Monday, August 24, 2020

The story develops Essay Example for Free

The story creates Essay The creator of Frankenstein is Mary Shelley. She was conceived on August 30th 1797 in London. Afterward passed on February first 1851 when she was 53. Her dad was William Godwin, he was an extreme thinker and a writer. Her mom was Mary Wollstonecraft, she is as yet referred to today as a women's activist. Her mom passed on in September tenth 1797 of a malady called puerperal fever. Mary Shelley was hitched to Percy Shelley. She stole away with Percy Shelley at the early age of 16, the purpose behind this is Percy Shelley was at that point wedded. They absconded to France. Percy Shelley was a significant figure in his own privilege since he was an artist and old buddies of her folks. Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley had four kids, however unfortunately just one endure. Not long after the passing of Mary Shelleys first kid she had a fantasy about her dead youngster being held before a shoot and afterward being reestablished to life by somebody breathing into her. Mary Shelleys spouse Percy Shelley suffocated when he was 29 years of age on a pontoon trip. The book was composed as a result of an apparition challenge set by Lord Byron. At the time Mary Shelley was just 19, which made her the most youthful in the test. There were others who were set the test too however when Lord Byron saw Mary Shelleys book he was savage genuine about attempting to get it distributed. Mary Shelleys life is the key thing that impacted her recorded as a hard copy the novel. One impact in her life was her mom biting the dust when Mary Shelley was just 10 days old. Likewise three of Mary Shelleys youngsters passed on in outset. At the point when one of her kids kicked the bucket, not long after she had a fantasy about breathing life once more into the youngster. This is said to have been persuasive towards the novel. When Mary Shelley composed the novel, in the mid nineteenth century, was an energizing time for logical and modern turn of events. It was known as the period of unlimited prospects, just in light of the fact that they figured they could do anything and nothing could stop them. This is thought of to have been another motivation behind why Mary Shelley expounded on Frankenstein since it would engage many individuals at the time it was composed.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Methods Of Personality Research Clinical Vs. Exp Essay Example For Students

Strategies For Personality Research ? Clinical Vs. Exp Essay erimentalThe advancement of character has for some time been a region of outrageous enthusiasm to clinicians and psychoanalysts the same and a wide range of hypotheses of character have created throughout the years. From Sigmund Freud to B.F. Skinner, everybody appears to have not just an assessment of what character is and how it grows yet additionally a thought with respect to what is the most ideal approach to quantify and report their discoveries. So as to test their hypotheses, it was important to detail strategies for examine that were successful, moral and would give a strong establishment to future character research.Although both the clinical and trial techniques for character look into have loaned themselves to our current day comprehension of the human mind and character, every ha done as such in immensely various manners. Freud and his partners, who spearheaded the clinical research strategy, decided to watch their customers in a very close manner. A lot of their examination discoveries originated from interviews with mentally upset patients. Character clinicians who decide on the clinical strategy for look into view their work as both a technique for social event data and testing speculation just as a chance to give treatment and support recuperating. Consequently, the clinical strategy is very individual arranged and takes into account an increasingly close investigation of the individual personality.Proponents of the exploratory technique are similarly as committed to their strategies for examine. Similar to clinical scientists, test specialists view their techniques as the most ideal method of social occasion data to help speculation with respect to character. Despite the fact that their techniques are not as very close as the individuals who study utilizing the clinical strategy, they are absolutely significant. Trial investigate is frequently viewed as the best type of research, because of its exacting adherence to unbending examination rules. Albeit neither of these two techniques are trustworthy, every ha its own benefits and defeats. So as to be best ready to scrutinize these strategies one must have a general information on every technique, and a comprehension of what has permitted them their fortitude in the field of mental research. The Clinical Research MethodThe clinical technique for character inquire about grew truly at the patients bedside. During this time in the life of psychoanalytic research, the subjects were normally harassed with one kind of insane issue or another. This bedside way to deal with examination considered the specialist or therapist to watch the patient in their most normal environmental factors. It additionally permitted the patient the opportunity to talk and act without hindrance. With this opportunity to talk transparently, the specialist and patient had the option to set up an expert relationship based on a common trust. This trust empowered the patient to open up and start the mental mending process while it permitted the specialist the chance to contemplate the person in question as a novel human being.This regard of distinction is a piece of what makes the clinical methodology fruitful. The individual methodology takes into consideration a very inside and out investigation of the person. Shockingly, it is additionally regularly viewed as the biggest defeat of the clinical technique. Every individual has a one of a kind history, edge of reference, and perspective and this customized investigation of one individual isn't really characteristic of the circumstance of numerous others. In as much as this individualistic methodology takes into consideration a lot of speculation arrangement, it doesn't really take into account the chance to affirm or invalidate the underlying assumption. Clinical research is subjective research. It is increasingly adaptable in its style and is more exceptional and less formal than the test technique. The target of subjective research is to create speculations and refine ideas. Clinical specialists center around people or little gatherings in a characteristic and loosened up air, not at all like trial scientists who center around bigger gatherings, while controlling certain factors. .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .postImageUrl , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .focused content zone { min-tallness: 80px; position: relative; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:hover , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:visited , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:active { border:0!important; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad { show: square; progress: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-change: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; mistiness: 1; change: darkness 250ms; webkit-change: murkiness 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:active , .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:hover { haziness: 1; change: obscurity 250ms; webkit-change: murkiness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .focused content territory { width: 100%; position: relative; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .ctaText { outskirt base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: intense; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; content enrichment: underline; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; fringe: none; outskirt range: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; textual style weight: striking; line-stature: 26px; moz-fringe span: 3px; content adjust: focus; content adornment: none; content shadow: none; width: 80px; min-stature: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/basic arrow.png)no-rehash; position: total; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622 ebbab793e58fad .focused content { show: table; stature: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .u4cc5eb0d8525dbd622ebbab793e58fad:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: The World of Culinary Arts Essay The specialist, from their own perception may discover likenesses between people encounters, and have the option to shape a theory with respect to the reason for these similarities.Clinical advisors feel that we can just genuinely comprehend a character by considering it through the clinical technique. Their explanation behind guaranteeing this is because of their conviction that every distinct individual is extraordinary. They accept that character is the whole of ones beneficial experience. Subsequently, to truly get character, one should initially comprehend the individual, their encounters, qualities, and convictions. So as to do as such, the patient must be seen in as normal a circumstance as could be expected under the circumstances. Saying this doesn't imply that that a clinical setting is a regular habitat, however that the patient will have the option to act all the more normally, talk more straightforwardly and act more unreservedly than if exposed to consider control of factors with respect to the researcher.Experimental Research MethodThe name Pavlov is interchangeable with the trial technique. Pavlovs explores different avenues regarding creatures utilizing the adapted reaction and unconditioned upgrades framework turned into a foundation for lab inquire about on creatures and people the same. The test technique, due to its adherence to severe convention, is frequently thought to be the most ideal path with which to accumulate and gauge explore data.Experimental look into utilizes the conviction that the logical strategy for examine is the sole wellspring of genuine information, on account of its significant level of replicability. For instance, their discoveries might be tried and re-tried with a similar result because of the rigidity of the logical technique. Trial look into is subjective research. Subjective research tests speculations and theory, searching for quantifiable information to decide if a particular reason makes a particular impact. In contrast to its partner, test look into is organized and formal. It doesn't leave room, as does clinical research, for developing examination. Or maybe, it centers around a particular characteristic or conduct, and endeavors to discover measurable likenesses among a bigger, progressively controlled gathering of individuals to clarify that quality or behaviour.In ContrastExperimental strategies for look into are better ready to furnish us with a summed up perspective on unmistakable zones of character. For example, trial examine performs testing on huge cross-segment gatherings of individuals with broadened foundations. The scientists can control certain variable, for example, the sort or measure of drug that a gathering gets. They are then ready to interpret whether that variable influences the gathering, to what degree it influences the gathering and how, if by any stretch of the imagination, it this data influences the investigation of personality.Some would contend that trial inquire about is liberated from the potential passionate predisposition, with respect to the specialist, that the clinical technique might be dependent upon. Nonetheless, one could likewise contend that the test technique isn't without its own deficiencies, partialities and predispositions. A case of this would be the trouble in controlling factors, for example, feeling. While the clinical technique is predominant for theory definition, the exploratory strategy is better ready to test them. While the clinical strategy is predominant for breaking down individual cases, the trial technique is better ready to sum up these discoveries and detail and test hypotheses that apply all the more generally. The clinical strategy is favored for treatment purposes, while the test technique is unrivaled at getting reproducible information

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Emergency Funds Are Important Heres How to Start Building One

Emergency Funds Are Important Heres How to Start Building One Emergency Funds Are Important: Heres How to Start Building One Emergency Funds Are Important: Heres How to Start Building OneBuilding and maintaining an emergency fund is an important financial cornerstone. If you dont have one, you should start saving today.There are keys to avoiding short-term bad credit loans like payday loans and cash advances. One is to maintain your credit score, the other is to build up your savings. And while a good credit score is important, its the savings that will reallyâ€"wellâ€"save you!Specifically, you should create a well-stocked emergency fund. That way, you can cover unforeseen bills and financial shortfalls instead of relying on bad credit loans and possibly entering a dangerous cycle of debt.Rest assured: Financial surprises are going to happen, and you want to make sure that you’re prepared. That’s why we reached out to a number of financial experts who can explain how emergency funds work and how you can go about building one today.What is an emergency fund?Nicolás Valdés-Fauli is a Certified Financi al Planner with Main Street Financial Solutions in New York City. He provided a general overview of how emergency funds work and the many benefits that they offer. According to him, establishing an emergency fund is one of the most important parts of establishing a financial plan.“An emergency fund is exactly what it sounds like, a fund or an account of easily accessible money used in case of an emergencyâ€"job loss and unexpected medical expense amongst others,” he said. The fund is intended to cover ones monthly living expenses including,   mortgage payments, rent, insurance premiums, cell phone bills, groceries and everything else you need to maintain your existing life, according to Valdés-Fauli.“There are insurance products that cover all sorts of loss. Think life insurance, renters insurance, car insurance, homeowners, disability, on and on. But there is nothing that covers something as broad-based as an emergency. Typically, people need to self-fund, meaning, they need to save their own money to cover these events.”Unlike traditional savings, which you don’t want to touch until you retire, the money in your emergency fund needs to be easy to access:“An emergency fund should always be liquid, meaning it should be accessible without a penalty,” explained Valdés-Fauli. Cash in the mattress is never a good idea (fire, theft, inflation), and an emergency fund should be kept in a financial institution. Avoid using CD’s, life insurance policies and retirement accounts, as there are probably penalties with early withdrawals.He also specified that your emergency fund shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest of your savings: “It should be a separate account from a savings account designated for a future expense such as a down payment, education bills or a vacation.”How do you define an emergency?Your car breaking down is an emergency. Your favorite band adding an extra concert date in town? Not so much.“The definition of an emergency is a cr ucial step for the creation of an emergency fund,” said Ramsey Preferred Financial Coach Barry Jennings. Without a clear understanding of what constitutes an emergency, most emergency funds fail before starting as birthdays and holidays pop up without notice and are resolved with the newly saved cash.”Within the context of my family, we define an emergency as anything that hinders or prevents the generation of income,” Jennings continued. “This could be things of a medical, transportation, or employment nature.”“In the years past, grandmothers called the emergency fund a rainy day fund.  They may not know when it was going to rain (an emergency was going to occur), but they knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. The simplest of purposes of an emergency fund is to self-insure against the appearance of Murphys Law.”How big should your fund be?While funds stashed away for emergencies can serve multiple purposes (including a major car repair or replacing a furnace i n the dead of winter), the most commonly cited reason to build an emergency fund is to allow folks to pay their monthly bills should an unexpected job-loss occur, said Timothy G. Wiedman retired professor of Management Human Resources at  Doane University (@DoaneUniversity).“Thus, the fund must be large enough to cover housing (i.e., rent or mortgage payments), grocery bills, monthly utilities (including internet access), transportation costs, insurance (i.e., premiums for health, life, auto, homeowners/renters coverage, etc.), and even some occasional entertainment to keep the spirits up until a layoff is over or a new job can be found.“At an absolute minimum,” he advised, “the fund should cover three months of recurring expenses.”That’s a lot of money! But while it’s best to start with a smaller goal and work your way up, a three-month found won’t be enough for many people to weather an unexpected job loss. This is why Wiedman suggests doing some calculations to f igure out how much money you’ll need to (eventually) have in your emergency fundâ€"especially as it relates to a realistic job search.“Estimate how long it would likely be before a new job is found and paychecks resume, he said. Also take into account the length of time that unemployment benefits would be provided in a particular locale and estimate the amount of those payments (which will almost surely fall well short of covering your recurring living expenses).“Then, consider the demand for your job skills in the immediate area, the local unemployment rate, whether relocation is a realistic option, your credentials (i.e., education, certifications, work experience, etc.), and how long it took to find your last job.”“And further, also consider other factors that might slow down your search (e.g., a convictionâ€"even for a misdemeanor that only resulted in probation, or advanced age given your professionâ€"a 61-year-old unemployed airline pilot, for example,” he continue d.“Finally, realistically think about a bleaker job-search scenario (that might include a prolonged economic recession, for example).  Given all of the factors mentioned above, is it really likely youd find a new job in 90 daysâ€"or could your search easily last five or six months?”“After an assessment of this sort, a great many folks will conclude that building a six-month emergency fund is a wise course of action,” Wiedman concluded. “Further, if you live in an area with high (or persistent) unemployment, or your skills are primarily only needed in a declining industry (underground coal mining, for example), having sufficient funds to cover nine to twelve months of unemployment would make good sense.”Still, Wiedman was clear that you dont know how much money you personally need in your fund until you sit down and do the calculations: “The size of an individuals emergency fund depends upon a great many variables.  So folks must analyze their personal situations, and act accordingly.”Set a small goalâ€"and grow from there.“Most people are buried in debt, live paycheck to paycheck, and dont have the means to handle even small emergencies with cash, said Jenning.s As a financial coach, I address the behavior slowly and deliberately by having people set aside $1,000 initially as a starter emergency fund.”But just because $1,000 is a good initial goal doesn’t mean that you should stop saving once you meet it. And as Jennings pointed out, continuing to address other areas of financial needâ€"like your debtâ€"will set you up for success in the long term.“While people become accustomed to having a small amount of cash available for the unknown, they can begin to focus on becoming debt free except for their mortgage.  This will free their income and make further saving possible,” he said.Once people become debt free, Jennings advised that people continue building out their emergency fund to cover the aforementioned three to six month perio d. But what comes after that?“After the completion of saving a fully funded emergency fund, people can focus on saving for retirement and education and paying off their mortgage early. When they have reclaimed the freedom of their income, they are able to focus on gaining wealth and building a legacy,” he said.These folks can also continue building their emergency fund to cover the kinds of “unexpected shortfalls” that occurred after the 2008 financial crisisâ€"taking their emergency savings from six months to two years. After all, Jennings noted that “even the Great Recession after 2008 only lasted 18 months.”“This allows the comfort and peace of mind to find gainful employment, if such a need arises, during such difficult times,” Jennings concluded. “It also serves as an additional buffer for use prior to the accessing of retirement accounts, if market timing becomes a concern in the later stages of life.”Youre going to need a budget.One of the financial expert s we heard from was Michele Lee Fine, RICP,  Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities and Financial Representative of  Guardian Life Insurance (@guardianlife). She shared the importance of the role that budgeting plays in building an emergency fund.“First, you have to overcome the big three psychological barriers that keep many people from setting up a budget: Fear, uncertainty, and doubt,” she said. “Fear what you’ll discover when you examine your finances; Uncertainty about how to set up a budget; Doubt whether you can stick to a budget.”Overcoming those barriers and building your first budget is going to mean getting specific. “Don’t guess how much money you have coming in and going out each month. Write it down,” said Fine. “There are lots of tools to help you, find a worksheet online andâ€"bonusâ€"it’s free. Keep track of all your expenses and sources of income.“Some experts suggest doing this for a few months to get a real picture of your financial situation, but starting to track for just a month will help you get some clarity,” she continued. “Scan your bank and credit card statements to see where it’s all going. Add up the expenses and subtract them from your income. This will tell you, at the most basic level, whether you are operating in the black or red.”Once you have a picture of how you’re spending your money, you can set about actually building your budget. In order to find expenses you need to cut, Fine offered the following tips:“Examine current bills: See where the money is going and think of cutting out extras and finding cheaper alternatives.”“Pay with cash: There’s something about the tactile quality of cash that makes it hard to part with.”“Adjust your habits: All of us have habits that we fall into that can be revised and made more financially healthy.”At this point, Fine suggests that some people may find it helpful to consult with a financial professional. â €œHe or she can look at your numbers and help you put together a balanced budget that addresses all your needs, from meeting monthly obligations, building an emergency fund, saving for retirement to occasionally splurging,” she said.Heres how to get started.One of the hardest parts of any financial journey is taking those first couple steps. That’s why  Certified Financial Planner Christine Centeno, founder of the fee-only financial planning firm, Simplicity Wealth Management, offered these tips to help you get started.“Start Small: Start saving something small each paycheck or each month. Make it a realistic amount, something that you can easily accomplish. The key is to start saving even if its $25 per pay period. Over time youll be surprised at how much you have saved. Take advantage of tax refunds or bonuses to increase savings Instead of spending your entire tax return or bonus, aim to save a portion of it. Every little bit helps.”“Be consistent: Save every paycheck or every month. Dont wait until the end of the year to transfer leftover funds to your emergency fund, youll be less likely to have funds left over.”“Pay yourself first: What does this mean? Save first before you pay any bills. If you are not sure how much you are able to save, I recommend using budgeting software like Mint to help determine how much you have left over each month.”“Automate it: Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account each month. Or, even better, set up part of your direct deposit to go directly into a savings account. This way you wont even see it and be tempted to spend extra dollars that sit in your checking account.”Responsible money management is a lot like exercising: Its about building up the proper habits and making them part of your routine. The more you incorporate saving money into your everyday activities, the easier it will become!Want fast savings? Start brown bagging it.If you’re looking for one area of your life where you can find some immediate savings, Wiedman suggested substituting restaurant lunches with a brown-bag lunch made at home. This option even comes with the added bonus of eating healthier!Wiedman laid out how the cost of a typical lunch combo at Applebee’s ($11.50) can easily turn into a weekly expense of $57.50â€"maybe even more if you decide to get the occasional dessert or if you have to drive the restaurant, thereby spending money on gas.“On the other hand, a healthy lunch brought from home (e.g., a sandwich made with low-fat lunch-meat on whole-grain bread, a dozen peeled baby carrots, a small individually-sized box of raisins for dessert, and a can of diet soda) can be assembled for about $2.80 (i.e., $14 per week),” said Wiedman.“Further, if that brown-bag lunch is eaten in the employee break room (or after a short walk to a nearby city park), no time or gasoline is wasted on a lunchtime commute. Over the course of a 49-week working year, the saving s would exceed $2,100.”And while opting for fast food would also save money versus a full restaurant lunch, Wiedman pointed out that people would still save a lot of money by choosing the brown bag optionâ€"plus, this meal is far healthier than fast food.“If that fast-food lunch (including tax, of course) averaged just $6.85 per day, a brown-bagger would still save almost $1,000 per year (or even more if the cost of gas consumption is figured into the equation),” he said.When it comes to the benefits of brown bagging, Wiedman speaks from experience:“My wife and I brown bagged it for years (while taking turns assembling our lunches), so our annual combined savings were well over $4,000, and the money we saved was used to fund our IRAs each year.  But this method is also an excellent way to ‘painlessly’ build an emergency fund.”Save more money, save your  future.An emergency fund isn’t a silver bullet to solve all your financial problems. You should still be investing money for your retirement, taking care of your credit score, and doing your research before making any financial commitments, whether that be a mortgage, a personal loan, or an “exciting business opportunity.”But a well-stocked emergency fund is still an important financial cornerstone. It helps protects you from financial disaster, giving you some much-needed security so that you can safely build on top of it. Without one, you might find yourself relying on no credit check loans like payday and title loans to make ends meet when times get tough.Even opting for a safer, more affordable installment loan when you encounter a financial shortfall pales in comparison to the benefits of having an emergency fund. The last thing you want during a crisis is to dig yourself even deeper into debt with an online loan or a trip to your local payday storefront.If you don’t have an emergency fund, start one now. Your future self will thank you. And to learn more about how you can build a br ighter financial future, check out these other posts and articles from OppLoans:Building Your Financial Life: Budgeting for Beginners10 Good Money Habits to Make Your Friends JealousHow to Raise Your Credit Score by 100 PointsThe Debt Snowball Method Can Help You Get out of DebtDo you have a   personal finance question youd like us to answer? Let us know! You can find us  on  Facebook  and  Twitter.  |  InstagramContributorsChristine Centeno, CFP?, MS is the founder of  Simplicity Wealth Management. She has over 11 years of industry experience as a financial advisor and is a member of several professional organizations including NAPFA, FPA, and the XY Planning Network. Christine also holds her Masters in Financial Planning. In 2019, after years of working for large firms, she founded her own firm. Simplicity Wealth Management provides clarity to the complicated nature of financial planning and investing by delivering comprehensive advice without hidden fees and unnecessary jargon th at leaves you in the dark. The goal is to deliver transparent, easy-to-understand guidance to help clients achieve their financial goals and remain informed every step of the way.Nicolás  Valdés-Fauli, CFP ® opened the New York City office of  Main Street Financial Solutions in 2010.  He has served his clients in NYC and South Florida since 2002. A graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and Wesleyan University,  Nicolas  lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter.Barry Jennings has  taken 30 years of experience in psychology, life and health insurance sales, automobile sales and financing, student loan processing and college funding consulting and turned it into a financial coaching business, Soul without Fear.   He empowers his clients to make positive changes to their financial situation by helping them create a written plan, start an emergency fund, eliminate debt, save for retirement and college, and build a legacy for their families.Michele Lee Fine, RICP is the Founder and Pres ident of Cornerstone Wealth Advisory, LLC located in Jericho, NY. She is a graduate of New York University and participates in several trade and community organizations such as NAIFA; Westchester Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; 100 Women in Hedge Funds Organization; Women’s International Zionist Organization; Cabinet Member of Israel Bonds, USA; and is a JNF Board Member.After 13 years as a successful operations manager working at two different ‘Fortune 1000’ companies, Dr. Timothy G. Wiedman spent the next 28 years in academia teaching college courses in business, management, human resources, and retirement planning.  Dr. Wiedman recently took an early retirement from  Doane University (@DoaneUniversity), is a member of the Human Resources Group of West Michigan and continues to do annual volunteer work for the SHRM Foundation. He holds two graduate degrees in business and has completed multiple professional certifications.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

The Wild Duck and The Cherry Orchard A Comparison

Anton Chekhov was so bored by Ibsens The Wild Duck he remarked that Ibsen does not know life and that Ibsen is no dramatist It might be argued that Chekhov felt Ibsen to be in some ways, as a thinker, too like himself. Ibsen and Chekhov share a number of beliefs: individualism, sincerity, the loathsomeness of tyranny, freedom for women. Tolstoy even condemned the seagull for being like Ibsen: mere verbiage - leading nowhere. But Chekhov employs a different technique to Ibsen to produce a sense of reality in The Cherry Orchard. The orchard, the obvious focal piece of the play, is to be sold a month after Madame Ravenskys arrival. Lopakhin believes that the only way the orchard estate can be saved is by chopping down the†¦show more content†¦Ranyevskaya memories of the orchard as a fantastic playground disallow her to see the truth that the cherry orchard was just her parents business and it is time to change the business because times have changed. Every one of the many characters was carefully planned out to show some purpose in the message conveyed in The Cherry Orchard. Chekhov is able to show that the core of humanity is full of ludicrous emotions and ideas. The importance of the use of comedy in the play conveys with the importance of comedy in our lives. It shows the reader how the most ridiculous moments and decisions are probably the most important ones. The decisions of the characters are full of faults that posses something ludicrous in them which allows this to be considered a comedy. Both characters are made even more human, by their honorable traits, and minor disreputable qualities. Lopakhin and Madame Ravenskys characters are incompatible in the others mind. Madame Ravensky is a member of the falling aristocracy who is a lost romantic trapped in a fantasy world on the orchard while forgetting her troubles in the real world. Contrarily, Lopakhin is money driven, sometimes vulgar, and socially rising individual. Lopakhin is trying to make a future by overcoming his past, but remains genuine and practical in his offering help. Both characters are clashing individuals, but neither are to be judged as either good or bad. There are no heroes

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Obesity Of North America, The Shrinking Population Of Europe

Just like we have learned that each continent has its physical characteristics that make it unique, each continent also has it’s share of problems. For the purpose of this paper I will research a dilemma each continent may have. I will address the obesity of North America, the shrinking population of Europe, and access to clean water in Asia. North America (Obesity): Obesity has been an issue that Americans have been fighting for a long time, yet it is not a problem that we have been able to completely get rid of. I will touch base on how obesity is affecting children, how medical costs have increased because of obesity, what factors have contributed to America’s obesity, and how it relates to health and economic factors. To start†¦show more content†¦In Tuckson’s article, it describes a wellness program that had been implemented in the school districts called Activate for Kids. This wellness program has many requirements, some being: having a wellness coordinator on campus, making sure that the nurses at school have completed the Child Obesity Prevention Education training and BMI assessments, and giving students access to positive healthy relationships if necessary. The wellness program is there to make sure that the at-risk obese students are given the help that is needed and that the other stude nts are taking care of themselves as well. The good thing about the program is that it also helps the community by having an interactive website where parents and children can find resources. According to the article, it also hosts community events/activities in the school district to educate families about healthy lifestyle choices. By having a healthier lifestyle, families won’t have as many health issues. This next article goes more into depth of the higher medical costs of being obese. According to Mokdad and associates in 2003, obesity has increased nation-wide by 74% between 1991 and 2001 (p. 242). The article goes on to state that in 2000, overweight and obese Americans cost the economy around $117 billion with $61 billion going to direct medical costs. Reading further into the article, it points out many diseases that can affect a person for a lifetime; because of that,

Syllabus Planning Free Essays

string(183) " is not on what the student will have accomplished on completion of the program, but on the specification of learning tasks and activities that s/he will undertake during the course\." Syllabus Design Syllabus: A syllabus is an expression of opinion on the nature of language and learning; it acts as a guide for both teacher and learner by providing some goals to be attained. Hutchinson and Waters (1987:80) define syllabus as follows: At its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a statement of what is to be learnt. It reflects language and linguistic performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Syllabus Planning or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is a rather traditional interpretation of syllabus focusing on outcomes rather than process. However, a syllabus can also be seen as a â€Å"summary of the content to which learners will be exposed† (Yalden. 1987). It is seen as an approximation of what will be taught and that it cannot accurately predict what will be learnt A language teaching syllabus involves the integration of subject matter and linguistic matter. Difference between Syllabus and Curriculum Curriculum is wider term as compared with syllabus. Curriculum covers all the activities and arrangements made by the institution through out the academic year to facilitate the learners and the instructors. Where as Syllabus is limited to particular subject of a particular class. Syllabus Design To design a syllabus is to decide what gets taught and in what order. For this reason, the theory of language underlying the language teaching method will play a major role in determining what syllabus should be adopted. Theory of learning also plays an important part in determining the kind of syllabus used. For example, a syllabus based on the theory of learning evolved by cognitive code teaching would emphasize language forms and whatever explicit descriptive knowledge about those forms. A syllabus based on an acquisition theory of learning, however, would emphasize unanalyzed and carefully selected experiences of the new language. The choice of a syllabus is a major decision in language teaching, and it should be made as consciously and with as much information as possible. There has been much confusion over the years as to what different types of content are possible in language teaching syllabi and as to whether the differences are in syllabus or method. Several distinct types of language teaching syllabi exist, and these different types may be implemented in various teaching situations. TYPES OF SYLLABI Although six different types of language teaching syllabi are treated here as though each occurred â€Å"purely,† but in practice, these types rarely occur independently. Almost all actual language teaching syllabi are combinations of two or more of the types defined here. For a given course, one type of syllabus usually dominates, while other types of content may be combined with it. Furthermore, the six types of syllabi are not entirely distinct from each other. For example, the distinction between skill-based and task-based syllabi may be minimal. In such cases, the distinguishing factor is often the way in which the instructional content is used in the actual teaching procedure. The characteristics, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of individual syllabi are defined as follows: 1:- Product-Oriented Syllabus This kind of syllabuses emphasizes the product of language learning and is prone to approval from an authority. There are three types of syllabus described in the following: (i) The Structural Syllabus Historically, the most prevalent of syllabus type is perhaps the structural or grammatical syllabus in which the selection and grading of the content is based on the complexity and simplicity of grammatical items. The learner is expected to master each structural step and add it to her grammar collection. As such the focus is on the outcomes or the product. One problem facing the syllabus designer pursuing a grammatical order to sequencing input is that the ties connecting the structural items may be rather weak. A more fundamental criticism is that the grammatical syllabus focuses on only one aspect of language, namely grammar, whereas in truth there exist many more aspects of language. Finally, recent research suggests there is a isagreement between the grammar of the spoken and of the written language; raising complications for the grading of content in grammar based syllabuses. (ii) The Situational Syllabus The limitations found in structural approach led to an alternative approach where situational needs are emphasized rather than grammatical units. Here, the principal organizing characteristic is a list of situations which reflects the way language is used in everyday life i. e. outside the classroom. Thus, by linking structural theory to situations the learner is able to grasp the meaning in relevant context. One advantage of the situational Syllabus is that motivation will be heightened since it is â€Å"learner- rather than subject-centered† (Wilkins. 1976). However, a situational syllabus will be limited for students whose needs were not encompassed by the situations in the syllabus. This dissatisfaction led Wilkins to describe notional and communicative categories which had a significant impact on syllabus design. (iii) The Notional/Functional Syllabus Wilkins’ criticism of structural and situational approaches lies in the fact that they answer only the ‘how’ or ‘when’ and ‘where’ of language use (Brumfit and Johnson. 1979:84). Instead, he enquires â€Å"what it is they communicate through language† Thus, the starting point for a syllabus is the communicative purpose and conceptual meaning of language i. e. notions and functions, as opposed to only the grammatical items and situational elements. In order to establish objectives of such a syllabus, the needs of the learners will have to be analyzed on the base of communication need. Consequently, needs analysis has an association with notional/functional syllabuses. White (1988:77) claims that â€Å"language functions do not usually occur in isolation† and there are also difficulties of selecting and grading function and form. The above approaches belong to the product-oriented category of syllabuses. An alternative path to Syllabus Design would be to adopt process oriented principles, which assume that language can be learnt experientially as opposed to the step-by-step procedure of the synthetic approach. 2:- Process-Oriented Syllabuses Process-Oriented Syllabuses are developed as a result of a sense of failure in product-oriented courses to enhance communicative language skills. Syllabus is a process rather than a product. That is, focus is not on what the student will have accomplished on completion of the program, but on the specification of learning tasks and activities that s/he will undertake during the course. You read "Syllabus Planning" in category "Essay examples" (i)Procedural/Task-Based Syllabus Prabhu’s (1979) ‘Bangalore Project’ is a classic example of a procedural syllabus. Here, the question concerning ‘what’ becomes subordinate to the question concerning ‘how’. The focus shifts from the linguistic element to the educational, with an emphasis on learning or learner. Within such a framework the selection, ordering and grading of content is no longer wholly significant for the syllabus designer. Arranging the Syllabus around tasks such as information- and opinion-gap activities, it was hoped that the learner would perceive the language subconsciously whilst consciously concentrating on solving the meaning behind the tasks. There appears to be an indistinct boundary between this approach and that of language teaching methodology. A task-based syllabus assumes that speaking a language is a skill best perfected through practice and interaction, and uses tasks and activities to encourage learners to use the language communicatively in order to achieve a purpose. Tasks must be relevant to the real world language needs of the student. That is, the underlying learning theory of task based and communicative language teaching seems to suggest that activities in which language is employed to complete meaningful tasks, enhances learning. (ii)Learner-Led Syllabus The notion of basing a syllabus on how learners learn language was proposed by Breen and Candlin (1984). Here the emphasis lies on the learner, who it is hoped will be involved in the implementation of the syllabus design. By being fully aware of the course they are studying, it is believed that their interest and motivation will increase, coupled with the positive effect of nurturing the skills required to learn. However, as suggested earlier, a predetermined syllabus provides support and guidance for the teacher and should not be so easily dismissed. Critics have suggested that a learner-led syllabus seems radical and utopian in that it will be difficult to follow as the direction of the syllabus will be largely the responsibility of the learners. This leads to the final syllabus design to be examined ; the proportional syllabus as suggested by Yalden (1987). (iii)The Proportional Syllabus The proportional syllabus basically attempts to develop an â€Å"overall competence†. It consists of a number of elements within the main theme playing a linking role through the units. This theme is designated by the learners. It is expected initially that form will be of central value, but later, the focus will turn towards interactional components. The syllabus is designed to be dynamic, not static, with sufficient opportunity for feedback and flexibility. The shift from form to interaction can occur at any time and is not limited to a particular stratum of learners. As Yalden observes, it is important for a syllabus to indicate explicitly what will be taught, â€Å"not what will be learned†. This practical approach with its focus on flexibility and spiral method of language sequencing leading to the recycling of language, seems relevant for learners who lack exposure to the target language beyond the classroom. Practical Guidelines to Syllabus Choice and Design It is clear that no single type of content is appropriate for all teaching settings, and the needs and conditions of each setting are so particular that specific recommendations for combination are not possible. However, a set of guidelines for the process is provided below. Steps in preparing a practical language teaching Syllabus Choice: 1. Determine, to the extent possible, what outcomes are desired for the students in the instructional program i. e. what the students should be able to do as a result of the instruction. 2. Rank the syllabus types presented here as to their likelihood of leading to the outcomes desired. Arrange the six types with preference you going to give to each type. 3. Evaluate available resources for teaching, needs analysis, materials choice and production and in training for teachers. 4. Rank the syllabi relative to available resources. That is, determine what syllabus types would be the easiest to implement within available resources. . Compare the lists made under Nos. 2 and 4. Making as few adjustments to the earlier list as possible, produce a new list of ranking based on the availability of resources. 6. Designate one or two syllabus types as dominant and one or two as secondary. 7. Review the question of combination or integration of syllabus types and determine how combinations will be a chieved and in what proportion. In making practical decisions about syllabus design, one must take into consideration all the possible factors that might affect the teachability of a particular syllabus. By starting with an examination of each syllabus type, tailoring the choice and integration of the different types according to local needs, one may find a principled and practical solution to the problem of appropriateness and effectiveness in syllabus design. Suggested Steps for Planning Syllabus: †¢Develop a well-grounded rationale for your course. †¢Decide what you want students to be able to do as a result of taking your course, and how their work will be appropriately assessed. †¢Define and delimit course content. †¢Structure your students’ active involvement in learning. Identify and develop resources. †¢Compose your syllabus with a focus on student learning. Suggested Principles for Designing a Syllabus that Fosters Critical Thinking: †¢Critical thinking is a learnable skill; the instructor and class fellows are resources in developing critical thinking skills. †¢Problems, questions, or issues are the point of entry into the subject a nd a source of motivation for nonstop inquiry. †¢Successful courses balance the challenge to think critically with supporting students’’developmental needs. †¢Courses should be assignment centered rather than text and lecture centered. Goals, methods and evaluation emphasize using content rather than simply acquiring it. †¢Students are required to formulate their ideas in writing or other appropriate means. †¢Students should collaborate to learn and to stretch their thinking, for example, in pair problem solving and small group work. †¢Courses that teach problem-solving skills nurture students’ metacognitive abilities. †¢The developmental needs of students are acknowledged and used as information in the design of the course. Teachers in these courses make standards explicit and then help students learn how to achieve them. Syllabus Functions: Establishes an early point of contact and connection between student and instructor †¢Describes your beliefs about educational purposes †¢Acquaints students with the logistics of the syllabus †¢Contains collected handouts †¢Defines student responsibilities for successful course work †¢Describes active learning †¢Helps st udents to assess their readiness for your syllabus †¢Sets the course in a broader context for learning †¢Provides a conceptual framework †¢Describes available learning resources †¢Communicates the role of technology in the course †¢Can improve the effectiveness of student note-taking Can include material that supports learning outside the classroom †¢Can serve as a learning contract Checklist Syllabus Design: †¢Title Page †¢Table of Contents †¢Instructor Information †¢Letter to the Student †¢Purpose of the Course †¢Course Description †¢Course and Unit Objectives †¢Resources †¢Readings †¢Course Calendar †¢Course Requirements †¢Evaluation †¢Grading Procedures †¢How to Use the Syllabus †¢How to Study for This Course †¢Content Information †¢Learning Tools Course Objectives: †¢What will the students know and be able to do as a result of having taken this course? What le vels of cognitive thinking are required from students to engage in? †¢What learning skills will the students develop in the course? †¢Instructional Approaches: †¢Given the kind of learning I’d like to encourage and foster, what kinds of instructional interactions need to occur? Teacher-student, student-student, student-peer tutor? †¢What kinds of instructional approaches are most conducive to helping students accomplish set learning objectives? †¢How will classroom interactions be facilitated? In-class? Out-of-class? Online? Electronic discussion? Newsgroups? Chatroom? Course Requirements, Assignments: †¢What will students be expected to do in the course? †¢What kinds of assignments, tests do most appropriately reflect the course objectives? †¢Do assignments and tests bring forth the kind of learning I want to foster? Assignments (frequency, timing, sequence)? Tests? Quizzes? Exams? Papers? Special projects? Laboratories? Field trips? Learning logs? Journals? Oral presentations? Research on the web? Web publishing? Electronic databases? †¢What kinds of skills do the students need to have in order to be successful in the course? Computer literacy? Research skills? Writing skills? Communication skills? Conflict resolution skills? Familiarity with software? Course Policies: †¢What is expected of the student? Attendance? Participation? Student responsibility in their learning? Contribution to group work? Missed assignments? Late work? Extra credit? Academic dishonesty? Makeup policy? Classroom management issues? Laboratory safety? Grading, Evaluation: †¢How will the students’ work be graded and evaluated? Number of tests? In-class? Take-home? Point value? Proportion of each test toward final grade? Grading scale? How is the final grade determined? Drop lowest grade? †¢How do students receive timely feedback on their performance? Instructor? Self-assessment? Peer review? Peer tutors? Opportunities for improvement? Ungraded assignments? Texts/Resources/Readings/Supplies: †¢What kinds of materials will be used during the course? Electronic databases? Electronic Course Reserve? Course Webpage? Software? Sim ulations? Laboratory equipment? †¢What kinds of instructional technologies will be used? †¢Course Calendar: †¢In what sequence will the content be taught? When are major assignments due? Fieldtrips? Guestspeaker? Schedule for Term Examination? Result? Vacations? †¢Study Tips/Learning Resources: †¢How will the student be most successful in the course? †¢What resources are available? Online quiz generator? Study guides? Lecture notes online? Lecture notes on reserve in library? Guestspeaker to explain/demonstrate online resources? TA? Peer tutors? Study groups? Academic Services Center? Writing Center? Evaluation of online resources? Citation of web resources? Student Feedback on Instruction: †¢Anonymous suggestion box on the web and E-mail. Student feedback at midterm for instructional improvement purposes. †¢End-of-term student feedback. Supplement to departmental student feedback form. Bibliography 1. Brumfit, C. J. and Johnson, K. (1979) The Communicative Approach To Language Teaching. Oxford University Press. 2. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987) English For Specific Purposes: A Learning Centred Approach. Cambridge University Press. 3. L ong, R. W. and Russell, G. (1999) â€Å"Student Attitudinal Change over an Academic Year†. The Language Teacher. Cambridge University Press. 4. Nunan, D. (1988) Syllabus Design. Oxford University Press. 5. Prabhu, N. S. (1987) Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford University Press. 6. Richards, J. C. and Rodgers, T. S. (1986) Approaches And Methods In Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. 7. White, R. V. (1988) The ELT Curriculum: Design, Innovation And Management. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 8. Widdowson, H. G. (1978) Teaching Language As Communication. Oxford University Press.. 9. Wilkins, D. A. (1976) Notional Syllabuses. Oxford University Press. 10. Yalden, J. (1987) Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. How to cite Syllabus Planning, Essay examples

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Therapy for Children and Young Patients with Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practice that has been in existence since 1980s. This approach involves a specific effort to preserve the positive impacts of behavior therapy that have been proved with involvement of the cognitive activities that are exhibited by the individual receiving the treatment.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Therapy for Children and Young Patients with Anxiety Disorders specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main aim of merging the two approaches is to produce therapeutic change in the client (Albano Kendall, 2002). In its early years, it was highly utilized in Europe and North America for the treatment of various disorders. For instance, it was used for the treatment of panic disorder in United Kingdom and United States. This approach has been effective in the transformation of individual’s thinking and behavior. An anxiety disorder is a condition that is very common among children and teenagers. The disorder is identified in an individual where a person develops a high level of fear that a bad event will happen. The individual becomes vulnerable since all the coping mechanisms are overlooked making him or her pessimistic. The individual adopts a negative cognitive appraisal and becomes very hypercritical and self-focused. This makes him or her view any situation as posing a threat to their lives. There have also been cases of physiological arousal leading to somatic sensations and behavioral avoidance. This is where the child may avoid certain situations like going to school making it hard to ascertain predictions of a negative event (Bailey, 2001). There have been increased rates in the number of children suffering from anxiety disorders in the past few years. This has forced therapists to develop treatment methods that are evidence-based in order to provide a solution to this crisis. Various approaches have been tried where the focus has been to adopt the method that has proven efficacy. Cognitive-behavioral Therapy has been used in the treatment of anxiety disorder. The approach is based on the objective of changing the behavior of an individual that has developed from irrational thoughts (Bailey, 2001). This is through educating the individual and empowering him or her through positive experiences that result to development of coping mechanisms. It involves methods which have been picked from behavioral therapy that have been included by dealing with cognitive components of adjustment. This approach has been used to direct the treatment of children and youths facing anxiety disorders. This is through building effective skills that enables the children to function properly in various situations by avoiding unnecessary anxiety.Advertising Looking for coursework on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The CBT treatment of children and young patients has been adopted from the practice that has been carried out on adults. This is where the therapists working with the young patients adjust the content and speed of the therapy so that it can match with the level of a particular child. Due to existence of limitations in young patients in terms of metacognition and ineffectiveness in labeling of their feelings, the therapists working with these individuals adopt a more active approach so that they can utilize higher level of behavioral and cognitive techniques (Vonk Early, 2002). When applying this approach on the treatment of children with anxiety disorders, therefore, the therapist needs to understand that the individual is facing harmful thoughts of danger where fear for his or her well being dominate making the perception of the future appear disastrous. The approach of treatment using CBT utilizes three main areas. Using various ways, the identification and understanding of physiologic arousal enable the children facing this problem to have the ability to control the arousal. This is through the instructions that these young patients are given making them empowered to control their bodies and also utilize practices that reduce the arousal. The patients are led through the process of understanding the nature of their thoughts and how events that they encounter can be interpreted without arousing anxiety (Lewis, 2010). Through the provision of ways of challenging the truth of their thoughts, the young patients are able to come up with coping mechanisms through presenting the real nature of the situation at hand. This is an important step in solving the anxiety disorder since the patients are able to deal with dangerous thoughts that lead to avoidance. The patients achieve this through adopting a framework that is rational and realistic. The other step in this approach is supporting the youths to deal with situations that arouse their anxiety (Compton et al., 2009). This is a higher level where the patients are expo sed to these situations and are encouraged to use the learnt methods to deal with the arousal. The therapist guiding these patients assist the patients to face the situation of fear without running away from the fearful situations until their can do so, on their own.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Therapy for Children and Young Patients with Anxiety Disorders specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This approach is very effective for children facing anxiety disorders. Using the cognitive-behavioral approach, the child’s problem is analyzed where feelings of inability to cope with a situation at hand make the child pick an avoidance behavior thus increasing the fears that the child has already built within him or herself. Therapists dealing with such patients have been successful through the adoption of transformational thought diary. This method enables the young patient to rate his or her level of discomf ort using a subjective unit of discomfort scale that ranges from 0 to 10. This helps to identify the patient’s progress and enable the child to move from a situation of helplessness. The child achieves this through developing the ability to identify the initial signs of anxious arousal and the training the child receives making him or her gain the skills of anxiety management like relaxation and positive imagery. The patient overcomes the thoughts of danger by challenging them with evidences that are contrary to their perception. With time the patient uses these evidences to develop positive self-talk. Kendall et al. (1993) summarizes the child’s development of coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety through a four step process. Firstly, the young patient learns to identify the anxiety and develops a way of relaxing. Secondly, instead of expecting bad things to happen from a situation of anxiety, the individual overcomes this through positive self-talk. The third step i s adoption of actions and attitudes that are helpful which the problem-solving strategies become. The final step is the self-evaluation where the patient is assisted to appreciate the steps he or she has made in coping with failure and negative self-image. Various studies have discovered treatments that incorporate various methods that assist in the elimination of symptoms of anxiety in young patients.Advertising Looking for coursework on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These approaches have used these procedures where relaxation training has been used together with training to enable the patient deal with the negative thoughts concerning situations that he or she fears. The continued development is observed where the patient is exposed to these situations and instructed on how to utilize coping mechanisms to enable the situation not cause anxiety and distress. The effectiveness of this approach as a therapeutic intervention on young children was illustrated in a program that was conducted by Kendall (1994). In this study, a total of forty seven young patients aged between 9-13 years were treated using CBT approach. The subjects were analyzed using the criteria that involved grouping the subjects into those who had overanxious disorders, those with avoidant disorder and those who had separation-anxiety disorder. The numbers of these subjects were n=30, n= 9 and n= 8 respectively. The program used the treatment condition that involved sixteen weeks of CBT. At the end of the program, the 65 percent of active treatments had noted decrease in illness. This was particularly after the therapists included family management in their approach. The efficacy of CBT approach for the treatment of anxiety disorders in young patients was determined by a study that was conducted by Silverman and his colleagues (Silverman et al., 1999). This was through a follow up program that was done after initial intervention within a range of three, six and twelve months. The study which involved fifty-six young patients aged between 6 and 16 years found that the approach was more effective than use of the control group. This is because individuals who were treated using the CBT approach more than five times the number of all the sample population emerged free from illness. This is in comparison with those who adopted the control group as their model of treatment. Adoption of CBT in the treatment of children with anxiety disorders requires the therapist to look into other related issues that may influence the results of the therapeutic formulation. Firstly, the family of the child is very significant in the success of the treatment. This therefore means that the therapist dealing with the child need to involve the parent of the child (Cobham, Dadds Spence, 1998). The therapist does this after familiarizing him or herself with the family structure and system of belief that the family of the patient holds. This information may also be beneficial to the therapist since he or she is able to have a clear understanding on hidden issues like abuse or other disabilities. The program by Kendall indicated that the involvement of the patient’s family is essential in facilitating the success of the treatment (Kendall Warman, 1996). This is where the parents are directed on how to help their children gain the courage to face situations that they previously feared. Using the acquired cognitive-behavioral skills, the children are encoura ged by their parents through positive reinforcements to deal with these situations until the situations become a common occurrence to them such that it no leads to distress. The role that the patients’ families play in their treatment, therefore, cannot be overlooked. Previous practices have also indicated that the age of the child is of essence when deciding to include the parents of the patient (Dadds et al, 1999). This is where for very young children; the parents are more involved in the therapy process. This is because they need to be directed on how the cognitive-behavioral model functions and how it can be applied to solve the child’s problem. The parents are given specific directions on the management of this model in order to make the treatment process effective. The training of a parent makes it possible to come up with an effective plan to solve problems in children facing anxiety disorders. In addition, therapists are able to advice the parents suffering fr om anxiety to seek treatment in order to avoid negative influence on the treatment of their children (Gowers, 2009). Basically, the sex and age of the patient do not bring out significant differences in terms of the patient’s self-ratings of anxiety both before the treatment and after the process. In a study that was conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for young children facing anxiety disorders, reduction of anxiety in children was achieved using this approach (Wenar Kerig, 2006). This research indicated that the role of parent involvement in this treatment and the need to start the intervention early leads to positive results. This study illustrated that individual CBT combined with parental involvement led to better results. There have been other methods that have been utilized in the treatment of anxiety disorders. For instance, pharmacologists have focused their treatment on the use of antidepressants (Silva, 2003). This method has led to positive results especially due to its efficacy (Scott, Mughelli Deas, 2005). However, this method when applied to children has led to negative effects. This has led to therapists turning to the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy since it has been used on adults without any side effects. The adoption of the approach on young children facing anxiety disorders has produced positive results since it does not cause any side effects like the pharmacologic agents do. According to Arnold et al (2003), CBT is the most effective treatment approach when dealing with children and other young patients suffering from anxiety disorders. The most effective setting for the application of cognitive-behavioral therapy for young patients is in an education setup. This is because within the school setting, the program can be designed to fit both the patients and their families. This is through adopting the appropriate timing for the therapy sessions and the time that the treatment will be delivere d. The schedule can be arranged to avoid interfering with the school and family programs. In addition, this setting is appropriate since the adjustment made ensures that the patients maintain regular attendance in the sessions of treatment and increase the chances of completing the program (Gail et al, 2005). When the needs of the young patients are considered, adoption of the treatment in the school setting can be the most effective for the therapy intervention process. The strengths of CBT approach are seen in its ability to be applicable in various setting without reducing its effectiveness. This is unlike other methods that adopt the clinical-based intervention alone (Steele, Elkin, Roberts, 2008). CBT on the other hand can be applied in the community setting. The program can be initiated in schools and the follow up done in the patient’s homes. This makes it possible to involve the families of the patients a factor that has made the approach bear more positive results. The strength of the CBT approach can be pointed in its commitment to empowering the patient thus making him or her take control of the situations that may emerge even in the future (Stallard, 2009). By exposing the individual to situations that have always aroused fear and distress and helping him or her utilize the learnt coping mechanisms, the individual feels as part of the solution making him or her develop a positive self image. Despite its success in treatment of young patients facing anxiety disorders, cognitive-behavioral therapy has several limitations. Firstly, the accessibility of these services has proved hard to many families, thus limiting the benefits that this approach brings to these individuals. This has been caused by the number of individuals who have been trained to undertake the processes are fewer than the number of patients who require their services. This is particularly because the skill is mostly learnt by psychologists and psychiatrists who are not enough when compared with the high rate of the occurrence of this condition among children and young adults (Raul et al., 2006). Secondly, the application of CBT in the treatment of individuals with anxiety disorders has sometimes been a challenge to most families. This is because most parents find it hard to refer their children for therapy treatment especially when the children are very young with the fear that the society will point a blaming finger on them as the cause of their children situation (Barrett, 1998). In addition, some families lack the understanding of the importance of therapy for their children. This is because these parents may not understand what problem their children may be facing thus; they do not see the need for the therapy intervention. Some families may not afford the cost of the therapy especially when the model is individual as it may overstretch their resources. Another concern that has been proposed especially when involving the parents of the patients is o ccurrence of overprotective behaviors among the parents towards their children. When the parents are not instructed properly on their role they might prevent their children from dealing with their former fears by shielding them from these situations (Barrett, Dadds Rappe, 1996). In conclusion, cognitive-behavioral therapy has led to good results in the treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. This is both when applied on an individual or a group. Cognitive-behavioral therapy aims at helping the individual to identify thoughts that are irrational after which the individual deals with these unproductive thought through methods like reinforcement and role play among others. This approach is patient-centered since the therapist only act more as a director and instructor while the patient determines how the progress will be achieved. Parental involvement in the treatment process has also been beneficial since it has led to improvement of these results. This is where the individual programme for children with anxiety disorders is improved through â€Å"Family Anxiety Management (FAM)† programme (Barrett, Dadds Rappe, 1996). It is also important to consider the setting of the therapy sessions as the appropriate setting will make the therapy successful. For instance, the education setting is the most effective for young patients as indicated above. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most validated methods of treatment of anxiety disorder where its greatest success has been proved in various researches that have been launched to come up with solutions to various disorders. References Albano, A. and Kendall, P. (2002). Cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders: clinical research advances. International Review of Psychiatry, 14(2), 129-134. Arnold, P, Banerjee, S. P. and Bhandari, R. et al. (2003). Childhood anxiety disorders and developmental issues in anxiety. Curr Psychiatry Rep., 5(4):252-26 5. Bailey, V. (2001). Cognitive–behavioural therapies for children and adolescents. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 7: 224-232 doi: 10.1192/apt.7.3.224 Barrett, P. M. (1998). Evaluation of cognitive-behavioral group treatments for childhood anxiety disorders. J Clin Child Psychol., 27(4):459-468. Barrett, P. M., Dadds M. R. and Rappe, R. M. (1996). Family treatment of childhood anxiety: a controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol., 64(2):333-342. Cobham, V. E., Dadds, M. R. and Spence, S. H. (1998). The role of parental anxiety in the treatment of childhood anxiety. J Consult Clin Psychol., 66:893–905. Compton, S. and March, J. et al. (2009). Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents: An evidence based medicine review. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(8), 930-959. Dadds, M. R, Holland, D. E., Spence, S. H., Laurens, K. R. and Mullins, M. et al (1999). Early Intervention and p revention of anxiety disorders in children: results at 2-year follow up. J Consult Clin Psychol., 67:145–150. Gail, A. Bernstein, Ann E. Layne, Elizabeth A. Egan, and Tennison, D. M. (2005). School Based Interventions for Anxious Children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 44(11): 1118–1127. Gowers, S. (2009). Eating disorders: cognitive behavior therapy with children and young people (electronic resource) London: Routledge. Kendall, P. C. (1994). Treating anxiety disorders in children: results of a randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol., 62(1):100-110. Kendall, P. C. and Warman, M. (1996). Anxiety disorders in youth: diagnostic consistency across DSMIII-R and DSM-IV. J Anxiety Disord., 10(6):452-463. Kendall, P. et al (1993). Cognitive behavioural therapies with youth: guiding theory, current status and emerging developments. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 235–247. Lewis, S. E. (2010). CBT for young children with anxiety disord ers. Brown University Child Adolescent Behavior Letter, 26(11), 3-4 Raul, R. S., Richard, G. and Haruka, M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Primary Psychiatry, 13(5):68-76. Scott, R. W., Mughelli, K. and Deas, D. (2005). An overview of controlled studies of anxiety disorders treatment in children and adolescents. J Natl Med Assoc., 97(1):13-24. Silva, R. R. (2003). Psychopharmacology news. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol., 13(4):409-410. Silverman, W. K., Kurtines, W. M., Ginsburg, G. S., Weems, C. F. and Rabian, B. et al. (1999). Contingency management, self-control, and education support in the treatment of childhood phobic disorders: a randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol., 67(5):675-687. Stallard, P. (2009). Anxiety: cognitive behavioral therapy with children and young people. London: Routledge. Steele, R., Elkin, D., Roberts, M. (2008). Handbook of evidence-based therapies for children and adolescents: Bri dging science and practice issues (Issues in Clinical Child Psychology). New York, NY: Springer. Vonk, M. E., and Early, T. J. (2002). â€Å"Cognitive-behavioral therapy† In A. R. Roberts G. J. Greene (Eds.), Social workers’ desk reference (pp. 116-120). New York: Oxford University Press. Wenar, C. and Kerig, P. (2006). Developmental Psychopathology: From infancy through adolescence (5th edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill This coursework on Therapy for Children and Young Patients with Anxiety Disorders was written and submitted by user Brielle L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Free Essays on Climate Change

Climate Change Over the past years most individuals have become acutely aware that the intensity of human and economic development enjoyed over the 20th century cannot be sustained. Material consumption and ever increasing populations are already stressing the earth’s ecosystems. How much more the earth can take remains a very heated issue. Here a look at the facts sheds some very dark light. In 1950, there were 2.5 billion people, while today there are 5.8 billion. There may well be 10 billion people on earth before the middle of the next century. Even more significant, on an ecological level, is the rise in per capita energy and material consumption which, in the last 40 years, has soared faster than the human population. â€Å"An irresistible economy seems to be on a collision course with an immovable ecosphere.† Based on these facts alone, there is grave reason for concern. Taken further, it is even more frightening to note that, while man has affected the env ironment throughout his stay on earth, the impact has been most intense in the relatively short industrial era. Since the industrial revolution, and over the past century in particular, man’s ecological footprint on the earth has quickly grown from that of a child to one of a giant. True, this period is heralded as an economic success story, which it certainly has been. However, many argue that it seems increasingly likely that the path to man’s success will soon slope downward to his demise. The climate is changing, and so must we. This paper will look at the coin of climate change, where on the one side the human impact on the earth will be shown, and on the other, the impact of earth on man. Such a study is inevitably somewhat polemical, as it is still open to debate what the precise effects of man have and will be on climate change, and also what climate change will mean to man. It will also be quite general in analysis, as a paper of this scope... Free Essays on Climate Change Free Essays on Climate Change Climate Change Over the past years most individuals have become acutely aware that the intensity of human and economic development enjoyed over the 20th century cannot be sustained. Material consumption and ever increasing populations are already stressing the earth’s ecosystems. How much more the earth can take remains a very heated issue. Here a look at the facts sheds some very dark light. In 1950, there were 2.5 billion people, while today there are 5.8 billion. There may well be 10 billion people on earth before the middle of the next century. Even more significant, on an ecological level, is the rise in per capita energy and material consumption which, in the last 40 years, has soared faster than the human population. â€Å"An irresistible economy seems to be on a collision course with an immovable ecosphere.† Based on these facts alone, there is grave reason for concern. Taken further, it is even more frightening to note that, while man has affected the env ironment throughout his stay on earth, the impact has been most intense in the relatively short industrial era. Since the industrial revolution, and over the past century in particular, man’s ecological footprint on the earth has quickly grown from that of a child to one of a giant. True, this period is heralded as an economic success story, which it certainly has been. However, many argue that it seems increasingly likely that the path to man’s success will soon slope downward to his demise. The climate is changing, and so must we. This paper will look at the coin of climate change, where on the one side the human impact on the earth will be shown, and on the other, the impact of earth on man. Such a study is inevitably somewhat polemical, as it is still open to debate what the precise effects of man have and will be on climate change, and also what climate change will mean to man. It will also be quite general in analysis, as a paper of this scope...

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Process of Elimination on the SAT 11 Key Tips

Process of Elimination on the SAT 11 Key Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With the guessing penalty eliminated for the redesigned SAT, you should guess on any question you can’t answer, because you won’t be penalized for wrong guesses. However, that doesn’t mean that guessing completely randomly is a good idea. You should always use the process of elimination as much as you are able to increase your chances of getting the right answer. In this article, I’ll explain how eliminating incorrect answers helps you, and then go over some specific strategies you can use to eliminate wrong answers on Reading, Writing, and Math. How Eliminating Incorrect Answers Helps You The guessing penalty may be gone, but that doesn’t mean you should throw careful thought to the wind and randomly choose an answer on any question you are remotely stumped on. If you guess randomly on an SAT multiple-choice question, which has four choices, your chances of guessing the correct answer are 25%. If you can eliminate one wrong answer, those chances jump to 33%. If you can eliminate two, those chances jump even higher, to 50%. This means that even if you can’t definitively identify the correct answer, eliminating wrong answers will be a huge help. In the next sections, I’ll present some strategies on eliminating wrong answers for each of the multiple choice sections- Reading, Writing and Language, and Math.Math actually has two multiple choice sections- no-calculator and calculator- but the elimination strategies are pretty much the same for both. Every practice problem comes from this free practice test released by the College Board. Look there for the complete passages for the Reading and Writing sections. STRATEGY! 4 Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers on Reading Here are four main strategies to eliminate wrong answers on Reading: plugging answers into the passage, honing in on modifiers, applying abstract answers to the passage, and leveraging â€Å"find the evidence† question pairs. For each strategy, I’ll present a practice question with an explanation to show the skills in action. Strategy #1: Plug It In You’ve probably heard â€Å"plug it in† most commonly as an elimination strategy for math tests. But you can do it on other kinds of multiple choice questions, too.For Reading, this strategy comes into play for any question that asks you to define a word or phrase in the passage. You can replace the word in question with each of the answer choices in turn- essentially plugging the answers back into the passage in place of the original word or phrase- and then eliminate the ones that don’t make sense in context. Example: The short paragraph that contains line 2 reads, â€Å"Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. Was that it? Had he followed form- had he asked his mother to speak to his father to approach a go-between- would Chie have been more receptive?† If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (A), â€Å"appearance,† we get, â€Å"Had he followed appearance.† This clearly doesn’t make sense. How do you â€Å"follow† appearance? Eliminate it. If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (B), â€Å"custom,† we get, â€Å"Had he followed custom.† This sounds much better; â€Å"following custom† is a logical phrase that refers to sticking to tradition. Keep it. If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (C), â€Å"structure,† we get â€Å"Had he followed structure.† How do you â€Å"follow† structure in this context? He’s not building anything; he’s asking for Naomi’s hand in marriage. Eliminate (C). Finally, if we replace â€Å"form† with (D), â€Å"nature,† we get â€Å"Had he followed nature.† This doesn’t make sense, either- not only is it an awkward-sounding phrase, it doesn’t make sense in the context of the passage. There’s nothing â€Å"natural† about marriage customs; they are created by people. Eliminate (D). By â€Å"plugging in† the answers, we can eliminate the wrong choices one by one and determine that (B) is actually the only choice that makes sense. This is a strategy that works for any reading questions that ask you to define a word or phrase in context. Plugging it in: the next best thing when you don't have a dictionary. Strategy #2: Hone in on Modifiers and Descriptors Answers on SAT reading questions often contain descriptive modifiers, seen in phrases like â€Å"impassioned plea,† â€Å"desperate request,† and so on. It might be tempting to sort of gloss over the sea of modifiers when you are scanning responses, but don’t! You can use these modifiers to help you eliminate incorrect answers. The modifiers are often what most differentiates one answer choice from another. Example: As you can see, there are all kinds of descriptive modifiers in these answers. Choice (A) has â€Å"careful,† â€Å"traditional; (B) has â€Å"detailed,† â€Å"meaningful,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (C) has â€Å"definitive,†; and (D) has â€Å"cheerful† and â€Å"amusing.† Let’s hone in on the modifiers in the above question for practice. Choice (A) describes the development of the passage as a â€Å"careful analysis of a traditional practice.† Certainly a â€Å"traditional practice†- using go-betweens to propose marriage- is a major subject of this passage. But is there careful analysis of this practice? â€Å"Careful† implies that the analysis is methodical or systematic, while this passage is only concerned with relating one anecdote. This is not â€Å"careful.† We can eliminate (A) based on this modifier. In answer (B), the passage is described as a â€Å"detailed description of a meaningful encounter.† The description here can definitely be described as â€Å"detailed.† The conversation is brief, but the passage is over a page long. It’s also about a marriage proposal, which is usually significant and emotional, so it seems reasonable to describe the encounter as â€Å"meaningful.† Let’s keep (B) in the running. Choice (C) describes the passage as â€Å"a definitive response to a series of questions.† Well, one question is definitely being asked here- Akira is asking for Naomi’s hand. But is there a definitive, or final, response? Chie gives no answer, so no. (C) can be eliminated. In choice (D) the passage is termed â€Å"a cheerful recounting of an amusing anecdote.† This passage concerns a serious matter, that of a marriage that could involve Chie’s daughter moving to another continent. So it’s not really appropriate to call this anecdote â€Å"amusing† or the recounting of events â€Å"cheerful.† Eliminate (D). By focusing on the modifiers and descriptors, we can eliminate answers in turn until we are left with the correct answer, (B). It’s important to pay close attention to these words since they are often what really separates the answers from each other! Don't let modifiers cloud your judgment- use them! Strategy #3: Apply an Abstract Answer to the Passage What do I mean by this? Well, lots of SAT reading questions have answer choices that are written in the abstract: instead of identifying a specific character, answers will say â€Å"one character,† or â€Å"a character†; instead of identifying a specific event, answer choices will say â€Å"an event,† or â€Å"a moment,†; and so on. The general, vague-sounding way these answers are phrased can make it hard to confidently eliminate answer choices. You can get around this problem by explicitly applying the general, abstract statements in the answer choices to concrete elements of the passage. This makes it much easier to spot answer choices that don’t fit. Example: In this question, all of the answer choices are presented as abstract statements, describing â€Å"one character† and â€Å"another character† without linking these pronouncements to specific characters that appear in the passage. If you can apply these vague, nonspecific answer choices explicitly to elements in the passage, in this case by identifying which characters are being referred to, it will be much easier to spot incorrect answers. Answer choice (A) says that, â€Å"one character argues with another character who intrudes on her home.† Well, the scene takes place in Chie’s home, and the only character who does not live there is Akira. We could rewrite this choice, then, as â€Å"Chie argues with Akira, who intrudes on her home.† But they don’t argue, and Akira is hardly an intruder- he is announced with a calling card, and Chie goes to meet him. So we can eliminate choice (A). Answer choice (B) says that one character receives a surprising request from another character. Who makes a request in this passage, and of whom? Well, Akira requests Naomi’s hand in marriage from Chie, her mother. So we could rewrite this answer as â€Å"Chie receives a surprising request from Akira.† This seems reasonable; we will keep this choice in mind. Answer choice (C) says that â€Å"one character reminisces about choices she has made over the years.† Since â€Å"she† is used, it would have to be either Chie or Naomi reminiscing. Naomi is only 18, so it wouldn’t make much sense for her to be reminiscing about her choices â€Å"over the years.† That leaves Chie. So stated in concrete terms, choice (C) would read, â€Å"Chie reminisces about choices she has made over the years.† But that’s not a good description what happens in the passage- it doesn’t mention either Akira or Naomi at all, who are also key players here. (C) can be eliminated. Answer choice (D) states, â€Å"One character criticizes another character for pursuing an unexpected course of action.† Well, from the passage we know that Akira is doing several unexpected things. He shows up at a time when he is not expected, and he is going to America, and he is asking for Naomi’s hand.So he may be â€Å"pursuing an unexpected course of action.† The only character he interacts with substantively in the passage is Chie, so we would have to rewrite this answer choice as, â€Å"Chie criticizes Akira for pursuing an unexpected course of action.† But Chie doesn’t really criticize Akira- the only things she says to Akira are to congratulate him for his position in America and to ask whether Naomi knows he wants to marry her. (D) can be eliminated. With that, we’ve eliminated every answer but (B). (I swear it’s only a coincidence that all of these sample questions have B answers!) By rewriting answer choices that are offered in general or abstract terms so they are more concretely linked to the passage, we can more easily eliminate wrong answers. SAT Reading: the floral edition. Strategy #4: Leverage "Find the Evidence" Question Pairs "Find the Evidence" question pairs are a new question type on the revised SAT. These question pairs will first ask you something about the passage and then to find evidence that supports your previous answer in a follow-up question. Sometimes you can leverage these â€Å"find the evidence† pairs to eliminate wrong answers. Because you know that the answers have to go together, you can eliminate from the first question question answers that don’t have a corresponding piece of evidence in the second question. Example: To make explaining this example a little clearer, here are the complete â€Å"evidence† answer choices for question 14 written out: Many relish the opportunity to buy presents because gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with one’s closest peers. People buy gifts that recipients would not choose to buy on their own. Research has found that people often struggle to take account of others’ perspectives. Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem intuitive to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded. If you’re stumped by the first question in an evidence pair, try to match answers from the first question to â€Å"evidence† answers from the second question in the pair. If there’s no matching evidence in the second question, you can confidently eliminate the answer from the first question. You may not always be able to eliminate all answers this way, but all eliminations help! Let’s work through the above example. In question 13, answer choice (A) states that people value gift-giving as a â€Å"form of self-expression.† Is there any matching evidence in question 14? Answer choice (B) says that gift-givers buy gifts that recipients might not buy on their own, but that’s not the same thing as a gift functioning as â€Å"self-expression.† Similarly, for choice (C), the fact that people â€Å"struggle to take account of others’ perspectives† doesn’t necessarily mean that people are expressing themselves when they buy gifts. There’s not really matching evidence in question 14, so we can eliminate choice (A) from question 13. Moving on to the next answer choice for question 13, choice (B) says that people value gifts as â€Å"an inexpensive way to show appreciation.† Are there any answers in question 14 that support this? None of the answer choices mention price except for (D), which says that gift-givers assume price and level appreciation expressed are linked. The idea that gift-givers give more expensive gifts to show more appreciation directly contradicts the idea that people use inexpensive gifts to show appreciation! So there’s no evidence to match (B) and we can eliminate it from the running for question 13. Question 13’s choice (C) suggests that people value gifts because givers are required to reciprocate. There’s nothing about reciprocating, or giving gifts in return, in any of question 14’s evidence answer choices. Eliminate (C). This leaves us with choice (D) for question 13, which states that people value gifts as a means to strengthen relationships. When we scan question 14’s answers, we can see that answer choice (A) states that people value gift-giving as a chance to build stronger bonds. This matches up perfectly with answer (D). So (D) for question 13 and (A) for question 14 are the correct answers! It might seem a little tedious to use this matching strategy, but it pays off: we got two "sure bet" right answers this way! Note that you won’t always be able to eliminate all wrong answers with this strategy- sometimes the question writers like to have a couple of matching evidence pairs to stump you. Elementary, my dear Watson. That sums up my four helpful strategies to eliminate answers on the SAT Reading section: plugging in the answer choices when you are asked to define a word or phrase, honing in on descriptive modifiers, linking abstract answer choices to specific characters and moments in the passage, and leveraging evidence-based question pairs. Note that you might sometimes want to use a combination of strategies to eliminate answers for a given question if it’s appropriate to do so. Now on to Writing! Three Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers on Writing Because good things come in threes, I have three helpful strategies to eliminate wrong answers in writing. First up is my perennial favorite, plugging in the answer. Then I’ll cover spotting common grammatical errors, and finally, using topic sentences. Once again, you can (and should!) use multiple strategies to eliminate wrong answer choices on the test. I’ll mostly focus on one strategy per example question, but occasionally I might mention another strategy in my explanation where appropriate. Strategy #1: Plugging in the Answer It’s our favorite strategy, plugging in the answer! Yes, this is going to appear as an elimination strategy for all three SAT section types. That’s because it’s effective for any question where you can replace something in the passage (or question) with each of the answer choices and see how it works out. This strategy is helpful for tons of questions on writing: not just on questions where you need to choose the correct word or phrase to complete a sentence, but also on paragraph completion questions where you need to choose where it makes the most sense to place a sentence. It’s a very versatile technique. Example: The sentence that goes with the above question is â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, therefore farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† We don’t need to â€Å"plug in† answer choice (A), NO CHANGE, as it’s already plugged in to the sentence, but we can read it aloud to ourselves to see how it sounds. It’s very awkward to have â€Å"therefore† in the middle of the sentence. If it sounds awkward, it’s usually wrong. Even if you don’t know the specific grammatical rule at play, you can always be sure that the SAT prioritizes writing that is clear and straightforward. So if something sounds weird to you, odds are it’s a wrong answer. Eliminate (A). If we plug answer choice (B) into the sentence, we get, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This sounds pretty natural and clear. On SAT writing, if it sounds natural, there’s a decent chance it’s the correct answer. (If you do know the grammar, you’ll know that this sentence is correct because we have a dependent clause beginning with â€Å"because† linked with a comma to an independent clause, starting with â€Å"farmers.†) Either way, keep (B). If we plug in answer choice (C), we get, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, so farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This one sounds awkward, too. â€Å"Because† beginning the sentence and then â€Å"so† right in the middle of the sentence sounds redundant and weird. Get rid of it! Eliminate choice (C). With answer choice (D) plugged in, the sentence reads as, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it: farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This sounds sort of okay. Let’s keep it for now. After plugging in answer choices we’ve eliminated choices (A) and (C) since they sound awkward right off the bat. So now we have answers (B) and (D) left to choose from. To get the right answer here, it would be helpful if we knew the rules for colon usage: colons should only be used to separate two independent clauses where the second one logically follows the first, or to begin a list. So answer choice (D) doesn’t qualify; this leaves (B) as the only viable answer choice. But even if we didn’t know that, if we could determine that choice (B) definitely made a correct sentence, we could be pretty sure that it was the correct answer. There is only ever one indisputably correct choice on the SAT, so if one answer is definitely right, all the other answers have to be wrong. Plug in those answers like your electric guitar! Strategy #2: Spotting Common Grammatical Errors If you have a solid understanding of some common grammatical errors, you can often eliminate at least some answers to any question on the writing section easily because they contain a common error. Example: We don’t even need to look at the sentence in the passage this question is referring to in order to start eliminating answers: choices (B) and (D) both use apostrophes improperly in a plural word. Apostrophes are only appropriate to indicate possession (like â€Å"Cady’s bike†) or create contractions (like â€Å"can’t† and â€Å"won’t†). By knowing this common grammatical error and being able to spot it, we just upped our chances of guessing the correct answer from 25% to 50% in one fell swoop. We’re now left with (A), â€Å"No Change,† and (D), â€Å"could have polluted waterways.† We can plug these last two choices into the sentence to find the correct answer. With choice (A), the sentence reads, â€Å"If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes.† This sounds pretty good. Let’s leave choice (A) in the running. What about if we plug in choice (D)? Then we have the sentence, â€Å"If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff could have polluted waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes.† If this sounds awkward, it’s because it is. This is the wrong answer because it introduces a new, non-matching verb tense into the sentence. But what you mostly need to know is that it sounds awkward and wrong, which in writing is generally a good reason to eliminate an answer. Goodbye to (D)! This leaves us with (A), â€Å"No change,† as the correct answer. Hurrah! In addition to improper apostrophe use, some other common grammatical errors you might use to eliminate answers on the writing section include: Incorrect idiom phrases (like â€Å"could of† instead of â€Å"could have†) Incorrect pronoun usage (phrases like â€Å"whom goes† instead of â€Å"who goes†) Modifier errors: adjectives/adverbs appearing in the wrong place in a phrase and/or in the wrong form (like â€Å"teach in a way more effectively† instead of â€Å"teach in a more effective way† or even just â€Å"teach more effectively†). Hopefully there's not an explosion every time you find an error. Strategy #3: Using Topic Sentences On questions that are primarily about argument quality or the structure of a piece, topic sentences are your best friends. They help clue you into the structure of a written piece and help you know what details are most important. You can use these clues to eliminate answers. Example: This question is asking us to choose the sentence part that will provide the most relevant detail. For a detail to be relevant, it needs to be related to the topic of the paragraph it’s contained in. How do we know what’s most relevant to a particular paragraph? The topic sentence. So scan back up to the topic sentence of this paragraph: â€Å"The main environmental problem caused by the production of Greek yogurt is the creation of acid whey as a by-product.†This paragraph, then, is about environmental problems associated with the whey by-products of Greek Yogurt. Do any of the answers seem relevant to this topic? With choice (A), â€Å"No Change,† the complete sentence reads, â€Å"They can add it to livestock feed as a protein supplement, and people can make their own Greek-style yogurt at home by straining regular yogurt.† Well, making your own yogurt might have something to do with sustainability, which might be relevant to environmental problems. We’ll leave this answer in for now. Choice (B) discusses converting Greek Yogurt by-products into gas to use as fuel. This seems like it could be related to the environment because it’s about recycling the whey by-products. Leave in (B). Choice (C) mentions that a different kind of whey is more desirable for human consumption. Does this have anything to do with the environment? Nope. Say goodbye to (C). Choice D) just further elaborates on the nutritional value of the yogurt-based supplement for livestock. That’s not particularly relevant to our overall topic of the whey by-product and the environment. Eliminate (D). We are now left with two answers: choice (A), which discusses people making their own Greek yogurt, and choice (B), which discusses some further options for Greek yogurt whey by-product disposal. If we look at the sentence that comes before this one in the passage, it says, â€Å"To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey.† People making their own yogurt, as in (A), doesn’t seem as relevant to alternate uses for acid whey as using the whey for electricity. So we can eliminate (A), leaving us with (B) as the best answer. Thus, topic sentences are a key tool to highlight what’s most important in a given paragraph when we are trying to eliminate wrong answers. Thanks, topic sentences! This delicious yogurt has a dark secret...dastardly whey by-products! Four Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers in Math Math is the subject where you may feel the most lost on questions if you don’t have any idea what the answer is. But you can guess effectively even if you don’t fully understand a question. My four strategies for eliminating answers on SAT Math questions are plugging it in (of course!), testing the models, replacing variables with real numbers, and paying close attention to signs. Strategy #1: Plug It In Ah, yes, the mother of all answer-eliminating strategies when you are stumped on an algebra-related problem on a math test.Take the given answer choices and plug them back into the equation(s) to see if they work. Example: This one has two equations, but don’t be stumped by this. The solution has to work in both equations, so plug the values into the top equation first. If it doesn’t work there, eliminate the answer choice; if it does, move on to the bottom equation. Let’s try answer choice (A), in which $x=-5$ and $y=-2$.Plugging these values in to the first equation gives us: $$3(-5)+4(-2)=$$$$(-15)+(-8)=-23$$ That matches the top equation’s solution of -23, so we’ll move on to the bottom equation.In the second equation, we get: $$2(-2)-(-5)=$$$$(-4)-(-5)=$$ $$(-4)+5=1$$ That does not match the bottom equation’s solution of -19, so we can eliminate (A) as a choice. On to answer (B), in which $x=3$ and $y=-8$.Plugging these values in to the first equation gives us: $$3(3)+4(-8)=$$$$9+(-32)=-23$$ This matches the top equation’s solution of -23, so we’ll move on to the bottom equation.In the second equation, we get: $$2(-8)-(3)=$$$$-16-3=-19$$ That does match the bottom equation’s solution of -19. (B) is the correct answer!If you want to double-check, you could plug in the next answers to make sure they are wrong. I won’t go through that here, though. So you can see that just so long as you know where to put the numbers, plugging the answer choices back into the equation is a very effective answer-eliminating strategy. Where do all the numbers go? Strategy #2: Test the Model On the revised SAT there are a variety of questions about mathematical modeling- creating and understanding equations that model real-world situations. On these questions, you can often use the model to eliminate incorrect answers (and/or to find the correct answer). Example: You don’t actually need to understand exactly what the different terms in the model mean to answer this question, you just need to be able to plug numbers into the model and identify the resulting pattern. Since you are trying to find the estimated increase of the boy’s height every year from 2 to 5, just â€Å"run† the model from years 2 and 5 and see what the height increase is from year to year. At year 2, that would be $h=3(2)+28.6$ or $34.6$ At year 3, that would be $h=3(3)+28.6$ or $37.6$ At year 4, that would be $h=3(4)+28.6$ or $40.6$ At year 5, that would be $h=3(5)+28.6$ or $43.6$ See a pattern? Every year, the boy’s height is increasing by 3 inches. So the answer is (A), 3. You can eliminate all the other answers. Of course, if you understand the way the model works, you’ll know that the boy’s average estimated height increase per year is 3 because 3 is the coefficient in front of $a$, the boy’s age. But even if you don’t, you can still answer this question with math answer-elimination techniques! Go math go! Strategy #3: Replace Variables With Real Numbers Replacing variables with real numbers in math problems often makes them easier to conceptualize. Obviously, you can’t do this when you are solving an algebra problem with a specific solution, but if you’re working with an expression, it’s a solid strategy. Note that it’s best to pick an easy-to-manipulate number that’s not 0 or 1. Example: For this problem, the first part says that $x3$. So be sure to pick a number greater than 3 to represent $x$! We need to find the answer that is equivalent to the expression Let’s pick the number 5 to stand in for $x$. Then we have $${1}/{1/(5+2)+1/(5+3)}$$ which simplifies to $${1}/{1/7+1/8}$$ which further simplifies to $${1}/{15/56}$$ which = $$56/15$$ Given that this term simplifies to $56/15$ in fractional terms, we can eliminate answers (C) and (D) without testing them because those clearly won’t equal $56/15$ if we substitute 5 for $x$. That leaves us with (A) and (B) to test. If we replace $x$ with 5 for answer (A), we get $${2(5)+5}/{5^2+5(5)+6}$$ which = $15/56$. This isn’t quite right- we are looking for $56/15$! We can eliminate choice (A). But answer (B) is just answer (A) with the numerator and denominator flipped. So that would be $56/15$ with 5 standing in for $x$. That’s our answer! (In an unrelated note, I’m apparently really, really good at picking sample questions with (B) as the answer.) Thus, replacing variables with real numbers can help you choose an answer if you are having trouble manipulating the variables. Just be sure you choose a number that makes for relatively easy math and that you’re internally consistent- i.e. don’t start out substituting 10 for $x$ and then start substituting 8 for $x$ later in the same problem. Illuminate the answer by plugging in some real numbers! Strategy #4: Pay Close Attention to Signs Paying close attention to positive and negative signs is hugely important when you are trying to eliminate answers that are clearly wrong on the Math test. Example: Let’s say you have no idea how to approach $i$ even with the helpful info that it is the square root of -1. That doesn’t mean all is lost on this question! You can see from the answers that the first term of the answer is either -1 or 15.You are trying to add $(7+3i)$ and $(-8+9i)$. Even if you have no idea how to deal with the imaginary number terms, you know you have a positive 7 and a negative 8! Would it make sense for $7+(-8)$ to lead to a first term of positive 15? no! The 7 is positive and the 8 is negative, so how would you reach 15? You can eliminate the answer choices that start with 15, choice (C) and choice (D). This leaves you with choices (A) and (B).So how to choose between them? Well, you have a positive $3i$ and a positive $9i$. Does it make sense for these to add up to $-6i$, like in (B)? Do two positives ever add up to a negative? No! Eliminate (B). This leaves choice (A) as the answer. By thinking carefully about the positive and negative signs in the question and our answer choices, we were able to eliminate answers without needing to understand what $i$ meant at all! Follow the signs. That wraps up my math answer eliminating strategies: plug in answers, test models, replace variables with real numbers, and pay attention to signs! Key Takeaways With the guessing penalty gone, you should answer every multiple-choice question on the SAT. But don’t just guess randomly- guess smart! These are my best answer-eliminating strategies for each section: Reading Plug the answer choices into the passage Hone in on modifiers Link abstract answers to concrete elements of the passage Leverage â€Å"find the evidence† question pairs Writing Plug the answer choices into the passage Spot common grammatical errors Use topic sentences Math Plug the answer choices into the problem Test the model(s) Replace variables with numbers Pay attention to signs! With these elimination strategies in mind, you can up your guessing game so instead of picking random answers, you’re guessing strategically when you don’t know the answer to a question. What's Next? 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