Analysis Of The Poem The Essay - 1253 Words

Quiajah Freeman Professor Barberan English 29 October 2016 Recitatif If twentieth-century studies of Recitatif focus primarily on extremes—the white and black ends of the binary—instead of plumbing the depths of the murky space in between, twenty-first century scholarship on Recitatif better explicates how the story works on our preconceptions about race. For instance, referencing postmodernist understandings of race. (Philadelphia: Univ.of Penn. Press, 2007) Recitatif is a story about child good friends, two to be specific.Though the author doesn t quite give us the race of the author, she does give us stereotypes to keep us engaged. With these stereotypes we come to our own conclusions of what race it is. Through context clues I can see that there was one black girl and the other white. This story shows the things that they had to go through. The things that shaped their friendship throughout their time in the shelter. Their friendship is tested because during this time whites and blacks weren t exactly supposed to be seen together. Which leads me to the theme of race. Race has shaped this whole story, because of the time period it was set in. It brings up tension but is also not mentioned upfront. In my opinion Morrison did this to show the right and wrong that had gone on throughout this time. Race has been, and quite possibly always will be, as central to American literature as narratives of contact and conquest,Show MoreRelatedanalysis of poem1342 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ To analyze a poem stylistically, we can analyze the poetic device, which is usually deviation and foregrounding, that the poet used in the poem. The term foregrounding refers to an effect brought about in the reader by linguistic or other forms of deviation in the literary text (Leech, 1985).In poem, devices of foregrounding and deviation are always used to draw reader’s attention and impress the readers. In the aspect of deviation and foregrounding, there are some perspectives on the nature ofRead MorePoem Analysis : Langston Hughes Poem1258 Words   |  6 Pages Research Paper and Poem Analysis: Langston Hughes Poem Analysis: Langston Hughes’ poem â€Å"Mother To Son† is a twenty line poem that seems to be from the perspective of a prudent mother that is giving her son, and possibly the readers, some helpful and supportive advice, telling them that, no matter how many adversities they may face, they can not give up. I believe that this is the main theme of the poem, perseverance. â€Å"So, boy, don’t you turn back./ Don’t you set down on the steps./ ‘Cause youRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The 1641 Words   |  7 PagesBeautiful. That is how I would describe her. Rayah Lou’ren Gibson was the absolute light of my life. She was born on Thursday, August 14th, 2008. She was not my biological daughter, but she was and always will be my baby girl—my little princess. I often called her my angel. She loved dancing and singing, she loved the movie Frozen, the song, â€Å"Do You Want To Build A Snowman?†, and her favorite color was purple. She loved her frien ds, especially Alina. â€Æ' She really loved grocery shopping with me forRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem 896 Words   |  4 PagesThe Deformity The bright lights and unknown voices travelled around me. It surly wasn’t the first time I had experienced this, but it was the first time I could actually recognize what was going on. They tried to ease my nervousness with their soothing words, but being so anxious nothing could soothe me. It all started at birth. My deformity was nothing new to the medical world, but in my parent’s eyes it was something out of fiction. My feet were turned in like hockey sticks. In medical jargonRead MoreThe Schoolboy Poem Analysis771 Words   |  4 PagesThe Schoolboy – Close critical analysis â€Å"The Schoolboy† is a poem about how education systems hinder youths from behaving naturally. For example, in this poem, the boy â€Å"love(s) to rise in a summer morn, When the birds sing on every tree†. However, he has â€Å"to go to school in a summer morn† and this â€Å"drives all (his) joy away†. Hence, from here we can see that societal norms destroy the innocence of youth as they repress their souls with so-called education. By doing so, the author is telling us toRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Fish 1047 Words   |  5 PagesModernist Poetry Analysis February 25, 2015 â€Å"The Fish† Imagism is a style of poetry that employs free verse and the patterns and rhythms of common speech. The poet is free to write about whatever they want. The goal is to unify voice and image into a talking picture. Poets then have the power to make words into things. This then creates a picture for the reader. Marianne Moore is able to perfectly get her point across without directly stating it but making it clear enough. Moore’s poem â€Å"The Fish† usesRead MorePoem Analysis836 Words   |  4 PagesExperiments suggested that linearly increasing perturbation rate is more desirable over other introduced perturbation rates. It was proposed that some more perturbation rate varying schemes such as adaptive, chaotic, non-linear etc. will be explored and their performance will be examined in near future. To enhance the local search ability of spider monkeys in the original SMO, K. Gupta, et al., [30] propounded a Quadratic Approximation operator in her research â€Å"Improving the local search abilityRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Beowulf 851 Words   |  4 Pagesoffers literary analysis of Beowulf, the oldest epic poem that has survived in English literature. It is also widely known as the earliest surviving piece of literatures in vernacular European Literature. The language of this poem is Old English, spoken by Saxon people. This poem depicts a traditional story that is a part of oral Germanic tradition. As per experts, this is work of a single poet and was composed in then England. It has been determined by the scholars that this poem was written betweenRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Dead 1416 Words   |  6 Pages The Dead Muse: A Critical Analysis of The Raven Your Name Your University â€Æ' The Dead Muse: A Critical Analysis of The Raven The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe is a very famous poem which intricately weaves layer upon layer of meaning through singsong verses. Combining allusions to literature, mythology and religion, the poem tells many stories at once while evoking a feeling of nonsense and a descent into insanity. It is hard to understand what the poem is about—if anything at all, and Poe does notRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Harlem 1303 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"famously wrote about the period that ‘the negro was in vogue.’† (Langston). Throughout his body of work, Hughes spoke eloquently to the full spectrum of dreams - both their inspirational power and their heavy burden, if not fully realized. His famed poem, â€Å"Harlem (Dream Deferred)† uses heavy symbolism, falling into three definitive categories: 1. Dreams; 2. Food and Domestic Life and 3. Violence and Oppression(Shmoop). This trio of topics coalesces itself masterfully into further analytical study

The Keystone Pipeline Is A Pipeline - 2205 Words

The Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline is a pipeline based in Alberta, Canada that transfers up to 830,000 barrels of oil into the United States daily. The pipe is 1,179 miles long, ending in Steele city, Nebraska. Although about 61 percent of Americans approve the pipeline, there are many environmentalists and other U.S citizens who are against the pipeline and the dangers that may come from it and the effects it could have. Supporters of the pipeline claim that it could create thousands of jobs for the unemployed. It would also increase the security for the Gulf Coast and create a safer way of transporting oil. The environmentalists that are against the pipeline claim that it could increase global warming and damage the†¦show more content†¦Most construction workers are already employed, but look for other jobs to continue their work. This could mean that although there are many jobs available, many of those could be taken by Americans who are already working, not just unemployed Americans. Economist claim that since the United States depends on oil so much, this project would definitely be a huge asset to the country. Right now, oil is usually transferred using the railing system. There have been many accidents involving trains with oil, which have caused explosions, fire and in turn, death. Economists argue that the pipeline would be the safest way to transport the oil without the dangers of trains. Hundreds of activists have rallied all over the country to stop the approval of the pipeline, claiming that it is incredibly damaging to the environment. Most environmentalists argue that the pipeline will cause deforestation, oil spills and runoffs of toxins. Supporters of the pipeline claim that most of this could be managed with the right regulations and maintenance. Other pipelines have been known for success, although this one is quite bigger and has a larger impact on the environment. A problem that has been brought up to congress is clim ate change. With so much heat needed to separate the oil from the sand, there is about 17 percent more carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere. Canada

Movie Response A River Runs Through It Essay Example For Students

Movie Response A River Runs Through It Essay In the movie A River Runs through It, there is a bond between the two brothers Paul and Norman. As kids they grow up doing everything together: school, hanging out with friends, and fishing. Once they are old enough, Norman goes away to college for six years on the east coast then returns home. Paul on the other hand has a job as a journalist and is popular in town. Even though they have been apart for six years the one thing that brings them back together is fishing. The world slows down and nothing else matters at the time. They enjoy the moment for what it is. For my brother and I, soccer and video games are what makes sense to us. We become fully engrossed in what we are doing and have a good time doing it. All our worries and problems disappear until we are finished playing. As the events of the movie unfold, Norman develops the question of what one’s responsibility is to his/her family. Normans girlfriend sends her brother, Neal, with Norman and Paul on a fishing trip. As Norman quickly realizes, Neal ruins the fishing trip with a series of poor choices like drinking and having sex with a girl. When given the choice to try to help Neal Norman is at first baffled as to why he should try to help the man. However he realizes that regardless he should do his best to help Neal. As Paul’s drinking and gambling addictions are uncovered, these Norman wonders how much of his responsibility it is to help his brother Paul. Norman and his parents make attempts to help Paul, but are unable to. They are unsure how to bring up his problems and when they are they do not know what to say. I personally cannot relate to the gambling problem because no one in my family gambles but most of my siblings drink a lot more than they should. They waste huge amounts of money towards beer and wine on a weekly basis and get drunk at least once a week. While they are not out in public it is still a bad choice to do this weekly because you cannot control yourself as well and often make bad decisions. My oldest sister has struggled through life and been in jail a couple times. The movie asks the viewer questions like: How much responsibility can a person take for another’s poor choices and eventual downfall? Should a person feel guilty if they were unable to help their loved ones out of their struggles? Do we have an obligation to each other? I believe that if you are capable of helping someone out and you know that they need help, then you are obligated to help that person. If that person is family then that’s even more reason to help them. As of right now I feel powerless to help the rest of my family mainly because I only see them on some holidays. Our family is also not as close as one might expect, leaving a lot to be desired. In the movie there was an emphasis on religion. Their father was the priest for a protestant church and raised his sons like so. He taught them school subjects and taught other things in a way for a protestant. As kids they obeyed their father but wanted what every kid wants, when the teaching time came to an end, and that was fun. As they grew up they always went to church but became more reckless in their actions. When the Norman and Paul stole the boat and rode in it down the river eventually breaking it, and leading to them fighting in the kitchen a day later. That was the first sign that something wasn’t right. Paul was the one who wanted to take the boat and he was also the one who started the fight. .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .postImageUrl , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:hover , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:visited , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:active { border:0!important; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:active , .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9824e828c5e4fb96b8056ed123ba792b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Parent Trap - Original and Remake EssayWhen Paul and Norman are adults, Norman acts like a typical conservative protestant but Paul is wild and outgoing, a complete opposite of his father. Growing up, my family went to church every week and my siblings and I were taught manners and respect. None of my brothers or I were very different than my father. I am the most alike to my father, based on appearance and personality. Since my oldest siblings have moved out religion hasn’t been as a part of my life has it was before. My family hardly goes to church anymore, and we don’t talk about our religion much. We have definitely not gotten closer to our religion over the years. Overall, I liked the movie. I thought it was an interesting take on a place that many would think of as too boring for a movie. It made me think about key aspects of my life (family) and invokes strong emotions. For Norman, a river runs through it was probably a way to find an answer to why the tragedy of his brother Paul had to occur, and who was to blame. What Norman should realize is that no one is to blame and there isnt always a reason. However it can take a great deal of anguish to realize this. Even then you might not realize it at all.

Media Affecting Public Opinion Essays - Elections, Public Opinion

Media Affecting Public Opinion The media is an intricate part of American government, intertwined with the practice of democracy, but to what extent does the media influence public opinion? To answer that several aspects of media coverage have to be explored. The media is Americas basic resource for all the news concerning American politics. Also, the opinion expressed by the press influences the opinion adopted by the public. Lastly the issues the media deem important help set the national agenda and to affect the publics opinion of voting. The most basic way the media influences public opinion is by offering knowledge about government decisions and access to government information. Daily the press delivers the raw information to the nation, who then in turn forms that into opinions. The media sends messages across the nation. Without the media it would take the public longer to become educated about governmental proceedings. Before the advancement of such media as the television, radio, and the Internet, a much smaller percentage of Americans were informed about the issues concerning the nation. Another affective way the media impacts the public opinion is through agenda setting. Because of the vast number of issues plaguing America today, the press has to decide which they will cover and which they will not. Their reporting has a vital connection to what the public comes to believe are the important issues in the country. If the press repeatedly covers the gun control issue, then the nation itself comes to believe that it is significant. Because the nation sees it as being important, then it is introduced into legislature quite rapidly. The press possesses the capability to create the impression that certain problems are of greater urgency than others. Those certain problems are usually about political strategy, political scandal and the private lives of politicians. These tend to over take the less entertaining, but more substantial stories because the public is not interested in them and they do not make money for the news company. One of the most ironic ways the media influences public opinion is by presenting the candidates personality through the use of television and radio. Could one honestly say that Abraham Lincoln might not be elected if he were running today. Lincoln was not a very attractive man and did not have a very refined voice. How would Lincoln have looked and sounded on television and radio? The public may be stubborn to admit it, but it is true; the nation judges possible candidates upon appearances and performances (mass media). If a presidential candidate could not speak in front of large groups, they could never be elected in todays society. It would not matter that his or her policies were better than their opponents. Furthermore, the media can influence public opinion is through their ability to convey an overall tone to their readers and viewers according to their own sentiments. Often a newspapers own feelings on a certain issue are expressed in their articles. When the public reads about such issues they can adopt the attitude which the media portrayed. The press may frame stories in a way that enhances the overall tone toward government and politics. Unfortunately the most common trend is to hold a negative attitude toward government. This negative tone has led to a national decline in voter participation. A greater portion of the country now attains a skeptical view of the American government. However, News programs constantly bombard the public with campaign coverage that negatively affects the way people vote. The most noticeable effect the TV news media causes is a decrease in voter attendance at the ballot boxes. News coverage of political campaigns reduces voter turnout because of the negative campaign tactics used by candidates and their parties. Voter turnout has significantly dropped from 75 %-85% in during the 19th century to fewer than 55% in modern day elections (Lewis). The result of low voter turnout reveals a negative attitude towards politics from America's citizens. The most effective discouragement to voting is exit polls that predict the outcome of an election or in modern terms electronic forecasting. Exit polling on or before Election Day has become the predominant method used by mass media in American politics for predicting

The Contribution of Academic Institution in Childrens Well-Being

The Contribution of Academic Institution in Childrens Well-Being Hashtag: #makesafehappen Reducing Childhood Deaths through Awareness and Responsiveness The tagline â€Å"The #1 Cause of Childhood Deaths is Preventable Accidents† from #makesafehappen or Make Safe Happen campaign probably touched the heart of many. It is, in fact, encouraging us to act and become responsive and better parents to our children. There are two important issues associated with thousands of childhood deaths: The large majority of parents or about 76% are not aware of the issue of the deadly effect of â€Å"preventable† accidental injuries acquired at home.   The majority of parents or 63% lack the drive to do more about their children’s safety. In short, since the most probable solution to reducing childhood deaths from preventable injuries at home is awareness and enthusiasm of children’s guardian, the job then is to educate and motivate parents. There are many ways to educate parents but the most effective in terms of scope (a home visit is time-consuming strenuous for health workers) and motivation is to conduct parenting classes where parents can come, work together, share each other experiences, get motivated, and learn in one location. You may be interested in: Moral Failure in Academic Institutions The Limits of Academic Freedom The Value of Academic Debate The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons Is High IQ a Guarantee of Academic Success? The Contribution of Academic Institution in Improving Children’s Well-Being Many are unaware that aside from basic literacy and numerical skills, the academic institution is deeply involved in other matters concerning children and forever contributing to the improvement of children’s well-being. Let us start with the more obvious. The institution gave us the knowledge and skills that we need to meet the requirements of our chosen profession. This profession is now helping us to support the needs of our family, secure our children’s welfare, and others in need. The academic institution is the core of scientific research and producing thousands of scholarly papers aimed to improve children’s well-being. These include research and useful findings associated children’s growth, disease, mental health, parenting and childcare, learning and skills, behavior, nutrition, and more.  Moreover, the findings of these academic papers are reliable and actually used in improving children’s lives for many years. For example, academic researchers on influenza enable the U.S. Centers for Disease Control or CDC to create a strategy to prevent the spread of flu, which is now a common practice of childcare providers and other early childhood care programs. Similarly, the source of United Kingdom’s healthy eating standards and bullying prevention policy for children, are academic case studies and statistical data. The sources used by #makesafehappen or Make Safe Happen are survey results and statistical data collected and analyzed using scientific methods developed by academic intellectuals. For example, the content in their safety tips are jointly developed by two leading children safety oriented organizations that are generally using information from national statistics and scholarly journals such as â€Å"Etiology and Outcome of Pediatric Burns† study of Morrow Smith (1996), â€Å"Tap water scald burns in children† by Feldman et al. (1978), and others. It is quite clear that the actual contributors in children’s wellbeing are academic papers researched and published to improve children’s well-being. Moreover, some of these academic sources were published many years ago and therefore solid evidence of the enduring commitment of the academic institution to children’s well-being.

5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors

5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors 5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors 5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors By Mark Nichol I strongly advise against employing billboards to teach you proper English grammar and spelling, but you can certainly use them to learn what not to do. Here are some pain-inducing billboard boo-boos: 1. â€Å"Are you in or out?† This tagline from the remake of Ocean’s Eleven won’t strike many people as erroneous, but the omission of a comma ruins the effect for me. Read as is, this sentence calls for upward inflection: Are you one of these? But the inflection should fall, and whether your voice catches instantaneously before your pitch falls after in or you don’t actually pause, a comma signals the difference: Are you this, or are you that? 2. â€Å"All day, everyday.† This error in an advertisement for a major chain supermarket went viral some years ago, and the English language hasn’t been able to shake the bug since. Make everyday two words, and call me in the morning. 3. â€Å"Name’s Mel-care to have a drink?† This confused come-on appeared in an advertisement for Tanqueray gin featuring a comely woman inviting the billboard viewer to join her for a cocktail. With a disregard for the visual esthetics of language endemic to the marketing industry, the copywriter puzzled readers with what appeared to be a non sequitur reference in a liquor ad to a variant of Medicare known as Mel-care. By separating Mel’s introduction from her invitation with a mere hyphen when a mighty em dash was called for (â€Å"Name’s Mel care to have a drink?†), this multimillion-dollar ad campaign cried out for a pocket-change fix. The ubiquitous unwitting use of hyphens in place of dashes is wrong, but, almost worse, it’s ugly. 4. â€Å"You provide the truck. We’ll bring the barbeque.† An ad for a pickup truck big enough to haul around an oil-barrel barbecue grill misspelled the last word. â€Å"But, Mark, we see it like that all the time!† Yes, you see it misspelled all the time. It’s an understandable error, extending from the slang abbreviation BBQ, and it may end up in the dictionary someday. But it’s not there yet. Honor the language. 5. â€Å"Don’t stare, you might miss your exit.† Come on, a comma is too weak to convey the cadence of this sentence. (It didn’t work in that sentence, either, did it?) There’s a definite break in the two parts of this sentence, and the rhythm cries out for an em dash or even a period after stare. Again, as in the first and third examples, the copywriter failed to use the nuances of punctuation to help upload the desire to buy a product or use a service to the consumer’s brain. This message is brought to you by DailyWritingTips.com: When you seek to sell, consider not only words but also punctuation in the sell’s structure. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eights of Misplaced Modifiers

Technical Proposal Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Technical Proposal Paper - Essay Example In fact, the computers on a network are linked through telephone lines, cables, radio waves (wireless technology), or infrared light beams. In addition, a computer network is also acknowledged as simply an information network or simply net. In this scenario, the Internet is the most popular information network. It distributes data and information between internet users. Additionally, a computer network uses any network operating system that is responsible for managing and co-coordinating the operations of computers that are connected to the network. Some of the well known examples of these operating systems are: Windows NT, Linux, Unix etc. (Nash, 2000; Tanenbaum, 2002; Turban et al., 2005). This project proposal presents the specification of a new network technology based system that will allow data sharing and communication for the effective management of the corporate areas. This proposal is based on the given scenario. Our business is a small architectural business with different working teams. For superior interaction and communication we need to establish a computer network that can offer an excellent support for working remotely as well as communicate with business headquarters. 2- Background As discussed above, we have a small architectural business, with a Chief Executive, Finance Director and Sales Director. Apart from the mentioned hierarchy there are four architects, two administrative staff members and two architectural engineers. In this scenario, architects and engineers could be working at remote locations and would need communication facilities. Regarding this situation, we need a corporate network that can offer an excellent support for managing and coordinating tasks. In addition to this, it could be a web based network or system that can offer the capability to communicate and collaborate effectively. 3- Proposed Solution A new â€Å"network arrangement† will be established that will offer the facility to communicate effectively with business staff, share resources, data and facts remotely. In addition, this network will be supported by the Internet and can make use of workstations, network server and handheld PDAs for the establishment of overall communication of our business. 4- Office Plan In order to establish a network on the basis of the above given set-up, we need a more flexible network arrangement that would be able to support every area of our business and offer a capability for mutual sharing and handling of corporate resources. 4.1- Requirements for the Network In this setting the main requirements for the new network technology implementation are as follows: The established network must offer the means to communicate effectively The established network must offer an effective data sharing environment The established network must offer the secure data access points The established network must offer an excellent communication facility The established network must offer the remote access to network Th e established n

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example They can be defined as groups or individuals having interest in the project and that interest can be good or bad influence the results of the project Pinto (2010) . In that case stakeholder analysis can be used to identify and resolve some of the conflicts that arise while introducing any new project. This analysis is used to make strategies to make the stakeholders’ impact positive on the project. Some stake holders can have varying impacts on projects ranging from drastic impact to little impact. For example Pinto (2010), gives an example by explaining that government can strictly limit the sales of any tobacco project by implementing different rules and regulations while on the other hand a software development company may not face that strict rules and regulations by the same stakeholder. Every stakeholder has own demand which may be in conflict with other stakeholder’s demand and the conflict of demands may prove to be challenging for the project manager (Kuenkel et al, 2011). For example, a team of any project working to repair a new software across organization can go for many revisions to check the satisfaction of their customers and in doing so may make other stakeholders uneasy by rescheduling the deadline again and again that might be a challenge for the project manager. In these cases, the project manager needs to balance the demands of all the stakeholders by maintaining supportive relationship among all the stakeholders. There are two types of stakeholders i.e. internal stakeholders such as top management, accountant, project team members and other functional managers. External stakeholders such as clients, competitors, suppliers, environmental, political and other invervenor groups (Pryke, 2006). Internal stakeholders are important in a stakeholder analysis and usually they affect the project positively because in most cases the internal stakeholders want the project to be successfully completed (Poonia, 2010). External

Benjamin Franklin by Edmund Morgan Essay Example for Free

Benjamin Franklin by Edmund Morgan Essay One of the most famous biographies ever written is said to be made by Edmund Morgan, when he accounted that of Benjamin Franklin’s life. He did so by presenting a very special style in analyzing Franklins existence. He made it possible by not narrating an everyday account with the use of dates, but instead accounted for the overall legacy of Franklin’s life. After reading the book, it can be said that the book establishes a broad view of Franklin’s existence. Franklin has been discussed as universally well-known for three things: his discovery of electricity, his writings, and his participation in the American Revolution. In this way, Morgan was able to present how Franklin has influenced the American, the government and the society as a whole. Born on January 17, 1706, young Franklin was presented by the author as a vigorous and curios one. It was also mentioned that his favorite past time was playing chess and singing songs. A further reading of the article shows that he also has his own belief in religion, which is Sin is not harmful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is harmful. Nor is a duty beneficial because it is commanded, but it is commanded because it is beneficial. As an individual, though he believes that God is the creator, he does attend mass and does not read bible. Nevertheless, it was at this stage of his life where he started writing about the virtues he believed in. A decade later, Franklin’s curiosity was instigated, when his English friend sent him Leyden jars for static electricity storage. Immediately, he started his own experiments with electricity. Subsequently, he discovered that a metal rod with a sharp end can ignite a spark from a greater distance than that of a rounded one. Based on the said findings, he proceeded on and proposed to conduct an experiment with a kite and a key to confirm that lightning is indeed electricity. His efforts proved him right, and his successful experiment discovering electricity made him famous. Among the study Franklin has made, includes that of the effect which ocean current has on travel and the pre germ theory. Morgan also touched the life of Franklin being a writer. According to Morgan, Franklin, though he left the field of printing earlier, he never left it totally. This was possible because he continuously carried out his work secretly as a printer in the field of philosophy, alongside with the renowned Poor Richard’s Almanack. He also succeeded in circulating numerous satirical hoax discourses. One of the popular speeches he made talks about a woman who had five illegitimate children and ironically claims to be following God’s word to increase and multiply. Franklin’s prominent pieces of writing talks about the qualities which he said would lead one to moral perfection, which includes Temperance, Chastity, Cleanliness, and Humility. It bears stressing that Franklin wrote these articles based from his own insights of good deeds against faith and not from religious dogma and sermons. The core of Franklin’s writings on religion imparts that a human being can be moral and god-fearing even without dogmatic presence of the church. As for Franklin’s participation in American Revolution, it can be gleaned from Morgan’s statement that the transition of America into an independent nation may not have been as easy were it not for Franklin’s efforts. His international relations with the British government and the French before, during, and after the hostilities proved very useful to America in instituting and re-instituting alliances. In the book, Franklin was presented to be one who is so influential in defending a pre-Revolution Philadelphia from French privateers, evenly allowing the British to preserve their influence in America and the colonies to resist division. This was due to Franklin’s belief that the British government was unyielding, but necessitates several modifications. All the complexities which were faced by Franklin in his life were discussed in the later part of the book. This occurred after he was sent to England in 1764 as a colonial agent, where he realized how complicated for someone from America to tackle these corrections, principally that of the colonists’ aspiration to elect their officials and to enjoy rights. On an ending note, Morgan went further when he made statement that depicted Adams as the most contentious colleague of Franklin during that time, and the reason for making living miserable for Franklin. BOOK REVIEW A reading of the book reveals that it was written in a narrative form, which trails more chronological events in Franklin’s life. Morgan made this possible by utilizing several quotations and pictures from Franklin’s works in telling his account. These help the person who reads in appreciating the events and thoughts from Franklin’s viewpoint. In some way, it can be said that the book is the best speech ever written, which comprises of an all-encompassing prologue, followed by a comprehensive series of events that is supplemented with optimistic tales and motivating truth imparted by Franklin. At this point of view, readers can say that Morgan’s writing technique is interwoven efficiently and wittily. Furthermore, he vividly sketches the outlines of Franklins growing outlook while unremarkably helping his readers grapple the details of his life in politics and the surfacing international condition during the American Revolution. From time to time, he even personally directed statements to the reader and alludes to what he himself is trying to understand about Franklin. On a different note, it could also be said that the story is of an adventure type that take hold of readers with the anecdotes of Franklin’s participation in the political events of 18th-century America. Nevertheless, the author did not lose sight of the significance of the other facet of the mans qualities and the opinion and actions of others toward him. This was the reason for the biographys success since it engages readers attention in the grand live stage show of this intriguing mans life. One of the topics which were concentrated by Morgan in Franklin’s life, is his being diplomat. It was presented by the detailed account of Franklins vital role in the lengthy progression of calculations and miscalculations that pressed the loyal and dutiful British colonies into revolution and forged them into the United States of America. As written, Franklin, can be seen in every event, frequently behind the picture, but always exceptionally influential, a compelling catalyst for change, which has left an impact in the life of Americans and British government and society. Importantly, in this book we can learn that Franklin is the sole man whose signature maybe found on all four of the important founding documents of the American republic which are the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. As for the impact Franklin’s life and this book may have in the society and public policy, it is important to mention that even if he did not believe in bible writings and the of the existence of God, he seems to have lived in an otherwise moral existence and have not lost sight of the need for people to be living with such religious morality. The most essential aspect of Franklins personality was his unselfish way of sharing to others and his belief that what is right is that which is beneficial. Thus, it can be inferred that one of the lessons in Franklin’s life which is being taught is that, being useful means providing the needs of other inhabitants, not only for one’s self, and that a man with an intelligence concerning him comes only to those individual who possesses a great heart. As for the economy, this book made us learn that Franklin, after experiencing his first achievement, had launched several successful commercial partnerships which lead to the development of the law of partnerships in America. This is said to be one of the many contributions Franklin has made in the history. Aside from the foregoing influences of Franklin has given to the society, it is of everyone’s knowledge that his greatest contribution was his discovery of electricity. This discovery was the product of his scientific curiosity which has originally established his fame in the world. In sum, it can be said that Morgan’s biography of Franklin imparts a representation of the renowned man with the kite that one might not anticipate in an intellectual biography. It is manifest from the opening that Morgan wishes the person who reads to see beyond the characterization of Franklin that we often read in books and articles. In this work, we came to learn, as stated at the outset, that Benjamin Franklin is famously known for three things: his experiments with electricity, his writings, and his involvement in the American Revolution. However, it is important to note that the behavior that Morgan actually wishes for the reader to be aware of is that to successful in this world, one should posse’s inquisitiveness and enthrallment with the world around him, coupled with a serene obsession for the intellectual strength of persons, and a benevolent social servitude. Reference: www. class. uidaho. edu/Engl440/NYRB/NRYB_Edmund_Morgan. htm, Retrieved April 09, 2007. http://www. brothersjudd. com/index. cfm/fuseaction/reviews. detail/book_id/1183/Benjamin%20Fra. htm Retrieved April 09, 2007

Cigars :: essays research papers

Cigars There are signs everywhere that cigars are becoming popular again. For example, you can't pass a magazine stand without seeing two or three new magazines glorifying the subject, and restaurants all over the country are devoting entire nights to "smoke dinners." So why is the cigarette still considered offensive and is generally scorned by all? This seems strange since cigars and cigarettes have so many things in common: both are made of tobacco, both are rolled into tube-like shapes, and both are smoked. However, it must be the differences that make the cigar so much more popular. Cigars are made from better quality tobaccos, cigars are hand rolled, and cigars have a more pleasing aroma. Both cigars and cigarettes are constructed of tobacco, but the care used in raising fine cigar tobacco is second to none. Only the finest leaves of the plant are selected. The drying and fermenting process is long (nine months for filler leaves and up to two years for wrapper leaves) and closely watched. Cigarette tobacco is grown for quantity; not necessarily for quality. No regard is given to the aroma and smoke of the different types of tobacco. The only type of tobacco grown is fast-maturing strains they can get to the market quickly. Careful and attentive raising is non existent. The leaves are quickly dried and thrown into boxes for shipment to the rolling factory. Fine cigars are hand rolled, whereas all cigarettes are machine rolled. Including the type and quality of the leaf, rolling is the ultimate judge of whether a cigar is good or bad. Cigar companies go to great pains to be sure they hire only the best "Torcedores" (cigar rollers). If a cigar is underfilled it will burn hot and harsh; if it is overfilled it is "Plugged" and will not draw. To be sure that the cigars are of the best quality, one out of ten is inspected (that's two out of each box). On the other hand, cigarette tobacco is first jammed into cutting machines where the leaves are shredded. Second, they go into the rolling machines where the shreds are perfectly measured out, rolled, and wrapped in paper. The only humans who come in contact with the tobacco, at this point, are the monitors who sweep up the debris and add it back to the hopper. Since machines are doing the work, there is very little quality control. Only one out of a thousand is checked (that's one cigarette out of fifty packs). Cigar smoke is savored and appreciated, while cigarette smoke is considered nasty and smelly.

Christian Worldview Essay

There is a universal absolute truth that can be known – God is the Ultimate reality. Life has meaning and purpose – death is not the end. History is purposeful and illustrates the movement toward the fulfillment of God’s plan for His creation. Human beings are created in the image of God – physical and spiritual beings who can know and relate to God. Everything that exists is a creation of God’s intelligent design. †¢The Importance of Testing a Worldview Samples (2007) states, â€Å"A person’s worldview is the prism through which one makes sense of life and death. Therefore it is critical to have a view that is genuinely clear and distinct† (p. 27). My worldview provides the basis for all of my decisions, thoughts, and actions. For this reason, I want to make sure that the prism I am using has no cracks or inconsistencies in it that will distort my vision. By applying three major tests, I will be able to determine the validity of my worldview and deepen my faith through truth. †¢Three Major Tests According to Cosgrove (2006), the following questions should be asked: Test of EvidenceÃ'Ž â€Å"Is your worldview in agreement with scientific and experiential observations? Does the worldview fit the world? † (p. 66). Test of Logical Consistency â€Å"Does every belief in the worldview agree with every other belief in that worldview? † (p. 67). Test of Existential Repugnance â€Å"Is it possible to live the worldview in the world – can it be lived in real life? † (p. 68). †¢Results Test of Evidence †¢Human biochemical design is completely different than any other species on Earth. †¢Human †¢Human mind is complex and capable of thought and reasoning.beings have personality and character and the only species on Earth with linguistic abilities. †¢Human beings are instilled with an intrinsic desire for truth, morality, purpose, and destiny. †¢Human †¢All beings have free will and the ability to choose. organisms are designed with a tendency toward selfpreservation. †¢Everything in existence (mankind, animals, nature, the Universe) has intentional design, purpose, and order. †¢Results Test of Logical Consistency †¢Human beings have self-awareness, language, creativity, and the ability to communicate. †¢Each human has a basic personality make-up of mind, will, feelings, emotions, and personal identity. †¢Everything that has been created can be investigated and known because it is rational, ordered, and predictable. †¢There †¢There are absolute moral laws reflecting the character and nature of God. is unity of spiritual and physical worlds – a reality beyond the material world (the substance of which is beyond the comprehension of mankind). †¢. Human beings are spiritually motivated and have an inherent need to believe in something greater than themselves. †¢Creation reveals God’s character and nature. †¢Results Test of Existential Repugnance †¢History proves deterioration of societal morals, values, and behavior when God is removed from the cultural equation. †¢Fulfillment is experienced when actions and behavior reflect God’s nature and character. †¢Evidence provided within the church by those who share likeminded worldviews that the worldview can be lived out in real life. †¢Above all, I live my worldview in real life daily and experience spiritual growth, diminished self-centeredness, and expanding trust in Him on a continual basis. †¢Reaction to the Results For the first time in my life, I was able to see in black and white just how much God has done for me and the depth of healing that has occurred within my mind and soul. I have experienced a worldview without God. It is a life devoid of hope, trust, and love. I realized that I still have so much to learn, but I am convinced I am on the right track and living as I was created to live. My worldview will continue to develop through experiences that bring more clarity of His character through faith and learning. Recent World Events †¢Effect of World Events on Worldview Recent world events have served to solidify my worldview and confirm the truth of God’s word in the Bible. Genesis 3:7-19 documents how we have come to live in a fallen world (NKJV). As a result, the world has to contend with sickness, sorrow, evil and death. As I see world events occur, I know that I am seeing through my own eyes the truth being revealed before me. We live in a broken world. Whether natural disasters or manmade tragedies, I know that God can see what I can’t see. Through my own experiences, I have come to know with all my heart that I can trust that God is in control. Because of this, I have no need to fear the world events that occur, but instead recognize that it is all part of His plan to redeem His people and fulfill the purpose He has for His creation. Because of this, I need not fear what is happening, but use it as the opportunity to show the love of Jesus Christ through compassion and willingness to help. †¢Ways Recent Events Have Changed Worldview The real test for my worldview comes in putting my beliefs into action. It is one thing to say, but quite another to go the extra mile and do. Recent world events have caused me to look inside and muster up the courage to act on what I believe. Amazingly, I have discovered that each time I do reach out and become involved, my love for God and others deepens, the truth of His word becomes more obvious, and my awareness of who He is expands through practical application. †¢Conclusion The presuppositions making up my worldview can never be proven or demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt. Faith is essential, for by faith, I am entrusting myself to God. As I entrust myself to God I receive certainty, connection, and the ground for my existence. It is this entrusting that I meet God in myself and in creation, even as God meets me. Through faith, I am graciously renewed. I experience connection with self, others, creation, and God, who is the healing power and sustaining ground of my life. This commitment to faith integrates and guides my daily experience. †¢In the Final Analysis My worldview is as individual as I am. Shaped by experience, my worldview has evolved to what it is today. I have discovered God’s Truth because my life is evidence of the truth. I tried every technique, medication, and therapy known to man trying to change my life – the results were nil until I became saved. God orchestrated changes within me that have transformed my being. Only God had the capability to heal my soul-sickness and fill the empty void within me that I had felt my entire life. I may not have all of the answers, but one thing I do have is unshakable faith and belief born on the evidence I have seen (and lived). †¢A Parting Thought As clearly illustrated in his admonishment to the believers in Colossae, the Apostle Paul understood the importance of testing one’s worldview; â€Å"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. † (Colossians 2:8, NKJV). Just as it was important then, this reproach should be heeded today. †¢References Cosgrove, M. (2006). Foundations of Christian thought: Faith, learning and the Christian worldview. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. Samples, K. (2007). A world of difference: Putting Christian truth-claims to the worldview test. Dartmouth: Baker Books.

Price Discovery in Illiquid Market

| A synopsis on| Price Discovery in Illiquid markets: Do Financial Asset Prices Rise Faster Than They Fall? | | Submitted by:Dinesh MaharjanMBAe-Trimester VIG-one| 4/13/2013| Richard C.. Green, Dan Li and Norman schurhoff. Price discovery in illiquid market: Do financial asset prices rises faster than they fall. The journal of Finance. VOL LXV, No. 5, OCTOBER 2010| Submitted To: Kiran Thapa Portfolio Management and Security Analysis (Course instructor) Ace Institute of Management I. IntroductionIn OTC bond markets many investors face high costs of trade, and these costs appear to be related to the lack of price transparency. This journal studies the consequences this has for efficient price discovery. In the municipal bond market, unlike the markets for most consumer goods, dealers trade with retail customers as both buyers and sellers and as in consumer markets, in municipal bond market prices appear to â€Å"rise faster than they fall. This asymmetric price adjustment, referred to as â€Å"rockets and feather†, is generally understood by economists to be inconsistent with perfect completion between sellers.Sellers appear to exploit local market power due to the search cost of information that customers face and opportunistically delay the recognition of price movements in dealing with customers The report reflects the asymmetric price adjustment in a major OTC financial market using a comprehensive sample of all trades in municipal bonds over a 5- year period. The report focuses on how the dealers take advantage through manipulation of bond price. On average dealers are â€Å"buying wholesale† and â€Å"selling retail†, the asymmetric movement in prices benefits dealers.II. Objectives of Study * The main purpose of this paper is to study the price discovery in municipal bond. * To analyze How and why the price of the municipal bond rise faster than they fall (rockets and feathers) i. e. asymmetric price adjustment * Study the cross-secti on behavior of bond price with regard to macroeconomic news, treasury yield and how dealers exploit the opportunity of price asymmetry. * To study behavior of intermediaries with respect to price movement, bid-ask spread III. Literature ReviewGreen, Hollifield, and Schurhoff (2007b) show that that newly issued bonds exhibit some peculiar behaviors and high levels of price dispersion. As shown in Green, Hollifield, and Schurhoff (2007a), dealer purchase from and sales to customers are roughly in same value. There are a large number of bounds outstanding, but most individual bonds trade infrequently; intraday price variation can be large compared to movements in fundamentals (Green, Hollifield, and Schurhoff). Hence this paper employs only panel data methods and focus on transactions data aggregated at a daily frequency.Studies on the treasury market generally find that price react almost instantaneously to surprises in scheduled macroeconomic announcements, that the announcements tri gger abnormally high volume, and that there is little autocorrelation in returns after the first minute (Ederington and Lee ( 1993, 1995), Fleming and Remolona (1999), and Balduzzi, Elton, and Green (2001), Piazzesi (2005) studies the price reaction to the FOMC meeting statements and finds that the price response to surprises in these announcements is more sluggish, perhaps because of the qualitative nature of the announcements and their unexpected timing.Harris and Piwowar (2006) and Green, Hollifield and Schurhoff (2007a), investigate the cross-section determinants of dealer trading profits, but whether markups differ when prices are rising versus falling. If prices rise faster than they fall, as in markets for retail goods, then the markup should increase during market rallies by more than if it falls when prices are decreasing. Search costs have been used to explain price dispersion in OTC markets and hidden costs in financial services.Carlin (2009) describes how opacity in fina ncial markets can be interpreted as intermediaries imposing gratuitous search costs on consumers, and how this sustains monopoly profits in equilibrium. Green (2007) uses search costs to explain price dispersion and shows that even when intermediaries must compete for issuers’ business, the resulting monopoly rents can be sustained. IV. Data and Methodology The study of price discovery in the municipal bond market is conducted using data provided by Municipal securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), a self-regulatory industry group.These data include all trades made by registered broker-dealers in municipal securities from May 1, 2000 to October 19, 2006. There are 1,615 trading days during the period. Trades are reported in 1,559,894 bonds. This paper applies a number of rule-based filters to clean the transactions data, eliminate bonds with missing observations, correct obvious clerical errors, and supply missing data items where possible and excludes a small number of trades on holidays and weekends. Most studies of the rockets and feathers phenomenon are based on data that are of high frequency on the time- series dimension.The municipal market, in contrast, involves a huge cross section but trading in individual bonds is relatively infrequent. Therefore this paper propose statistical models that aggregate all transaction in a bond at the daily level, and construct proxies for effective bid-ask spreads, half spreads, and yield spreads over comparable Treasuries. The study is based on empirical analysis which employed following set of explanatory variables and controls * Bond issue and issuer characteristics: Issue size, coupon, maturity in years, modified duration, indicator for callable, tax exempt and insured bonds. Indicator variables for the U. S. state of issuance and calendar year fixed effects. * Order flow variables: short-term rate, term premium, and default spread. * Controls for the average par size traded on a given day, or for the par size a nd the daily changes in the size of the trades used to measure bid, ask, and midpoint price/yield. To evaluate the impact that news events have on volume the regression analysis is conducted, whether the day saw the good bad or neutral news. Also conducted a cross-section regression of the daily change in the yield (price) against the surprise variable (news).To measure the underlying price movements, Lehman Brother’s Long Term Municipal Price Index is used to proxy for the market price level. Regression on markup on round- trip transaction against the change in the index over the period between the initial purchase and final sale is conducted. V. Analysis: a. Asymmetric price adjustment The asymmetric price adjustment is associated with opportunistic timing by the broker-dealers who intermediate trades in the market. The analysis shows that on the ask side of the market, where dealers are selling, prices rise faster than they fall.On the bid side, where dealers are buying, p rices fall faster than they rise. The profits on retail trades rise in rallies faster than they decrease when prices fall. This evidence suggests that dealers opportunistically delay recognition of movements in fundamentals. b.. The effect of macroeconomic news events on Price (yield) and volume: The regressions show that, while Treasury rates respond quickly to macroeconomic movements, municipal rates do not. Yield spreads also respond dramatically and persistently because the prce adjustment for municipals is so slow. It is found that the municipal yields (price) respond sluggishly to news.Also there is no effect in transactions volume in bond due to news impact. c. Implicit Half- Spreads and Asymmetric Price Adjustments To analysis how effective half- spreads respond to change in the midpoint, proxy for the bond’s value. When the midpoint of the bond rises, the average sales price less the midpoint (ask-side effective spread) is unaffected, but it rises when values fall. T hus, on the ask side, price rise faster than they fall. Similarly, the bid-side effective half-spread rises when prices rise, but is unaffected when price fall. Thus, the prices that dealers pat fall faster than they rise.In short, when underlying values move to dealers’ advantage, dealers quickly adjust prices up or down to maintain a constant profit margin. In contrast, when price movements decrease the cost of bond that dealers are selling, or increase the cost of a bond they are buying , dealers’ transactions prices are sticky. d. Asymmetric Yield spread Dynamics: Next analysis is the movement over time of yield spreads between municipals and Treasuries using a partial adjustment model. When the spread of the Treasury yield over the municipal midpoint yield is high, the municipal’s yield tends to rise and thus the price tends to fall.The reverse occurs when the yield spread is unusually narrow. The analysis shows that yield spreads widen faster than they shr ink. Alternatively stated, municipal price rise faster than they fall. e. Search costs and Asymmetric price dispersion: The analysis shows that within-day dispersion in the prices at which dealers sell to customers is higher when prices are falling than when they are rising. It is also found exact opposite for prices at which dealers buy from customers. Taken together, these findings suggest that dealers are exploiting search frictions on both sides of market.V. Conclusion Investor, financial intermediaries and regulators should concern regarding the consequences of limited transparency in financial markets. It is clear from the analysis that opacity in the municipal bond market affects the dynamic behavior of prices. Price discovery is slow, and price rise faster than they fall. Intermediaries appear to opportunistically time their responses to new information about fundamentals in the prices at which they trade with investors. The dealer markups on inventory positions increase fas ter when prices rise than they decrease when price fall.Implicit bid-ask spreads adjust slowly when they are relatively wide and adjust quickly when they are relatively narrow. Implicit half-spreads respond more quickly to price movements when this benefits dealers. Yield spreads relative to treasuries also adjust with asymmetric speed when they suggest that municipal prices should rise versus fall. In conclusion, these findings suggests that intermediaries benefit from the lack of price transparency and decentralization, and thus from the search costs imposed on investors, in the OTC market.

Divorce Harms Children

Divorce Harms Children Free Online Research Papers Introduction Divorce harms! That is undisputed, to what extent and to what degree is the question we have set out to examine? The research that has been carried out, has been critiqued for biased ness in sampling and later interpretation of data. Most researchers have determined that children of divorce have difficulty forming relationship of their own, are more likely to divorce themselves, are more prone to depression, become less religious and have reduced educational and financial attainment. In short the overall effect is proclaimed to be negative. There are most positive aspects out of divorce especially when there is no alternative option? We will examine these issues in detail and also see what sort of option does parents in conflict have and with what implications. Marital Dissolution The sanctity of marriage as an institution may be open to question as increasing number of children are either being reared by single parent, or being forced with a single parent because of non marital childhood. Children may have an unquestioned right to parental support, be it emotional, psychological or financial – children of separated parents still have these needs and separation creates an indeterminable void that may sustain beyond childhood. Judith (1994) believes that women and men have fundamentally different behaviors visvis marriage child bearing and care of children. Women normally take care of children; take responsibility for them, in spite or despite their existent or future relationships. Men on the other hand, Judith believes, have usually relationship with children of partners they are cohabiting with – this relationship may shear off with partner dissolution. This removal of paternal link may have severe emotional consequences for younger children. The quantum and magnitude of effects has been questioned by various researchers citing lack of evidence or partiality of evidence, yet the negativity of effects has been acknowledged (Judith, 1994). There is an increased tendency (almost twice with children from intact marriages) to drop out from school amongst single parent’s children. Children from broken up homes are shuttled between two entities for custodial rights – those living with their mother are disadvantaged in terms of access to material resources, however research shows that girls living their mother are better adjusted socially than boys living with their mother, further children living with their mother may have reduced financial resources, as family income has been cut and generally women earn less than men. Although happiness does not require money, yet without money – adequate food and living space happiness is again difficult to come by. Although child support payments are mandated by law, these payments are not consistent and adequate and as time pass these payments decrease even further. Causes Conflict between parents affects children both directly and indirectly, as parents may be preoccupied with their own problems and later after the separation, the single parent may be too traumatized to offer solace to the child. There is also evidence that conflict that predates divorce may have negative bearing on children from the earlier time and may continue after the separation. Children’s emotional security is thus affected both prior to divorce and afterwards when out of selfish love each partner exaggerates interest in child welfare augmenting the strain on poor child. The major sources of disagreements amongst the two partners before divorce are money and child handling ways and these issues persist after the break – exacerbated by discordant partners who already could not agree to a single view. This conflict often leads to disengagement from each other and leaving the poor child’s future in a vacuum. Growing children are caught midway between parents who can’t take sides without feeling guilty and end up blaming themselves for inability to manage parents’ disagreements (Judith, 1994). Boys and girls tend to behave differently in post divorce single parent scenario. Boys are more disturbed when father leaves than daughters while daughters similarly experience distress with addition of a stepfather, as this addition may be perceived as pseudo loss of mother in terms of attention and time. Again stepfather addition may surmount to sexual tension for girls in the pubescent step daughter step father relationship (Stephanie et al, 1996). Joan (1998) states that children from broken homes are more likely to suffer from delinquency, drop out of school, use drugs and drink heavily – however sometimes divorce may be the best way out and best solution for children. Divorce effects ripple into all facets of life from education to emotional health. Increasing number of divorce rates are compounding these problems, as divorce rates climb to 50% of the newly married. Society is still providing tacit approval of divorce which entails increasing detrimental effects on the partners and their off springs. The evidence is unmistakable, children of divorce are abused and neglected, these children have problem focusing and concentrating on studies, and finally these children show increased crime adoption and suicidal tendencies. These children are more likely to divorce as they become adults and marry. Interestingly the odds against marriage succeeding become even higher if both parents are offspring of divorced parents (Scott, 2002). These children start seeing divorce as an acceptable solution, even if they have children of their own. When divorce may not be so bad or actually good? At times parents may stay together, ostentatiously for their children, however the conflict and stress may be so great that children end up being victimized and may be hounded by memories of their parents shouting and bickering at each other. In situations that are irretrievable clean break may be advised and for these partners divorce may be the only solution and accost children with the new fact of life and allow children to deal with things as they are not what they might want them to be (Joan, 1998). Divorce experience may be different for different persons E. Mavis says that at least 20% of the divorced women emerged from the relationship, liberated and developed latent abilities that would not have been possible in restrictive or unhappy marriage. Many of these women went back to college, began to work and developed a successful career and essentially became responsible citizens. Many of these women had satisfying and happy second marriages. This was especially true when they moved from an already disengaged partnership or from bullying or acrimonious husband that had weakened their self esteem (E. Mavis, 2002). Similarly some girls do emerge from their parent’s divorce more responsible having learnt from divorce experience how to handle stress in their own lives. Sometimes children are denied the safe environment they deserve, they are sexually and physically abused and professional help hasn’t worked or parent doesn’t acknowledge the problem’s gravity – divorce may be the answer. Children living in homes with domestic violence may suffer long lasting psychological problems, then for child and spouse’s own safety divorce may be the right course of action. Similarly for spouse addicted to drugs and alcohol and who is unwilling to go for professional help separation may be necessary for both spouse and children sake. Divorce is bad for partners and for children but at times it may be better than living in violent, abusive and unhealthy environment. (Gregory, Maybe you should get a divorce) Trauma and Religion Joan quotes Robert Simpson, professor of Sociology, at University of Chicago who has determined that divorce rates in a community strongly correlated and predicted robbery rate in that community he came to this result after studying 171 cities with more than 100,000 people. Further divorced parents’ children have a higher chance of being abused and even remarriage fails to stem the levels of abuse. Besides abuse emotional suffering and trauma of separation may cause long lasting psychological damage in many children – there is also an increased chance of child neglect when parents have split also giving rise to feeling of unwonted. An ancillary affect is weakened relationship between child and his/her separated parents. Scott (2002) quoting Wallerstein says that children from divorce end up having strong negative feeling about their father if he has stopped providing financial support for education and other financial emotional needs. It is common for children from split families to end up blaming themselves for their parents divorce and have a poor self image. Thus these children’s psychological stability is undermined and the effects sustain beyond into children’s adulthood and child’s capacity to live a family life is severely affected, they might have difficulty in forming profound and long lasting relationships. These children may experience sex earlier than on average, have more teenage pregnancies, have distrust for long term relationships and are generally afraid of having children, â€Å"Parents not only divorce each other, they in effect divorce or partially divorce their children†, (Patrick, Robert, 2000). Relationship between surviving parent and child is not as deep after the split as before as the parent is often unable to commit same deep level of emotional; support to his/her child, also the child inherits inability to handle conflict which becomes a hindrance in later life. Children of separated parents may suffer from feelings of inadequacy and rejection which may hamper their judgmental skills with regards to giving and accepting love and intimacy. Religion is considered not only a solace and support but also provides faith in higher being, broken families have reduced religious interaction, even to the point of stopping practice of faith or outright rejection of divine interference. Scott (2002) says that children from divorce are 2 to 2.7 times more likely to reject faith and shun religion than children from parents of married parents. This reduction of faith also removes another pillar of support during times of distress and makes these children more susceptible to higher levels of stress. Belief in divine intervention often helps to shuttle the problems of to divine and having faith and belief and a solution will occur. Faith has also been found to indoctrinate general level of well being and happiness – there is a strong correlation between crime rate and level of faith and worship and further strongly religious persons are less likely to indulge in drugs and alcohol, even better health is a factor of more religious tendencies. Children from divorced parents, according to Bernardo, and who are in touch with both of their parents are caught in a void between two separate sets of beliefs and values leading to an inner conflict or war of the worlds, at times these children may be ambivalent at times traveling in extreme poles but rarely do the two parents belief sets are congruent. During marriage there might have been compromises and harmonization of differences but post separation the two discrete individuals who have stopped reaching out retreat into their own shells and diverge from each other values and beliefs. The poor child who is in contact with both of them has a strikingly difficult job of making sense of two ways of thinking, living and believing. This compulsive conflict may lead these children to impaired thinking, decision making and finding their own identity – they become confused. Hence the child is at a loss whether the divorce is acrimonious, then he/she is struck with discord and in ner strife. If the divorce is amicable then child is laden with addled thinking as above (Bernardo, 2006). Conclusion We have seen that divorce is draining emotionally, psychologically and financially for children and for the single mothers. Children have emotional scars from the tragedy which they will most probably carry over to their next generation. We also saw children from divorce dropping out of school, blaming themselves having suicidal tendencies and turning away from religion. A positive aspect out of divorce may be when separation acts as a release from a binding dysfunctional relationship, when children were abused, when partner was belligerent, bullying alcoholic and drug addict. We have also seen that rather than been living in a regular bickering conflict ridden relationship it is better to separate. In the end one thing is for certain – divorce is on the whole bad for the parents and harms children who are the hardest hit. Research Papers on Divorce Harms ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductResearch Process Part OneThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseGenetic Engineering

The Ultimate SAT Spanish Subject Test Study Guide

The Ultimate SAT Spanish Subject Test Study Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Applying to highly selective schools often means submitting SAT Subject Test scores along with your regular SAT or ACT scores. Si espaà ±ol es pan comido para usted, then taking the SAT Spanish Subject Test is a great way to fulfill part of the subject test requirement. Read this guide to learn more about what’s on the SAT Spanish Subject Test and whether or not you should take it. We’ll go over format, test content, where to find good practice material, and tips to help you when studying and taking the test. Table of Contents What’s the Test Format? When Can You Take It? Should You Take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish? Choosing the Right SAT Subject Test: Spanish or Spanish with Listening? What Does the Test Cover? Part A: Vocabulary and Structure Part B: Paragraph Completion Part C: Reading Comprehension SAT Spanish with Listening Question Styles Where to Find SAT Spanish Practice Tests 4 SAT Spanish Study Tips Test-Day Tips En Conclusià ³n What’s Next? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download this free SAT guide now: What’s the Test Format? There are two different SAT Spanish tests you can choose from. The regular SAT Spanish Subject Test is like most other standardized tests- you’ll be asked multiple choice questions about what you read in the test booklet. The Spanish with Listening Subject Test is a little different because the test starts by asking you to answer around 30 multiple choice questions based on listening to recordings (followed by ~55 questions you’ll answer based on what you read). SAT Spanish SAT Spanish with Listening What’s it out of? 200-800 points 200-800 points How long is it? 60 minutes for reading questions 60 minutes total (20 min for listening questions, 40 minutes for reading questions) How many questions is it? 85 Around 85 (around 30 listening questions, 55 reading questions) For both of these tests, you’ll need to answer about 85 multiple choice questions (each with four possible answer choices). Each correct answer is worth one point, each skipped or unanswered question is worth 0 points, and each incorrect answer is worth negative 0.25 points (to discourage random guessing). When you take the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you’ll need to bring along an approved CD-player to use for the listening questions. Return to the table of contents. Robert Leverington/Flickr When Can You Take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish? The regular SAT Spanish Subject Test is offered in August, October, December, May, and June. The Spanish with Listening Subject Test is only offered in November*. Here’s a snapshot of what the SAT II Spanish test dates look like for the school year 2019-2020: SAT Spanish SAT Spanish with Listening August 24, 2019 âÅ"” October 5, 2019 âÅ"” November 2, 2019 âÅ"” December 7, 2019 âÅ"” May 2, 2020 âÅ"” June 6, 2020 âÅ"” In future years the dates may shift around a little, but the SAT Spanish Subject Test will always be offered in these months around the same dates. You can find the most up-to-date information about SAT Subject Test dates here. *SAT Language tests with listening will be offered in November up through November 2020; after that, they will only be offered in May (starting May 2021). Return to the table of contents. Should You Take the SAT Spanish Subject Test? The College Board recommends that you should only take the SAT Spanish Subject Test if you’ve studied 3-4 years of high school Spanish (or two years, if you’re an advanced student). To be blunt, SAT Language Subject Tests are extremely difficult to do well on for non-native speakers because your performance is being compared to that of native speakers who take the test. The curve isn’t quite as bad on Spanish as it is for some of the other language tests, but in general, there are only three cases in which you should think about taking a SAT Subject Test in Spanish. Case 1: Spanish Is Your Strongest Subject Some highly selective colleges require or recommend students to submit at least two SAT Subject Test scores along with their applications. If application requirements are why you’re taking an SAT Subject Test, Spanish should only be your choice if it’ll be one of your best scores. To know if you'll be able to do well on the SAT Spanish Subject Test, we've put together this table with what it takes to get a good score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test (excerpted from our article on what’s a good Subject Test score). 70th+ %ile score 80th+ %ile score 90th+ %ile score Spanish 730-740 760 790-800 Spanish with Listening 750-760 770 790 If you’re going to be able to hit a higher percentile score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test than you will with any other Subject Test, then you should take it. Otherwise, it's better to send colleges an excellent score in another area than to send them a mediocre Spanish SAT II score. Case 2: You’re Not Taking Spanish but Want to Show Fluency If you’re not taking AP or IB Spanish B and want to show you have a high level of fluency and ability in Spanish, then it makes sense to take the SAT Spanish Subject Test. Students who might fall into this category include native Spanish speakers or students who’ve taken a lot of Spanish outside of their high school and want to demonstrate their abilities. In fact, if you have a lot of experience and familiarity with spoken Spanish, the College Board particularly recommends taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test to showcase your listening skills. Case 3: You Want to Place Into the Correct Level of Spanish Colleges often use standardized test scores to place you in the right level foreign language classes. If you’re not planning on taking the Spanish AP or IB test, then taking the SAT Subject Test in Spanish is a good substitute. Most colleges also have some kind of free placement exam, so if you don’t want to spend the time and money on a SAT Subject Test, you don’t have to. One bonus of taking the SAT Spanish Subject Test, though, is that all the questions are multiple choice- you won’t have to write any essays or even do any free-response questions. If you’re only taking the test to place into the correct level of Spanish and will be submitting other, likely higher, SAT II scores with your college applications, you should wait until you’re as far along in your Spanish classes as possible to take the Spanish SAT. You’ll need to double check with the colleges you’re applying to, but as a rule, if you’re only taking SAT II Spanish to place into the right level Spanish class, you should hold off on taking it until May or June of senior year. Return to the table of contents. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Choosing the Right SAT Subject Test: Spanish or Spanish With Listening? We briefly went over the big difference between the two tests when discussing their formats, but that might not be enough information for you to decide which test to take. The difference between the two tests boils down to how comfortable you are with understanding spoken Spanish. On the informational page about the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, College Board states that â€Å"many colleges indicate the Spanish with Listening test gives them a fuller picture of your ability and may be more useful for placement purposes.† So if you can excel on Spanish with Listening, you should absolutely take that over the regular Spanish Subject Test (kind of like how you should take the Math 2C Subject Test over Math 1C). But if you’re not confident your Spanish listening comprehension skills are at a high enough level or are worried that anxiety about the listening section will negatively affect your score, you should take the regular SAT Spanish Subject Test. 40% of the questions on the Spanish with Listening Subject Test involve listening to spoken Spanish and answering questions on it. The three tasks you’ll be asked to perform are: Explaining a picture ("Pictures"). You’ll have to identify either what’s presented in a photograph or the most likely thing someone in the photograph would say. Continuing a conversation ("Rejoinders"). You’ll have to choose the answer that would be the best next line in a short conversation. Demonstrating listening comprehension ("Selections"). You’ll need to answer questions that demonstrate you’ve understood what was said in a longer spoken selection. Keep in mind that both exams test you on your knowledge of vocabulary and structure, paragraph completions, and reading comprehension. It’s just that answering questions based on written material makes up 100% of the SAT Spanish Subject Test, but only about 60% of the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test. For Rejoinders questions, if one person in the recording asks  ¿Dà ³nde est el baà ±o?, you'll need to choose an answer that makes sense in context. Return to the table of contents. What Does the Test Cover? The SAT Spanish Subject Test is designed to cover skills and topics that are taught in most high school Spanish classes. Specifically, the following three areas are heavily emphasized: Vocabulary (in the context of a sentence as well as throughout the test) Parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) Idiomatic expressions The test itself is divided up into three sections, each with roughly equal numbers of questions. Part A: Vocabulary and Structure Part B: Paragraph Completion Part C: Reading Comprehension In the next three sections of this guide, I’ll go over what’s on each of the three parts of the test. All sample questions come from the SAT Subject Test Student Guide 2016-2017. Return to the table of contents. Part A: Vocabulary and Structure The first part of the SAT Spanish Subject Test is the Vocabulary and Structure section (33% of the test). This section is made up of fill-in-the-blank questions which test your knowledge of both what word or phrase is correct grammatically and what makes sense in the context of the sentence. Here’s an example of a vocabulary and structure question you might see on the SAT II Spanish Test: Directions: This part consists of a number of incomplete statements, each having four suggested completions. Select the most appropriate completion and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. Si en el Brasil, hablarà ­amos portuguà ©s y no espaà ±ol. (A) vivamos(B) vivimos(C) vivà ­amos(D) vivià ©ramos Answer: D Return to thetable of contents. Part B: Paragraph Completion The next section on the Spanish SAT Subject Test is the Paragraph Completion section (33%). This section is very similar to the vocabulary and structure section, but instead of testing grammar and usage with isolated sentences, you’ll be given longer paragraphs and asked to complete them with the appropriate vocabulary or phrase choice. Here’s a sample paragraph and a paragraph completion question about it: Directions: In each of the following paragraphs, there are numbered blanks indicating that words or phrases have been omitted. For each numbered blank, four completions are provided. First, read through the entire paragraph. Then, for each numbered blank, choose the completion that is most appropriate given the context of the entire paragraph and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. La mquina ms infernal de hacer dinero se llama â€Å"Pedroso,† un osito electrà ³nico que (4) ha derramado sobre sus fabricantes beneficios superiores a los 100 millones de dà ³lares en el (5) aà ±o. La (6) de Pedroso es que habla. Claro, no hay ningà ºn misterio en la cinta sin fin y el grabador (7) en el interior del osito. Pero lo (8) novedoso es que (9) hablar su boca se mueve en sincronà ­a con las palabras y sus ojos pestaà ±ean. El juguete (10) vende a precios que oscilan entre 60 y 80 dà ³lares. (4): (A) todavà ­a(B) nunca(C) ya(D) tampoco Answer: C Return to the table of contents. Part C: Reading Comprehension The last third of the SAT Spanish Subject Test is Part C, the Reading Comprehension section. The questions in this section are based on short selections from: prose fiction historical works newspaper and magazine articles advertisements, flyers, and letters You'll be tested on your understanding of the passage or image with questions that ask you about: main and supporting ideas themes style tone spatial and temporal settings of the selection (where and when do the events described in the passage take place?) Below, you can try out a sample Reading Comprehension question based on an advertisement. Directions: Read the following texts carefully for comprehension. Each text is followed by a number of questions or incomplete statements. Select the answer or completion that is best according to the text and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.  ¿Quà © caracterà ­stica se destaca ms de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a anunciada? (A) Su precio(B) Su cortesà ­a(C) Su rapidez(D) Su amplitud Answer: D Return to the table of contents. SAT Spanish With Listening Question Styles If you choose to take the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you’ll encounter three additional types of questions, all listening-based. For Pictures questions, you’ll be shown a printed picture in your test booklet and asked to listen to four sentences. The recording will specify whether the sentences are meant to illustrate what you see in the picture or be an example of what someone in the picture might say. The full sentences you listen to for the Pictures questions are not written out in your test booklet, just the answer choices (A), (B), (C), or (D). For an example of a Pictures question, try the first or second question in this set of official practice questions. The next type of Listening question is called "Rejoinders." You’ll hear either several short conversations or parts of conversations and then be asked to listen to four possible choices for how the conversation could continue. Again, only (A), (B), (C), or (D) will be in your test booklet, not the full text of the choices. To see an example of a Rejoinders question, try question #3, 4, or 5 in this set of official practice questions. The last type of Listening question, Selections, asks you to demonstrate you’ve listened to and understood a longer listening selection (around 10-25 seconds). For an example of this type of question, try any of the last four questions in this set of official practice questions. Return to the table of contents. Where to Find SAT Spanish Practice Tests The best source of realistic SAT Spanish Subject Test practice materials is the College Board, the maker of the test. If you want to practice with a full-length official SAT Spanish practice test, you’ll have to buy The Official Guide for ALL SAT Subject Tests, 2nd Edition, which costs around $18 and includes an audio CD for the Spanish with Listening practice test. Both of the SAT Subject Tests in Spanish ask you questions based on what you read, so you can use the reading section of the practice test you’re not taking for extra practice questions. If you’re taking the†¦ Take the†¦ Get extra practice questions from the†¦ Spanish Subject Test Spanish Subject Test practice test Spanish with Listening Subject Test practice test Spanish with Listening Subject Test Spanish with Listening Subject Test practice test Spanish Subject Test practice test The best free resource for official SAT Spanish practice is the College Board website, which allows you to answer 33 practice questions online and view your results (with answer explanations). Here's a breakdown of how many types of each question the College Board website has for the SAT Spanish Subject Test: Section Type Number of Questions Vocabulary and Structure 5 Paragraph Completion 15 (across two different paragraphs) Reading Comprehension 13 (across three different passages/ads) If you’re taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you can also try out nine official online listening practice questions for free. If your browser supports Adobe Flash Player, you can actually listen to the questions, rather than just reading the written-out script, which is great practice! Here's a breakdown of the number of Spanish with Listening questions College Board has up online (spoiler alert: there are only nine questions total): Section Type Number of Questions Pictures 2 Rejoinders 3 Selections 4 Other Practice Resources The free SAT Subject Tests Student Guide PDF is useful if you want to print out the questions and take them on paper for more realistic practice, but it only includes some (not all) of the free online practice questions linked to in the previous section. If you want more practice tests, you can supplement your studying with non-official practice materials. The best of these seems to be Barron’s SAT Subject Test: Spanish, which includes ten full-length practice tests as well as review materials for specific topics. Return to Table of Contents 4 SAT Spanish Study Tips Now that you're fully equipped with information about what the test covers, what the question formats are, and what practice materials are out there, it's time to jump into studying. We've come up with four fundamental tips to help you as you prep for the SAT Spanish Subject Test. #1: Listen and Watch Spanish-Language Media A great way to get comfortable with colloquial Spanish is to listen to Spanish-language music and watch telenovelas or other Spanish-language media. This is one time where watching TV is a valid studying technique! Get on your online streaming service of choice and search for Spanish-language music and film/TV. Make sure to turn off English subtitles if you’re watching something in Spanish, or that will defeat the purpose. If you're looking for specific movie suggestions, Spanish teacher Carla Staffaroni suggests watching Diarios de motocicleta, La misma luna, Valentà ­n, and La historia oficial. #2: Memorize Irregular Verbs One thing the SAT Language Subject Tests love to test you on is irregular verbs, particularly ones that are commonly used. Study them and learn them well so you’re not unpleasantly surprised on test day. Here's a list of the top 25 most common irregular verbs: Spanish verb English meaning ser to be haber to have estar to be tener to have hacer to do, to make poder can, to be able decir to say, to tell ir to go ver to see dar to give saber to know querer to want, to love llegar to arrive, to reach, to come (to) poner to put, to place, to set parecer to seem creer to believe seguir to follow, to continue encontrar to find, to encounter venir to come pensar to think salir to leave, to go out volver to return, to go back conocer to know (people or places) sentir to feel, to regret contar to count, to tell We have an article specifically about ser for every tense, as a good starting place. For more irregular verbs, search online for "common irregular Spanish verbs." #3: Memorize the Question Formats Just knowing Spanish won’t be enough to ace this test if you are caught off guard by the ways you’re tested on your knowledge. Familiarize yourself ahead of time with the different question formats that will be on the test to avoid getting surprised on test day. To recap, those formats for the regular SAT Spanish Subject Test are: fill-in-the-blank vocab questions, paragraph completion questions, and reading comprehension questions. In addition to those three question formats, the Spanish with Listening test also has Picture, Rejoinder, and Selection questions. #4: Take Realistic Practice Tests Even if you’re completely fluent in Spanish, you should take at least one realistic practice test to familiarize yourself with the layout of the test. To get the most realistic practice-test experience, you’ll need to make sure you take the test in one sitting, stick to the 60-minute time limit, and don’t re-listen to audio recordings you’ll only get a chance to hear once on the real test. If you take a realistic practice test and ace it, then congratulations! You don’t need to spend extra time studying. If you take it and don’t do as well as you expected, that’s still helpful, because the questions you got wrong will tell you where you need to focus your studying. Part of making sure your practice test is realistic if you’re taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test is using an approved CD player, preferably the one you’ll be using on test day. Yes, it’s easier to just pop the CD into your computer’s disc drive, but that won’t give you the most realistic testing experience. Make sure you have and practice with a CD player that: has headphones is handheld (no boomboxes or computers) is battery operated (no power cords permitted) can’t record or duplicate Return to the table of contents. You also cannot take a realistic practice test using your car's CD player. Test-Day Tips All of the usual test-taking tips apply to the Spanish Subject Test: get lots of sleep, bring a snack, get there early, and so forth. However, we’ve also compiled four tips below that are particularly helpful for taking the Spanish SAT II. #1: Only Guess Between Two Answers As with all SAT Subject Tests with questions with four answer choices, the Spanish and Spanish with Listening tests take off a third of a point for every wrong answer. Unless you can narrow your choices down to two possible correct answers, it’s too much of a risk to guess. You’re better off skipping the question, which leads right into the next test-day tip. #2: Skip Hard Questions Save time by skipping over harder questions and coming back to them later. Each question is worth the same amount of points, and there’s no rule that says you have to go through the test in order. It's much better to skip and come back to a difficult question than it is to burn five of your precious test-taking minutes staring it down. Unfortunately, if you want to get a good score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test, you're going to have to answer almost every question correctly. But it's better for your score to answer 81/85 questions correctly and leave four blank than it is to answer 85/85 and get four questions wrong. The next two tips are for the Spanish with Listening Subject Test only. #3: Don’t Forget Your CD Player! There is nothing worse than getting to a testing center and realizing you’ve forgotten some essential test-taking tool, whether it's your lucky number two pencil or your graphing calculator for SAT Math. All this is to say that if you're taking the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test, make sure you bring your College Board-approved CD player with you to the test. You might want to pack it (along with headphones and extra working batteries) the night before, just to be safe. Before test day, you’ll also want to check to make sure the CD player is working well and put in fresh batteries (no need to be changing your batteries out during the test). Similarly, make sure that the backup batteries you bring with you are functional. College Board even suggests bringing a backup CD player if possible, although that seems a little over the top. Still, you should do whatever will make you feel the most confident that you won’t encounter technical difficulties during the test. #4: Stay Calm During Listening Because it requires not just reading, but listening, some students can get very anxious about the listening section of the test, particularly since it’s the first 20 minutes of the test. You can do things ahead of time that will lessen this anxiety, like making sure you practice with the same CD player you’ll be using on the test so you can get familiar with it in the test-taking environment. We also have some great tips on decreasing test-taking anxiety in general here. Ultimately, though, even if you finish the listening section and feel like you’ve completely failed it, try not to let it faze you too much. You need to put your game face on and concentrate on hitting the next 55-ish written questions out of the park! Postpone your self-doubt and worrying for 40 minutes until you put down the pencil at the end of the test. Return to the table of contents. En Conclusià ³n The SAT Spanish Subject Test is 85 multiple choice questions taken over the course of 60 minutes. If you’re fluent in Spanish or know that your strongest SAT Subject Test Score will be in Spanish, you should take the SAT Spanish Subject Test. Consider taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test if you have a good understanding of spoken Spanish, as it will give colleges a better idea of your Spanish abilities. Use the College Board website for free practice questions, or buy The Official Guide for ALL SAT Subject Tests, 2nd Edition for a complete official practice test. Try the Barron’s SAT Spanish Subject Test book for more non-official practice tests. You can also prepare for the SAT Spanish Subject Test by listening to Spanish-language music, watching Spanish-language TV and films, and memorizing common irregular verbs. On test day, remember to skip hard questions and come back to them later and only guessing if you can narrow it down to two choices. If you’re taking Spanish with Listening, don’t forget your CD player and try not to sweat the listening section after you’ve finished it.  ¡Feliz estudios! What’s Next? Want more in-depth information about the difficulty of the test before you make any decisions? Read our analysis of how hard the SAT Spanish Subject Test is here. Still trying to decide if it makes sense to take the SAT Spanish Subject Test? Take a look at our discussion of which SAT Subject Tests you should take. Not sure if you need to take an SAT Subject Test for the colleges you're applying to? Use our complete list of colleges that require SAT subject tests to figure out the answer! Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below: