William Shakespeare s Othello As A Tragic Hero - 1322 Words

A hero usually a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities (Dictionary.com). In life, heroes will arise whenever they are needed. It may be a tall man that wears a cape and has super powers. As a matter of fact it may be the everyday heroes that are seen giving a homeless man a coffee or helping an old lady cross the street. It may be the heroes that are see in movies and graphic novels, rescuing the princess from her tower or leading their country in war. However the rarest hero is the tragic one. William Shakespeare has perfectly crafted some of the most distinguished tragic heroes of all time one would of have to be Othello. Shakespeare wrote Othello on 1603. Nineteen years passed before Othello was first put into print in 1622 by Thomas Walkley. Othello is a tragic hero because of his noble stature, his tragic flaws, and his unfortunate downfall. Othello is a military general who is respected by the government and most of the people in his Italian community and had remarkable morals. Othello is very wealthy and is of high status. Not to mention Othello is confident of his merit, his claim to respect and worth. Othello, being a soldier all his life and is seen as a very honorable man. His title alone, governor-general, represents nobility, confidence, and strength. Even Othello s sworn enemy, the man who vows revenge against him for having relations with his own wife, Iago, thinks he is noble. The Moor, howbeit that IShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Othello As A Tragic Hero1323 Words   |  6 PagesIn literature tragic heroes can be defined as a character that makes a flawed judgment that inevitably leads to their own demise. William Shakespeare’s Othello the Moore of Venice is a play about a heroic individual that goes through a tragic event based on his decisions throughout the play. Many of the characters that Shakespeare presents in his plays reveal attitudes and value that is reflective of both the Elizabethan society in sixteenth century England and William Shakespeare; these values areRead MoreEssay on The Tragic Hero in William Shakespeare ´s Othello617 Words   |  3 PagesTragic heroes tend to have very pre-determined paths; usually making the most virtuous of characters destined to suffer. The hamartia or ‘tragic flaw’ is the typical reason the hero falls. Shakespeare was noted to be one of the best writers of tragedies, one of his m ost prominent to be Othello. In Othello, we find a number of tragic flaws two including pride and ambition. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, pride and ambition are used to identify the outcomes for the main characters in the playRead MoreOthello As A Tragic Hero872 Words   |  4 PagesVenice, Othello is transformed into a crazy, senseless man. William Shakespeare uses the idea of a tragic hero in almost all of his dramas. A tragic hero can be described as a person of high status who is neither completely good nor completely evil, possesses a tragic flaw, and leaves this flaw to be the reason for his/her downfall. Othello believes he can trust one of his soldiers, Iago, who is determined to seek revenge on Othello for not promoting him to be a lieutenant. Othellorsquo;s temperRead MoreThe Concept Of Iago By William Shakespeare1163 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Concept of Iago† William Shakespeare’s plays all have a common theme: death. There is almost always death, and the play of â€Å"Othello† is no different since it ends in a â€Å"tragedy.† It begins with a man named Iago who speaks to Roderigo of how he should have received the position of lieutenant that was instead given to Cassio, a inexperienced man in his words, by Othello, the General. Iago shows distaste towards Othello, the play then goes through the story of Iago attempting to receive the positionRead MoreOthello is Not a Tragic Hero Essay1481 Words   |  6 PagesOthello has been described as one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays because the play focuses on its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is â€Å"Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?† Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeedRead MoreEssay about Othello as Victim of Hamartia2057 Words   |  9 PagesOthello as Victim of Hamartia   Ã‚  Ã‚   By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselvesRead MoreThe Tragic Tragedy Of William Shakespeare s Othello1523 Words   |  7 Pages Aristotle’s definition fits perfectly with William Shakespeare epic play, Othello. The famous Shakespeare play is about the downfall of a Moorish general who expresses jealousy and murder. Othello was an amazing general for the Venice army, but his downfall cost him everything he loved so dearly. He killed his own wife because he believes Iago’s lies about her cheating on him. His beliefs in Iago cost him everything that is precious to him. Othello can be seen as a great tragedy, and the playRead MoreThe True Nature Of Shakespeares Characters In Othello1546 Words   |  7 PagesThe True Nature of William Shakespeare’s Characters in â€Å"Othello† Ever since it’s creation over four centuries ago, William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy â€Å"Othello†, has reigned as one of the greatest play’s of all time. Being widely studied and analyzed, there should be no question as to why this piece has remained so relevant, even within the twisting and turbulent times of the 20th century and beyond. With copious amounts of today’s youth becoming caught and obsessed with the virtual life of socialRead MoreDoes Othello Meet The Standards Of A Tragic Hero?2171 Words   |  9 PagesWorld Literature I 5 May 2015 Does Othello Meet the Standards of a Tragic Hero? William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest play writers who ever lived. Students throughout the United States continue to read his sonnets and plays today. His style of writing and his use of metaphors are what truly make him a great writer. Shakespeare wrote many comedies such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew. Shakespeare also wrote many tragedies such as MacbethRead MoreEssay on Othellos Flaw in Shakespeares The Tragedy of Othello810 Words   |  4 PagesOthellos Flaw in Shakespeares The Tragedy of Othello In Shakespeare?s play Othello, Othello himself is the tragic hero. He is an individual of high stature who is destroyed by his surroundings, his own actions, and his fate. His destruction is essentially precipitated by his own actions, as well as by the actions of the characters surrounding him. The tragedy of Othello is not a fault of a single person, but is rather the consequence of a wide range of feelings, judgments, misjudgments, and

Copyright and Other Issues Regarding Digital Media and the Internet Free Essays

In the old days when you wanted to buy your favorite artist’s new album you would head to your local record store to buy it. The artists and record label would each get a cut of the profits. But today more music fans are opting for 99 cent downloads or streaming free music on-line. We will write a custom essay sample on Copyright and Other Issues Regarding Digital Media and the Internet or any similar topic only for you Order Now Obtaining a new track or album is just a click away with iTunes, subscription services like Spotify, free Internet streaming sites like Pandora, or even YouTube where you can watch music videos. For most of us, at least for myself, downloading music is a favorite activity when on the Internet. Downloading music and other media files from the Internet may make it conveniently available. But does it have a negative effect on the music industry? Does it affect the earnings of the artists? What are the pros and cons of downloading music? There are a lot of questions revolving around the music industry and the advances of digital media technology. I will explore these questions and attempt to answer the big question of whether downloading, both legal and illegal, is a real threat to the overall music industry? The pros and cons of downloading music can be explored based differing criteria, with the most controversial being whether the downloaded music is legally acquired. Since Napster, the first peer-to-peer file sharing network, made its debut in 1999 and subscription and pay-per-download technology like iTunes exploded, debate has grown concerning the logistical, ethical and financial repercussions of downloading music. The main argument that record labels make about the advancement of digital media technology is that downloading music gives rise to copyright and piracy issues. When one uses the copied versions of these files, they are indirectly encouraging piracy. When downloading such media files, it does not go for the purchase of the original copies of music, which results in a violation of copyright law. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded between 2004 and 2009 (Adkins). Even with sites like iTunes offering legal downloads, peer-to-peer file sharing still runs rampant. Thus, illegally downloading music is believed to have a significant impact on the music industry resulting in a loss of profits and jobs, and changing how music is delivered to the masses. The RIAA reports that music sales in the United States have dropped 47 percent since Napster first debuted in 1999. The availability of free music has cost the music industry $12. 5 billion in economic losses (Adkins). To make up for some of these losses, the music industry has filed lawsuits against individuals who have been found to have illegally downloaded music. In some cases, individuals have been sued for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. The problem is, when one illegally downloads music, they aren’t just hurting music executives, who are often stereotyped as greedy businessmen exploiting the creativity of the musicians; they are also hurting the musicians. The huge popularity of illegal downloads is changing the music industry, reducing the incentive for musicians and labels to develop and finance new projects. Singers and bands are the public face of the music industry, but creating, recording and promoting a song takes a large team of people. As record companies have seen their profits decrease, they have had to cut positions they are no longer able to afford. This includes artists as well as engineers, songwriters, producers, and technicians. The RIAA reveals that more than 71,000 jobs have been lost as a result of illegally downloading music (MacMillan). The bottom line is that every piece of music downloaded without payment steals money that should be going to the musicians who created the music. Lastly, it is often left out that by downloading media files, it loses its originality. Though downloading makes it easily available to the masses, it also makes it spread far and wide. Something that is very easily available is considered to be of a lesser value therefore devaluing their art. On the other side, digital media is convenient for users, as they can obtain music and movies, save it to their computers and potentially transfer it to CDs or iPods without ever leaving their homes. It can also be done from anywhere with an Internet connection, and at any time, in contrast to music purchased at a traditional store. You can obtain potentially hard to find tracks without needing access to a well-stocked store. Access to older music can allow the producer and artist to continue to make money for paid downloads years after the release of that album. New advances in technology and digital media allow users to select specific tracks that they want, instead of requiring them to purchase an entire album. This encourages users to download more because they feel they are getting a better deal. It allows artists to gauge the audience’s response to individual songs; this feedback may be used to guide future ongwriting (Borland). Digital media downloads represent a cost saving over traditional hard copies because customers are not paying for packaging, store costs and additional charges. It can also represent a cost saving to the artist, as they may be able to market directly to the target audience instead of through a promotions agent. Lastly, and most importantly, without downloading, streaming, or file sharing the person may have never heard the music for which they are listening to. The biggest problem a band has is getting its music heard. For years, the music industry was confined to four multinational corporations that dominated the revenue stream of 70% of the music coming in, and four or five radio conglomerates that controlled what music was going out. Now all that has been broken up into millions and millions of little subcultures and niches that are serving small, really dedicated communities (Warila). Listeners may not necessarily pay for that one song or the one album, but if they’re intrigued enough, they’re going to start following an artist or band. They show up at a show, buy the merchandise, or buy the next hard copy of the MP3 they just downloaded. Once an audience is there, there are all sorts of moneymaking opportunities. What seems like a long time ago, live music once felt threatened by records. And then later, recorded music felt threatened by recordable cassette tapes. Now record labels feel threatened by downloading, streaming and file sharing of music. Every time these technological advances came along, the people invested in the music business at the time took it as a threat to their business revenues. While record sales have decreased dramatically compared to what they once were, every technological advancement throughout the music industry’s history has actually exponentially increased the desire for music. The same is true today as more people are listening to more music than in any other time in history (Adkins). And now it comes back to whether the downloading of digital media files, legally and illegally, are real threats to the overall music industry? The introduction of Napster and illegal downloading has helped usher in a new era of digitally accessible music defined by online distribution and has therefore impacted the way the music industry must market and promote its artists. After thoroughly researching and analyzing the effects caused by digital media and the Internet, I believe it is time for the music industry to make their own advancements just as technology will continue to do so. It is futile to try and get rid of what has become of digital media and the Internet. Record labels are wasting very valuable resources and time by spending large sums of money to find and pursue people in a court of law, who are illegally downloading media, the majority of which will never be able to pay off their charges. While I hold the upmost support towards respecting the integrity of one’s work, artists and record labels need to view the illegal downloading and file sharing of their media in a grander scheme of the industry. Not one specific artist or company is being singled out to lose money through illegal downloads. It is a technological advancement that has reshaped the music industry landscape and affects them as a whole. Rather than clinging to an outdated system, record labels and major media companies need to put their resources and focus into exploring all the new possibilities created by these technological advancements. By adapting to this new music industry landscape, these media labels and companies can generate new revenue streams to make up for their perceived and actual losses. To expose its artists to a wider audience and recoup revenue, the music industry has already had to develop and implement new tactics, such as digital licensing music to sites like YouTube and Pandora (Warila). The music industry will need to continue to create such ideas if it wants to grow. In regards to artists, rather than relying on media conglomerates for distribution, now they will increasingly go into business for themselves and in control of their own products. This will allow for artists to maximize their profits in a very competitive market. The concept of allowing music to be streamed and downloaded for free will only further their own growth and expand their audience base. I recommend that instead of combating the realities of the modern era, congress should instead recognize that markets are increasingly changing. Technology and media will continue to grow regardless, weave around the obstacles, and find a way to succeed just as it did for digital media regarding file sharing and illegal downloads. I believe that it is time that everyone moves forward and changes with it. How to cite Copyright and Other Issues Regarding Digital Media and the Internet, Papers

Haha ) Essay Example For Students

Haha :) Essay What is the one emotion that has everyone mystified? What is the one emotion that has started as many wars as it has ended? What emotion has had more plays, songs, and stories written about it than anything else? Love, that one emotion that makes enemies into friends and friends into enemies. So many legends surround this emotion, from the goddess Athena and Helen of Troy to Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Love comes in so many different levels, that it doesnt appear to be the same emotion at all, but it is. There is so much to love, that it will be hard to put into this simple essay. It can tear people apart and make us do irrational things to bringing together entire nations. What can this emotion not do? Its hard to tell, but there is a lot it can. We will write a custom essay on Haha 🙂 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This emotion, bring tears to our eyes when something happens to our family members, friends, and pets. When we feel love ripped from us, as in death or being spurned by another, we do things we wouldnt normally do, such as go on violent rampages, or mourn to the extent that our loved ones have to watch us constantly to make sure we dont try anything like suicide. Some can move on, always remembering the lost loved one after a while, but others can not let go. These are the ones that need our love and support the most. There are so many levels to love, that I can only express a few of them here. These are the ones we see most in life. Friendship starts this list off. Yes, it doesnt seem like it, but we do feel love towards our friends, this is what helps us get along so well, and why we miss them when we dont see our friends for a long time. Its also why we hold certain friends over others no matter what happens. Sometimes, the bond between friends deepens to the point where a stronger bond of love is made, making them family. Another level of love, are for our siblings and other family members. Even though we do things to our family members, and sometimes we dont like some of our family, that bond is still there. Its this family bond level of love that brought about the phrase, blood is thicker than water. We will do things for our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and children before we would even consider doing them for anyone else. Many wars have been started because of this family level, brother avenging brother or father, father protecting his wife and children, or even vice versa. This simple family bond can even extend to include our pets, amazingly enough, and that is a good thing. A third level to love, is the bond that brings man and woman together. This level is among the strongest of them all. It is this level of love that has brought together kingdoms into nations in the past, and ended many great wars. Its is also for the love of a woman that has started a few of our well-known wars, like the Trojan Wars of ancient times. Its brought together families that have argued for years and years, such as in the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet. Even though the two mentioned killed themselves in the end, it still brought their families together. The last mentionable level of love is that bond between a mother and her children. There is no stronger

Self Analysis paper Essay Example

Self Analysis paper Essay An interview is a brief interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee through which the interviewer gets the opportunity to evaluate the interviewee on skills that are difficult and often impossible to assess through a written examination. However, the interview itself poses a challenge to both the interviewer and the interviewee because it is in within a very short period that one has to prove oneself and the other has to come to a decision based on the performance. Mistakenly, one often thinks that it is just the interviewee’s knowledge of the questions asked that decides the result. Unlike a written test, where knowledge is the main success factor, in an interview there are various other factors that come to play. The interviewer is taking in the candidate’s body language, communication skills, presence of mind, clarity of thought etc and the first impression of the interviewee also makes a lot of difference. As an interviewer my strong point will be to 1) Ability to ask the right questions and 2) Be very observant. The first point I mentioned is very important. Since time is limited it plays a very important role in an interview. The questions should be such that they span across a candidate’s knowledge of the subject, analytical skills, and presentation skills. The questions should also be able to gauge the honesty, integrity, confidence and aspirations of the interviewee. It is important that too much time is not spent on a particular question or answer. We will write a custom essay sample on Self Analysis paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Self Analysis paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Self Analysis paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Secondly, it is very important to be observant. Just listening to what the candidate is saying is not enough. One has to pay attention to every detail. The person’s body language speaks volumes about the person. For this, it helps a lot if the interviewer is aware of the basic aspects of body language. The dress the person is wearing, the loudness of his or her speech, the speed at which he speaks also can tell a lot to the interviewer that just the content of the answers cannot. Similarly two weak points of an interviewer are 1) Lack of flexibility and 2) Inability to Listen. Sometimes it so happens that the interviewer is so rigid about the questions he wants to ask and the answers he expects that he is unable to customize the interview to fit the needs of the candidates. In such cases often, the interviewer may be unable to see a good candidate for what he is. So it is important to be very flexible in the interview. The second hindrance is the interviewer’s inability to listen to what the candidate is hearing. The interviewer often knows or decided from before what he wants the candidate to say. When the candidate speaks about something else, which may also be pertinent to the question, the interviewer may just not be able to listen with an open mind. It is very important for the interviewer to see each candidate uniquely and not be biased from before due to his own expectations. Personal preferences or bias often spoils the quality of an interview, so it is of utmost importance to be unbiased and impartial in an interview. Also, it is important to keep in mind what is the requirement that the candidate is applying for. For example, I may have a personal preference for soft spoken people, but a loud and clear voice can actually be a positive quality for the job opening. I should not let my personal preferences drive my evaluation in such a case. As an interviewee, I thing my strong point is my level of confidence. By nature I am a person who does not get nervous in any situation. Even when I am not aware of the answer to a question, I am able to keep a calm and collected mind and not panic. My presence of mind and ability to keep my mind in the present moment is one of my best assets as an interviewee. The other strong point that I possess as an interviewee is my candid and honest nature. I never bluff and always say just what I am confident of and what I have really worked on, and this is always appreciated by my interviewers in any interview. My frankness never puts me in a difficult situation and I am always able to substantiate what I say, As an area of improvement, I would like to say it is my lack of patience. Sometimes an interview is a long drawn process, with various stages and unending waits between each stage. I tend to lost patience and become irritable. I feel patience is one of the biggest strengths that one can have, I would definitely love to work on improving my patience. The other weakness that I have as an interviewee that I often speak more than what is necessary. This not only opens up room for a lot of extra questions but also, often it is not appreciated in an interview. Listening should be increased and talking reduced. Four positive things that I did as an interviewer are as follows. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did my homework properly. I always look through the CVs and pen profiles of the candidates I am going to interview. That helps me have an awareness of the background and the skills of the candidate from before so I can have an ides o what to test the candidate for. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Make the interviewee feel comfortable and relaxed. I believe my core strength as an interviewer is to be able to help a candidate come out of his nervousness and inhibitions, so that he can perform to his maximum potential. A smile, a friendly attitude helps me achieve that. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Observe the candidate astutely. I happen to have very good observation skills and I use them to the maximum in an interview. I take in the candidate’s full personality in the short period of an interview. The gestures, the body language, the dress, neatness, speech, diction all speak volumes to me regarding the appropriateness of the candidate for the position. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluate in an unbiased manner. I am able to leave my personal biases aside and do an objective assessment of the candidate and come to an unbiased inference. Four negative things that I did as an interviewer are as follows. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Form a quick opinion. Time limitation sometimes makes me jump to an opinion which I feel is unfair since I feel I have not been able to give adequate chance to the candidate to prove himself. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Not listen attentively. Sometimes a candidate has to speak a lot and I have to do passive listening. I find my mind wandering off at such times and I have to make an attempt to bring it back to pay attention to what the candidate is saying. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ineffective time management. Sometimes there are a number of interviews to be completed and I find myself unable to do effective time management. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have a gender bias. There are some job openings that are physically demanding and strenuous. I find myself with a preference for male candidates for such positions. However, I am aware that women are equally or even more capable of performing at such positions so I believe my bias is a drawback. Four positive things that I did as an interviewee are as follows. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eloquent expression I feel I am able to express what I know in a precise and articulate manner. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frank and honest answers I always answer from my past experience and knowledge and say only what is true. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well versed on the topic. I go prepared for an interview, to the best of my capability. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Appropriate and smart dressing. I believe dress makes a lot of difference. So I dress in light colours, in a subtle manner, but smartly and neatly with attention to details and accessories. Four negative things that I did as an interviewee are as follows. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did not arrive on time. I get delayed at times. I think I need to improve on it as punctuality is very important and can cost one one’s job. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Be too honest, not tactful enough. I feel I am not tactful enough. While honestly is good I should earn to mix it with tact. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deviate from the topic. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sometimes, I have deviated from the question in front, as I have got carried away while peaking on a topic. 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a hurry to impress. When I know I am aware of the answer to the question I get into a hurry to impress. This affects the quality of the answer and affects my performance. References http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0402/careers/108.html, Sarah Burnett

Cell Phone History essays

Cell Phone History essays In the early 1920s the Detroit Police Department was the first government agency to use mobile radiotelephones in their patrol cars. At this time only one-way service was available, the pertinent information could be sent to the police vehicle but no response to the call was possible. Some five years later two-way service was introduced by a police department in New Jersey. This capability was then also made available for those private citizens that could afford it. The basic concept of cellular phones began in 1947, when researchers looked at crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones extensively. Unfortunately at the time, the technology did not exist. In 1947, AT It was not until 1968 when the FCC reconsidered its position, stating if the technology to build a better mobile service works, we will increase the frequencies allocation, freeing the airwaves for more mobile phones. Both ATcell a few miles in radius and collectively covering a larger area. Each tower would use only a few of the total frequencies allocated to the system. The idea was that as the phones traveled across the area, cal...

How Executives Should Answer One Scary Interview Question Who Wrote Your Resume

How Executives Should Answer One Scary Interview Question Who Wrote Your Resume Should executives write their own resumes? As an executive resume writer, I run into a certain number of people who believe every job candidate, regardless of industry, should write his or her own resume. While I agree very strongly that students should write their own academic papers and college application essays, I think very differently about whether executives should write their own resumes. Think about it. Executives are not being judged on their ability to format a beautiful document and craft powerful bullets about themselves. They have not spent years studying and practicing the art of resume writing. What is an executive’s job? All C-Level executives need forward-thinking strategy skills and the ability to manage and motivate teams. A CTO needs to know technology. A CFO needs to know finance. A CMO needs to know marketing. A CEO needs to implement high-level strategy; ensure that teams are functioning optimally; make key decisions that serve the best interest of both the company and its customers; keep operations running smoothly; and liaise between the board of directors and corporate operations. Nowhere in this list is being a great writer, graphic designer, or resume bullet crafter. So why should an executive ever write his or her own resume? I can’t think of a reason. In fact, the most talented and accomplished executive could be undersold and undercut by a self-constructed resume. And isn’t an executive’s job to delegate responsibility to others rather than get caught in the weeds? Successful executives are universally interested in leveraging their time. They do not have 10 hours to spend wrestling over how to present their accomplishments in writing. They would rather pay someone to do what that person does well, in service of a great result. The interview question Given all this, what should you do if you are an executive and in an interview, you are asked who wrote your resume? One hiring manager, whom I will call Mike, used that â€Å"trick† question to vet candidates. He writes, â€Å"I found out a lot by the reaction to that question. The best response I ever heard was an unruffled ‘I contracted with someone good in that business. Look, [Mike], you are interviewing me for the Chief Technical Officer position. I care about the quality of the end result. I dont write software as well as some of the folks in the Engineering group. I dont write resumes as well as the service. Quality of outcome and cost count.’† Mike continues, â€Å"Ive seen some candidates get flustered and talk in circles. I even had one candidate claim he wrote it, only to interrupt me ten minutes later to contradict himself.† I was struck in this story by the attributes this successful candidate’s answer showed: integrity, honesty, decisiveness, the ability to stay clear under pressure, a results focus, and a commitment to finding the best people to do any job. Those are qualities I would want in an executive. Executive responsibilities as a job candidate Even when someone else writes your executive resume, you go through the process of getting very clear about the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and the results you achieved. That is each executive’s work to do, with the support of a resume writer if desired. My advice is to put your best foot forward, and to leverage your resources optimally to do that. What do you think about executives writing their own resumes? Do you have any other favorite, revealing interview questions you want to share? Please comment below!

The Life of Mozart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Life of Mozart - Essay Example Born in 1756, Mozart seemed to have inherited the interest for music from his father, Leopold Mozart who was a choir master and the court musician for the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg (Herbermann, 1913, p.623). Mozart demonstrated his skills in piano before he was above five years of age. He was honored with the Order of the Golden Spur when he was only thirteen years old. Mozart had an estranged relationship with his father though he had gained his initial inspirations from him itself. This had worsened after the death of his mother, when Mozart decided to walk out on his father and become a self made person. He married in Constanze and he also consumed alcohol heavily. It is said the he died of rheumatic fever (Jenkins, 2005, p.113). Music and conflicts Mozart was born in the time when the Christian society was torn between the Catholics and the Protestants. His parents had to travel extensively from London to Austria. Mozart was also a prodigy in languages as he had learnt fiftee n languages over his life time. â€Å"In 1769, the 13-year-old Wolfgang had composed the first 65 pieces in the Kochel catalogue. The Kochel catalogue is the definitive system for identifying Mozart’s works; each piece is designated by either â€Å"K†, for Kochel or â€Å"KV†, for Kochel-Verzeichnis (German for Kochel Catalogue) and followed by a number between 1 and 626† (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, n.d, p.2). Mozart met Johann Christian Bach during 1764-1765 who made a big impression in his career and music (Flothuis, 2001, p.2). Bach’s music had greatly influenced Mozart to compose his creations in the form of symphonies and piano concertos. He had also absorbed some of J.C. Bach’s creations in his own music. Mozart was a very troubled person from within. He was not accepted by the society initially and his financial condition was also very poor. He was also neglected by the emperor Leopold II who thought his music to be a laughable kind of music. The previous emperor, Joseph II, had shown admiration for Mozart in spite of his scarcity in monetary support and his infamous comment. However, Mozart was completely ignored by Leopold II who had not included the composer in the musicians who were invited to the coronation of the emperor in Frankfurt in the year 1790 (Greene, 2007, p.410). Compositions During his life time of 35 years Mozart had composed 600 works that included 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano concerti, 5 violin concerti, 25 string quartets, and 19 masses (Foley & Bangert, 2000, p.210). His compositions had formed the basis for many music composers like Beethoven. In the later years, Mozart had incorporated the musical styles from other countries into his creations. Mozart had perfected the symphony for operas. Mozart was well known for his symphonies such as Symphony No. 40 in G minor. His compositions â€Å"have become synonymous with the Classical "age of elegance," and are perhaps best exemplified by the well-known Serenade in G major, which the composer called Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A little night music)† (The Classical Period, 2008). Conclusion Mozart was considered to be one of the pioneers composers of all times. His music depicted a bold expression that was sometimes complex and dissonant, and often required greater technical knowledge from the musicians who

Evaluating the Efficient Market Hypothesis by Using the Forex Example Essay

Evaluating the Efficient Market Hypothesis by Using the Forex Example - Essay Example Also, Fama assumed that capital circulation has lower transaction cost. As such, every investor shares the same quality of information, under a perfectly efficient market, and so investors are unable to generate excessive returns. If the securities market was perfectly efficient then fundamental analyses and technical analyses would not be useful at all. Fundamentalists, who are centered on the ‘intrinsic value’, assert that the main failure of EMH is being too focused on long-term equilibrium while at the same time not paying any attention to the companies’ activities that generate those performances. Also, the important relationships between the financial market and businesses, or the success or failure of an investment, are really based on the factors that influence the good or bad performance of any business. For example, omitting central bank policy intervention may lead to the wrong understanding of a market being instability, thus resulting in a huge loss (Shostak 1997). Technicians who are against the hypothesis of the efficient market assert that the price moves in predictable (non-stationary) trend, which allows investors to make abnormal profits from the different psychologies and trading styles. The Wall Street Journal editor Charles Dow deemed the technical analysis to be a new approach to studying the moving trends affected by the attitudes of participants towards different economic, monetary, political and psychological factors. Since the technical approach deems the price to be an outward manifestation of mass psychology, the analysis will tend to predict the future price based on the large of the number of participants’ moods between panic, panic or confidence, greed, and optimism (Pring 1991; Neely and Weller 2011). Therefore, technicians disagree with the Efficient Market Hypothesis that all investors are rational.

Sport Utility Vehicle and Porsche Essay Example for Free

Sport Utility Vehicle and Porsche Essay 1. Do you think Porsche had to go through the product market of cars and SUV? Did she have other options at the time described in the Case? Based on an analysis of advantages and disadvantages What would you recommend the same point in time? We will use Porters forces model to consider the attractiveness of the product market entry of vehicles Luxury SUVs. Existing competitors most of the market share the SUV, the Porsche is in particular the United States. In 1998, there is fierce competition in the SUV in the U. S.. Beyond that, the more delicate segmentation of the product to market SUV Luxury cars, there is competition between the density of competitors. Total power of existing competitors is very high. Suppliers suppliers can be divided into two types of Porsche. The first type that supplies workers (Labor) and the other is external and parts manufacturing companies. The first type of power supplies working up to the geographic location of the factory workers organizations that exist there. The second type of supplier power is weak enough that you can switch between suppliers easily. Vision to take the case where vendors positioned themselves near the vehicle companies factories (p. 7 paragraph 1). Total staff strength depending on space, and comes as part of the consideration in choosing a plant. Total external production companies and power low power medium. Customers customers love the brand Porsche identify it with quality and prestige. Also known from surveys that customers expect of a Porsche SUV car. Target customers are willing to pay in advance to get a brand identified with quality and prestige, while Porsche will provide a quality car, not much bargaining power customers. Total power of customers low. Substitute products product substitution is a threat to SUV, is an increase trend of cost-effective small car consumes less fuel. It comes in a green trend, coupled with expectations of a rise in fuel prices could be a consideration to move from car-efficient SUV. However, we do not believe that the clientele of the Luxury SUV affected by intentional, that he had no financial problems, and aim luxury car is a statement. Total power of substitute products low. Potential competitors the entry barriers to product market luxury SUV vehicles very difficult. First need to know, instrumentation engineering, experience, a high equity to a new company enter the field. Secondly, it is hard to believe that customers will buy luxury cars from a company with no experience and reputation, so the chances of a new company to enter the luxury car market is very low. So the main risk is the potential competitors are companies from later visits to that product market. Likely that companies that are market vehicles, but not the luxury cars market, is likely to rally, but the transition from a mass production company branded luxury brand, is not trivial. However, even here we must have a reputation for quality and prestige, build brand and therefore not suitable for large company for mass production of cars can enter the field. The companies are a threat because weve listed competitors already exist. Total power of potential competitors is estimated very low. After examining the Porter by market forces, more than can be wisely decide on the attractiveness of the product market is cars Luxury SUVs. Weighting the forces, we can see that there is such a risk at the entrance to the market, but entering the market the SUV, which is considered the most attractive industry, can lead to tremendous growth in profits and the ability to Porsche. The company can use this market as leverage business growth, which could also contribute to establishing its position also on Porsches core business luxury sports cars. In our opinion, as long as the Porsche will provide a luxurious SUV with car performance without compromising quality, product market is attractive. Other alternatives that were to Porsche that point in time were available to the market the Sedans, the market entry Minivans or remain in the current situation. The first two alternatives are denied pretty quickly at the same time, the reasons that SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) is more appropriate product to Porsche than a luxurious family car or small truck of the type with the height and dimensions not sports. These cars less fit your companys image, so the better option faces the SUV. The third option of staying in the current situation constitutes a threat to herself, aiming to grow where there is no company, and a growing competitive market and not really backed away. Moreover, the product market Luxury SUVs, is pretty attractive based on analysis of Porters forces. In light of the above states that the most attractive alternatives in our opinion are the product market Luxury SUVs, or focus on core business of Porsche, which is expected to rise in the competition (another reference to the section on threats SWOT). SWOT analysis will make a recommendation to give a couple of alternatives to choose. Opportunities: * Segment the SUV most profitable industry on the 1990s. * Demand for SUVs, especially the U. S. , increasing with the years. In particular, is known to Porsche from surveys that customers are waiting for the companys SUV model. * Porsche segment sees the SUV as an opportunity to balance the risks of exchange rate of the deutsche mark (and future rate), relative to the U. S. dollar. Threats: * Damage to reputation and image of the Porsche, as a manufacturer of luxury sports cars and high-quality. * Some officials question the attractiveness of the segment the SUV, when there are forecasts for the small cars more economical fuel. * Sensitive to currency changes in the American market. * Product market in the crowded SUV. Estimated product market 2 million units. When in the category of the SUV has only one SUV estimated over 100,000 DM. * There are at increased assessments on Porsches core business. Audi intends to produce a car with similar qualities to Boxster, but the lower price (about 15%). * The competition in the market Luxury SUVs, which is controlled by the dominant Asian players Toyota, Honda, Nissan Omitesobishi Luxury SUVs models have provided the United States, Cadillac plans to spend its own model in 1999. * SUV performance and agility are not linked, that characterize the Porsche. * U. S. high tax forcing companies to buy more U. S. products (primarily related to production). Strengths: * To Porsche has a number of key strengths in manufacturing cars: Chassis, Performance, Design. * Wendelin Wieddking Director of estimated industry in Germany. Made a revolution at Porsche, and led her declining success. (See Appendices, making New Leadership). * Following transformation Porsches financial situation stable in 1998. * Porsche brand is very strong and linked prestige. Weaknesses: * Porsche is a small company in the industry, and investment for the entry segment high SUV (a sum of about $ 550 million). The failure model the SUV can lead to the collapse of the Porsche. * If and Porsche enter segment the SUV, then a Luxury segment, a product that targets a very limited market. After making SWOT analysis, our recommendation is to enter the market product of Luxury SUVs, aiming to market demand and have product in question. The Porsche is a strong and reputable company that can succeed in our opinion, also new, and think Porsche SUV can make a car luxurious quality you can get to market. In such a situation is a high profit potential, opportunity and growth strengthening the company. 2. Because of the success of the Boxster, the main production plant of Porsche at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen headquarters located near the administration was working close to exceeding its capacity. Where do you think has put a new factory to build a model the SUV? How important is production workers in Germany (Made in Germany) for the new model? First well talk about the pros and cons of new model production in Germany than any other countrys production. Then talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each state, and finally be the best bet where to place the new plant. If so, the benefits of the production model SUV in Germany are: * Maintaining the reputation of the Porsche, and a product Made in Germany. * Supervision of the finished product. Disadvantages of manufacturing in Germany: * Uncertainty regarding how the dollar rate moves probably expected a weak euro. * Higher costs in Germany. * Restrictions stemming from the model in Germany social market economy that encourages social unity, but increases production costs. * Higher minimum wage. * Unions are strong. * Number of hours per year in Germany and lower than any other developed country. Foreign manufacturing advantages: * Can be said generally that the lower labor cost than the other possible states (we shall refer more in detail below). * Some countries are located geographically or by the market with high demand (eg production in the U. S. or Mexico) or from a central location in the area easily can be exported (eg Czech Republic). * Foreign production was not hit so far in society between 60 to 80 cars a year produced 911 model 1995 in Mexico. In addition to the Boxster in Finland also successfully produced. Disadvantages of foreign production; * Limited control over the finished product the company is more difficult to control the finished product is also sending engineers and production of foreign plants. * The product is Made in Germany it is mainly branding. To many people the fact that production is carried out in Germany attests to the quality and standards (listed next most prominent). Branding of the Made in Germany, giving the client a statement, and reduces the risk for unsuccessful product selection. * Culture and mental work in different countries around the world there are cultural differences, mentality about work. Several countries in the world is hard to meticulous standards of the German culture is known worldwide. In our opinion, when considering the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing model of the SUV, especially in light of the work that is known that only 70% of Porsche cars produced in Germany today, it seems that the lucrative outsourcing company. However, the need to examine in depth each country, to an unequivocal decision where to place the plant. Model production alternatives the SUV in other regions are: Finland, East Germany, South East Europe and North America. We will examine the advantages and disadvantages of each of the alternatives. Finnish company Valmet Benefits (p. 8 paragraph 3); * Rapid manufacturing (Fastest ramp-up) this is due to two main reasons. The first is the Finnish plant among the best on the market failed to meet the fast rhythms on the production and issue of production systems. The second reason is the introduction of the company Porsche factory, good infrastructure based in part on the production model of the Boxster. * Risk of new model production plant Finland is the lowest among all available options to produce other model plants. * Proven production capability good reputation in the market. Weaknesses: * The Finnish company Valmet dependency it is not just a single provider who can do muscle with Porsche, but also that the companys image and success depend on performance of Valmet, which outside the control of the company. East Germany Strengths: * Stamp of Made in Germany remains. * Cheaper labor force west of Germany in 1991 average wages in East Germany was 46. 7% of average wage in West Germany (p. 9 paragraph 4). * City of Leipzig access to two large ants, a new international airport, a long history of industrial production and institutions of higher education. Weaknesses: * Wages are still relatively high compared to other countries. * An experienced workforce is trained in export-oriented market. With respect to West Germany, East workforce is less skilled. In 1991, average productivity in East Germany is 31% of output in the West (p. 9 paragraph 4). * East Germanys infrastructure in poor condition. * The economic situation of East Germany was difficult, and to cope with inflation and the bank had set a high interest rate. All these difficulties had led to Germany to compete in export products. Slovakia: Strengths: * Cheap labor. * Cooperation with Volkswagen VW company will invest about 657 million cooperation. * One of the leading countries in the production of cars in Central and Eastern Europe. * Good location just an hour from Vienna. * Transport in the car industry. Weaknesses: * Identification of the company Porsche with Volkswagen Company, which is a form of mass production of cars and SUV vehicles selling at lower prices than the Porsche. Czech Republic: Strengths: * Relatively speaking labor cheap, trained and educated. Labor costs on average they are roughly about 10% of costs in western Germany. In 1998 the automobile industry in the Czech Republic there are approximately 4 dollars an hour (page 11 paragraph 2). * Tradition of manufacturing in the country. * Investment from foreign countries. * Bridgehead markets in East Central Europe. * A good basis for export the location of the Czech Republic allows export to European countries including Russia. * Relative to neighboring countries has a developed infrastructure, and density of cars and vendors. * Long hours 40 hour work week. Weaknesses: * Low product quality damage the reputation of Porsche excellence, and on behalf of the company created the best in its field. * In 1997, undermined political and economic situation; * GDP fell to 1. 2%. * Corona Czech has lost 21% of its value against the U. S. dollar. * Apart from investments (FDI) declined from $ 2. 5 million by 1995 to 1. 3 billion by 1997. * British rating company lowered the credit rating of the Czech Republic. * Many international companies had transferred their investments from the Czech Republic to other countries a trend that could itself cause a crisis or worse. North America USA. Strengths: * Location United States the main market segment of the car the SUV is the United States. U. S. factory location eliminates the U. S. export costs (taxes, etc. ), and lower transport costs meanings. In addition, the U. S. is a superpower economically and existing transportation routes to export from the United States to other countries. * U. S. demand for parts made German cars the vehicles most of the market the SUV is the U. S.. Demand for U. S. made parts creates restrictions on the company Porsche, which can be avoided if the company will open its U. S. manufacturing plant (p. 12 paragraph 1). * German companies are strong working relationships in the U. S. market April 1998, more Americans were working under the German companies or companies with partial ownership of German companies than any other country in the world. * Trend of other companies to open factories in the U. S. Monitoring the general trend of other companies in the industry can be profitable to keep up. Power production of many U. S. companies can create a density of carriers in the region, which can lower costs. Weaknesses: * American consumers prefer European cars (page 11 paragraph 6). * Previous German attempts to create a U. S.cars are inconclusive although there were several cases of success such as the BMW in the U. S. , but the relatively high number of failures. This fact testifies to the difficulties in establishing a factory in the U. S. and that the plant may flop in the U. S.. Relative to other countries where higher chance of success This is a significant disadvantage. What is the importance of production workers in Germany? In our opinion, the primary importance of production workers in Germany is the quality. People are willing to buy the Porsche brand, though more expensive priced brand aimed at competing with the quality and performance linked. If product quality is not reduced due to over production in another country, so we think there will be no harm for the new model. In addition, the new model is a segment of the SUVs, which advance the industry in another category, that is not in the same segment of sports cars. Sports cars are more expensive quality category What SUV, which is another factor that lowers the importance of production of the SUV in Germany. All of these factors we recommend Finland as new destination for the establishment of the Porsche factory. Finland guaranteed quality and quick production of a European country vehicles. In addition to existing working relationships between the Porsche to Valmet, easy decision making. We believe the final product quality level as good finish production in West Germany, but European stamp will remain on the product, and that no unnecessary risks that could affect the company reputation model make it difficult for manufacturing production workers initially controversial. Summarize the history of a director Porsche planning to increase production; This increase [could] only come in Finland. 3. Is the product of the transition to market cars the Porsche SUV stays true to the brand that built? What does the Porsche brand loyalty in 1998? First of all we describe the Porsche brand and its customers. Brand Porsche as we have noted previously identified with quality, prestige, performance and design. These characteristics allow the product despite its high production costs take a high premium and still make a profit. This fact is that customers who buy Porsche does not see the car just a mobile transport them from point to point. A customer buys a Porsche statement on the actual operation Lifestyle and money. Porsche cars for 1998 are to sports cars, which combine the rich clients garage along with other cars. Terrible entrance to the market the SUV, hes turning its customers high-middle class (as opposed to high), can create damage to the companys image. Customers who bought a Porsche sports cars so far, may fear that they will be identified now with a lower-class population, since part of buying Porsche is a statement you are a high economic status. In this situation, the company can go bald on both sides aiming high class customers will be another competitor to the company not be identified with a lower class, upper middle class customers will move to competitors, aiming they offer a similar product prices and lower prices. However, we think that customers are aware of the separation between the two. After all, this is the end all cars are different categories automotive industry. We think Porsche can stay true to the brand sports cars built for the market without the SUV hit it. To do this, it must continue the production of sports cars in those factories so far. In addition to press them to state and / or a strong point of sale market sports cars that make them unique techniques in those factories as it was before, and these actions should prevent the passage of the high economic status it was aimed at competing product as before. Implementation of the above will make differentiation between the sports cars to SUVs, so stay brand loyalty Porsche sports car market. Market the Porsche SUVs for the middle class to prove that although it was higher was last inferior category of Porsche sports cars, luxury vehicles are still a non-unique design and performance models of the world competing companies. Creating differentiation is consistent with creating a model the non-SUV factories in Germany. In our opinion, as long as good product quality will be maintained and a unique design characterized to develop loyalty to the Porsche model the SUV. It directed that a different customer segment than the segments customers of Porsche sports cars, and directs that the other vehicle category. So we believe that Porsche has remained loyal to the brand built, and that means brand loyalty Porsche in 1998, entering the market before the SUVs, primarily evident in the strength of the brand associated with luxury, quality, design, performance and lifestyle.

A Case Study of Operational Strategies Adopted By Jyoti Remedies Essay

The global Pharmaceutical sector is worth US$300 billion and this is expected to rise to US$400 billion within three years. With 10 largest drugs companies controlling over one-third of the market, several have sales of more than US$10 billion a year and profit margins of about 30%. Of the top 10 six are based in the United States and four in Europe. It is predicted that North and South America, Europe and Japan will continue to account for a full 85% of the global pharmaceuticals market well into the 21st century. (wikipedia, 2014) In 2006, the US contributed 52 per cent of the pharmaceutical sector's growth, while the seven emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey referred to as â€Å"pharmerging† contributed 16 per cent combined. This year the pharmerging economies are expected to account for 51 per cent of the industry's growth, while the US has declined to -19 per cent. The Pharmerging Countries:- In reviewing each of the world’s emerging economies, the upcoming major players are generally classified as pharmerging countries and further they are divided in to three tier. (money control, 2014) Tier 1: China. With a GDP of more than $8 trillion, China is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical market. Most of the growth in China come from branded generic products manufactured and marketed by established domestic companies, although demand for innovative products from multinational companies is rising in the country’s leading urban centres. Tier 2: Brazil, Russia and India. These countries are each expected to add $5-15 billion in annual pharmaceutical sales by 2014. Brazil and Russia both have achieved consistent double-digit pharmaceutical sales growth in recent years, while ... ...ogi, R. (2011). The indian pharma sutical industry: the emperical study. the emperical study, 40-48. Schuh and compay. (2013). Operational excellence in pharmaceutical indusry. 3-13. Jyoti Remedies. (2014, march 10). jyoti remedies. Retrieved from Jyothi remedies: http://www.jyotiremedies.com/html/index.html money control. (2014, March). Money Control. Retrieved from http://www.moneycontrol.com/stocks/top-companies-in-wor;d/net-sales-bse/pharmaceuticals.html reserch and markets. (2014, march 10). Retrieved from reserchandmarkets: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2043060/industry_insight_crams_contract_research wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry_in_India

17th Century Venetian Opera

Lauren Rader Music History I November 19, 2010 17th Century Opera in Venice Between 1637 and 1678, in nine different theaters, Venetian audiences saw more than 150 operas. The creation of public opera houses sparked the interest of the people of the time because of social and philosophical changes that were happening in the Republican state of Venice. Opera was not only interesting to the elite. It had now made its way to a public audience. The primary audience was the crowd of Venetians and tourists that came for the carnival season in Venice.Opera succeeded as a public art form for many reasons: because of its exquisite musicality, it was highly successful and it became a way to produce revenue. Ellen Rosand says that three conditions existed for opera to be a permanent establishment in the Venetian culture: there was regular demand during the carnival season, dependable financial backing, and a broad predictable audience. An important group involved with the financial backing and librettos written for the opera houses were the Accademia degli Incogniti, translating to â€Å"The Academy of Unknowns†. This was a secret society of noblemen, founded by Giovanni Francesco Loredano.One reason opera was such a success during this time was due to this libertine group. Even though their ideas were bold and they said heretical things, without their financial backing, their librettos may have never made it to the opera houses if they hadn’t been in Venice at that time. Also, women were expected to exhibit certain social and moral standards during this time, and this was often the theme of many librettos written by the Accademia degli Incogniti from 1637-1678. The librettos were themed around virtues where a protagonist exemplified an act of goodness in her role.Another important factor about Venetian opera was that before the San Cassiano opera house, operas had been written for private courts of the wealthy aristocrats only. Public opera houses marked a new form of social event, entertainment, and source of revenue for musicians, writers/poets, and wealthy benefactors. Venice was a republican state and the government was considerably more open to new ideas and conventions than the rest of Italy, cities like Florence and Rome. Venice was a state with its own special position in the world and history that integrated freedom and stability. The great myth of Venice was that it was an undefeated state.The people claimed that the city was founded on the day of Annunciation on March 25, 421. Since that time no one had defeated Venice, and by the 17th Century it had lasted longer than ancient Rome. Scholars believe that this was because of its republican constitution allowing the noblemen to share the power and divide it among themselves. The wealthy were about 5% of the population, but the common people were pleased with this way of government and lived happily without too much complaint. [1] Venice’s government was more relaxed an d open, and that had much to do with what was allowed and not allowed in the public opera houses of the time.Another fact that is important to note is that the ruling patricians (noblemen) were involved in commerce and the arts—eventually opera. According to Edward Muir, â€Å"At the end of the sixteenth century, the camerata theorists under Medici patronage invented the form of musical drama now called â€Å"opera† for performance in the courtly environment of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany† (Muir 331). The opening of the Teatro San Cassiano marked the first public opera house for a paying audience. There was a divided relationship between patrician youth and the elderly patrician office holders.While the youth were licentious, the older generation had an impulse for social control. [2] The old law passed by the Council of Ten prohibited theatrical performances that were for carnivals and weddings, especially banning comedies. The Accademia degli Incogniti probably retrieved some of their ideas from the Compagnie della Calza, a club of young nobles â€Å"known for their hedonism and pushing the limits of their elders† (Muir 334), created at the end of the 16th century. The Compangie protected their identity through a code of silence. They used surnames, much like the Accademia degli Incogniti would do a century and a half later.Nonetheless, secret organizations were a way to avoid public persecution and harassment, while still speaking out on controversial issues. A young playwright, Ruzante, played characters that made fun of and criticized the upper class. To this end, Ruzante wrote a play where one critic complained that he exceeded the boundaries of taste: â€Å"completely lascivious, with very dirty words, and God was blasphemed by all of them, and [the audience] shrieked at them†(Muir 334). This relationship between cutting edge and tradition continued to be a prevalent issue into the time of Venetian opera in the 1600s.A distinguishing feature of new theaters was â€Å"the inclusion of several floors of boxes that provided elevated, separated, and private spaces from with paying customers, apparently patricians and distinguished foreigners could watch performances† (Muir 335). From his book, â€Å"The Short, Lascivious Lives of Two Venetian Theaters†. Eugene Johnson, talks about box seats creating a feeling of premier social space that was private but at the same time public. Yet, Venetians soon started to use these box seats as modern day motel rooms; â€Å"the box itself became a stage for imagination and metaphor for the libertine style†(Muir 335).The box seats were called plachi. The Jesuits complained almost immediately that these â€Å"wicked acts†¦creating scandal† in the plachi were immoral and provided another reason to promote their anti-theater cause. There is no real evidence of these scandalous acts taking place, but accounts say that boxes read on the f loor â€Å"per le donne†. During these obscene comedies, obscene acts were taking place at the same time on the other side of the thin wooden box seats; for Venetian theater was full of scandal.In 1606, Antonio Persis wrote in defense of the papal cause, criticizing the Venetians for their â€Å"addiction to avarice and luxuria† (Rosand 412). He said that the theaters were luxaria, and because of his account, the Jesuits destroyed the theaters in Venice. On the other hand, the Jesuits were then banned from Venice in late 1606 by the Interdict crisis, which opened up the opportunity again for seasonal comic theater. Even before opera, Venetians held a long standing tradition for carnivals, comedies, courtesans, and scandal. However, the politics in Venice â€Å"remained simply conservative and committed to republicanism† (Muir 337).Although, opera was comic and touched on social context of men and women, â€Å"[it] had the capacity to engage current political af fairs and debates† (Romano 402). In Purciello’s thesis from Princeton University, he talks about opera standing in contrast with the religious and economic ambiguity â€Å"amidst the spectacle and festivities of the carnival season. Venice was a port center where â€Å"people from the four corners of the world convened. This mix of cultures produced a rather exotic atmosphere: a combination of Christian and pagan religious histories.All sorts of audiences, rich and poor, swarmed to public opera houses to experience spectacle, music, and drama. Venice was a city where commercial business was thriving, which resulted in mass productions of entertainment (Purciello 11). Opera houses repeated operas a season by altering the music of libretti, characters wearing new costumes, and reinforcing popular plot lines. Musicians and talent were not usually local Venetian musicians. They were traveling tour groups, who performed all over Italy and Europe. Yet, the musicians knew th e unique character Venice required for its music, and how it differed in performance practice.Venetian opera was centered on spectacle: The use of stage machinery caused an increase in the number and elaborateness of scene change; but this is because there were whole stories told in the sets and the machinery, much of which is lost to the scholar today, who has little ability to reconstruct the stage scenery, and must rely on the libretti and the score† (Thornburn 183). Set design was crucial to the success of an opera. Part of the carnival atmosphere was seeing something extravagant and out of the ordinary. Venetian opera was the epitome of the kind of luxurious and complex entertainment.Theaters prided themselves and showed of how much money they had by buying costly machinery. One way to move the scenes, backdrops, and other stage devices was to cut holes in the floor and slide the set along the grooves for smooth scene transitions. Before this invention, the operas would u se dances to distract the audience from a scene change (Thornburn). The man who invented this idea was stage director, Giacomo Torelli: â€Å"he cut grooves all the way through the stage from the floor, and wings were mounted on little carriages that ran along the tracks located in the sub-stage area.Wings, back scenes, and borders were then operated by means of a winch system with counter weights. Thus, with the turning of a central drum beneath the stage, the entire scene changed almost instantaneously† (Thornburn 175). There was a large contrast from the way scenes were changed before Torelli’s invention. In the Cambridge Guide to Theatre it says that the scene changes were like â€Å"cinema dissolves† and unnecessary shifts between scenes were made for the delight of seeing it happen.Besides the stage machinery’s functional use, â€Å"in the same way the contemporary action films may have thin plots because the visual technology is so powerful, so th ese works must have overwhelmed to beauty of line in either the music or the poetry† (Thornburn 176). Starting in 1637 opera houses began to open as large scale venues. The four major theaters open in Venice were the San Cassiano, San Moise, San Salvatore, and Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Most of these opera houses seated anywhere from four to five hundred spectators.The Teatro Novissimo was â€Å"the shortest-lived and most influential theatre in the early years of Venetian commercial opera, opened for the carnival season of 1641† (Thorburn). The Novissimo presented operas from 1641 to 1645. There has been some debate as to when the theater actually stopped presenting operas. Cristoforo Ivanovich claims that there were operas going on until 1646, up until the day the theater was completely demolished. â€Å"In spite of its brief life†¦ the theater was atypical of opera theaters in Venice because it was intended for an audience that was entirely Venetian†(Thornbu rn 136).In a dissertation by Hugh Thornburn, he says that audience members who regularly attended the Novissimo were academic and aware of their intelligence, and they prided themselves in participating in the opera culture. However, they were not able to pay for their interest, hence the reason for the Teatro Novissimo closing. The Jesuit-driven ban on public theater was removed in 1607, so theatrical activity was increasing by the 1620s. By the 1630s the movement for more opera houses as a form of public entertainment was in full swing. The Venetian carnival season was the most important time of the year in Venice.Opera served as carnival entertainment, â€Å"a form of ribald and often satirical comedy performed during the annual season of festive license† (Muir 333). Spectacle was one attraction the opera house brought to the carnival season. However, there were social issues, involving mixed views on gender and how women fit into the role of opera libretti during the seve nteenth century. Once opera theater became accepted as a part the Venetian carnival season, Gianfrancesco Loredano founded the Accademia degli Incogniti in 1630. This association was made up of men who had liberal ideas, who were either rich aristocrats or scholars.The Accademia â€Å"on May 30, 1640 agreed to the concept of a communally owned theater created to express the aesthetics of the Accademia† (Thorburn 134). The Accademia was founded on the principles of a professor who taught at the University of Padua, Cesare Cremonini. Cremonini’s influence spread to his students who were in the Accademia degli Incogniti very powerfully. He taught in a way that adhered to Aristotle’s work and he paid little attention to â€Å"Christian theological precepts†, like the creation of the world and the immorality of the soul.He did not admit that he was a non-believer, but his â€Å"somewhat blasphemous views were well known to his Venetian admirers. The members o f the Incogniti expressed themselves through novella, poems, letters, and plays. Paolo Fabbri lays claim that the Incognito legacy used â€Å"eroticism and trasvestism in the operas†. The Incogniti used opera libretti and their writings as propaganda. The opera audiences were large, so the propaganda could reach many people who came to the carnival season. The Incogniti had a duel identity.First of all they were patriotic, since they were noble men and leaders of the Republic. In contrast, they also â€Å"emphasized a kind of libertismo, a moral freedom that was particularly skeptical of religious authority† (Heller 69). The members of this group had a very keen interest in defining the social structures that supported the stability of Venice; â€Å"a critical aspect of this social structure depended on the†¦position of women†: their suppression through marriage, while at the same time the â€Å"tolerance of a vibrant sex and pleasure industry†. 3] I ncogniti writings focused on women and their sexuality. They hypothesized â€Å"the female problem† which said that the fundamental problem of love and female morality was that it did not exist unless men were there to silence women and instruct them as how to love them. Cremonini taught that â€Å"friendship was something that could be shared by men of similar social and economic class; with women, the focus was on sexual relationships, and only rarely did male writers concern themselves with friendships between women† (Heller 75). The Incogniti wrote libretti that reflected these claims about women.For example, in Loredano’s play La forza d’amore it was clear that the general attitude towards women was negative and skeptical, much like the way the Incogniti viewed the Catholic Church. The Incogniti wrote about their admiration and physical desire for women, but also criticized the power women had to capture the hearts and souls of men. Conversely, there were women who spoke up against the Accademia. One of these women was Sister Arcangela Tarabotti. She wrote seven manuscripts defending female virtue and chastity, and exchanged letters with Loredano and other members of the Incogniti.She â€Å"exposed many complaints about the Venetian patriarchy and the social system whereby young women were forced to bury themselves in nunneries†(Heller 93). Consequently women were portrayed as venomous, unfaithful, and temptresses who couldn’t be trusted in the operas written by the Accademia degli Incogniti. During this time of Baroque opera, visual and aural spectacle were expected, and â€Å"emphasis on suspense and exaggeration was an ideal vehicle for the conveyance of cultural messages†(Heller 69). There was a demand for fresh works because the opera was the primary entertainment during the carnival season in Venice.Some common themes for these operas were: two pairs of lovers separated then united at the end; scenes of sleep, laments, nurses and pages who were comic roles; and a clear distinction between recitative and arias (Rosand 415). The genre of Venetian opera was successful because aristocrats in the Republican government were involved in the arts and put forth the money to run opera houses.

Advantages of cctv

Crime prevention has been somewhat a battle that most authorities face as they try to come up with new measures to deter crime and anti-social behaviour among citizens. One of the ways to prevent these problems is by using Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in places where there are crime risks such as shopping malls and banks. The CCTV can be defined as the use of video cameras to transmit signals or images to a specific place or set of monitors, which allows close monitoring and surveillance.Nowadays, CCTVs are widely used to prevent crimes and some are installed in public areas. I agree that it plays an important role in preventing crime and antl-soclal behaviour. Since crime and anti-soclal behaviours such as theft, rape, and other inconsiderate acts can cause damage to our society, measures such as Installing CCTVs in certain areas can be used to deter such acts. The act of breaking the law or antl-soclal behaviour such a vandalism of government property are done because the crimi nals believe that there is no one or no authorized personnel watching their wrongdoings.They believe that they can escape from the law because there is no evidence or witness to the crime. By installing CCTVs in areas where the crime rate is high, for example, parking lots or car parks, crimes Ilke car theft can be reduced. In a survey done by Northeastern University, it was analysed that the surveillance cameras have helped in crime reduction, with a decline of 51% crime rates In parking lots. Recently, more people are installing CCTVs in their private residence to stop break-ins. Criminals become discouraged when they see these devices.This is because the cameras may record he criminal's actions and their faces. The cameras' presence in the area can curb the criminals from committing the crime for fear of being recorded on tape. Besides that, the technology of surveillance cameras have improved throughout the years, providing high quality and high definition videos and images that can capture the details of people's physical appearance with the exact time and place. This may well instil hesitation and fear in the hearts of law-offenders, thus dampening their urge to commit crimes.The CCTVs do not only discourage the acts of crime, but It serves as roviding critical evidence for certain crimes. For example, CCTVs were substantially useful in the murder of James Bulger in England In the year of 1993. As James' mother was momentarily distracted in the shopping mall where they were shopping, the surveillance cameras In the shopping mall recorded scenes of how 2-year-old James was abducted by two 10-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. They brought him out from the shopping mall and to several places before finally murdering him near a cemetery.The video footage documented by the CCTVs of the hopping mall were attained and displayed in national television by the media. A woman who knew Venables and that he had played truant with Thompson that day, saw the video and recognized him. She immediately contacted the police and the two been recognized, and they may have caused other murders or anti-social behaviours which pose a definite threat to people, in this case, small children. The CCTVs have helped to create hard evidence that is unchallenged.CCTVs have been a very modern measure in reducing crime rates, but some people argue that it actually displaces crime, rather than deterring it. Easily-available mini CCTVs have been known to be used for criminal activity. It can be install at automatic teller machines (ATM) to steal people's personal identification number without them knowing it. Apart from the fact that it may violate people's privacy, the CCTVs' videos are easily hacked and obtained. Some may use these videos illegally for their own use, usually for artistic purposes.In addition, some people think that the CCTVs cannot prevent crime, because crime prevention can only be done through education or correction of behaviour. They think that the surveillance cameras do nothing to inhibit crime, as in some occasions, crime still occur even though the cameras are present. For instance, a bank can still be robbed even with CCTVs operating for 24 hours. During robbery, the robbers can very well conceal their faces from the recording cameras simply by wearing a mask or cloth to avoid recognition. Their acts may be recorded, but their faces have been hidden.As a result, the videos obtained might prove non-useful. That is why some people believe that the CCTVs actually have no role in preventing crime. In conclusion, crime prevention using CCTVs is not the only way to combat crime and anti-social behaviour, but it is one of the practical ways that should be implemented. There are some countries that install CCTVs in public areas for the purpose of deterring crime and anti-social behaviour such as United Kingdom. A survey by University of Cambridge stated that the installations of the cameras have reduced crime and anti-social activity rates in public locations with a drop of 7%.In highways in some countries, CCTVs are fixed to poles or in trees to detect road-bullies nd drivers who exceed the speed limits. So, I strongly believe that the CCTVs are particularly useful in both private housing and public places, as it can create the uncomfortable feeling of being closely observed as offenders commit misconduct. This feeling can generate a consciousness in them, making them reluctant to break the law. Looking at the fgures, these methods have positive effects in controlling crime. Therefore, the CCTVs have a significant role in preventing crime and anti-social behaviour.CCTV Cameras are very useful when it comes to offering reliable monitoring and urveillance to a particular location. They are efficient equipment which help in the prevention of crime; they help keep criminals from breaking inside residences and also stealing valuables. However,' strongly believe that having CCTV security cam eras at home has more disadvantages than advantages. Apart from their strengths, CCTV Cameras are disadvantageous when it comes to personal privacy. Homeowners whoVe got CCTV camera systems set up in their own homes are going to be monitored 2417.They won't have the capacity to perform what they wish to do ecause they are being watched every single second, every single minute, every single day! It could be very annoying and also troublesome to appear in a video clip in which you have picked out your nose. It could be really irritating that the smallest motion that you try is going to be captured inside a video. Getting several CCTV Cameras and installing the best CCTV cameras at home can certainly help protect against as well as discourage crooks and also intruders. Yet, you're also limited from performing a lot of things without restraint.There are a few of the disadvantages of CCTV cameras to people's personal space such as no more personal discussions. Each family member can easi ly know what you and your pal is discussing over the phone. Your conversation won't be recorded completely, but it will capture whatever you have said in your conversation. So if it is something against one of the members of the family, everyone will know. Besides that, no more surprises. You can't plan for your mother's surprise birthday party together with your brothers and sisters because it will be documented on video.There are security CCTV cameras which can ecord not only the video footage but also the audio clearly. If perhaps you are thinking about surprising your own mommy for her 50th birthday celebration along with your siblings, don't plan it inside your home because it is going to be found by your mother in case she reads the cameras' recorded videos. In addition, You're conscious constantly. Having CCTV Cameras observing you will make you sense mindful. You need to act normally and even severely. You can't carry out outrageous things like running undressed in your home when you're home alone.You can't fart r perhaps burp anywhere indoors. Picking your nose is actually a no-no, too. These will simply embarrass you if your father begins to check out the videos and discovers everything you did. then moping and crying even inside your bedroom shouldn't be done. Let us say the man you're dating Just broke up with you and you wanted to be by yourself in your room to weep as well as let your emotions out. But you will find cameras installed inside. Crying inside the bedroom is going to be little bit uncomfortable since everyone will see you moping and crying.

The White House and its Machinations in Latin & South Americ essays

The White House and its Machinations in Latin & South Americ essays The White House and its Machinations South of United States Borders I look forward to a great future for Americaa future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an idealto discover and maintain liberty among men. The United States government and its branches have throughout history ignored the meaning of these quotes, just as it has ignored human rights violations in the interest of capitalism. In Nicaragua a major anti-socialist group was committing atrocities: Rape, starvation, and disciplinary tethering were tortures that new contra recruits were forced to endure. The contras were supported unconditionally by Washington and trained by the C. I. A. In Chile the Pinochet military junta murdered thousands of Allendes supporters. The regime was backed fully by the White House. Over the course of the past century and a half, economic and strategic interests were put above all moral and ethical priorities when involved in foreign countries. This nations leaders consistently express pride in the rights to freedom and justice, yet have exemplified the perfect contrary through the governments behavior in Cuba, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The hypocrisies and lies perpetrated by the American government were extensive and deleterious to its good name, and the actions taken by this notorious government were crippling to our Latin American neighbors. Take, for example, Cuba. This island country has had a history of Communism, even under Batista, ruler before Fidel Castro came to power. He had appointed to his cabinet the first avowed Communist ever to serve in any Western government. (Smith, 316) However, Cuba has been a target of American hostility ever since Castro took power. The United Stat...

5 Critical Concepts You Must Understand to Ace ACT English

5 Critical Concepts You Must Understand to Ace ACT English SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT English can be overwhelming. There are so many questions! And they're mostly just underlined text: what are they even asking? Of course, that confusion is the whole point: it's what makes this part of the test hard. What does that mean for you? Because the ACT test writersrely on yourconfusion about the formatto confuse you, the questions themselves usually aren't that difficult. In order to excel onthe English section of the ACT, you first need to understand how it's organized- if you're not yet clear on that, take a look at our post laying out exactly what's tested on the ACT English. Onceyou know the basics of how this section of the test work, you just have tolearnhow to approach it. Do that, and you’ll find that the English section is surprisinglysimple! There are five key points you need to understand about the ACT English: ACT English Isn't the Same as High School English The ACT Tests a Limited Set of English Concepts You Always Need a Plan You Can Use the Format to Your Advantage Rushing Will Hurt Your Score Let's go through these one at a time. Feature Image Credit: CollegeDegrees360 #1: ACT English Isn't the Same as Everyday InformalEnglish A lot of students believe that since they speak English the English section should be easy, right? Not quite. Even students who excel with writing and grammar in school can struggle with the ACT English because the testhas its own logic. The ACTwill sometimes consider sentences that would be fine with your English teacher wrong, while some of the constructions that are correct on the test would make your teacher cringe. Answers That Sound Right but Are Actually Wrong A common strategy on the ACT English is to "listen" for errors and pick the answer that "sounds" correct. This approach is certainly helpful for picking out some of the more obvious errors, but the test will use it against you. There are a lot of questions about constructions that we routinely misuse in spoken English- they may sound right, but they're actually wrong. Take "should of" for example: If he didn't want to be late, he should of taken the shorter route. Soundsfine! But this is actually a misspelling of "should've," the contraction of "should have." If you say both "should've" and "should of" out loud, you'll notice that they sound almost identical. The correct version of the sentence is: If he didn't want to be late, he should'vetaken the shorter route. I don't recommend relying on "listening" for errors, but if you do plan to do so (and even if you don't) make sure to study the errors that we routinely make when speaking: pronouns, subject-verb agreement, word choice, and commas. Unfamiliar Grammar Rules Even more confusing are the ACT English's unique grammar rules, manyof which will becompletely new to youor evencontradict what you've been taught in school. With that in mind,the most important advice I can give you about the ACT English is to approach the test on its own terms. For example, a common error I see students make is assuming that the most formal answer is the best one. In school you're expected to use very formal English for essays and assignments, so shouldn't the ACT want the same thing? But it doesn't quite work that way, as you'll see in this example. This question asks for an answer that does two things: "provides the most specific detail" and "maintains the style and tone of the essay." Choices A and B can be ruled out because neither one provides specific details. That leaves answers C and D, which both specify that the kiln's temperature rises above a thousand degrees- the difference between them is one of tone. If you're looking for the most formal answer, D seems correct; however, that answer is unnecessarily wordy and doesn't fit with the more conversational style of the passage itself. As such, C, which provides the relevant detail in a tone that fits into the passage, is the correct answer. You can't assume that the ACT English follows the same rules that you've been taught in school; instead, you have to understand what the test itself wants you to know. The ACT English is not like this(Â © David Shankbone) #2: The Rules for ACT English May Be Weird, but There Aren't That Many of Them If, as I just told you,a lot of what you already know about English is useless on the ACT, then what do you need to know? In short, you must know the specific set of rules that the ACT considers important, as well as how those rules are tested on the ACT. Well, luckily, the types of questions on the ACT Englishare extremely limited, which makes this section of the test surprisingly easy to study for.These questions fall into two categories:usage and mechanics (~55%) and rhetorical skills (~45%).I'mnot going to detailall the concepts you need to know- take a look at our complete guide to ACT grammar rules for that- instead, I'm going to help you start analyzinghow the ACTwritersdesign questions. Remember that the ACT tests conceptsin context, so it's less important to know the names of terms of the reason behind rules than to understand how to spot and correct errors. Usage and Mechanics The usage and mechanics questions are divvied up into three categories: sentence structure, which includes sentence fragments, run-ons, misplaced modifiers, and parallelism grammar and usage, which includes subject-verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun usage, and adjectives and adverbs punctuation, which includes commas, apostrophes, dashes, colons, and semi-colons. To do well on the usage and mechanics, you have to both know the grammar rules as definedby the ACT andunderstand how to spot those errors in practice. That means studying the concepts- see our in-depthguide to the ACT English(coming soon!) or our guide to the best ACT books- and then drilling yourself with real ACT practice passages, which you can find in the Official Guide to the ACT or online. Because the ACT is standardized, these topics are tested in certain defined ways that you will see again and again. For example, a lot of verb tense questions are actually subject-verb agreement questions in disguise: all the answers are in different forms, but only one is correctly conjugated. As you practice, keep an eye out for these types of tricks- the better you get at understanding the logic of the questions, the higher your score will be. Rhetorical Skills Rhetorical skills questions are the ones that really confuse a lot of students, since they aren't even remotely similar to the test questionsyou seein school. The ACT categorizes them in to three groups: organization, which covers transitions and sentence and paragraph order strategy, which covers sentence additions and main idea questions style, which covers redundancy and word choice. Though each type of rhetorical skills question has its own quirks, they're almost all governed by two basic principles: All prose should be as clear as possible. You must answer the question you're being asked. That may sound like gibberish, so let's break it down. When I say that you should prioritize clarity in picking answers, I mean that you want to focus on finding the clearest answer, i.e. the choice that provides all of the necessary information and nothing more, in the most straightforward way possible.Phrasing questions will try to confuse you with extra words that sound smart or important: don't let them fool you! My second point may seem superfluous (of course you have to answer the question!), but it's just as important as the first. On the ACT English, the test itemsthat involve actual questions will ask you for very specific things. You must read these questions carefully and pick the answer that best fits the criteria they lay out. Let's look at an actual rhetorical skills question to see how to apply these ideas. None of these answers involve a lot of extra words, but C and D are both phrased slightly confusingly, so we can probably rule those out. Next, let's look at what exactly the question is asking for: a specific and vivid description of the underwater terrain. Now we can definitely be sure that C and D are wrong- they're both quitevague. Moreover, we can see that A must be the correct answer, since it's the only one that gives a sense of what the underwater scene actually looks like. Now that we've covered how the ACT English is different from what you might expect, let's cover the tools you need to tackle this admittedly weird test successfully. #3: Always Have a Plan of Attack Because the format of the ACT English is so different from the tests you take in school, it's easy to get confused or overwhelmed and end up approaching the passages haphazardly, looking at each underlined section individually. Don't do this! Because the test is designed to test grammar concepts in context, looking at only the underlined portions will cause you to miss questions. Instead, you want to have a strategy for how you approach passages that you use every time you take the test, whether it's for practice or the real thing. Different methods work best for different people, and you'll have to decide what makes the most sense for you. However, every goodstrategyshares one vital principle: no matter where in asentence the underlined section appears, you must always read to the end of the sentence. If you don't do this, it will hurt your score- a lot. For a full breakdown of the pros and cons of different strategies, take a look at our post onthe best way to approach the ACT English passages. Below I've included a quick take on two possible approaches. The Best Strategy for ApproachingACT English Passages Like I said before, every student has their own way of approaching things. However, I've found that the strategy that best minimizes the potential for misunderstanding context is to first read each paragraph and then go back and answer all the questions about that paragraph. Let's walk through how this works in an actual ACT Passage. In this example, you start by reading the first paragraph, until the purple line. Then you answer the questions that are marked with purple boxes. You can see how having read the entire paragraph makes answering question 26, which asks for the sentence that "most effectively introduces the information that follows," much easier. You'll still needto be especially careful with questions 27 and 28, since they appear in the same sentence- in these cases, make sure to look at both underlined portions and consider whether the answer to one will affect the answer to the other. Once you've completed the two-step process for that paragraph, you move on to the next one. Read down to the green line, and then answer the question marked in green. On a real ACT English section, you would repeat this process for each paragraph in each passage. Strategy for Those who Struggle with Time Though the above strategy is ideal, as it gives the clearest understanding of the context for each question, you may find that it's too time consuming. If you are running out of time on the English section with more than a couple of questions of left, you may want to focus more closelyon the underlined portions of the passage. In this strategy, you read only the sentences that contain underlined portions (you still have to read the entire sentence, though), answering the specificquestions as you go, and then going back to any big picture questions at the end.You can see how this approachworks in the example below. 26 is a big picture question, so we skip the blue highlighted portion, and go straight to pink sentence. We read that and answer 27 and 28. Next,we readthe yellow sentence, answer 29, read the green sentence, and answer 30. Finally, we return to the blue sentence and answer 26. For a full passage, you follow the same pattern but for all 15 questions. This strategy can work, but it's not nearly as reliable as the first one. I don't recommend it if you're shooting for a score higher than a 25. (In case you're curious, the correct answers for the questionsabove are as follows: 26. G, 27. D, 28. F, 29. A, 30. G) Remember: always have a plan! #4: Use the Structure of the Test to Your Advantage Once you masteryourapproach to the passages, you'll need to learn how the ACT English questions work. The best way to do that is just to look at, practice with, and analyze as many real ACT questions as possible. Keep in mind that the test is multiple choice and consider how you can usethat to your advantage. Here are a fewtips toget you started. Strategy: Consider How the Answer Choices are Different from Each Other Let's say you look at an underlined portion and don't see anything wrong: you should just bubble A (for no change) and move on, right? Not quite. Just because you don't recognize the error immediatelydoesn't mean there isn't one. Instead, try looking at the answers. What's the difference (or differences) between them? Once you figure that out, you'll know what kind of question you're dealing with- whether it's a subject-verbagreement or idiomatic usage question, for example. Let's look at some examples: Even without knowing the context, wecan see that this a question about punctuation. Looking back at the sentence, you could then determine what factors willaffect the correct punctuation here: maybe there's adash earlier in the sentenceand you need another one to properly punctuatea interjection or maybe this punctuation mark falls between two independent clauses, making the semicolon correct. Next, we've got a trickier case: Inthis example, we can see that there are two questions at issue: whether"therefore" or "in addition" is the correct transition and whether a period or a comma is the correct punctuation. With two concept questions like this, you can narrow down choices based on one of the issues, even if you aren't sure about the other one. Strategy: Don't Get Too Attached to Your Own Idea ofthe Answer We've talked about what to do when you aren't immediately sure what's going on with a question, but what about the times when you immediately know what's wrong and how to fix it? For the most part, those occasions are the best case scenarios- you should still read all the answer choices and double check to make sure you aren't falling into any traps, like failing to read to the end of a sentence or missing a "not" in the question, but usually you'll be able to quickly determine the right choice and move on. However, there will be times, especially when dealing with the rhetorical skills question, that you come up withthe perfect answer only to find that there's no choice even remotely similar to it. Don't panic! Think about what the erroris, rather than what would be correct, and eliminate any answers with the same mistake. Then try to narrow down the rest of the choices. Once you've got it down to one choice, plug that back into the sentence and see if it makes sense. Strategy: Eliminate Identical Answers This is a pretty simple strategy, but a lot of students find it really helpful: If two answers are functionally identical, they must both be wrong. Think about it this way:if you have a transition question and "Furthermore" and "Moreover" are both answer choices, how can you choose between them? You can't, because they mean the same thing. As such, both answers must be wrong. The exception to this rule is if there are more than two answers that are all the same. In that case, you've probably missed the part of the question that says "Which of the following would NOT be acceptable?" Go back and check. Keep an eye out for these kinds of patterns as you study- they're invaluable for conqueringthe weird world of the ACT English! This is good advice for every section of the ACT! #5: Don't Rush! After reading all this advice, you may be wondering how you will possibly get through the whole English section of the ACT in just 45 minutes. After all, it includes five passages and 75 questions, which is quite a lot. However, if you try out a couple of practice sections, you'll find that they go much faster than you expect. In fact, manystudents make a lot of careless mistakes because they're rushing to get through the test and then end up with time left over at the end. If you have more than one or two minutes left at the end of the English section and are missing more than a handful of questions,you're moving too fast. Even ifyou do find yourself running out of time, it may not benefit you to speed up. Rushing will always hurt your score. You may be better off guessing on some of the questions at the very end or skipping some of the time consuming big picture questions than you would be struggling to get to every single question in the allotted time. What's Next? Now that you understand the big picture of the English ACT, drill into some specific grammar topics, starting with our complete guide to commas. Aiming for that elusive perfect 36? Try our guide to getting a 36 on the ACT English from a perfect scorer. Or maybe after that you're considering switching to the SAT? Make sure you understand the differences between ACT English and SAT Writing first. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: