Tragic Hero in Modern Drama Essay Example

Tragic Hero in Modern Drama Essay Modern drama tends to combine faith of the character and reality in one play. There are many plays where tragic heroes manage to survive, but they fail to cope with their inner passions and ego. I think that this idea is central to Henrik Ibsen’s â€Å"A Doll’s House†, especially to Nora’s character. In the novel the author shows the changing nature of Nora stressing that relations with her husband have resulted in miscommunication and misunderstanding. Therefore, the paper discusses the character of tragic hero in relation to Nora and her opposing characteristics to such a definition. The objective of the paper is to prove that Nora is not a tragic hero because she is able to enact toward her own fate. Plato’s idea of tragic hero will be incorporated to provide the platform for the argument of the paper. Ibsen incorporates Plato’s ideas about morality and free will in the play. Morality, according Plato, is the reason why a person does something in particular way. Ibsen allows Nora to leave dull life with Helmer. Nora has a freewill choice and she decides to become strong person, rather than tragic hero. Nora doesn’t feel strong and confident when she lives with Helmer and she realizes that she is morally obligated to herself and the existing universe to change her life. She decides to escape from life of common housewife in order to explore real, yet unknown world. For example, Ibsen writes about Nora: â€Å"Maybe.   But you neither think nor talk like the man I could bind myself to.   As soon as your fear was over-and it was not fear for what threatened me, but for what might happen to you-when the whole things was past, as far as you were concerned it was exactly as if nothing at all had happened.   Exactly as before, I was your little skylark, your doll, which you would in future treat with doubly gently care, because it was so brittle and fragile.   Torvald it was then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here with a strange man, and had borne him three children.   Oh, I cannot bear to think of it!   I could tear myself into little bits!   Ah, Torvald, the most wonderful thing of all would have to happen† (71-72). We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero in Modern Drama specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero in Modern Drama specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tragic Hero in Modern Drama specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Modern drama is interested in human nature. Actually, it defines human nature as the nature of reason. It means that it is not strictly associated with human feelings and passions. Ibsen is willing to represent reality truthfully. Morality then, becomes the crux of playwriting.   Morality is reason.   However, it doesn’t mean that classic Greek writers were ascetic. Instead, they portrayed passion, emotions and feelings in their works. They argue that ethics of humanity leads character to happiness at the end of the modern play. Plato defines such situation as eudemonism, which means blissful. In the final scene of the play this word is used to describe correctly Nora’s state of mind when she leaves her husband. For example, one analysts – Johnston argues that Nora’s decisions are similar to Antigone’s tragedy. He writes: â€Å"It is, by contrast, a tragedy, and Nora has (for me) far more in common with, say, Oedipus or Antigone than she has with Major Barbara or the Goodbye Girl.   Her exit, thus, is much more a self-destructive assertion of her uncompromising and powerful ego†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Johnston Paragraph 5) Simply saying, when leaving the husband, Nora proves that she is a strong person who is willing to shape her own life outside her husband’s path. Nora makes her decisions by free will and, therefore, she is of heroic nature, rather than of tragic one. One more point to mention is that character should be discussed in terms of choice which is rooted in virtue. Modern plays are not only written obsessively about virtue, but also about the reality of an individual when they are presented with their own humanity.   Heroes in the played are defined according their respond to state of humanity.   Thus, Nora has to be considered a hero as she realizes that she has to change her life herself and not to wait for someone’s help. Moreover, she doesn’t become upset about her chances or circumstances in contrast to Torvald. Ibsen, in such a way, should be treated as optimistic writer. Plato believed in human nature and he was both an optimist and realist. Plato had his own ideas about the evil in the person stating that that a person only does evil in ignorance, for he believed everyone, just as himself, wants only what is good. Nora seeks for new life, to express her true identity and personality, to express her emotions and feelings. He doesn’t want to fulfill her husband’s wishes and desires any more. However, Helmer can’t understand why Nora decides to leave him. Helmer is presented as truly egotistical character whose selfish nature refuses to allow his wife to leave him for any reason and in this thought his tragedy is revealed. In modern drama the lesson is how to make a free choice, not how to escape from reality. And Nora shows that every person is able to make his choices. In modern drama choices can be either good or evil. They can be dichotomized into heroism and a state of succumbing to one’s own humanity. The tragic hero may perform badly, but in the end of the novel good always wins. When character does evil things, he/she is driven by unlimited desire. The person becomes obsessive and he simply is willing to do something evil to receive satisfaction – as Torvald expected Nora to be his constant ‘doll’. Such situation emerges when appetitive part of the soul overtakes the rational part making person weaker. In other words, when natural desires are on the first place, then the person isn’t interested in revealing the truth or the reason.   Nora and Torvald are to extreme characters in the play and in modern drama: Nora is the hero who manages to take control of her life and to make free will choice instead of simply following her husband’s life, whereas Helmer fails to make his own choice and he doesn†™t want Nora to leave him and to go her own way. His denial is likely to be based on ignorance and lack of control over his own life. (Wientraub 68) Modern drama, as Ibsen shows in his â€Å"A Doll House†, is the truth of life and self reflection through characters. Realism is used by the author to explain Nora’s free will decisions. The borders between good and evil disappear when the audience decides to justify Nora in her choices. Nora has to leave her husband to develop her own standards, not her husband’s. Surely, Ibsen is realist who states that circumstances play crucial role in human contingencies. This is especially true for Nora. The author represents with life at human entire naked state. For Helmer his ‘naked state’ is when he realizes that he can’t to take control over his life and his wife anymore and the life he used to is ruined when Nora leaves. Helmer lacks control and it is a direct reflection of Nora’s choice. In his lack of control the audience or reader may see that Helmer is a man whose actions are determined by a set of rules and, moreover, he does not believ e in surprises. He is shocked that Nora is leaving and the audience can see that life was not what Helmer expected. The climatic scene in the play is when Nora decides to leave her life, as her husband defines, and it makes the play’s characters multi-dimensional. The promise of modern drama is veracity which takes control over depression of life and deception toward everyman. Ibsen was honest in his writing, and he doesn’t depict heroic standards in his play as everyone has his own Achilles heel. Despite the fact that the play ends with a sad note, the central idea is that every person has to make his own choices going through life. The realism of choice allows the audience to believe they may follow the fate or to change their lives. Modern drama doesn’t give no illusions about harsh reality, but she gives the difference between fate and circumstance.

