Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Journal opinion article - Essay Example In earlier years, the government followed the policy of increased government expenditure and public debt in order to boost the aggregate demand in the economy of the country. The fiscal policy of the government embraced budget deficits in order to fuel the GDP growth rates of the country. An examination of the demand supply curve would help to explain the previous fiscal policy of the government. With the increase in government spending, the flow of money in the economy increased leading to higher purchasing power which boosted the demand of the market. Thus the demand line shifted upwards as shown in the graphical representation. In order to maintain equilibrium in the markets, the private investments and production in the economy rose thereby resulting in increased GDP growth rates. As a result of the increase in demand against the prevailing supply in the market, the prices of goods and services also increased. With the occurrence of financial recession, the production level in th e economy fell and thus due to the fall of supply in comparison to the demand, inflation cropped up. The slowdown of the economy of US resulted in job cuts and increase in unemployment rates which cropped up to even 9.1% in the periods after the financial crisis. Along with the plunge in economic performance, the displacement in the position of equilibrium resulted in the hike in prices of goods and services. This prompted a change in the policies of the government of US. The occurrence of economic depression highlighted the drawbacks of Keynesian economic policies of increasing government expenditure in order to boost the demand of the economy. In doing so, the US government incurred a deficit of $ 1 trillion (Elwell 50). Thus the fiscal policies adopted by the US government were framed with an objective to achieve economic consolidation and reduce budgetary deficits. After the presidential election of 2012 in US, the democrat government in US adopted the policy of reducing the gov ernment expenditures in order to control the budgetary deficits. The government decided to impose cuts on the military budgets while spending on areas like health care and education. The budgetary deficits have been reduced and it is forecasted that the government would keep the deficit under control in near future. In order to stabilize the economic scenario of the country and to neutralize the effect of decline in government spending, the revenue collection of the government was also decreased by adopting fiscal policies of tax reduction. This fiscal policy of the government is likely to continue in future till the time the economic position of the country is revived. The taxes have earned the highest revenues for the country through ages. The government strategically adopted the policy of reducing the collections through taxes in order to maintain a balance with the reduction of government spending. Leaving the conventional path of boosting private investments though government e xpenditures, the US government focused on the growth of the middle class and the labor markets, thereby encouraging the services industry. In order to reduce unemployment in the country, the government has brought new legislations on outsourcing. The unemployment rates have decreased comparatively post 2012 from 8.3% to 7.6%. In order to gain economic revival, the government has almost doubled its exports in order to tap the opportunities of overseas markets. The growth in exports of

Qvc Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Qvc Case Analysis Essay Case QVC Author: NA HG495 – Case Analysis Instructor: NA Abstract This case analysis will be focused on the company QVC (Quality, Value, and Convenience). We will perform an analysis review, which, will provide a comprehensive insight into the company’s historical and current business structures, strategies and efficiencies in their operations. It will include a detailed SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) (Humphrey) and the primary activities of the Value Chain Analysis (Porter), to provide greater insight into the firms’ competitive advantage. These key concepts will be used to analyze QVC’s business model, define potential challenges and initiate a plan of execution. We will then recommend solutions such as advocating products with higher profit margins, finding evolving technologies and untapped markets and streamlining logistics. These strategies would expand the customer base and create higher ROI (Return of Investment), positioning the company towards timely growth. Introduction: QVC is a multimedia retailer, specializing in televised home shopping, broadcasting in five countries (US, UK, Germany, Japan and, Italy), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to over 90 million households in the United States and 160 million homes worldwide. They offer a wide range of products with over 1500 major brands and 50,000 products, including beauty, fashion and accessories, jewelry, craft and leisure, home electronics, garden, and do-it-yourself (DIY), and clearance goods. The company has store operations in the US, which includes Delaware and Pennsylvania. QVC also has a lucrative website called iQVC (www. qvc. com) that generates over 1 billion of sales on its Internet operations. Since it was launched in 1986; QVC has rapidly grown to become the largest television shopping network. By 2006, its reach had extended to over 95 percent of all U. S. cable homes, as well as, over 25 million satellite homes. It shipped over 140 million packages during 2006 to customers around the world, resulting in almost $7. 1 billion in sales and over 1 billion operating profit. Sales were made to over 10 million customers, who watched its shows across the US, UK, Germany, Japan and Italy. Problem: Doug Rose, QVC’s vice president of merchandising brand development, claims that the interactivity in all aspects of the firm’s business and operations, including its television shopping channel, will need to become more pronounced. Making it easier for customers to act on what they see. QVC believes that it still has a lot of room to grow, since only about 2% to 3% of its television viewers currently purchase at any given time. Bringing that percentage higher is the main problem that affects the major revenue stream and would require an internal/external analysis (balance scorecard) to bring in new viewers/customers to purchase their products. There are other challenges that can attribute to generating more revenue, such as, selling products with higher margins and offering shopping channels to customers outside North America. They could also add more interactive features that would allow more access.

Tennysons Merlin and Vivien Essay -- Lord Alfred Tennyson Papers

Tennyson's Merlin and Vivien Known as one of Victorian England's finest poets, Lord Alfred Tennyson epitomized the agony and despondency of the degradation of one's character. His masterpiece, The Idylls of the King, explicates the grand scheme of corruption of the Authurian age while simultaneously paralleling Tennyson's own internal struggles. A most intriguing chapter of The Idylls, "Merlin and Vivien" portrays the manipulative Vivien, identified as pure evil and hatred, as her corruptive beauty leads to Merlin's self-destruction. The Victorian era, from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 until her death in 1901, was an era of several unsettling social developments that forced writers more than ever before to take positions on the immediate issues animating the rest of society. Thus, although romantic forms of expression in poetry and prose continued to dominate English literature throughout much of the century, the attention of many writers was directed, sometimes passionately, to such issues as the growth of English democracy, the education of the masses, the progress of industrial enterprise and the consequent rise of a materialistic philosophy, and the plight of the newly industrialized worker. In addition, the unsettling of religious belief by new advances in science, particularly the theory of evolution and the historical study of the Bible, drew other writers away from the immemorial subjects of literature into considerations of problems of faith and truth. Tennyson's writing displays evidence of doubt and concern towards England's government, both present and past. His distinctive style can be differentiated from many Victorian poets by diction and syntax alone. Also, Tennyson can b... ... harmony. His poem "Merlin and Vivien" of The Idylls of the King displays Merlin's self-chosen downfall in exchange for the temptations of Vivien, the manipulative evil. "For Merlin, overtalked and overworn,/ Had yielded, told her all the charm, and slept." (ll.963-964) Bibliography: Works Cited Culler, Dwight. The Poerty of Tennyson. London: Yale UP, 1997. 238-239. Hain, Donald. Tennyson's Language. Toronto: Toronto UP, 1991. 144-148. Hellstrom, Ward. On the Poems of Tennyson. Gainsville: University of Florida Press, 1972. 117-118. Kincaid, James. The Major Poems of Tennyson: The Comic and Ironic Patterns. London: Yale UP, 1975. 177-182. Marshall, George. A Tennyson Handbook. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1963. 140-141. Reed, John. Perception and Design in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Athens: Ohio UP, 1969. 48-58.

Essays on Death and Suicide - Death of My Father :: Example Personal Narratives

Death of My Father The most significant and life changing experience in my life was when my dad died two years ago. It really awakened me to how the world works and how fragile life is. I remember the day perfectly. I was working with my guitar teacher, George at Nick Rail Music, when my dad passed away in a car crash at Mussel Shoals. Later we learned that his heart had stopped while he was driving on the freeway due to an infection in his heart. Therefore his car went out of control when he lost consciousness, and drifted into the oncoming traffic. Unbeknownst to my mom and me, we went home and I went to my friend Land's house, who lived downstairs in the condo complex that we lived in at the time. We spent the entire afternoon together and surprisingly my mom didn't even call me up for dinner, so I stayed with them and we had a barbecue. I remember sitting on the bench eating a grilled Portobello mushroom, relaxing with Land and his parents, and thinking how great life was. After dinner Land's mom went off somewhere, I wasn't sure where, but I just figured she went for a Pepsi run as usual. I stayed and listened to music while Land worked on his guitar. Then I got the expected call to go back upstairs. So I said goodnight and went on my way. My mom sounded lost and very calm on the phone, not her usual happy self. Wondering what was happening I slowly opened the door to see my mom and Land's mom, Carol, sitting together on the blue and white couches. My mom asked me to sit down, so I sat between them while my mother began to explain how my dad had been in a car accident earlier that afternoon. "His car veered into the oncoming traffic and was hit from the side...he didn't survive." I remember at that moment Carol clenching my shoulder so much it hurt, but I was numb to the pain, we all were. I didn't cry. None of us did. We were unable to comprehend how this could possibly be true. My dad had gone to work that morning seemingly fine.

Genetically modified organism Essay

Genetically modifying foods might seem very unorthodox with the changing of traits and genes within the foods, but genetically modifying foods does not hurt the consumer in any way. Earlier in the 1990’s, genetically modified foods were announced by the Food and Drug Administration to not be â€Å"inherently dangerous†. However, when a type of transgenic corn was pulled from the market when it was mistakenly entered into the open food supply in 2000 that was not fit for human consumption, it led to growing concerns of the safety of consuming genetically modified foods. These foods are not only safe, but transformative. Agricultural biotechnology has lessened the amount of chemical pesticides and herbicides used in these foods. This science has been making important contributions to the relief of world hunger, genetically modified foods are obviously safe to consume. Genetically modified foods are definitely safe and nutritious because if the consumption of genetically modified foods posed a health threat, we would have known it by now. The biotechnology within the foods has made it possible to have a safe consumption. Genetically modified foods have never been proven to be harmful to humans. â€Å"Genetically modified (GM) food has become so common in the U. S. that most people do not even know when they are consuming it† (â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food†, 2008). If the foods were harmful, people would be getting sick all the time since most of the time we don’t even know that we are consuming it. â€Å"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that GM foods were not ‘inherently dangerous’† (ProQuest Staff, â€Å"At Issue: Genetically Modified Foods†, 2013). The FDA is a huge association that regulates the purity and safety of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. If they say that the GM foods are safe, then they are definitely safe. Genetically modified foods are safe for the environment. â€Å"Most GM crops have been modified to be either herbicide- or insect-resistant†¦because the plants themselves are poisonous to insects, farmers do not need to spray their crops with pesticides, which harm the environment. Biotechnicians also say modifications like those lead to more efficient farming and, in turn, result in higher crop yields† (â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food†, 2008). Since farmers do not need to spray their crops with pesticides, they don’t damage the earth, making genetically modified foods safe. â€Å"By raising the oil content of other plants non-petroleum, organic lubricants can be harvested, reducing dependence on fossil fuel† (â€Å"Modified Food May Enrich Our Health†, 1999). Less fossil fuel will be produced, making the genetically modified foods safe for the earth. Not everyone is for genetically modifying foods, though. According to the article, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned†, products of the biotech industry cannot be considered safe because there has only been one human health study published in 2004 called â€Å"The Newcastle Study† (Andy Rees, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned†, 2003). Having only one published story of the health effects of genetically modified foods is a legitimate reason to want to ban the cultivation of the GM crops, but from a scientific perspective, there really should not be a concern of GM foods being more harmful compared to the non GM foods. Genetically modified have no scientific evidence of not being safe. GM crops can contribute to a great future for all people, but if the cultivation of GM crops were to be banned, no research could be done to find the positives and negatives of GM crops. According to the article, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not be Banned, but Carefully Monitored†, some crops that are genetically modified to be resistant to maybe herbicide or pests are exposed to a lot less of the chemical contaminations than most of the foods we eat are (Conor Meade, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not be Banned, but Carefully Monitored†, 2003). So, it is possible that GM food is not bad for us at all. And although GM crops are not the solution for the sicknesses of the world, if the technology is handled by publicly funded institutions, they can find possible ways to modify the foods to create a much greater future for the people unable to consume them. Genetically modified foods are definitely safe and nutritious because if the consumption of genetically modified foods posed a health threat, we would have known it by now. Because of the incapability to prove that GM foods are definitely neither safe nor unsafe, the issue will remain controversial. People will always be uncertain about conducting research of the topic because of that, but if it remains like this, foods will not be able to be modified to help the health of others by creating allergy-resistant products, and we will never be able to find any more information about the GM crops making them always remain a health risk mystery. In addition, GM crops could be very beneficial and make a great future for all people. But without careful and frequent study and research, proper decisions about the cultivation and use of GM crops can never be made. Research on GM crops by public institutions is absolutely necessary in order to find more information about the issue. Without this research, a ban on GM crops is definitely not the best idea. Since genetically modified foods have been on market shelves for over twenty years and there has been no proof that they hurt anyone, it is safe to assume that no one will have a late health consequence from digesting a GM food they had over a decade ago. Instead of banning the research and cultivation of the GM foods, research should be accepted to be searched about the topic because eventually the GM food industry could do wonders. Works Cited Meade, Conor. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not Be Banned, but Carefully Monitored. † Genetically Engineered Foods. Ed. Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"Careful Stewardship of GM Crops Is Needed, Not a Ban. † Irish Times 23 June 2007: 13. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. Rees, Andy. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned. † Genetically Engineered Foods. Ed. Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"GM Potatoes—Facts and Fictions. † The Ecologist 36. 9 (22 Sept. 2006): 14-15. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. ProQuest Staff. â€Å"At Issue: Genetically Modified Foods. † ProQuest LLC. 2013: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food. † Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Dec. 2008. Web. â€Å"Modified Foods May Enrich Our Health. † Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, Canada). 20 Dec 1999: A12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web.

The Difference Between Amateur and Proper Writers; And Why You Shouldn - Freewrite Store

The Difference Between Amateur and Proper Writers; And Why You Shouldn - Freewrite Store Commit to your new job. Let me paint you a picture, one of those bizarre scenarios, frisky tableaus, that slowly segues into the topic and theme of the title. Imagine a big, bawdy bar, with a barkeep of barreled brawn, brined brains, and bedeviled behavior. A sprawling dome sanctified by the Gods, christened by Baco and sponsored by the good folks at Guinness†¦ in other words, a pub. A proper (we only serve booze) pub. Now, take that majestic construct and catapult it 100 years into the future, and since we are already breaking the space-time-continuum let’s shatter this flimsy facade called logic - and cement its pillars on one of the heaven’s marshmallow clouds. â€Å"The Cloud Nine† pub in the sky. There’s a marquee on the brick side by the petunias: â€Å"Jesus once came here for a pint.† Inside our celestial haberdashery, patrons dance, dames frolic, and inebriates fight and fess-up. In one corner, Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron are playing footsies under the table. By the jar of pickled eggs, Hemingway is displaying his legendary attitude towards liquor. By the door, giving a rousing and confusing speech on wordplay, Shakespeare. Tolstoy and Marx dip their wet fingers on a pile of salt, trying desperately to hoover the last crumbs of peanuts. Throughout all this madcap, watermark fandango of insanity, a conga line has formed: Maya Angelou, Charlotte Bronte, and Virginia Woolf do the cha-cha-cha while Austen and Christie follow with a brilliant rendition of the chicken dance. The lit cream of yesteryear rubbing shoulders and other naughty parts. The night carries on, sooner or later Karaoke comes into play and bonds are forged mid-way through â€Å"Bohemian Rhapsody†;even Poe manages a smile. Then Twain, that rascal that he is, poses a question:    â€Å"When is a writer no longer an amateur, but a professional?†    Noggins and cookies start boiling. Fitzgerald drools on the virtues of speaking from experience. Lovecraft gives a fairly decent argument towards making pacts with Old Ones. Hemingway zig-zags into a yarn about fishing, while Woody Allen tries to hit on the waitress. On and on they ping-pong the question around the room. Some manage to hit the ball, others evade it, preferring to occupy their minds with the physics of lager. Up and down, hours and hours, the philosophical item is examined; no real answer reached, no consensus patted down. Then, just before the rooster is about to call it a night, a voice is heard among the revelry:    â€Å"Oh, that’s without a doubt the easiest question out there.†    Everybody turns, eyes adjusting in the gloom and rum haze. Sitting on a stool, right next to a Pac-Man machine and flicking through a jukebox’s selection of Golden Oldies, the man himself†¦ Mister Stephen King.    â€Å"Like I said, you turnip heads, there’s a simple answer.† He takes a sip of his coke. â€Å"A writer is truly a professional writer, the minute, nay, the second he gets PAID. A check for something you’ve written instantly grants you pro-writer status. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.†    Mouths catching flies, everybody stares at the horror master, knowing full well that that Gordian Knot of a riddle had been sliced in two and packaged away with alacrity.    â€Å"OK,†goes Twain â€Å"Let me re-frame the question: when do you pass from being a mediocre writer aproper writer?†    Stephen King gets up, understanding that the wordsmith has him by the furry bits The man, having just read â€Å"50 Shades of Grey†, his belief in the power of humankind and the essence of his craft shaken to the very foundation, simply walks off. So, the conundrum still stands: when is a writer a proper writer?As a published author, I’m going to toss my two-cents into that fountain and hope they don’t get lost among the treasured detritus of others. In my opinion, a writer becomes what he is meant to be the second he stops measuring himself up to others of his profession. The second you manage to tie down your voice, tone and make it your own, without trying to copy someone else’s beats, that’s the minute you are a professional. That’s the minute you become something truly unique and irreplaceable.    â€Å"But,† you ask â€Å"How do I get to that point?†    It’s not easy, so here are a few tips: Commit to your new job. Writing, penning out articles, manuscripts, stories, poems, scripts, and all other wordy fragments of wisdom or sheer entertainment is a full-time, 24/7 task. There’s a lot of talk going around town about the power of visualization; I’m here to tell you that’s just nothing short of Hocus Pocus. In reality, you can visualize all you like. Buy the hipster hat, the flowing scarf and talk like a lofty SOB at your next family get together. Do the whole fandango and tango†¦ You’re still not a writer. Imagine as many unicorns and pie-in-the-sky ideas as your greedy little brain will allow, at the end of the day you’ll still find yourself at the stable wondering why your horse can’t fly or who stole his magical horn. The only way to become a writer is to sit down and put in the work. Plant your rear on a seat, or couch, snatch your tools and scribble ‘til you hit gold or have something worth publishing.    â€Å"What about the muse?†    Poppycock! My advice is to grab those Grecian mistresses and take them out back; two shots to the back of the skull for each. Neil Gaiman and Larry Correia will help you hide the bodies while Hemingway mops up the blood. The truth of the matter is that some days you’ll get up in the morning, slug your way to your laptop and discover that fiend writer’s block sitting on the ledge of your table. The specter is pointing out your worthlessness and handing out wanted ads; circled in crimson: â€Å"full-time accountant, great pay.† Before you log on and give Facebook a chance, open up your word-processor and freaking write. Maybe, after four hours of clacking away, you’ll have a sentence or two worth a lick.    A professional writer writes until his ass is raw and his fingers bleed. An amateur writer dabbles with his computer as long as there is nothing good on the television. A structured existence. Let’s build a bridge between the island up above and this grassy archipelago. It’s time to set down rules, to set down goals and lay the foundations that will eventually make you a professional writer. Hacking away at your diary isn’t, unless you’re Anne Frank, professional writing. Every great or at least successful writer has a process. Stephen King reads four hours a day and writes for another four. Dan Brown wakes up at the crack of dawn, stretches and then works until noon. Janet Evanovich finger-dances across the keyboard in the morning and edits at night. Carl Hiassen faces his desk against a blank wall and snaps on shooting-range earmuffs against his head. Hemingway strolled to the nearest bar, sat down and jotted down 500 words, celebrating each victory at the end with a stiff drink. Every single one of them, like Rowling at a coffee shop in Edinburg staring at a cemetery, had their magic recipe. And, unlike any thaumaturgical hootenanny, their â €Å"IT† wasn’t based on a virgin’s blood and a Saint’s holy tears; it was grounded on a businesslike attitude, by the numbers, by appreciation of their skill set. It’s all about discipline, especially when you don’t have a boss riding your ass. Establish a passable set of rules to live by; that’s the Golden Ratio. This is a nine-to-five job; you clock in, you clock out. You need a space for yourself, especially if you are working at home. Otherwise your novel will be slowly devoured and digested by those rugrats you call offsprings. You need to mark down daily goals and, even if you have to go over time, fulfill them.    A pro will edge at least 500 words a day. She’ll dip her arm into a fiery pit, 500 times, just to get those words out. She’ll wake up every day, forget her family exists, juggle divorce like a pro and become a statue in her office ‘til she hits the mark. An amateur will wake up whenever she feels like it, take her time with her coffee, play with her kids, talk to her partner and, finally, scratch out twenty words and say the day was productive. Sharpen your tools. I’m going to step into a Stargate and zoom our narrative into another whimsical dimension. Did you know that Eric Clapton became Eric â€Å"Oh dear lord Layla is the bomb† Clapton after hearing and jamming with Jimi Hendrix? Did you know the Bob â€Å"I just won a Nobel Prize† Dylan purposely bought a house close to Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison? There’s a reason why there was The Police, before Sting. Why Don Henley needed that adrenaline shot known as the Eagles. Why Lennon needed Paul, George, and Ringo. There’s a time in every artist’s life when the chords, the beat, the rhythm, the skills are all learned and mastered; you can either stagnate or take it to the next level. If you’re not a music lover, then let’s flip that analogy onto another field†¦ snatch your boxing gloves and go beat up someone better than you. One of the keys to being a legendary artist is to know you are part of a community. You have to purge that misconception that art is a lone wolf’s hunt. Nope, DiCaprio became an Oscar winner thanks to Scorsese. Hemingway earned his legendary status on account of Gertrude Stein. Frankenstein was penned thanks to an oddball weekend with Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and John Polidori in Switzerland. Talent is partly like an STD. It’s more contagious than syphilis, and some of your peers are so infected with it that you’re liable to catch it by mere osmosis. Surround yourself with people in your neck of the woods. People that appreciate your craft and actually dabble in it. Think about the mid 20s and roaring 30s, or the Beatnik movement, or SoHo London; flash back to those rocking times. Everybody was doodling everybody. Post-coital carnal caper chats ensued on the craft recipe of the day. Pores sweaty, salty and open, your soul as bare and naked as the rest of you. Your mind lathered and frothed by livid libations and popping endorphins. A sultry poetista whispering Keats into your ears; the primordial soup in which creativity is stewed and prepared. Or, if you’re a bit square, the following Open Sesame phrase will win over any writer: â€Å"let me buy you a beer!†If you toss in some Wild Turkey, we will allow you to pump us for as much info as you want.    A pro will, after getting up at the crack of dawn, crawl his way into an avant-garde play at midnight. He will wallow past the existential dingus, toast with his artsy friends at 3 AM, decline a snort of Peruvian moon dust at 5 AM, get an UBER at 6 and start the day on Red Bull just to start writing again. He’ll do that and more just to bathe and float in creative juices. An Amateur will call it a day at 4 and switch on the ballgame. Know your genre. Every platform has guidelines. You can break them, you can go all Gonzo on Journalism, but first, you have to conquer them. Once you have them down to a science, once you can build your rifle with your tongue while blindfolded and barking like a loon, only then can you defenestrate those pesky commandments and dash them against the rocks. Genres have tropes, they have verified axioms that somehow still manage - in many cases - to seem original. For example, in mythology - and most Marvel and DC movies - the age-old Hero’s Journey is the archetype; Campbell’s 17 stages, the playbook Batman was built on. In hard-edge journalism, the â€Å"Five W’s† are the linchpin of any piece. Analyze your sandbox. Take it apart and put each grain of dust under the microscope. Want to Tolkien your way to the top of the fantasy aisle? Then you better have your world-building criteria down on paper. There’s a reason why publishers search for word counts for each genre . Why Westerns shouldn’t be more than 65k words; why Horror has to be at least 100k; why Game of Thrones is considered a hostile mallet in certain New York City boroughs. Here’s another example with the same sentence done and tweaked for different schools of thoughts.    â€Å"It was twilight, five minutes past 6 in New Jersey when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Journalism.    â€Å"In the Kingdom the sun had dipped below the marbled turrets, bronzing the golden crest when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fantasy.    â€Å"A crisp and sharp wind bit into John’s cheek. Night was fast approaching, his instincts coming full force with it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Action.    â€Å"The sun decided to call it a day. Happy Hour was starting up just to thewest, and that flaming ball of gas needed some Sake, Geisha Hanky-Panky and, oddly enough, a dose of Sumo†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Comedy.    â€Å"A funeral shroud clawed its way pass the horizon, digging its long bloody talons into the last rays of light that clung to the day. A Halloween orange snapped just past the emerald mountains, scatting for a second the landscape in a multicolored afterglow. Then, in a flash and with the same feral ferocity, bewilderingintensity, and vivid violence it disappeared into the ether. With it, all sense of safety was snuffed out. A Stygian wave rolled over the street; pulling in all sights and sounds into its ravenous event horizon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Horror.    A Pro will hit her head against the head, for an hour, just to catch that word - that perfect word - that’s dangling at the tip of her tongue. She’ll study and read every great book published in her genre before daring to approach that theme. She’ll take months penning that perfect book or article. An Amateur will hook from the pond whatever word comes swimming by and stitch it onto his pieces just to be done with it. She’ll ask herself: â€Å"Why not just say the clown is scary and be done with it† when discussing IT with her friends. Tips from this side of the table. Here are some Golden Rules that truly construct pieces worth printing. Rethink every adverb you place in your text. Anything that ends with â€Å"ly.† The trick to good storytelling is to show and let your audience infer. How was he â€Å"calmly† walking to the gallows? Be mindful of alliterations. They work great in comedy, but might sound funky in other genres. Grammar, in fiction - especially in horror - is flexible. This is paramount when placing your commas, periods and semicolons. Every paragraph has a beat and rhythm; you’re the artist, you build. Then Edit some more. Dean Koontz, for example, will edit each page to death before starting to write another one. It helps to get everything into perspective and, if you’re playing with a novel, it slices the task into digestible sections. Get a thesaurus and learn some odd words. Each genre has a formula, a dictionary to it, get cracking and know your theater’s vocabulary. H.P. Lovecraft used to trudge around, constantly searching for bizarre and arcane words to fill his manuscripts with. Read like a madman. And, when you are not reading, get some audio books. Before shipping and closing the chapter on anything, read it out loud. There’s a reason why storytellers were so adored back in olden days before the printing press. Your phrases or sentences have to hit the ear just right. Critics are right monstrous Unfortunately, they are also your best friends. Before you publish anything, pass it around. Start by copying some of your favorite author’s tone and pattern, learn from them. Slowly start molding them to your frame of mind. You have to mature and nurture your unique voice, but before that happens that fertile egg has to be inseminated†¦ so pick a proper genetic input. And finally, and most importantly, get someone to bankroll you. If you’re getting paid for it, then you’re a writer. Money in the bank, despite what the critics say, is the bar you have to measure yourself against.

The High School History Classes You Should Take

The High School History Classes You Should Take SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips History. Maybe it's written by the victors. Maybe it repeats itself, first as tragedy and second as farce. Or maybe it doesn't repeat, but rhymes. In any case, it's a key part of your high school (and lifelong!) education. But how should you study it? What classes should you take in high school to satisfy college requirements? What options are there for going above and beyond? And what can you do if you are a history fiend who simply cannot get enough learning about the past? Read on to learn about high school and college expectations, honors and AP classes, and ways to expand your understanding of other social sciences! What Do High Schools Expect? Like the car commercials say, your mileage may vary – in this case, each high school has its own standards for how many years of history and/or other social sciences you need to take to graduate. Most public schools in most states require 2 to 3 years of social sciences (this may be different for private schools). Besides history, social sciences are classes like economics, geography, world cultures, civics, and government. So, definitely check with your own high school to see how many years you need and what counts as a social science. Random pile of rocks or the remains of England's wealthiest abbey after Henry VIII and his Reformation was done with it? History = amazing true stories. What Do Colleges Expect? Again, there is no hard and fast rule. Still, most colleges want you to have taken at least 2 standard history courses: American/US history World history or European history Overall, colleges want to see 2 to 3 years of social science classes, but you should definitely check the admissions requirements of your target school to see what they expect. Sometimes colleges don’t have requirements but they do offer suggestions. For example, while UCLA requires at least two years of social sciences, Harvard suggests a minimum of two years. Sometimes expectations depend on what you’re applying to study. For example, if you want to study engineering, you probably don’t need to take as many social science courses. Conversely, if you're applying with a plan to study social science, this is where you need to excel and demonstrate your interest. How Can I Exceed Expectations? The Do-More Kid slowly hovered upstairs, mildly exceeding the expectation that he would simply walk. Honors Classes If you're angling to exceed expectations, the best place to start is with your own school. Honors classes will most likely be similar to the standard classes your school offers, but they will go into more depth and explore broader contexts for the historical topics you study. On the one hand, you'll have to work much harder, but on the other hand you have a richer understanding and be way better prepared for college-level history courses. AP History Classes There are three history AP options: AP World History, which divides everything from 8000 BC to now into six periods, each with its own questions and thematic concerns AP European History, which focuses on everything that happened in Europe from the mid-1400s through 2000 AP United States History, which covers American history from about the time Native Americans first encountered Europeans to the present day IB Diploma Classes There are two different IB course progressions for history: the first focuses on the history of Europe and the Islamic world the second focuses on world history in the 20th century What If I Want Even More History? Finding more resources to feed your interest isn't at all impossible. Find a great elective or two This is the time to ransack your high school's course catalog. Are there any electives which focus on a specific era in history (like the 19th century) or on a particular group of people (like the Mayans)? Design your own course You know what teachers love? Interested and engaged students! Can you ask a teacher to help you set up an independent project or independent study to explore your interests? For example, you could focus on a particular slice of history (like trade along the Silk Route), or you could trace the development of one specific idea through time (like the concept of passive resistance). Take a class online For instance, Stanford University has an online high school which features 5 history courses and 1 guided independent study option. You can sign up to take just one class or all of them. Brown University also offers a set of online pre-college courses, including two related classes on history and American studies. Take a class over the summer Check out our guide to the Summer Institute for the Gifted or our description of Stanford’s two summer programs. Take a college class Finally, if you’re super confident in your abilities, or if you have a specific interest you really want to learn about, you can take an online college-level class. Not only will you get a sense of what history classes are like in college, but doing well will also look great on your transcript. You may even get college credit, just like for an AP course! How Else Can I Study Social Sciences? So maybe you are already a history buff, and are ready to explore other ways of studying how societies, cultures, and peoples interact. Then this is the time to investigate other classes that will broaden and deepen your understanding of history by putting into other contexts! These are classes like: economics, civics, government, politics, world cultures, world religions, geography, and so on. Check out other social sciences AP classes: AP Comparative Government Politics AP Human Geography AP Macroeconomics AP Microeconomics AP Psychology AP United States Government Politics Also, check out other social sciences IB classes: economics geography global politics information technology in a global society philosophy psychology social and cultural anthropology world religions There are even 3 IB social science classes offered online: Economics Information Technology in a Global Society Philosophy How Else Can I Show My Social Science Achievements? Ask your school counselor if you can apply to make your school a local chapter of the Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society from the National Council for the Social Studies. This way, you and others like you can be inducted into this society, which is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of Social Studies. What’s Next? So excited about history that you can't wait to grab a textbook to learn? We're here for you. Read through our biographic sketch of Ida Lewis, lighthouse keeper (and so much more); use our guide to understand the Platt Amendment and its ramifications; and grapple with the US political system with our articles on checks and balances and how the executive branch can check the judicial branch. Still wrestling over whether AP or IB is better? Check out our guide to deciding which is right for you. Ready to kick back and learn some history (but not in a school way)? Our articles on the history of hip hop, invention of the 3-hole punch, and Loomis Fargo heist should do the trick. Curious how your history skills will apply to the SAT? Well, for one thing, they’ve probably made you a better writer. Read about how to improve your SAT Writing score, or better yet, how to get a perfect 800 and how to get a 12 on the SAT Essay. And don’t forget to read about the new enhanced ACT Writing test. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: