take another shape and will become even more mysterious. However, Cummings never intended his poems, novels and other writing to be straightforward – instead, he cre ated a work that anyone could approach from his/her own perspective and, therefore, read his/her own vision of the world into it. It would be a drastic mistake to consider Cummings’ works empty by default – each of them has a long history and is targeted at a specific problem; the many ways in which these works can be read, however, make one think of the unbelievable creativity that only Cummings could deliver. At the first glance, it might seem not that hard to pin down what exactly makes Cummings and his works so outstanding. The originality of forms together with the daring experiments with the English language clearly makes his novels and especially poems unique. However, when one gets down to it, these are not the deliberate violations of the rules of grammar and poetry, but the exact points at which Cummings decides to make a deliberate â€Å"mistake† that make his works stand out. It is quite remarkable that Cummings works never follow the same patter in terms of their implicated â€Å"protest†; they might have a few letters mixed up, like â€Å"Picasso†: â€Å"Picasso/you give us things/which/bulge:grunting lungs pumped full of sharp thick mind† (Cummings â€Å"Picasso†), or, on the contrary, break every possible grammatical rule, like â€Å"One!†: â€Å"(one!)/the twisti-twisti barber/-pole is climbing† (Cummings â€Å"One!†). Sometimes there is no rule breaking at all – Cummings simply decides to leave the readers on their own with his stream of consciousness, as in â€Å"If†: â€Å"Things would seem fair,–/Yet they’d all despair,/For if here was there/We wouldn’t be we† (Cummings â€Å"If†). There is no pattern in the author’s misplacing a comma or replacing a capital letter with a lowercase one, which points at the fact that these alterations to the English languageAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Lifelong Experiment: What Made E. E. Cummings Creative specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When considering the specifics of Cummins’ works, especially in the poetry department, one cannot help noticing the intense desire to make the poem look completely out of chord with its every single typical attribute, such as rhyme, sentence structure, etc., straight down to breaking the basic punctuation rules. According to what Patea and Derrick say, â€Å"Cummings’ transformative grammar not only conveys the dialects of substance and generation, but dramatically performs it† (Patea and Derrick 117). Therefore, there can be no doubt that Cummings’ poetry owes part of its charm to the rebellious air that breaking all grammar rules known to an English-speaking person can get one. Another possible way to view Cummings’ creativity is to analyze the contrast between the absurdity of the exterior of Cummings’ works a nd the implications that they incorporate; once viewing the striking difference between the two, one will have to agree that the author uses his contrast on purpose to convey not only the social messages underlying the ext, but also to express his personal judgment of the situation that is being discussed in the artwork. Finally, it is important to consider the environment in which Cummings developed as an artist and as a creator. After being surrounded by the specimens of the European and American best avant-garde works and devoting a huge chunk of his life to discussing these artworks, analyzing them and trying to sink into the atmosphere of the avant-garde world, Cummings could not help but incorporate the acquired information into his works. Being fascinated with the genre, he must have felt the urge to use it as the key expressive means in his own works: â€Å"Cummings’s interest in the European avant-garde began well before his first dramatic experiments† (Bay-ch eng and Cole 157). Another peculiar issue to consider is the source of Cummings creativity. Given the originality of Cummings’ works, which often borders weirdness, it would be quite a stretch to assume that Cummings’ original ideas came from the mundane surrounding of the urban life. Therefore, there must have been a source, which Cummings used for his inspiration and for creating new forms of poetry, writing and painting. Among the possible answers, three hypotheses can be considered. The first and the most obvious suggestion can concern Cummings’ personal life and experience.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It would be wrong, however, to tie the sources of E. E. Cummings’ inspiration to mere fascination with the specifics of the English grammar. Although the latter, with its strict rules to be followed, does make a powerful tool once its rules are bent a touch, there still seems to be more than meets the eye in Cummings’ creativity. Therefore, the heritage that Cummings left can be read in million ways, and each of these interpretations will be completely valid. The initial idea, which Cummings actually meant to deliver, however, needs a careful and thoughtful research, since it can be concealed beneath several decades of the author’s personal life experience and observations, or an accident that occurred in Cummings’ life. That being said, it can be considered that Cummings’ ways of expressing emotions and ideas, as well as the fleeting mood of the characters and the story are much more diverse than the researchers give them credit for. Being able to reprint the tiniest changes in the society, as well as incorporate his own memories and experience into the story canvas, Cummings deserves being mentioned among the most ingenious abstractionists of the century. Bay-cheng, Sarah and Barbara Cole. Poets at Play: An anthology of Modernist Drama. Cranbury, NJ: Susquehanna University Press, 2010. Print. Bloom, Harold. E. E. Cummings. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishings, 2003. Print. Cummings, Edward Estlin. If. n. d. Web. https://hellopoetry.com/. Cummings, Edward Estlin. One! n. d. Web. https://hellopoetry.com/. Cummings, Edward Estlin. Picasso. n. d. Web. https://hellopoetry.com/. Patea, Viorica and Paul S. Derrick. Modernism Revisited: Transgressing Boundaries and Strategies of Renewal in American Poetry. New York, NY: Rodopi. 2007. Print. Reef, Catherine. E.E. Cummings. New York, NY: Clarion Books. 2006. Print.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

I.e. vs E.g. vs Ex. Which Is Which

I.e. vs E.g. vs Ex. Which Is Which SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Struggling to figure out when you should use e.g. vs i.e.? What about i.e. vs ex.? E.g. vs e.x.? Those are enough abbreviations to make your head spin! In this article, we’ll break down what i.e., e.g., and ex. all stand for and explain how to use each properly in a sentence. We’ll also give you some quick tips for remembering which is which. The Bottom Line: What’s the Difference Between I.e., E.g., and Ex.? I.e., e.g., and ex. are all abbreviations. I.e. and e.g. are abbreviations for Latin phrases and ex. is an abbreviation for an English word. Let’s take a deeper look at each them. What Does I.e. Mean? â€Å"I.e† is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase â€Å"id est,† which translates to â€Å"that is† or â€Å"in other words.† Here’s a look at â€Å"i.e.† in action: â€Å"I am a vegetarian, i.e., I don’t eat meat.† In the example, â€Å"i.e.† is used to provide more clarification about what being a vegetarian means. You could also read the sentence as, â€Å"I am a vegetarian, in other words, I don’t eat meat.† What Does E.g. Mean? â€Å"E.g.† is an abbreviation for a Latin phrase as well. The Latin phrase â€Å"exemplia gratia† is the longer form of â€Å"e.g.† â€Å"Exemplia gratia† translates to â€Å"for example.† Let’s take a look at an example of â€Å"e.g.† in a sentence: â€Å"I love to eat vegetables, e.g., carrots, spinach, and arugula.† You use â€Å"e.g.† to introduce examples of something. In the sentence above, it’s used to introduce examples of the vegetables that the subject of the sentence likes. What Does Ex. Mean? â€Å"Ex.† is another abbreviation, but for an English word: â€Å"exercise.† Writers use â€Å"ex.† in their work to refer to an exercise. Many people think that â€Å"ex.† stands for example, but that’s a common mistake. â€Å"Ex.† is used to introduce exercises. Here’s a look at how: â€Å"Please refer to ex. 4.† The sentence instructs the reader to refer to an exercise later in the text, likely in an appendix. Rules for Using I.e., E.g., and Ex. in Writing Now that we know what e.g., i.e., and ex. mean, let’s look at how to use them correctly in writing. E.g., i.e., and ex. should all be written in lowercase when you use them in the middle of a sentence. E.g. and i.e. should be followed by a comma, as seen in the following examples: â€Å"There were many flavors of ice cream at the shop, e.g., chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip.† â€Å"I don’t like eating raw fish, i.e., sushi.† Even though e.g. and i.e. are both Latin abbreviations, you don’t need to italicize them in your writing. Tricks for Using I.e. vs E.g. vs Ex. Stuck trying to figure out when to use i.e. vs e.g., i.e. vs ex., or e.g. vs ex.? Don’t worry, there are a few tricks for remembering which abbreviation works for which situation. You don’t need to remember the Latin translations for i.e. or e.g. to know when to use them. Instead, remind yourself what each means! â€Å"I.e.† is another way of saying â€Å"in other words.† You can remember this because â€Å"i.e.† and â€Å"in other words† both start with the letter â€Å"i.† Whenever you write a sentence with â€Å"i.e.,† read it back to yourself and replace â€Å"i.e.† with â€Å"in other words.† If it makes sense, you’re using it right. If not, take another look at the sentence. â€Å"E.g.† in Latin is â€Å"exemplia gratia.† â€Å"E.g† means â€Å"for example,† so you can remember that â€Å"e.g.† is used to introduce different â€Å"exemplia† or â€Å"examples.† If you’re writing a sentence with â€Å"e.g.,† read it back to yourself and replace â€Å"e.g.† with â€Å"for example.† If it makes sense, you’re all set! If not, you’re probably using â€Å"e.g.† incorrectly. â€Å"Ex.† is short for â€Å"exercise.† You can remember that because â€Å"ex† and â€Å"exercise† both start with â€Å"ex.† Final Thoughts It’s tricky to remember the differences between i.e. vs e.g. vs ex. But it doesn’t have to be! Each has its own specific usage: â€Å"I.e.† is another way of saying â€Å"in other words.† â€Å"E.g.† is another way of saying â€Å"for example.† â€Å"Ex.† is an abbreviation for â€Å"exercise.† Remember that and you’ll be all set! What’s Next? Are you studying clouds in your science class?Get help identifying the different types of clouds with our expert guide. Need help with English class- specifically with identifying literary devices in texts you read?Then you'll definitely want to take a look at our comprehensive explanation of the most important literary devices and how they're used. Want to know the fastest and easiest ways to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to the best ways to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (or vice versa).

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Various summaries from 5 Leadership articles which I submit to you Essay

Various summaries from 5 Leadership articles which I submit to you - Essay Example This is a problem because a cynical workforce can have a very damaging effect on the performance of the company as a whole. â€Å"Organizations that have been struggling with a cynical workforce increasingly note a decrease in the quality of service to internal and external stakeholders, customer satisfaction, productivity and market share† (125). What cynicism does is causes employees to be hyper-sensitive to shifting climates within the organizational structure and to view any attempts at improvement as a failure waiting to happen. This attitude almost guarantees the expected results as employees fail to ‘buy into’ the program initiatives. What Dreilinger offers in this article, though, are some very specific steps that companies can take to try to overcome some of these issues. He indicates the first step in addressing cynical employees or a cynical company atmosphere is to acknowledge that it exists. Organizations that have successfully turned around the corporate climate have done so through what Dreilinger characterizes as a five step process. â€Å"First, they make past history discussable – and learn from it. Second, they directly address the legacy of previous change efforts and do so without ‘business babble’. Third, they take steps to anticipate and address unintended and potentially adverse consequences of new changes. Fourth, they provide employees with real opportunities to participate in decisions about future changes that affect them personally, rather than those that simply benefit the company. Fifth, they communicate information by telling employees: what they know and are able to discuss; what they are unable to discuss; what they do not yet know; and by asking employees what else they want to know† (126). Within this process, it can be seen that these companies are directly addressing the two main contributors to the development of cynicism – fear and mistrust. These steps are effective in this

Friday, November 1, 2019

Native Americans in Kentucky and their encounter with Daniel Boone Research Paper

Native Americans in Kentucky and Their Encounter with Daniel Boone - Research Paper Example In Kentucky, Boone founded a village BoonsBorough. Like any other revolutionary, Boone participated in the American war for independence. After the war, Boone worked as a surveyor and merchant where he became bankrupt after a failed land speculation deal. Boone’s reputation rested in parts, on his contests with Indians in Kentucky and his participation in the Indian campaign Known as Lord Dunmore’s War 1774, as the American Revolution. Boone surveyed frontier lands, operated a country store and tried his hand at planting tobacco. Men who had lost their land because of his faulty surveying sued Boone making him bankrupt. Boone escaped his creditors by immigrating to Spanish-held Missouri in 1799. 2. Literature Review The periods between the 18th Century and 20th Century have been crucial to the America social, economic and political development. Boone inspired a look west-move-west approach, where he opened the wilderness of America to development. Ried believes that Boone mirrored a very Central American concern, where civilizing the wilderness was an essential initiative. Through the epic exploration of the American West, Boone managed to build confidence in Americans. In fact, Boone historians rank Boone with people like Capt. John Smith who has a more central to the frontier experience than the former. 2.1 The Boone of the Wilderness The man Boone lived a wilderness life, one that worked out after a graduate providential plan that culminated in the triumph of a civilized life. For instance, Boone’s roles as an expert hunter and pioneer encouraged an irresistible advance of civilization. Hurt argues that Boone life continued a malleable public property. His exclusive interests in surveying and create settlement were instrumental in building the state of Kentucky. Boone heroic exemplar of the virtues of the Southern aristocracy oversaw his contribution in trade and settling more European in the mainland. As well, Boone led a complicated private life distancing his adventures from active politics. Convincingly, Boone was more interested in serving his end as a merchant and not the sake of history.