Free Essays on GIMPEL, NAIVE AND KIND

Gimpel, Kind and Naive â€Å"I don’t think of myself a fool. On the contrary. But that’s what folks call me.† Gimpel, the main character in â€Å"Gimpel the Fool† written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, narrates the story with precise honesty. Gimpel portrays a foolish man whom throughout his life, those who surround him, ridicule and deceive him. Information obtained by what he says and does, also by what others say about him, determine Gimpel’s character and personality. Gimpel is a static character of a story about a man wiser and kinder than those who deceive and mock him. The seven names given to Gimpel as a child by his classmates include: â€Å"Imbecile, donkey, flax-head, dope, glump, ninny, and fool.† In truth Gimpel contrary to fool, portrays just naivety and goodness. Gimpel’s goodness shows when his classmates, â€Å"Stuffed [his] hands with goat turds† instead â€Å"of the raisins they give when a woman’s lying in,† and he does nothing. Gimpel knows this whole time about the strength he has to slap someone â€Å"he’d see Cracow.† Instead he honors his philosophy by stating, â€Å"Let it pass.† The people of Frampol, the only town Gimpel’s ever known, ridicules and mocks him throughout his adolescence. Gimpel chooses to let everything go without a word being said so that situations do not worsen with comments such as, â€Å"If I ever dared to say ‘Ah, you’re kidding!’ there was trouble. People got angry.† A deceived Gimpel marries Elka, a promiscuous woman who throughout their twenty years of marriage never treats him as a human being. Elka cheats on Gimpel with several men. She gives birth to six children, none of which Gimpel fathered. Nevertheless, Gimpel loves the children with love a biological father can only give. Gimpel knows the truth the whole time, but he still loves Elka blindly. Gimpel’s character of a kind man who strongly believes in God and his guidance shows when he seeks the Rabbi for... Free Essays on GIMPEL, NAIVE AND KIND Free Essays on GIMPEL, NAIVE AND KIND Gimpel, Kind and Naive â€Å"I don’t think of myself a fool. On the contrary. But that’s what folks call me.† Gimpel, the main character in â€Å"Gimpel the Fool† written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, narrates the story with precise honesty. Gimpel portrays a foolish man whom throughout his life, those who surround him, ridicule and deceive him. Information obtained by what he says and does, also by what others say about him, determine Gimpel’s character and personality. Gimpel is a static character of a story about a man wiser and kinder than those who deceive and mock him. The seven names given to Gimpel as a child by his classmates include: â€Å"Imbecile, donkey, flax-head, dope, glump, ninny, and fool.† In truth Gimpel contrary to fool, portrays just naivety and goodness. Gimpel’s goodness shows when his classmates, â€Å"Stuffed [his] hands with goat turds† instead â€Å"of the raisins they give when a woman’s lying in,† and he does nothing. Gimpel knows this whole time about the strength he has to slap someone â€Å"he’d see Cracow.† Instead he honors his philosophy by stating, â€Å"Let it pass.† The people of Frampol, the only town Gimpel’s ever known, ridicules and mocks him throughout his adolescence. Gimpel chooses to let everything go without a word being said so that situations do not worsen with comments such as, â€Å"If I ever dared to say ‘Ah, you’re kidding!’ there was trouble. People got angry.† A deceived Gimpel marries Elka, a promiscuous woman who throughout their twenty years of marriage never treats him as a human being. Elka cheats on Gimpel with several men. She gives birth to six children, none of which Gimpel fathered. Nevertheless, Gimpel loves the children with love a biological father can only give. Gimpel knows the truth the whole time, but he still loves Elka blindly. Gimpel’s character of a kind man who strongly believes in God and his guidance shows when he seeks the Rabbi for...

Design for Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Design for Environment - Assignment Example Also the regulations for environmentally friendly cars, the improvements in design of these green cars, the emission characteristics have been discussed. I. Recyclable household items: According to an article by Kat Long (2010), the most commonly recyclable house hold items are paper , cardboard, plastic, metals, glass, E- wastes, printer cartridges and batteries. Plastics: Recycling of plastic wastes has become a prime concern due to poor biodegradability of the materials used. According to Achilias.D. et al (2008), â€Å"Polyolefins (LDPE, HDPE, PP) are a major type of thermoplastic used throughout the world in such applications as bags, toys, containers, pipes (LDPE), houswares, industrial wrappings and film, gas pipes (HDPE), film, battery cases, automotive parts, electrical components (PP).† While the condensation polymers can be easily recycled, the addition polymers like PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate) are difficult to recycle (Karayannidis and Achilias, 2007). Achili as and Karayannidis (2004), propose a thermochemical recycling called pyrolysis that produce liquid form like gasoline. Sustained Plastic waste management involves the mechanical or chemical methods in which the polypropylene and polyethylenes are converted into useful end products. In mechanical recycling, the polymer is dissolved in a solvent and is separated. Achilias.D. et al (2008) claim that the polymer recovery can be greater than 90% by the choice of proper solvents. The end product quality has been examined by Fourier Transform – Infra Red (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The end products of these recycling methods include hydrocarbon gases and oils, which can be again reused as feedstock in petrochemical plants. E – waste: E wastes are primarily the old unused computers, cell phones and other electronic gadgets. In the official website of Apple, ( iMac and the environment, ) , it is stated that the challenging task faced by the computer ind ustry with respect to environmentally friendly design is the use of materials involving mercury, arsenic, phthalates, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), PVC in their products and copper wires. The first E-waste recycling was introduced in Switzerland and later followed by the European Union with the â€Å"Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive† (WEEE Directive, 2002/96/EC). One crude method of recycling the wires include burning the wires together to extract copper from them. Researchers say that these crude methods may lead to more contamination of air, soil and water. This drives the manufacturers of electronic goods to opt for environmentally friendly materials like mercury free backlighting and display glasses that are free from arsenic. Also choosing materials that are thinner, smaller and lighter enables lesser materials to be used. This reduced usage of materials leads to lesser green gas emissions. (The story behind Apple’s environment footprint, www.apple.com/environment/ ). The manufacturers also undertake a complete life cycle assessment of the product with respect to environmental factors. They also use hybrid methods that save energy by reducing the consumption of energy. For example, Apple proposes three techniques for reduced energy consumption. They are efficient power supply, proper power management and using low

Child Trafficking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Child Trafficking - Essay Example These children, having suffered at the hands of fate get tempted by such offers, mainly because they want to make good money to serve their personal and family needs. Such children sometimes even step out of their houses with these agents, even without their parental consent. Actually neither the child nor the â€Å"adult is usually aware of the full implications of their actions† (What is Child Trafficking para. 2). Often, by the time these children are rescued, it is generally too late. The children who have been trafficked and sexually exploited have to bear various consequences varying from unwanted pregnancies to HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. The physical scars can still be dealt with but the psychological scars remain to haunt them for a lifetime! Unfortunately, though many children get rescued their sufferings continue. According to an NGO, Plan USA, â€Å"The causes of child trafficking are complex and often reinforce each other. Victims are often made vulnerable by factors including poverty, the attraction of perceived higher standards of living, lack of employment opportunities, organized crime, violence and discrimination against women and children, government corruption, political instability and armed conflict† (What is Child Trafficking para. 2). ... The statistics show that in the last 20 year's time, anti trafficking organizations have worked harder to accept, understand, research and resolve the issue. But, despite of these continuous efforts, the problem remains unresolved. Therefore, it is time to make cumulative effort globally to eradicate such heinous issues thriving around us. â€Å"Some shocking numbers: Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls of which upto 50% are minors. – U.S. State Department The average age of entry for children, who have been victims of the sex trade industry is about 12 years. – U.S. Department of Justice The global market for child trafficking is over $12 billion a year, with more than 1.2 million child victims. – UNICEF Surveys indicate that 30 to 35 % of all sex workers in Mekong (sub-region of Southeast Asia) are between 12 and 17 years of age. – UNICEF The average cost of slavery today is $90, a historic low† (Bales). Apart from w hat the governments across the world are doing to end child trafficking, there are other non profit agencies which are aiming towards rescuing children from hunger, abuse and disease. Each day, more and more children are trafficked into prostitution, forced labor, child marriages and other kinds of slavery. â€Å"Each day, the challenges grow greater for those who seek to prevent child trafficking and provide care for children who have been trafficked† (Our Mission para. 2). We all wait for someone else to bring about that change ! A general tendency is not to bother about the problem - unless it befalls upon us. That is precisely the reason why problems which are occurring on global level seldom find a global and effective solution. Sometimes it is people’s fear that holds them back from raising

Constitution in 2013 - Changes and Interpretations Term Paper

Constitution in 2013 - Changes and Interpretations - Term Paper Example e idea of arming the citizens dated back to around 700 AD in England when King Alfred required all the citizens to be armed depending on their financial status with the poorest at least owning a spear and a lance. With time, the ownership of weapons was even allowed to the workers of a landowner, which was in preparation for crossing the sea to Gascavy. This paper will explain the history of the right to own weapons in American bill of rights and how the interpretation of the same has changed for the last two centuries including the relevant Supreme Court cases involved. In1785 delegates from two states of Maryland and Virginia met to address the inadequacies that were in the present in the articles of the confederation, and a year later, another meeting was held with delegates from five states that identified the solutions to the problems. These includes setting up of an arbitration process to handle disputes between states, the need for setting up a militia to defend the states against foreign invasions and an interstate force that is trained to suppress insurrections especially by the slaves. Federalists such as James Madison who supported the congress to be given the power over security and forming the army was of the opinion that the federal government would not be able to raise a strong enough army to counter the militias. However anti federalists were not supportive of the constitution that gave such huge powers to the federal government as they thought the federal government would decide to disarm the militias. In order to solve the gridlock and push ahead with the adoption of the constitution, a compromise had to be reached and the anti federalists wanted the powers of the federal government to be decentralized (Geber 48). It was agreed that a bill of rights should be included in the constitutions so the federalists promised to support an amendment of the constitution if it was adopted and this convinced many of the anti federalists to support the

Reading Aloud: Challenges and Solutions

Reading Aloud: Challenges and Solutions This assignment is my guide to the final step of my dissertation. In this assignment, I will discuss in details about what I will do for my dissertation. First, I will discuss my topic and why I have chosen, it and I will indicate my research questions and sub-questions. Next, I will identify key areas I need to read about and I will summarize 11 books and articles that give useful theoretical background for my research. The topics I am interested include define reading, then the process, models, methods of teaching reading, strategies readers use and the miscue analysis in relation to reading strategies. This second section will help me build the literature review for my dissertation. Finally, I will describe my research procedure and research methods I am going to use. Section one: My topic and why I chose it My topic is about problems my pupils have in reading aloud and find ways of improving my pupils reading aloud. I have chosen this topic because in my experience as a teacher I faced and taught different kinds of pupils from different levels, I have found that most of them have problems in reading, particularly reading aloud. Some of them are good in reading aloud but have many do substitute other words, have omission of words or letter-sounds while reading. This could be due to lack of sight vocabulary, lack of phonic skills, lack of strategies for reading. Some of them cant produce a single word. I discovered that pupils were learning nothing if they could not read aloud. My pupils who cannot read aloud have general difficulty in decode any reading text successfully. I believe my research is important because reading aloud is very important for my pupils in grade 9, which is closer to the final school leaving examinations in grade 12. I hope it may able me and my colleges to find the diagnoses to help the participants and in future to help all my pupils with their reading problems . In my research I wil try to analyze and describe their miscues in reading aloud according to their levels good, average and week. That time I couldnt do any thing about it because I didnt have the experience to help them. After I joined the B.A course and studied EDUC 2031 TEYL, EDUC2033 Initial Literacy, EDUC2028 Language learning from these modules I realized the nature of young learners how do they learn, how do they acquire new language and how to teach reading to young learners. As I understood the older ways of teaching reading focused on letters and words and how to say them, all language books are concerning on that view only. The new researches showed a different view which rely on development of all language skills so, because reading in a second language is seen as a thinking exercise thats not only concerned on reading words, sentences and pages only but it is on developing language as a whole. Reading is the main reason to build the personality of a person as I mentioned before and it is the main thing that teaching and learning stands on because it is a communication way between the learner and the academic culture in the schools . I would like my pupils to be able to use reading for study, for pleasure , to understand and to interact with what they learning. My pupils are in grade 9 of general education school at the age of 14 years old with different ability levels. They have been studying English for five years only using Our World Through English. They started leaning English from grade 4. In addition, they are similar in many things such as pupils environment, strengths and weakness areas they have. I decided to do research for my dissertation where I will focus on finding the difficulties my pupils face in reading aloud and helping me find ways to improve my pupils in reading aloud. Although my research will focus on reading aloud, from my experience a pupil cannot read aloud well, he can have little or no comprehension when he read silently. My research question is: How can I develop the reading aloud abilities of my grade nine pupils?. My sub-questions will be: What miscues my good pupils and weak pupils make when reading aloud? Based on my miscue analysis, what reading strategies do my good pupils and my weak pupils use when reading aloud? What reading strategies can I encourage my pupils to develop to improve their reading? In my research the subjects will be six pupils from 2 of them are good , the other 2 are average and the last 2 are weak pupils) (785 words) Section 2 Summaries of relevant literature The key areas I will need to read about for my research are: reading process models of reading Methods of teaching reading. reading strategies miscue analysis How miscue analysis can be used to identify the reading strategies that pupils use and the errors they make. In this section I discuss 11 books / articles that I want to use for my dissertation because they will help me to develop my understanding of issues related to my research. The aspects that are relevant to my study are summarized below. Urquhart and Weir(1998) Urquhart and Weir discuss three models of reading and I will state them here : Bottom up approach. They say this analyses begin with the stimulus, i.e. the text, or bits of the text. They say that in Goughs (1972) model, the reader begins with letters, which are recognized by a scanner. The information thus gained is passed to decoder, which converts the string of letters into a string of systematic phonemes, then word, then sentence then text. So bottom-up models are sequential in that one stage is completed before another is begun. Top-down approaches. Since bottom-up models starts with the smallest text unit, either letters or letter features, we could expect, then, that top-down models begin with the largest unit, the whole text. According to Urquhart and Weir for top-down model of reading, readers first use their background knowledge to help them make a sense from the text. So for top-down approaches background knowledge is very important. Interactive approach. In interactive models (Urquhart and Weir refer to Rumelhart, 1977), there is no regular sequence from top to bottom or from bottom up. They quote Stanovich the best known proponent of interactive models, that in interactive models a pattern is synthesized based on information provided simultaneously from several source (1980:35). So in interactive approaches reader uses both small text units and background knowledge to make sense out of a text at the same time. Urquhart and Weir describes reading strategies to be a conscious response to difficulties in the text while reading action selected deliberately to achieve goals (Is this a Quotation?). Aebersold and Field (1997) Aebersold and Field also have sections on models of reading (bottom up , top down and interactive). They also focus on the readers experience in learning how to read and the ways reading fits into their lives. They give five common influential sources for information that affect reading development, particularly family, the community and the school influence. They mention that despite relatively small size, a family can foster a variety of experience that affects a childs reading development. They say that the community influence provides readers with a set of varied life experiences that also shape their individual knowledge. Thirdly the school can bring children into contact with communities other than their own or they can be homogeneous institution that reflect shared values. This is interesting because in Oman children learn English without much support from the family or the community and school does not bring child in contact to many other communities. Riley (1996) This article has a section on models of reading (bottom up , top down and interactive). The author discusses how schema theory describes the process by which readers combine their own background knowledge with the information in a text to help them comprehend that text. All readers carry different schemata (background information) and these are also often culture-specific. This is an important concept in ESL teaching, and many books have pre-reading tasks that are designed to build or activate the learners schemata. The author also highlights some of the limitations of the use of the schema-theory approach and points out the importance both of developing the learners vocabulary and of encouraging extensive reading. (This sounds as if it is copied. Beware plagiarism, Saif.) Wray and Medwell (1991) This article focuses on reading process , models of reading and approaches to teaching reading. In reading process, they mentioned that reading is a highly complicated process, and there are a number of insights and concepts that the successful reader must develop. In models of reading, they discuss bottom-up models, top-down models, and interactive models and they strongly criticize the bottom up model. They also have a section on teaching reading approaches look and say, phonic methods of teaching reading and language experience approach. I discuss these under Graton and Spratt (1998) below. Graton and Pratt (1998) This book have useful sections on methods of teaching reading (whole word , phonics , language experience ) the methods teachers can use to teach pupils how to read. Most teachers use these methods to help their student in reading , sometimes they chooses one of these methods but some teachers work on two or more because they think each method is completed by the other. The phonic method as widely used from the language teachers to teach reading and writing in the English for second language learners. It is relies on children being taught the alphabet first. Then they learn to pronounce the sounds of the letters . However it is difficult to depend only to phonics because English is not a regular spelling language. The second method is look and say or whole word method. Here pupils learn to recognize whole words or sentences rather than individual sounds. The pupils will look at a word which the teacher sound, often with a picture, and in turns will repeat the word. The problem is that it does not teach children to work out new words for themselves. The context support method can be used when the pupils are just learning to read and it is important to choose exercises or activities that really interest them. If the pupils like cars, choose an activity or exercises with pictures and simple words about cars. This will keep their interest and they will enjoy learning with the teach. OMalley and Valdez Pierce (2001) OMalley and Valdez Pierce give a useful part about miscue analysis (p 124-5). They say it involves listening to a student reading aloud and recording the miscues. In types of miscues, they mention repetitions, substitutions, insertions, omissions and self-corrections. They also recommend the teacher must get the student to answer reading comprehension questions. They say miscue analysis can provide information about (1) the readers ability to use language and the reading process (2) it can be used for assessing reading, the readers approaches to reading and reading comprehension (3) information for revising approaches to teaching reading, how it can be used by teachers effectively to improve their learners reading. This book has useful lists of reading strategies (p 121-123) and suggest how miscue analysis can be used to identify reading strategies readers are using. The authors talk about reading in the native language then reading in second language, which I am interested in. The writers said that learners who do have native language literacy skills might not know how to transfer their skills to the second language without specific strategy instruction. Carter and Nunan (Eds.) (2001) Carter and Nunan (Eds) (2001) define reading strategies as Ways of accessing text meaning which are employed flexibly and selectively in the course of reading. In teaching, attention is paid to the manner in which the reader is able to draw effectively on existing linguistic and background knowledge. They list the good reading strategies that learners use to help them read in a very efficient way, to get maximum benefit from their reading with minimum effort. These include drawing inferences, predicting and using information in the text such as pictures. They also discuss miscue analysis in relation to reading strategies: As they say, miscue analysis refers to the study of the text alterations conducted by the subject while the pupil reads the text and would be very impossible without reading aloud. Carter and Nunan (Eds) (2001) assert that for early readers miscue analysis can be used by teachers to assess the quality and quantity of learners errors in their processing of text. First, this is especially useful for L2 learners who because of their interlanguage system may show systemic syntactic and phonological departures from Standard English. In addition, they argue that miscues will be based on learners current interlanguage rather than because of misunderstanding the text. Wallace (2001) p26 in Carter and Nunan (2001) Wallace discusses miscue analysis and she focuses on how miscue analysis can be used for early readers to assess the quality and the quantity of learners errors. Beard (1987) Beard has a section on miscue analysis and methods of teaching reading (whole word , phonics , language experience). The author focuses on miscue analysis and gives some models of how to use miscue analysis to develop pupils reading and how miscue analysis can fulfill an important diagnostic function of a kind not readily offered by other more established means of reading assessment. Cameron (2001) The author has sections on reading strategies , models of reading (bottom up , top down and interactive) , methods of teaching reading(whole word , phonics , language experience ) and discusses how miscues can help the teacher identify the reading strategies a reader is using . The author gives an example from her experience of reading with a little Malaysian girl. The author mentioned that she had introduced her to the strategies such as: With the word bar, I pointed to the first letter , the sound of which she knew, and then she managed to sound out the word. With the word rather I just told her the word and did not spend any time on it , because it was not crucial to the meaning of the story and is not a particularly useful word to learn at her stage. ith the word meals I told her the word and then explained the meaning as the story progressed and the heroine moved from break fast to tea. When she came to watching TV she said washing . From this miscue I could see that she was making a good attempt at the word and had noticed the initial consonant and the final rime. www.mindtools.com/pages/articals/ According to www.mindtools.com/pages/articals/ miscue analysis refers to the study of text alterations made by the subject while s/he reads the text aloud. They summarise the research of Clay, Goodman and Weber (Davies 1995, p13) and they give a useful list of types of miscues. They say that the alterations often made by a reader are: Substitution (another word is pronounced instead of the printed word) Self-correction (the reader realizes his/her mistake and corrects by him/herself.) Repetition (the printed word is repeated orally) Omission (a word is missed from the text) Insertion (a word not in the text is added by the reader) Reversal (the word order gets changed or inverted) Hesitation (the reader pauses or makes a sound indicating hesitation) A long pause. The article also relates the miscues to approaches. It says that if a reader shows more hesitations, long pauses and self-correction, this shows a bottom up approach with the reader giving most attention to pronouncing the printed words. If a reader shows more miscues such as omission, insertion, reversal and substitution, this shows a more top-down approach where the reader is paying attention to the meaning of the whole text, not reading word by word. (Check this is not plagiarized. Can you give authors?) (1,910 words) How I will investigate my research question As discussed above, my research question will be How can I develop the reading aloud abilities of my grade nine pupils ? My Approach: For my approach and method, I read Blaxter, Hughes, Tight, (2000), Cohen, Manion, Morrison (2000), Nunan (1992). For my research approach, I will use an action research approach enabling me to investigate my own pupils over a period. Action research grows from the idea that a good teacher is one who reflects on what happens in the classroom à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" possibly with a view to changing it. (EDUC3079 session3). My Method For my research I will plan to use miscue analysis and interviews. The miscue analysis will provide quantitative data and the interviews will provide qualitative data. I will select a text from the course book which is not familiar to my pupils , I will let them each to read aloud this text , I will record them while reading , then I will use miscue analyses to help me analyse their mistakes. Finally I will interview each pupil, I will ask questions to to assess their comprehension of the text, to get them to tel me what strategies they used to work out the meanings of some words and to try to find out why they failed to read certain words correctly. The research Procedure My research will include an unknown reading text from the OWTE course book that the six pupils will read it in order to have effective and organized results for my research question. This text from the course book OWTE that I think will be not familiar for the pupils because I gave it to them for the first time (See the appendix). First I will use pre-reading questions to prepare each pupil for the reading. Pre-reading is a way of sampling where the students are familiar to the content that you are going to give them. It is a useful strategy for beginning with a class, especially when classes contain students with mixed abilities coming from a diversity of backgrounds. Then each pupil will read the text and I record it. Then I will note down all the miscues. Finally I will interview them to examine their understanding, to assess their comprehension of the text, to get them to tel me what strategies they used to work out the meanings of some words and to try to find out why they faile d to read certain words correctly. My Expectations: I expect some problems, and here I discuss how I will overcome them: Miscue analysis, I cannot assume that any two pupils will have the same miscues. In addition, anxiety may cause artificial results. To overcome these problems, I will choose six pupils from different levels. I will try to get them relaxed, so I will tell them about the reason for my research, and I will do the recording in a quiet place, so we are undisturbed. Pupils may feel boring from doing reading every time, so I must prepare a good situation for them to feel comfortable. The main problem I think it is the time. These kinds of studies should not used in a short period because the researcher need to try many ways to investigate his pupils and his study in order to collect a valid, reliable data. Conclusion: The EDUC 3079 helped me a lot on finding solutions for many problems that I will face in future in my life as a teacher to help my pupils to reach the successes in their life as students. I learned how to read a lot and how to use the linguistics theories to help my pupils and to learn and discover the problems. The use of miscue analysis is a very useful way to solve pupils weaknesses in reading because it is allows me to focus on the problem it self , and how to deal with each problem individually.

Performance Budgeting :: American Government, Budgeting Initiatives

This paper examines the benefit of performance based budgeting as a practical theory of efficiency for government programming. Confronted by fiscal limitation and demand for improved public services, government agencies are utilizing the budget as a means to elevate government accountability and efficiency, rather than simply as a means for distributing funds and controlling expenses. Performance based budgeting has been defined as a system wherein managers are provided with the flexibility to utilize agency resources as required, in return for their commitment to achieve certain performance results. (Brewer, 3) Performance budgeting is a system of planning, budgeting, and evaluation that emphasizes the relationship between money budgeted and results expected. (Government of Alberta, 1) Performance budgeting signifies an important divergence from habitual line item budgeting. A line item budget is mainly a tool for controlling expenditures it characteristically indicates the amount of spending permitted for particular purposes. As a fiscal year progresses, departmental spending must remain within the budgeted amounts unless formal budget amendments are approved. Under line item budgeting spending in one category cannot automatically be used to supplement another category. (Government of Alberta, 2) While traditional budgets can be useful in assisting managers with internal control, they are not typically as useful as a policy or decision making tool. Line-item budgets assure elected and administrative officials that money is being spent only for approved purposes, but they do not show what is being accomplished with the money. (Government of Alberta, 3) Additional drawbacks to line-item budgets involve the promotion of indolence, due to the minor modifications made to budget planning each year. Line-item budgeting can result in ineffective and costly actions because management is not allowed the flexibility to address changing situations. (Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, 7) Many government programs are often forced to use funding, or lose funding at the end of a program year; these restrictive processes have the potential to invite micromanagement and impede the fulfillment of program objectives. (Government of Alberta, 3) In comparison, performance budg eting has more of a policymaking orientation it links plans, measures, and budgets and it pushes administrators and policymakers to contemplate the big picture. (Brewer, 23) Performance budgeting provides useful information about the impact of budget decisions on people and gives departments increased budgetary flexibility. Additionally, performance budgeting allows for ongoing monitoring and strengthens legislative decision making and oversight.

Benefits and Losses upon moving to Canada Essay

There have always been changes upon moving to another place whether it’s within the country or outside of country to abroad. When a person, after many years adjusts in a place his/she’s mind is set and comfortable with everything around him/her. Therefore, if that person moves to another place he/she will face different advantages and disadvantages. For example, I use to live in Pakistan and moving to Canada at the age of 8. I found few advantages in Canada such as the education system, and rules and regulations for all. But, disadvantages were leaving the culture, and the society. About 10 years ago, when moved to Canada, Pakistan was and still is a very slow developing country that had a medium education system even in the high end society. The system in schools in Pakistan were not based on any kind of levels such as academic, applied, and ESL compared to what it is here in Canadian high schools. Pakistani schools’ inside environment just seemed like if you are not in school rather at some tutoring center that only had rooms but no other activities or clubs going on except the sports. But Canadian school’s inside environment makes you feel like if you are actually in school the way it is decorated, different activities are going on, and every student has a locker. In Pakistan, teachers are putting too much of the load of homework and basic work on students no matter what the age, and without caring about how it will effective the student. But, I have seen in Canada that there are rules for teachers to put a certain amount of load on students. However, nowadays Pakistan has developed a better schooling system in high end society just like the British system. As you hear on the news regarding the bribery, and many more frauds happening in Pakistan that includes the government officials but solves the issues by bribing people or using power. There is just so much of the corruption in Pakistan due to the bribery. If you commit a murder and bribe the police then, you can get away easily and the police might just blame it on some poor guy who cannot even for two times a day food. There is just not bribery problem but political religion practices and the laws made. A female cannot just wear a bikini on a public beach unless that female is rich and has power. Powerful and rich people had made their own laws and if someone interrupts then, that person is punished. Some rules and laws are for everyone but are not enforced. For example, if a person is just walking on the road to his work and if police stops you for doing nothing and gives you two option that are to give some money to them or they will put the person in jail in a false case. A poor person is getting way poorer and a rich person is getting way richer. As compared to Canada, a place where everyone can practice their religion. In Canada, a person gets justice no matter who it is, rich or poor. There are different sectors made by the government for the justice of Canadian residents, for example, if you have been mistreated or stopped to practice your freedom and right then there are sectors like Charter of Rights and Freedoms, where you can claim any injustice done to you. There is no bribery or very less bribery as one out of a hundred percent bribery in Canada, therefore, the laws are fair and equal to every individual. However, Pakistan is the best place to live when comes to culture and society as the majority of people that I am more comfortable talking with are in Pakistan. Leaving the loved once around you and all that you have grown up doing will never be forgotten. I used to wake up in the morning by hearing the â€Å"ADHAAN† the holy call for prayer form the mosque on almost a daily routine and then getting ready for school, watching all kind of different people coming to your house for chit-chatting, socially gathering on a daily basis without any appointment, and playing with friends on the roof and all other stuff you are grown up in and with will not b found anywhere else. People helping each other in every little to huge problems, for example, if police came to your house and took you for just an investigation or has put a false charges on you then, the whole society or at least the people that lives by your house will just go and help you in any circumstances no matter its day/night or matter of money. Whereas in Canada, many people don’t even know their neighbours, and if in case they do still no one comes forward to help their neighbours in any circumstances. But since I have moved to Canada, I am trying to be myself but at the same time adopt the society and culture I am living in. There are always good and bad things about moving to another place, for some its good due to certain problems and for others it’s not. In this case of mine I would consider this to be as a good change as I am living in a society with the best education and everything works in an order. Everyone feels homesickness but slowly adjusts to the place they are living in. Therefore, there are always advantages and disadvantages in carious things, for example, the education, rules and regulation in Canada is an advantage for me but, the society and culture I had to leave is a disadvantage. Now that I live in Canada, I consider it as my own country.

Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia

Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia Introduction Nationalism means the identities that people have, which they view as distinguishing them uniquely as belonging to a particular nation. Thus, it covers one of the forms of patriotism. Several theories can be employed to provide an explanation of the origin of nationalism. The main ones are modernism and primordialist views.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Modernism theory considers nationalism as a recent societal process, which demands societal structuring for it to develop. On the other hand, the primordialist â€Å"describes nationalism as a reflection of the ancient and perceived evolutionary behavior of humans to organize themselves into distinct groupings based on the affinity of birth† (Tamir 13). The paper uses the primordialist view. Based on the theory, nationalism may develop based on cultural artifacts de fining people living within a given nation and political-related experiences in a nation among other things. From this point of view, this paper discuses the rise and development of nationalism in East Asia based on historic political related experiences and cultural elements including religion and clothing. Japan and china are used as the main examples in this quest. Rise and Development of Nationalism in China and Japan Cultural elements may act as mechanisms that can help to instill the perception of nationalism among people living within a common geographical area. Theses artifacts may be depicted through clothing, language, and religion. With the onset of westernization, Chinese people encountered a dilemma whether to abandon their own clothing styles that defined their heritage and hence a sense of belonging as Chinese nationals or to adopt the rising western styles of dressing. This dilemma motivates Finnane to wonder what Chinese women deserve to wear for them to retain the symbol of nationalism (99). Given the history of China that is rich in customs, the question is significant since resistance to the degradation of nationalism depicted by dressing style was evident as from 1949 when Mao Zedong declined from wearing black leather shoes and a suit. According to Finnane, the head of state argued, â€Å"we Chinese have our own customs†¦why should we follow others† (99). This resistance was a replication of over half decade debates questioning the capacity of the western influences to impair the dressing codes of the Chinese people. Over that period, alterations of style were incredibly controversial. They attracted hefty public debates particularly when they involved the question of the women dress. The main interrogatives were whether the women dresses need to be long or short, tight or loose, or cover the arms for them to depict Chinese national women.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your fi rst paper with 15% OFF Learn More During the reign of Mao, the question on what Chinese people wore attracted superficial analysis. However, dressing styles and the type of clothes that were won by Chinese people acted as wonderful mechanisms of differentiating between China and the rest of the nations in the world. In this line of thought, Finnane reinforces, â€Å"For politically correct Chinese people, clothing at that time differentiated the socialist elect from the rest†¦for outsiders, it was the single most obvious feature about contemporary Chinese culture† (100). Clothes were depictive of Chinese culture and hence a symbol of Chinese people. Even though much of the concerns about the alteration of the dressing to have the capacity to erode the culture of the Chinese people concerned what women wore in the ninetieth century, the link between nationalism and the clothing was not only a problem of women: men were also equally worried. This argument i s strengthened by the Mao Zedong’s rejection to wear a suit associated with the western culture. Outside the Chinese context, clothing remains an important symbol of nationalism in other nations in the East Asia. For instance, in India, cladding in ‘sari’ represents a sovereign Indian woman because â€Å"the fertile ground for production of future generations both past and future-were embodied in her,† (Finnane 102). On the other hand, in Japan, a woman dressed in ‘kimono’ profiles an ideal sovereign Japanese woman. From these examples, it sounds essential to infer that the perception of nationalism among people cannot be segregated from the cladding codes acceptable as representing the true national of a given nation because cultural artifacts are depictive of cultural differences among people who are often confined within different national boundaries. Apart from the rise and development of nationalism from the context of dressing style, rel igion is yet another crucial cultural artifact that may help to build the perception of nationalism among different people living in different nations. For instance, in Japan, subscription to Shinto is perhaps an essential way of portraying ones strongly grounded spirit of nationalism. Shinto assumed its shape upon the arrival of Buddhism. This was vital in helping to differentiate the new religion to the indigenous religion in Japan that was the representation of the ‘Japanese’.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Development of Nationalism in East Asia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Okuyama strengthens this point by further asserting, â€Å"Some 100,000 shrines of jinja served by Shinto priests attest to its physical presence nationwide† (94). Shinto defines the religious practices of the indigenous native Japanese to mean ‘the ways of ‘kami’ as opposed to ‘the w ays of Buddha’. Therefore, since the introduction of Buddhism in the 16th century, Shinto practices became definitive of the true Japanese nationalism. However, it is also crucial to note that Japanese people consider traditional customs as defining nationalism in spite of â€Å"whether they are Shinto or not† (Okuyama 97). The question that emerges is- to what extent do Japanese people perceive Shinto as a true representation of nationalism? The response to the above question is perhaps well answered by considering the significance of Shinto shrines among all citizens of Japan including the nobles. In this regard, Okuyama reckons, â€Å"since he became the prime minister, Koizumi Jun’ichiro visited Yasukuni Shrine four times: 13 August 2001, 21 April 2002, 14 January 2003, and 1 January 2004† (106). Nevertheless, even though this may be anticipated to be acceptable within the understanding of the traditional customs of Japanese people, the visits attract ed opposition. Consequently, about seven lawsuits ensued as a result. Nevertheless, Koizumi remained confident that the visits were necessary for a number of reasons. In the first place, the shrines served to portray his nationalism since they formed the places where he renewed vows never to take part in wars. Secondly, â€Å"he visited Yasukuni shrines to express relevance and gratitude to all the war dead despite the fact that these include class A war criminal† (Okuyama 106). Arguably, from this cited reason of why Koizumi visited the shrine, it is questionable whether the shines are the best places to show ones patriotism. However, it is evident that Japanese people have a strong prescription to traditional religious beliefs as the main ways of portraying sincerity in ones commitments to the Japanese people and the nation as a whole. The analysis of Shintoism as one of the theories of development of nationalism in Japan cannot be accomplished without considering the philo sophers’ attempts to ensure the national beliefs were revived and purified.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The idea was to enhance the removal of all foreign ideas that were imported from various nations including China and India. The Shintoism restoration movement began in the 18th century with Motoori Noringa playing proactive roles. This campaign gave rise to the state Shinto with the emperor of Japan then claiming to be of Amaterasu decently. A certain representation that tends to link people together creates the spirit of nationalism. According to Wang, the identification may include â€Å"Chinas neo-neo-tribe and â€Å"Japanese shin shin jinrei† (547). To Wang, such a representation can be used to secure a market for a particular product because it has high likelihoods of securing an immense success when a product is marketed based on its capacity to create a sense of nationalism. For instance, Wang argues that the term bobo has the impact of bringing Chinese people together by creating messages of premium value (535). What this argument means is that the spirit of national ism can also be build by the products produced by nations. Therefore, consumption of such products helps to depict that one is truly a patriot of a given nation. Using the Wang’s analogy, the term bobo is related to being a Chinese and belonging to a bobo class. Subsequently, when a product is sold bearing the tag that it is principally made for the bobos, it means that buying this product will not only mean fitting into the bobo class. Besides, it will also depict one as a sovereign citizen of the nation where the bobos live! From a different dimension, nationalism may be built based on the experiences that people go through as a nation. Recollection of such experiences helps to remind one of the history encountered, which is definitive of why one is a nationalist of a given nation. This kind of nationalism is perhaps well exemplified by Japan through her Hiroshima trauma. Painful experiences are crucial reflections of what it takes to be a nationalist since they provide lin ks between different cultures (Caruth 3). Therefore, while Japan may be segregated based on different cultural affiliations, the Hiroshima experiences make Japanese people develop a sense of nationalism, which is critical in helping the nation to employ all strategies possible to ensure that such an experience would never reoccur. Therefore, the Hiroshima experience is one unifying experience that ensures all Japanese are united together amid their demographic differences (Wood 191). Arguably, this is crucial since nationalism is hard to thrive in an environment that is ruled by segregations. Conclusion Therefore, based on the expositions made in the paper, it is enough to declare nationalism a representation of people’s identities. The identities help in building the spirit of patriotism. Cultural elements show people’s identities and political experiences especially the ones that culminated into painful experiences. In this paper, nationalism has been explored throug h consideration of clothing as one of the ways of presentation of people’s cultural artifacts in the Chinese and Japanese contexts. The Hiroshima experience has also been considered as an example of painful experiences that has helped to shape the Japanese view of nationalism. Caruth, Cathy. Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History, Baltimore: Johnhopkins University press, 1996. Print. Finnane, Antonia. â€Å"What Should Chinese Women Wear?† Modern China 22.2(1996): 99-131. Print. Okuyama, Michiaki. Historicizing Modern Shinto: A New Tradition of Yasukuni Shrine.  Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2005. Print. Tamir, Yael. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Print. Wang, Jing. â€Å"Bourgeois Bohemians in China? Neo-Tribes and the Urban Imaginary.† The China Quarterly 183.3(2005): 532-548. Print. Wood, Nancy. Vectors of Memory: Legacies of Trauma in Postwar Europe. New Jersey, NJ: Berg Publishers, 1999. Print.

Whats a Good PSAT Score for a Junior

What's a Good PSAT Score for a Junior SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The PSAT is an important test on the road to college. Your scorespredict how you'll do on the SAT. Plus, top scorers can earn distinctions and scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). So how do you know whether your PSAT scores are good? While what counts as a good score variesdepending on your personal goals, we can give a more objective answer to this question by considering PSAT score percentiles.But first, let's review how the PSAT is scored. How Is the PSAT Scored? The PSATisscoredbetween320 and 1520. Math countsfor half thecomposite score with a range of 160-760. The Reading and Writing sections arescored together (and called Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, or EBRW) with that same range, 160-760. Test takers also geta more detailed score report of each section from 8 to 38. There's an easy trick for converting this section score (also called a test score) to a scaled score.For Math, simply multiply your section score by 20.For Reading and Writing, add your section scores together, and then multiply the sum by 10. When you take the PSAT and get your score report back, you'll seepercentilesalong with your scores. By looking at these percentiles, you can determine how competitive your PSAT scores are. In other words, we can answer the question, "What makes a good PSAT score for a junior?" by looking at percentiles. Percentiles compare your section and composite scores with those of other PSAT test takers. If your Math score falls in the 70th percentile, you've scored higher than 70% of test takers. (And the other 30% scored higher than you.)Basically, the higher your percentile is, the better your score will be compared to everyone else's scores. What's a Good PSAT Score for a Junior? We can define a"good" PSAT score as one that's higher than the 75th percentile.This means you scored higher than 75% of all otherPSAT test takers.For juniors, 75th percentile scores are around 570 to 590 in each section, or about 1150 in total. An "OK" PSAT score is one higher than the 50th percentile, which means you scored higher than half of other test takers. An excellent score is a score in the 90th percentile or higher (although a 90th percentile score still isn't high enough to qualify for National Merit, as we discuss more below). The following chart showsthe minimum section and composite scores you'd need to reach the 50th, 75th, 90th, and 99th percentiles on the PSAT. Percentile EBRW Score Math Score Composite Score 50th 510-520 490-500 1000-1010 75th 580-590 570 1150 90th 650-660 640 1280 99th 730 and up 750 and up 1460 and up Source: PSAT/NMSQT Understanding Scores 2018 Based on the info in the chart, a good PSAT score for a junior is a composite score higher than 1150, an OK score is one higher than a 1010, and an excellent score is anything higher than a 1280. What Do PSAT Score Percentiles Mean? To understand how we chose the scores to represent "good," "OK" and "excellent" PSAT scores, and to understand how you can interpret PSAT scores yourself,you'll need to know more about PSAT percentiles. As we mentioned above, percentilesshow where your scores fall in comparison with the scores of other students in your grade.Your PSAT score report will feature lots of score types and data. Among this data, you'll get not one, but two percentiles comparing your scores with those of other students. These percentiles are called the Nationally Representative Percentile and the User Percentile. We'll focus on User Percentiles, which compare all students in a grade who typically take the PSAT. Below is a chart showing 11th grade User Percentiles for the entire range of PSAT scores. This chart is sourced from theCollege Board's 2018 score report, and you can use it to see how your scaled section scores convert to User Percentiles. Score EBRW Percentile Math Percentile 760 99+ 99+ 750 99+ 99 740 99 98 730 99 97 720 98 96 710 97 96 700 96 95 690 95 94 680 94 93 670 93 93 660 91 92 650 89 91 640 88 90 630 86 89 620 84 87 610 81 85 600 79 83 590 76 81 580 73 78 570 70 75 560 67 72 550 63 69 540 60 65 530 56 62 520 53 58 510 49 55 500 46 52 490 43 48 480 39 44 470 36 40 460 33 36 450 31 33 440 28 29 430 25 26 420 22 23 410 20 19 400 17 16 390 15 13 380 12 10 370 10 9 360 8 7 350 6 5 340 5 4 330 3 3 320 2 2 310 2 2 300 1 1 290 1 1 280 1 1 270 1- 1 260 1- 1- 250 and below 1- 1- As you can see, section scores correspond somewhat differently to percentiles. To make it into the 99th percentile on EBRW, for instance, you'd need to score 730 or above, while to hit the 99th percentile on Math, you'd need a near-perfect 750. Why Are PSAT Scores Important to Juniors? There are two main ways that PSAT scores can be important to juniors who take the test. The PSAT’s most obvious purpose is to help high school students be better prepared for the SAT. The PSAT and SAT have many similarities, so by taking the PSAT early on in your junior year, you’ll get an estimate of how well you’d do on the SAT. You can use this information to figure out which areas you need to improve on the most, create a study plan, and set SAT score goals for yourself. However, the PSAT isn’t just a way to help you see how well you score on the SAT; PSAT scores themselves can actually be quite important for juniors. The second reason PSAT scores are important is that, if you score high enough, you could qualify for National Merit and the benefits the program offers. Keep reading to learn more. What's a Good PSAT Scorefor National Merit? For high school juniors who take the PSAT and score very well (in the top 1%), there is the possibility of becoming a National Merit Semifinalist, which can give you a serious leg up when applying to colleges and possibly even lead to scholarships. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses its own Selection Index to determine who qualifies as Commended Students and Semifinalists. Students who score in thetop 3-4% on the PSAT are named Commended Scholars, and students who score in the top 1% are named Semifinalists. How do you calculate your Selection Index? Justadd your three PSAT section scores together and multiply by 2. Let's say you got a 30 in Reading, a 28 in Writing and Language, and a 32 in Math. To get your NMSC Selection Index score, add your section scores together: 30 + 28 + 32. Then, multiply the sum by 2. In this case, your Selection Index score would be 180. As you can see in the chart below, a Selection Index score of 180 isn't quite high enough to qualify as a National Merit Semifinalist. Instead, you'll need a Selection Index of 212 or higher, depending onwhere you take the PSAT. To get a good idea of the score you'll need to become a Semifinalist, look at the chart to seethe most recent estimates forstate cutoffs for National Merit Semifinalists. These were used to select Semifinalists from the October 2017 administration of the PSAT. State Selection Index Cutoff Alabama 216 Alaska 215 Arizona 220 Arkansas 214 California 223 Colorado 221 Connecticut 222 Delaware 222 DC 223 Florida 219 Georgia 220 Hawaii 220 Idaho 214 Illinois 221 Indiana 219 Iowa 216 Kansas 218 Kentucky 218 Louisiana 217 Maine 217 Maryland 223 Massachusetts 223 Michigan 219 Minnesota 220 Mississippi 215 Missouri 217 Montana 214 Nebraska 216 Nevada 218 New Hampshire 219 New Jersey 223 New Mexico 215 New York 221 North Carolina 220 North Dakota 212 Ohio 219 Oklahoma 215 Oregon 221 Pennsylvania 220 Rhode Island 220 South Carolina 216 South Dakota 215 Tennessee 219 Texas 221 Utah 215 Vermont 216 Virginia 222 Washington 222 West Virginia 212 Wisconsin 216 Wyoming 212 Average Score 218 As you can see, minimum scores for National Merit vary depending on which state you take the PSAT in. Cutoffsregularly vary a fewpoints between years, so if you haven't taken the PSAT yet and are aiming for National Merit, you should set your target Selection Index about2 to 5 points higher than the predicted cutoff for your state. Bonus: Aiming for a National Merit Scholarship? If you're not sure you can self-study your way to a qualifying PSAT score, you'll love our PSAT prep program, PrepScholar. We designed our program to learn your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics and customize your prep to be as effective as possible for you. When you start with PrepScholar, you’ll take a diagnostic that will determine your weaknesses in over forty PSAT skills. 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. We also force you to focus on understanding your mistakes and learning from them. If you make the same mistake over and over again, we'll call you out on it. 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: For more information on National Merit and how you can maximize your chances of qualifying, check out our guide for everything you need to know about becoming a National Merit Semifinalist. How to Prepare for theSAT After Taking the PSAT You've got your PSAT scores, and now it's time for the next step: taking the SAT. How can you use your PSAT scores and the lessons you learned by taking that test to help you score higher on the SAT?Check out the following four steps in order to be prepared and confident when you take the SAT. Step 1: Set an SAT Score Goal Figuring out your SAT score goal is an important part of preparing for the test, and it can help motivate you by giving you a concrete goal to work toward. To figure out what SAT score you should be aiming for,check out our guide on what a good SAT score is. Basically, you should research the average SAT scores of admitted students for the schools you're interested in applying to. Many schools provide 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of admitted students. Aiming for the 75th percentile score gives you a good shot at getting in (provided the rest of your application is strong as well), so make a list of the 75th percentile scores of all the schools you're interested in. Then, find the highest score on the list. This is your goal score. If you can meet this score, your SAT scores will likely be high enough for every school you're applying to. Your PSAT scoresgive you an estimate of how well you’d currently score on the SAT and where you need to improve.(Note that PSAT scores only goes up to 1520, while the SAT goes up to 1600, since the PSAT is a less challenging exam than the SAT.)So, if you got a 1350 on the PSAT, you could expect to get around that same score if you took the SAT.This means you can use your PSAT scores to determine how much studying you need to do in order to meet your SAT score goal.However, remember that your PSAT scores don'taccount for improvements you may make while studying for the SAT, which can be significantif you have a smart study plan. Step 2: Identify and Learn From Your Mistakes When you get your PSAT scores back, you'll be able to see how well you scored on each section of the test. Look over this information carefully to see if you can spot any patterns. For example, did you score well on the Math section but struggled on Reading and Writing? Then you should spend more of your SAT study time focusing on Reading and Writing. Learn from your PSAT mistakes so that you can score higher on the SAT. Additionally, every time you take a practice SAT (see step 4), you shouldidentify each of the problems you answered incorrectly. Then, you should take the time to thoroughly understand the answer explanations and walk yourself back through the problems from step one. You can improve your scores a great deal by breaking mistake patterns and recognizing the way the SAT asks similar questions over and over again. Step 3: Create a Study Plan To keep track of when you should be taking practice tests as well as doing other review, you should create a study plan.Mark when you’ll study each week as well as goals you want to achieve every week or month (such as reviewing a particular exam topic or raising your score by a certain number of points). If you start your study plan early, you can space out your prep to consist of just a few hours each week in order to meet your score goal. Then, you can ramp up your studying in the weeks before you take the SAT. Step 4: Take Official, Full-Length Practice Tests Taking timed practice testsis one of the best ways to significantly improve your SAT scores. The College Board has releasedseveral free practice SATs, which are the highest-qualitypractice tests you can take. When you take these practice tests, be sure to take them timed and in one sitting so that you get the most accurate score results and become used to the SAT's length. Also, remember to review the questions you got wrong, the same way you did with your PSAT results, in order to learn from your mistakes. What's Next? Now that you know what makes a good PSAT score, what about on the SAT? Read about good, excellent, and bad SAT scores here. The PSAT is very similar in content and format to the SAT. Check out our complete guide to the SAT.Once you've familiarized yourself withthe test, head over to this guide to learn how to study for the SAT. Once you've gotten your PSAT scores, what do you do next? This article goes over in detail thesteps to take once you've gotten your PSAT scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Agreeing and disagreeing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Agreeing and disagreeing - Essay Example Michael Pollan and Mary Maxfield are among the many trying to educate the population on eating habits and diets. They seem to have completely different opinions on food as displayed in their articles, escape from western diet and resisting the moralization of eating. However, applying both their theories is a good option for anyone seeking to adopt better eating habits. I completely agree that people need to adopt eating habits that benefit their bodies. Healthy diets emphasize on low fat, low calories, whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Foods containing high levels of added sugars and salt, and cholesterol cause the body more harm than good. However, over indulgence on whole grain, vegetables and fruits may have negative effects. They also contain fats, sugars and cholesterol. Hence they might cause obesity or over weigh. Therefore, the intake of healthy food should also be controlled. This is by serving controlled portion sizes on plates. Adopting a healthy eating plan is necessary. However, it should be a gradual change as oppose to an abrupt change. Abrupt change leads to failure because any mistake triggers a slide into the old eating habits. A good eating plan involves eating all meals of the day in moderation. Eating foods that impact negatively on one’s health is unwise. Given a choice of right or wrong, every person is able to make their choice with adequate reasons. Mary Maxfield states,’ Trust you. Trust your body. Meet your needs (Gerald and Birkenstein, 11).’ It is quite easy to agree with her. Ultimately, each person makes a decision on their preferred food. If a person chooses the wrong food, they realize. However, if they prefer to eat it no one can stop them. Michel Pollan states three rules,’ Eat. Eat less. Eat mostly plants (Pollan â€Å"In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto† 137).’ The 3 rules are reasonable. It is inevitable to eat, hence he encourages eating. He then moves on to caution people on

Karl Marx & Political Life Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Karl Marx & Political Life - Term Paper Example It was these that guided these revolutionaries in their struggles to change the status quo and introduce a new system in society. At the core of Marxist ideas is the tool of analysis that is to be used in understanding the essential features of society. The Marxist social analysis is actually the most essential principle behind the socialist ideology. Without social analysis, it is apparently impossible to discover the factors that could lead to the progress of society from one historical stage to another. Without it, the leadership of such movements for change would not be able to identify the motive forces as well as those that would seek to maintain the status quo. As a social scientist, Marx was among the first to articulate that to understand society, it is necessary to focus on the material basis of its existence, the economy. He actually began his investigations of society by first understanding the dynamics of capitalist economy, particularly its mode of production. It was th rough his observations in the relationship among the people involved in production that he was able to formulate a theory about social classes and the political structure arising from it. Therefore, Marx does not consider politics as independent from economic life. Instead, he considers it to be a reflection of the relations in production. At the same time, however, he also explains that the nature of the economy can also be altered by changes in politics. Even as Marx formulated a social theory that eventually led to the organization and mobilization of the working class for social change, he was not a worker himself. A lawyer by training and education, he belonged to the middle class. Therefore, it was impossible for him develop the political standpoint and ideological viewpoint of the proletariat. However, he was drawn to socialist ideas and was also a Hegelian; both of which were contributing factors to his determination in learning about the potential elements that could lead t o radical social transformation. As a socialist, Marx appreciated the benefits of a society where there are no distinctions based on wealth and participation on labor. As a Hegelian, he was also very interested in discovering dialectics in society; the contradictions that could lead to change. Aside from being a socialist and a Hegelian, Marx also upheld the principal aspects of political economy as articulated by Adam Smith and David Ricardo, especially in the concept that the wealth of society originates from the combination of nature and human labor. All these were vital to the development of Marx’s systematic theory. Inspired by his socialist principles and Hegelian-influenced methods of analysis, Marx went on to investigate the mode of production. As a result of his investigation he concluded that â€Å"the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men† and that labor produces not only commodities; it also produces itself and the worker as a commodity – and does so in the proportion in which it produces commodities generally.† (Marx 43) As the working class reproduces itself, individuals who are not involved in labor but are related to production emerge. These are the capitalists or the bourgeoisie; the class whose existence is based on the appropriation of a certain percentage of the wealth created by