POlitical Campaign Advertising Essay -- essays research papers

Since 1952, television has played a major role in presidential elections. Television allows candidates to reach a broad number of people, and personalities, to help push along their campaigns. Campaigns help the candidates just as much as the voters. The candidates get to be identified, and known to the voters, and the voters get to hear and see how a specific candidate identifies with their needs and wants. The best way to get this information out there is through the most used form of media, television.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When candidates develop a plan of attack for campaign advertising, they tend to aim for at least four types of commercials. One form or type of commercial is those which play on the fears of countrymen. Fear is a good emotion to play on, if your opponent is â€Å"unknown or untested† nationally. Instill in fear of the opponent is a good way to gain the upper hand in an election, because if people don’t feel their president can make safe and smart decision, nine times out of ten they will not want that person in office. In the past the â€Å"fear† factor, made people think what if? And in return they start to second guess who they want in office.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the election of 2004, the bush campaign ran an advertisement; whose focus was to act on the fear of Americans. The bush campaign ran an ad titled â€Å"Finish It† (1). This ad showed that the war in Iraq was necessary, and needed, and if John Kerry was elected to office the harmful acts against America would go unpunished. I didn’t particular like this ad, but I think the message was clear and a lot of Americans identified with this ad. The impact of this ad, caused myself and many others to think, that if we elect a new president in war time, what would happen to the people in Iraq, and more importantly what would happen to the troops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another type of commercial that campaigns look to run is the â€Å"real people† ad, or the ads that show the candidate to be â€Å"just like everyone else†. These ads are used to connect with the people, and show how a candidate relates to the needs and wants of everyone. When people get the feeling that a candidate can relate to their needs and wants, they lean more toward supporting that candidate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Campaigns allow the candidate to reach out to prospective voters and get the issues o... ... there attitude. On the republican side you had an overwhelming amount of ads that made Senator Kerry seem like a person who you could not trust, and a person who only looks out for his own best interest. Where as on the democratic platform you have ad that show Americans rallying together, you have ads that appeal to a sensitive, family oriented nation that just want to feel safe and secure. The democratic ads are warm and caring, while the republican ads are cold and stern.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unlike ads of the past the ads displayed in the 2004 election were heavily focused on information and factual content. The voters are forced to make a decision on war, foreign affairs, and military issues. The scope and focus of the ads form both political parties were mainly to get voted in the ever so popular electoral swing states. I think the ad were obviously effective due to the outcome of the election. Political ad make all of the difference when it come to those state who are on the border and you never know which way the electorate will vote. And Negative ads play an even bigger role because people always forget the good things about a person and always remember the bad.

Consequences of Exploration for Europeans and the Indigenous Peoples

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean bearing the name of the Spanish Crown in hopes that he had landed in the Indies of Asia using a direct sea route. Though that is not where he landed, his â€Å"New World† was a place of great wealth, new materials and crops, new source of labor, and new land for the European nations. The consequences for the native people of the Americas were much worse with devastating death tolls, enslavement, new diseases and racist attitudes towards them. Though it would not be fair to say that the Europeans did not share in negative consequences or that the indigenous people did not gain any advantages. The greatest negative consequences for the Europeans due to the European expansion are a devastating economic revolution, and the introduction of the venereal disease Syphilis. Once the Spanish began to mine the precious ores of America the wealth of Spain underwent a major transformation. Demanding one-fifth of all profit, the Crown became immensely rich and this showed in their influence on the rest of Europe, seeing that other countries now lacked the material wealth of Spain. Throughout this time of great wealth the population rose steadily in Spain. With population increase, came an increased demand for food and merchandise. Spain had expelled a large amount of their skilled farmers, workers, merchants and businessmen during the Inquisition when they cleansed their country of the Jewish and Muslim people. Along with the demand in Spain, the demand for Spanish and European products in the Americas also became hard to keep up with. With the ever-increasing influx of silver bullion the prices in Spain began to rise and the inflation quadrupled the prices of everything within thirty years. In 1556, Martin de Azpilcueta Navarro, a Spanish canon lawyer, writes about the influx of American silver as the cause of the inflation. We see by experience that in France, where money is scarcer than in Spain, bread, wine, cloth, and labour are worth much less. And even in Spain, in times when money was scarcer, saleable goods and labour were given for very much less than after the discovery of the Indies, which flooded the country with gold and silver. The reason for this is that money is worth more where and when it is scarce than where and when it is abundant. Along with this, the Spanish king Philip II spent more money on outside enterprises to worsen his countries debt. When needing to pay his debt to other countries, he also paid in silver bullion spreading the inflation to the rest of Europe. The discovery of the Americas led Europe to inflation and increased prices and Spain to almost complete debt by the seventeenth century. Besides silver and gold, the native people of the Americas passed Syphilis on to the Spanish who came to settle there. In five year time, Syphilis had spread to Russia from the European Atlantic coast. Though it could not be proven, Syphilis is thought to have originated in Espaniola because no evidence of Syphilis exists in Europe before 1493. These open sores, boils, and aches in the joints caused excruciating pains to many Europeans due to this quickly widespread venereal disease. The only proven effective way to treat Syphilis was from drinking the boiled bark of the guaiacum tree which only grew in Espaniola. Though no exact numbers were calculated for Syphilis it could not be compared to the death tolls that the European diseases left on the Indian populations. â€Å"In a period of 130 years, something like 95 percent of all Native Americans died of disease. That number is far greater than experts (until recently) had ever suspected. The Native Americans who survived the plagues were, of course, completely demoralized and depressed by this tremendous loss of their loved ones, of their lifestyle, and of their ancient culture. â€Å"(Bib 2. ) The 95 percent population loss of the Natives was staggering compared to probably one percent death caused by Syphilis. Thus though Syphilis was a negative consequence of European expansion it proved minor compare to the Indigenous peoples loss due to European disease. Besides new crops and animals the indigenous people were introduced to new religions, medicines and ways of life that helped better themselves. Christianity was introduced to the indigenous people thanks to very ardent Catholicism from the Spanish and Portuguese. These Christians taught of love, equality and a heaven after death for those who acted well on earth. For many indigenous people this religion called to them and they were converted. Those who did not convert voluntarily were either forced to convert or killed. The native people actually became very passionate about this religion and even followed religious doctrines more closely than the Spanish conquistadors. The natives began to spread peace and love as a bigger doctrine than territory fighting which shows how religion was a positive outcome from European expansion. New technology and medicine helped more effectively cure the local people and brought new light to the topic. In Pre-Colombian times the Indian populations would come to the ailing and stay by their side through illness thus probably catching the illness themselves, the Europeans taught to isolate the sick and better medicines to treat them. The lives that new medicines saved in the Americas is immeasurable but probably still do not compare to the lives lost from European diseases. New technologies such as guns, steel and sailing equipment helped build stronger weapons than the ones previously possessed by Indians, and a new material from which objects could be made. Very strong steel could be used to make protection from swords and swords themselves thus fortifying indigenous peoples' ability to make weapons, protect themselves, and hunt. Many thousands of things brought from Europe helped make indigenous life better such as candles to light the night and paper so writing and language could be better developed. Though much understated there were many positive outcomes from European expansion to the indigenous people of the Americas and even a few negative outcomes for the Europeans themselves. More often than not, when talking about the European expansion into America, the Europeans seem to get much better rewards from their expansion. And they actually did. They reaped much higher rewards from their conquest of the Americas than the indigenous people, yet it cannot be forgotten that both peoples' had multiple sides to their gains and losses due to European expansion. Bibliography Quotes: {draw:frame} 1. â€Å"Why were Native Americans so vulnerable to European diseases? (article). † Articles on how to feel good more often and get more done. Web. 10 Oct. 2009. http://www. youmeworks. com/why_native_americans. html. Galloway, J. H. The Sugar Cane Industry An Historical Geography from its Origins to 1914 (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography). New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. Print. American Indian past and present. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 2008. Print. Other Info: â€Å"Spanish colonization of the Americas -. † Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas. â€Å"Native Americans in the United States – European colonization. † Spiritus-Temporis. com – Historical Events, Latest News, News Archives. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. http://www. spiritus-temporis. com/native-americans-in-the-united-states/european-colonization. html.

“5th grade autobiography” and “the writer” Essay

Both Dove’s and Wilbur’s poems are written from the perspective of an older writer looking back at youth. Although in â€Å"5th Grade Autobiography† the author writes of her own youth from a first person perspective whereas the in â€Å"The Writer† the author writes about his daughter’s youth from an outside perspective, both wonderfully impart the blissful feeling of childhood through vivid descriptions of the soft and pleasant nuances that make childhood so blissful. Rita Dove shows us her  world through the lens of a fifth grader. She envies her older brother despite the fact that he is depicted as young and inexperienced, shown by his poor choice to squat in poison ivy. Her grandparents have a very strong presence and are given just as lively a role as her young brother. Pictures of luminous felines come to mind when she describes her grandmother, a youthful and vibrant staple in her world. Grandfather smells of lemons, a bright, zesty, lively smell, and is imprinted in her life memories of Christmases. Richard Wilber manages to conjure a similarly blissful/childish world encompassed by the sounds of a typewriter, beautiful linden windows, and the majestic and dreamlike positioning of his daughters room. He pulls us further into this blissful illusion by using words and descriptions alluding to a ship, drifting into the deep open water away from the rest of the world. After bringing us into the peaceful settings of a child’s world, both authors send us plummeting into deep thought. Dove does so by abruptly letting us knowthat this grandfather is no longer alive but his memory or â€Å"hands† still exist in our  minds as it did when it was written in this 5th grader’s autobiography. What does this say about her grandfather’s existence and death? Perhaps that recording it through a photo or even the writing of a 5th grader, it has become eternal. This pushes us to think about the sheer power of writing our thoughts and experiences down on paper. Richard also makes us consider the strength and power that writing has even for youth. The setting of his daughter’s writing turns into the prison trapping the delicate starling. The heart-wrenching struggle of the songbird to free itself from the  confines of the room, smashing its delicate body against the window until it finally slips free, it equated to the daughters struggle to get her words on the page. The young writer continuously pauses her finger-smashing to collect herself and continue on in her writing, similar to the bird repetitively picking up and trying again to find freedom. The humped and bloody bird is seen as his daughter, fighting with all its life force to free itself from the constraints we humans feel as writers until we finally break free, the same struggle his daughter faced in that very room.

U.S. States With No Income Tax

U.S. States With No Income Tax While individuals and businesses in all 50 states pay federal income tax, residents in 41 states also pay state income tax. Seven states have no state income tax  at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. In addition, the states of New Hampshire and Tennessee tax only the interest and dividend income of their residents gained from financial investments.   Of particular interests to retired persons or those nearing retirement, while federal taxes still apply, there is no additional state income tax on Social Security benefits, withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s, and payouts from pensions in these nine states. State income tax is typically based on the taxable income or adjusted gross income reported on the taxpayers annual federal income tax return. Key Takeaways The states of Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax the incomes of their residents.The states of New Hampshire and Tennessee tax only income from interest, dividends, and financial investments.Due to the needs of these nine states to provide services and maintain infrastructure, other non-income taxes, such as sales taxes, property taxes, and fuel taxes can be higher than in states with income tax. Not Always Cheaper to Live There The fact that a state does not have an income tax does not necessarily mean that its residents pay less in taxes than residents of states with an income tax. All states must generate revenue and they do so through various taxes including income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, license taxes, fuel taxes, and estate and inheritance taxes, just to name a few. In states without state income tax, higher sales, property and other assorted taxes can exceed the annual cost of a state income tax. For example, all states except Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon currently charge sales tax. Food, clothing,  and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax in most states. In addition to states; cities, counties, school districts, and other jurisdictions impose real estate and sales taxes. For cities that do not sell their own utilities, like electricity and water, these taxes represent their main source of revenue. Still, it is worth noting that during 2006 and 2007, the seven states with no income tax whatsoever, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, led the nation in net population growth. However, the nonpartisan  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has reported  that a states income taxes have little influence over whether people ultimately decide to live there. How Do These States Get By Without Income Tax? Without revenue from income tax, how do these states pay for the basic functions of government? Simple: their citizens eat, wear clothes, smoke, drink alcohol, and pump gasoline into their cars. All of these and more goods are taxed by most states. Even states with income tax tend to tax goods and services in order to reduce their income tax rates. In states without an income tax, sales taxes and other fees, such as vehicle registration fees, tend to be higher than in states with income tax. For example, Tennessee, where only investment income is taxed, has the highest sales tax in America. When combined with local sales taxes, Tennessee’s 7% state sales tax results in a combined effective sales tax rate of 9.45%, according to the independent and bipartisan Tax Foundation. That’s more than twice the combined sales tax rate in tourist-laden Hawaii. In Washington, gasoline prices are usually among the highest in the nation, largely due to its gasoline tax. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Washington’s gas tax, at 37.5 cents per gallon, is the fifth-highest in the country. Non-income states of Texas and Nevada also have higher-than-average sales taxes, and according to the Tax Foundation, Texas also has higher-than-average effective property tax rates.   And So, Higher Costs of Living for Some Those extra taxes help to result in higher-than-average costs of living in some of the non-income tax states. Data from the independent Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, Florida, South Dakota, Washington, and New Hampshire all have higher than the median costs of living than in most states with an income tax. So the bottom line is that there is just not enough concrete evidence to say whether or not it is really cheaper to live in a state with no income tax.

How to become a security guard

How to become a security guard Being a security guard can be a great option if you want a flexible job, or you happen to be a night owl. But it can also be a career path for you, if you’re looking for something outside the 9-to-5 cubicle grind. What does a security guard do?Security guards are responsible for monitoring and maintaining security (and often safety and peace) in public or private areas. They may be responsible for preventing theft in stores, keeping track of who’s coming and going from buildings, or making sure that people are where they’re supposed to be in any given area. We all likely have a movie-fied version in our heads of large men wearing suits and walkie talkies, but in reality security guards can be anybody, depending on the job and the location. Some security guards are armed and obvious, while others work behind the scenes watching video feeds or patrolling an area. Most security guards work in the private sector (for a particular company), but others may work in gove rnment buildings or facilities.A security guard’s duties may include:Monitoring a building or area during business hours or overnightTracking people who come and go from a building or a businessActing as a gatekeeper (like in a nightclub or bar)Keeping detailed logs or records of visitors or incidentsPreventing theftGuarding armored cars or other financial transactions (like in a casino)Apprehending people who are trespassing, become violent, commit a crime, or otherwise violate security protocolsPatrolling on foot or in a vehicle to protectCommunicating with law enforcement or emergency personnel if there is an incidentEnforcing a company’s security protocols and best practicesEnsuring the soundness and security of alarms, entrances, and exitsMonitoring video or audio security footageBecause security guards may be on call for a number of different duties, there’s no set 40-hour work week pattern for this career path. Security guards may work during standard bus iness hours, but given the 24-hour nature of security it’s just as likely that the job will require nights, weekends, holidays, or odd shifts. The unusual scheduling is one of the things that can make this a good choice if you’re looking for a second career or balancing the job with other obligations like family or school.What skills does a security guard have?A good security guard has a very special skillset, given that this can be a very demanding role.Problem solving skills: Security guards are there to make sure things don’t go wrong- but if they do go wrong, to step in and resolve or minimize the damage. That means a security guard needs to have good problem solving skills, because dealing with problems is the main part of the gig.Independent work skills: In many cases, being a security guard can be a solitary job- one person monitoring video, or patrolling the premises. Security guards should be self-starters, able to be proactive about investigating or re solving issues that come up. This is especially true if the security job is at a relatively quiet place, or a nighttime job somewhere that’s typically closed for business.Teamwork skills:Â  But even when the day-to-day work may be solitary, security guards are usually members of a team, especially when resolving problems. A security guard needs to be able to communicate with stakeholders of all kinds, from other company employees to law enforcement or other emergency personnel.Calm under pressure: This is not a great gig if you have a volatile temperament or if you don’t deal well with crises. In an ideal scenario, a security guard is just maintaining the peace- but given the nature of the job (trying to identify and prevent threats), you’ll have to be ready to deal with threats and incidents in a strong and productive way.Weapons skills: Not all security guards are armed, but others are. Depending on the job, you may need to be fully trained and certified to h andle guns or other self-defense weapons.Attention to detail: Security guards are there to stop bad things from happening, which isn’t going to happen if a threat or a shoplifter skates right by a guard who’s not really paying attention. Security guards need to be able to appraise a situation fairly quickly and spot threats or violations before they become bigger issues.What do you need to become a security guard?Most security guard positions provide on-the-job training based on the needs of the job, and don’t typically require a specific degree. However, most security guard jobs do require the following:Must be at least age 18A clean record, confirmed by a background checkWeapons certification, if applicableSome states, like California and New York, require short security training programs and certification for new security guards, particularly for entry-level ones. (These may be anywhere from 8 hours to 40 hours.) Be sure to check your own state’s requi rements before you start down this path.How much do security guards get paid?According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, security guards make a median annual salary of $25,840. Security guard salaries can vary based on level of experience, and the complexity of the job. For example, an armed security guard in a busy Las Vegas casino may require more specialized training and higher on-the-job demands than a security guard monitoring an empty office building overnight. Because there are so many different kinds of security guards, the pay and benefits vary as well.What’s the outlook for security guards?The demand for qualified security guards of all kinds will continue to grow. Private sector security guards in particular are in high demand, as security needs grow more complex. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field will grow at about the average pace for all jobs, approximately 5% by 2024.If you’re thinking about a job that requires nerves of s teel and an unorthodox schedule, definitely consider becoming a security guard. If high drama and tackling bad guys isn’t your scene, there are lots of security jobs out there that will let you work on a quieter front, or even behind the scenes. And again, it can be a strong professional option for those who want a career that falls outside of the traditional work week. These public safety professionals are essential to keeping everything running as it should, and if this is the right path for you, good luck!

Inference Questions in ACT Reading Strategies + Practice

Inference Questions in ACT Reading Strategies + Practice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Questions that ask you about what infomation can be inferred from a line or series of lines on ACT Reading comprise about 15% of ACT Reading questions (based on my analysis of 4 publicly available ACTs). In order to answer these inference questions correctly, you must be able to understand what is written in the text and take one tiny, logical step beyond what is directly stated. But how are inference questions asked, and what ACT Reading strategies can you use to answer them? Keep reading to find out and prep for this important question type! feature image credit: Stevie Nicks by Trish Hamme, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. What Are Inference Questions? Inference questions on ACT reading ask you to interpret or infer the meaning (rather than function) of a phrase, line, or series of lines. Unlike with detail questions, this meaning asked about in inference questions will not be directly stated in the text, which is why inference questions use wordings like â€Å"can be reasonably inferred that† or â€Å"suggests that.† Since there can only be one correct answer, however, the answers to inference questions cannot be subjective or ambiguous. On ACT Reading, there are three main subcategories of inference questions: deduction, speculation, and examination questions. Type 1: Deduction Deduction questions are the simplest type of inference questions, because they only ask you to fill in missing information. In some ways, they are very similar to detail questions, except the paraphrasing that you must do in order to answer them requires you to make a logical deduction. Here's an example of a deduction question: It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that the woman most strongly desires to attain which of the following qualities from dreaming? A. RelaxationB. Self-awarenessC. EntertainmentD. Self-control For this example, I’ll save you the work of having to go through the passage and find the relevant lines (although that’s part of what makes inference questions challenging on the ACT). Here is an excerpt from the opening of the passage with the information you need: The woman never dreams and this makes her intensely miserable. She thinks that by not dreaming she is unaware of things about herself that dreams would surely give her. She doesn’t have the door of dreams that opens every night to question the certain- ties of the day. She stays at the threshold, and the door is always closed, refusing her entrance. My thoughts: So the woman â€Å"never dreams† which makes her â€Å"intensely miserable.† Why is she miserable? Because â€Å"she thinks that by not dreaming she is unaware of things about herself that dreams would surely give her.† So she’s unhappy about not dreaming because she thinks it’s stopping her from gaining awareness about herself (self-awareness). To take a step further, then, self-awareness is something that she wants to gain. The answer to this question is B. There will be a more full walkthrough of an inference question later on in this article – the point of that was to show the itsy bitsy step you have to take beyond what is written to answer inference questions. This is not like high school English literature classes, where you’re encouraged to make any interpretation you can, as long as you can back it up with enough words/rambling; you are really only making a logical extension from things that are directly stated in the passage. Some examples of how these questions have been asked on the ACT (modified for your entertainment): â€Å"It can most reasonably be inferred that the narrator’s discovery that an error has been made in programming the Mars probe is for him a source of:† â€Å"It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that before Harrison’s efforts, other individuals trying to solve the problem of space travel had failed to:† â€Å"The passage suggests that Armstrong’s most important contribution to science was his:† Type 2: Speculation This second subtype of questions ask you to speculate (hence the name) about the meaning of a statement, description, or something else in the passage. Speculation questions can be worded similarly to function questions, but the answer choices and the skills needed to answer the questions differentiate them. Example: In the context of the passage, the statement â€Å"All the guitars are made from certified wood† (lines 34–35) most nearly suggests that Gomes’s workshop: To turn this into a function question, the question would have to change to the following: â€Å"In the context of the passage, what is the function of the statement ‘All guitars are made from certified wood (lines 34-35’)." ...to which the answer would be something like "demonstrate that there is accountability at every level of the instrument making process." Instead, the question as it is currently worded asks "what does [the description] say/what’s the implication or suggested meaning of this statement/what does this emphasize about that other thing?" Here are a few more examples of how this sort of inference question is asked: â€Å"The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to:† â€Å"The paradox mentioned in the second paragraph (lines 9–14) is best described by which of the following statements?" â€Å"It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that when the narrator says, â€Å"I didn’t see the red, yellow, and purple clusters that meant flowers to me† (lines 30–31), she is most nearly indicating that:† â€Å"When the narrator says, â€Å"I began to think of the present more than of the future† (lines 80–81), she most likely means that meeting Eugene led her to:† â€Å"It can most reasonably be inferred that for the narrator, the image of the diver bursting through the ocean’s sparkling membrane† (line 52) symbolizes her:† â€Å"By her statements in lines 77–80, the narrator is most nearly asserting that:† Type 3: Examination The wording of examination questions is very close to that of deduction questions, often starting with the phrase "It can reasonably be inferred that..." Rather than asking about specific facts, however, examination questions ask about the internal thoughts, feelings, or motivations of the narrator, author, or someone mentioned in the passage. Every examination question can basically be boiled down to "What would [that person] think about [this thing]?" Examination questions are the most complex type of inference question, because they ask you to get into the head of the author, narrator, character, or other person mentioned in the text. Furthermore, these types of questions often show up on paired passages, asking with the author of one passage would think about something the author of the other passage discussed. See below for some examples: â€Å"It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that the narrator regards her initial discovery of the truth about the reason the Mars probe failed as:† â€Å"It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that within the scientific community the year the passage was published, the small-comet theory was:† â€Å"It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that regarding NASA, the author feels:† It can reasonably be inferred that after seeing the first man walk on the moon, compared to the narrator of Passage B, the narrator of Passage A felt: 20-Funny-Shocked-Cat-Memes-3 by Sparkle Motion, used under CC BY 2.0. As I believe I've said before, it’s a shame the answers to questions on the ACT cannot be cat pictures. Because that's probably the most concise description of how the narrator of Passage A felt. 5 Fabulous Strategies to Attack ACT Reading Inference Questions Today, I have gathered together for you five top strategies here to help you with inference questions. Some of these strategies are more useful for certain passage approaches (for instance, if you read the pasage thoroughly, you probably don't need to look for context as much as students who skim or start with the question first). Some advice, however, is useful for everyone Look For Context One weird thing that the ACT Reading section likes to do (and the SAT Reading does NOT do) is to ask you to make inferences about things from the passage...without providing any location information. I personally think that this is a pointless exercise, because all it does is give you less time to think because you're scrambling through the passage to even find the information being asked about in the first place. Although I suppose that this is a skill that could come in handy in college/university if you haven't done the reading for the class and are unexpectedly called upon to answer a question about it. In any case, even after you’ve found the thing being asked about in an inference question on ACT Reading (for instance, â€Å"the first woman to command a mission to the International Space Station†), you might find that that sentence may not contain all the information you need to answer the inference question. If you're struggling with an inference question because you need more context, the best places to look are at the sentences directly before and after the phrase, sentence, or lines you're given in the question. In those cases where you need even more context to answer inference questions, like knowing the bigger picture/main point/perspective of the text/author, I find the best strategy is to circle the question and come back to it after you’ve answered relevant big picture questions (such as questions about the paragraph/section the lines in question are in, or even questions about the whole passage). Answer In Your Own Words I believe that this is the most important strategy for answering inference questions correctly. If you can come up with the answer in your own words before you look at the answer choices, you will more easily be able to sidestep the traps the ACT has set for you. Why? Because if you answer the question using your own words, you're far more likely to only include relevant (and accurate) information. Your answer for â€Å"Garrison mentions the impact of a certain kind of meteor in order to illustrate†¦Ã¢â‚¬  will probably not be as elegant as the answer choices, but if you've done your job and only based your answer on the text, you will have a far easier time of picking the right answer (all you have to do is choose the answer choice that best matches your own). Wrong answer choices often have irrelevant information, or contain interpretations that â€Å"seem like they could be true.† This is especially annoying because, as I stated earlier, high school classes train you to see a situation from as many points of view as possible, so your impulse may be to try and prove how each answer COULD be true. No! Don't listen to it! There is only one right answer on the ACT, and even inference questions will not require you to assume much beyond what is written. If you start with your own answer in your own words, it's a lot easier to choose the right answer choice (which has the correct answer, but in the ACT's own words). Nail Down Other ACT Reading Skills As I was completing my analysis of ACT Reading sections by question type, I had this realization: inference questions are often the trickiest type of questions because you need several of the other Reading skills in order to answer them successfully. Take this question: It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that the narrator thinks her hometown has: F. improved significantly over the years.G. made little genuine progress.H. remained about the same as it was years ago.J. a chance of being rebuilt as it used to be. To answer this question correctly, you need... Little Picture skills. You need to figure out where in the passage the narrator indicates she is thinking about her home town and how it has changed. Big Picture skills. You need to be able to scan passage to get a sense of the attitude of the narrator. Even if all you're able to figure out is the general tone of the passage (is it positive or negative towards her hometown? Which answers are positive and which are negative?), you might be able to get rid of some answer choices. hammer time by Seniju, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Let your will be as the hammer and the nails as the ACT Reading skills you will hammer into the surface of your brain. I don't know what your fingers are in this analogy, though. Answer ACT Reading Questions In The Order That Works For You Something that it can be hard to wrap you mind around is that you don't have to answer questions in the order of they appear on ACT Reading. Going out of order runs you the risk of accidentally skipping questions, but the time you may save from answering questions in a particular order could make up for it (since you could use that extra time to make sure you've answered all the questions and filled out the right answers). I've created three different scenarios of the order in which you could answer questions, depending on how you approach the passage. If you are a quick and thorough reader, and read each passage in full before answering questions, I recommend that you start with big picture questions before moving on to inference and function questions. The advantage of being able to read quickly (and thoroughly) is that you can answer questions about larger amounts of text while they're still fresh, so it makes sense to start out with those questions, rather than getting bogged down in detail with little picture or vocab in context questions. If you read quickly enough to get through the passage and still have plenty of time to answer the questions, going in order is possible, but as someone who reads a book every couple of days (that is, I read quickly), I would still recommend starting with big picture questions and then moving on to inference questions. If your approach to ACT Reading involves reading the questions, then going back to the passage as needed, my advice is the complete opposite: start with little picture and vocab in context questions before moving on to inference questions. The answers to those kinds of detail questions will provide more information about the author and topic being covered, which in turn will provide context that might be useful for answering inference questions. If it turns out that you need "big picture" information to answer a particular inference question, you can always mark that question and come back to it later. If you start out ACT Reading by skimming the passage, then answering what questions you can before going back to the passage, I recommend getting both big and little picture questions out of the way before you move on to inference questions. Unless the phrase, sentence, or lines being asked about in an inference question was/were in the part of the text you read in your skim-through, it's unlikely you would be able to answer it right off the bat, whereas you might have the information you need to answer big picture questions and little picture questions (because you know where those details are likely to be) from skimming. Eliminate Answers The fundamental rule to answering every ACT Reading question is that you must eliminate three wrong answers. While answering the question in your own words first can make eliminating wrong answers easier (since you're looking for answer choices that match the answer you came up with), this is not always the case for inference questions. On occasion, I have found myself frustrated with inference questions because the inference I make from the text is correct, but it's not the information the ACT is looking for. As an example, for the question "It can most reasonably be inferred that the narrator’s discovery that the last of Boston's excessive snow melted on July 14th was to her a source of:" my initial instinct was that this fact was an endless source of jokes for the narrator, when in fact the question was asking about the narrator's feelings (and so none of the answer choices matched my inference, even though it was possibly also correct). So if you are in a situation where you haven't been able to use context and answer the question in your own words in a way that matches up with the answer choices, what do you do? Going through each answer choice might seem daunting at first, since each answer is has multiple facets to it. In actuality, though, complicated answer choices are easier to eliminate, because if any part of the answer choice is false, you can cross it out. Here's an example: Each of the three projects described in the passage reveals: A. the increasing antagonism between the grandfather and grandson.B. the errors the narrator makes and the disapproval they bring from others.C. that such incidents set the stage for the Bryant family traits to emerge.D. that the narrator is determined to avoid being ungrateful, hateful, or overly fastidious. If you can eliminate any part of the answer choice, you can eliminate the whole thing. Take answer A. the increasing antagonism between the grandfather and grandson. Is there antagonism between grandfather and grandson? If not, ELIMINATE (spoiler: there is not) Is that antagonism increasing? If not, ELIMINATE Do the projects show that the antagonism between the grandfather and grandson is increasing? If not, ELIMINATE As you can see, there are many chances for elimination – it should be really hard for an answer to make the cut. For this question, the correct answer, C, passes this test: there are incidents (the three projects) and they do set the stage for Bryant family traits to emerge. Inference Questions: A Walkthrough through Real Questions Before giving you some practice inference questions to work on, I wanted to do a walkthrough of answering an inference question. I'll have way more in depth explanations in this walkthrough than you would have to justify to yourself on the test, because I want to make sure my reasoning is clear, so don't be intimidated by how detailed it gets. My internal thought process is presented in italics. Here's the question: The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: A. feel more like a patient than a physician.B. become a more important part of the real world.C. understand his patients’ illnesses better.D. see if being a naturalist is like being a physician. Rephrase the question: change it from â€Å"why does the author leave the hospital† to â€Å"what’s the main thing that leaving the hospital let the author do?† Here is that last paragraph: With this in mind, I have taken off my white coat, deserted, by and large, the hospitals where I have spent the last twenty-five years, to explore my subjects’ lives as they live in the real world, feeling in part like a naturalist, examining rare forms of life; in part like an anthropologist, a neuroanthropologist, in the field- but most of all like a physician, called here and there to make house calls, house calls at the far borders of human experience. Step one: Look for context Luckily, this question gives specific location information (last paragraph), so I don’t have to hunt all through the passage for the information to answer the question. magellan by fPat Murray, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Monkey and binoculars: not necessary for finding the answers to inference questions, but still adorable. Step two: Answer in my own words So the main thing that leaving the hospital to visit his patients lets the author do is â€Å"explore my subjects’ lives as they live in the real world,† which involves â€Å"feeling in part like a naturalist, examining rare forms of life; in part like an anthropologist, a neuroanthropologist, in the field- but most of all like a physician† Step three: Can I eliminate any answers based on my answer in my own words? The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: A. feel more like a patient than a physician. No, because it says he feels â€Å"most of all like a physician.† I can eliminate this straight off the bat! The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: B. become a more important part of the real world. Mentions something about the real world in the passage. not sure. Can’t eliminate it just yet. The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: C. understand his patients’ illnesses better. Mentions exploring his patients’ lives†¦maybe related to understanding illnesses? Can’t eliminate just yet. D. see if being a naturalist is like being a physician. Does say something about â€Å"feeling in part like a naturalist,† and â€Å"but most of all like a physician,† which I guess could be comparing them? I don’t know. Need to examine the next more closely. Let’s go back to the text again: With this in mind, I have taken off my white coat, Wait, hold up. The first sentence of the paragraph begins, â€Å"With this in mind.† NO no no no this is not how we start paragraphs. Not with an unclear antecedent! But since the author made that choice, I GUESS I need to figure out what the â€Å"this† that he’s keeping in mind is. To the previous paragraph for more context! The study of disease, for the physician, demands the study of identity, the inner worlds that patients, under the spur of illness, create. But the realities of patients, the ways in which they and their brains construct their own worlds, cannot be comprehended wholly from the observation of behavior, from the outside. Aha! So the doctor decided to visit patients at home keeping in mind that â€Å"The study of disease†¦demands the study of identity†¦But the realities of patients†¦cannot be comprehended wholly†¦from the outside.† Does the paragraph make more sense now? With this in mind, I have taken off my white coat, deserted, by and large, the hospitals where I have spent the last twenty-five years, to explore my subjects’ lives as they live in the real world, feeling in part like a naturalist, examining rare forms of life; in part like an anthropologist, a neuroanthropologist, in the field- but most of all like a physician, called here and there to make house calls, house calls at the far borders of human experience. Okay. So the answer to â€Å"what’s the main thing that visiting patients at home allows the author to do† is that it allows him to â€Å"explore my subjects’ lives as they live in the real world† because figuring out what’s wrong with them can’t be done just â€Å"from the outside† Another look at the remaining answers: The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: B. become a more important part of the real world. Seems broad. I’m already making the inference that the doctor wants to explore his patients’ lives from the inside to figure out what’s wrong with them because doing it from the outside isn’t enough – taking another leap to having him do it to â€Å"become a more important part of the real world† seems too iffy for the ACT. Tentatively cross this one out. The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: C. understand his patients’ illnesses better. Oh. Well. Yes. That is the reason, except instead of â€Å"figure out what’s wrong with his patients† the ACT is way more elegant and went with â€Å"understand his patients’ illnesses better.† I guess I’ll check the last answer, just in case. The last paragraph suggests that the author’s main reason for leaving the hospital to visit his patients is to allow him to: D. see if being a naturalist is like being a physician. Nope, he doesn’t care about being a naturalist! It’s a red herring! The answer must be C. Red herring @ Lowestoft, Suffolk by Tim Parkinson, used under CC BY 2.0. Don't be fooled by red herring answer choices! ACT Reading Practice Questions on Inferences: Your Turn! Now that you've made it through that walkthrough of an inference question, it's time for you to practice on your own! Click on the image below for a larger version of the passage. 1. It is reasonable to infer from the passage that the narrator looks back on the dinner-dances as a time when: F. her parents were in conflict over her mother’s work.G. the entire family was filled with excitement and anticipation.H. she and her father had a much easier relationship with each other.J. her mother and father had renewed hope for the future of the family. 2. When the narrator says, â€Å"I solemnly would nod- the honored recipient of this arcane cultural wisdom† (lines 53–54), she most likely means that: A. she felt intimidated when her father was giving her information that she did not understand.B. her father was honored to be able to share personal information with his daughter.C. when her father put on his tie, she pretended to be honored, even though she thought his comment was silly.D. the information her father was giving her seemed important and made her feel valued. 3. The sentence â€Å"Like an eagle, her words slipped regally down a great distance and struck with awful ease† (lines 75–76) indicates that the narrator: F. was not sure what her mother expected of her.G. recognized that her mother was being demeaned.H. wanted to distance herself from her mother.J. was ill at ease with her position in the family. 4. Based on the last two paragraphs (lines 78–92), which of the following statements indicates what the narrator’s father and mother have in common? F. They both want control of the family finances. G. They are both fighting for their self-respect. H. They both want to teach a lesson to their children. J. They are both angry at the woman who came for the fitting. Answer key (scroll down when ready): 1. G 2. D 3. G 4. G In Conclusion... Inference questions ask you about the meaning of a phrase, sentence, or series of lines in a passage Look for context to help you answer the question Answer the question in your own words before looking at the ACT’s answer choices Nail down other ACT Reading skills to help you answer inference questions Attack questions in an order that makes sense, based on the way you read the passage/your own test-taking style Eliminate 3 wrong answers What’s Next? Want to up your ACT Reading game? Check out more of our ACT Reading Skills articles, including articles on vocab in context, big picture, little picture, function and development, and paired passage questions. For a deeper look at paired passages, also be sure to read about why ACT Reading paired passages are so difficult. Feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to read the passage? Find out the best way to practice ACT Reading and what's actually tested on ACT Reading. Worried about running out of time on ACT Reading? You’re not alone. Read more about how to avoid a time-crunch here! Do you find that breaking down questions by skill type and drilling them really works for you? Consider the signing up for the PrepScholar platform to jumpstart your test prep! Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Canpaigners assert that the human rights of women are violated across Essay

Canpaigners assert that the human rights of women are violated across the world. Discuss in relation to domestic viloence in any society - Essay Example When violence is perpetrated on a woman some of the basic human rights are violated: The human right to life, the human right to respect and dignity, the human right to good physical and mental health, the human right to freedom from violence and discrimination, the human right to equality between women and men and the human right to freedom from sexual and physical abuse. As Kofi Annan (1999) UN Secretary General has said, â€Å"Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture, or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development, and peace.† According to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action the human rights of women and of the girl-child are "an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights." There are many human rights treaties that guarantee women equal treatment and freedom from discrimination. In recent world conferences commitments have been made by governments to ensure the human rights of women. For instance womens human rights are central to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." Whereas The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states that "violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, phys ical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." and that states have an obligation to