The Tragedy Of Things Fall Apart And Antigone

Matthew Santacroce Mrs. Cozzolino English 9 Honors 14 January 2016 Tragedy Essay Hundreds of years ago Greek plays were very popular. People would plan to go to these plays for entertainment and to have fun with their friends. These plays would also help to teach the audience all about Greek mythology. The main character in these plays often had something tragic occur at the end, such as death. This character was the referred to as the â€Å"tragic hero.† A couple hundred years later a Greek philosopher named Aristotle described tragedy with 4 simple elements, nobility of the character, the flaws of the tragic hero, the start of the tragic hero’s downfall, and his/her punishment. In Things Fall Apart, Oedipus, and Antigone there is a character that shows this definition of tragedy by the end of the book and or play. This is usually caused by something called hubris, excessive pride. Things Fall Apart, Oedipus, and Antigone all fulfill Aristotle s definition of tragedy. The book Things Fall Apart, has a main character named Okonkwo who fulfills Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. In the book, Okonkwo is born into a family that is not known for doing anything to set themselves apart in the Umuofia clan, a lower Nigerian tribe, consisting of 9 connected villages. In fact, when he grows up he makes a promise to himself that he wants to be the complete opposite of his father who died leaving many village debts unsettled. When Okonkwo grew up he became a well respected warrior,Show MoreRelated Things Fall Apart Essay763 Words   |  4 PagesChinua Achebes Things Fall Apart shows an odd similarity between the cultures of Ancient Greece and the Lower Niger. Despite the fact that two societies can exist during different periods of time and have conflicting cultural values, their stories and behavior can have surprising overlaps. Things Fall Apart is structured like a Greek Tragedy in its use of a chorus and in the presence of a tragic hero whose acti ons ultimately lead to his downfall. The Egwugwu from Things Fall Apart act like the chorusRead MoreAntigone by Aristotle1684 Words   |  7 PagesAntigone Life has a way of becoming complicated. Problems between friends, foes, and even family members develop everyday for people of all walks of life. It is part of human nature to disagree, cause conflict and fight for what we believe in even if that means stepping on someone else’s toes along the way. Aristotle had thoughts on complication dating back to 335 B.C when he wrote Poetics- the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory. In it he analyzed tragedies and theorized that every tragedyRead MoreTaming Of The Shrew Vs Antigone Essay1122 Words   |  5 Pagesin the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities, and is regarded as a role model. (Dictionary.com) In the two plays and movie, Taming of the Shrew, Antigone, and The Long Walk Home, there are many heroic characters such as, Kate from Taming of the Shrew, Antigone from Antigone, and Miriam Thompson from The Long Walk Home. Taming of the Shrew is a play that tells of a tale of one of t wo sisters, Kate and Bianca, trying to get suitors to marry. However, their dadRead More A Tragic Situation Essay2624 Words   |  11 Pages Tragedy is a description of an event that evokes a sympathetic feeling of emotion by the audience. The events involve people emotionally who were not involved in the situation physically. In the story of Antigone, Sophecles forces the audience to take pity on the poor girl’s situation. This story impacts the audience in such a way that the audience becomes emotionally enthralled in the plot of the story. All of Steiner’s, â€Å"Principle constants of conflict in the condition of man,† (360) were presentRead MoreThe Chorus Of Sophocles Antigone2400 Words   |  10 Pagesof fertility, revelry and wine (Reinhold 1959). The author of Antigone, Sophocles had participated in one of these festivals and won the award for his performance. He did not become known as one of the greatest playwrights then. Only now is he thought of as one of the greatest playwrights during the greek era. The point of this paper is to show how the chorus in Greek Theater tragedy performances affect the way the play Antigone is performed. Through the use of mask, staging, and speech, SophoclesRead MoreThe Tragic Hero Of Sophocles Antigone1835 Words   |  8 Pagesleads to his inevitable downfall. In Sophocles s tragic play of Antigone, Oedipus’s sons, Polynices and Eteocles have killed each other in combat. Although Eteocles was buried in honor as a hero, Creon denied Polynices a proper burial because he was considered a traitor. Antigone, Polynices’s sister, defies the king’s demands despite the deadly consequences. While Creon lived to emulate state peace by maintaining law and order, Antigone died in honor of her religion and familial obligations. HoweverRead More Antigone Essay1759 Words   |  8 Pages Antigone It takes a lot of courage to stand up and defend an action or idea that is forbidden by society. This is what Antigone does in Sophocles story Antigone. She clearly disobeys King Creons order that no person should bury Antigones brother, Polynices, which is punishable by penalty of death. In this case, though, is Antigones decision the correct one? Her actions affect many of her other countrymen negatively; they cause problems within the royal family, disagreement among the people andRead Moretheme of alienation n no where man by kamala markandeya23279 Words   |  94 Pagesï » ¿ANTIGONE KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING This tragedy is set against the background of the Oedipus legend. It illustrates how the curse on the House of Labdacus (who is the grandson of Cadmus, founder of Thebes, and the father of Laius, whose son is Oedipus) brought about the deaths of Oedipus and his wife-mother, Jocasta, as well as the double fratricide of Eteocles and Polynices. Furthermore, Antigone dies after defying King Creon. The play is set in Thebes, a powerful city-state north of Read MoreTragic Hero1598 Words   |  7 Pageswhich eventually leads to his demise. The concept of the tragic hero was created in ancient Greek tragedy and defined by Aristotle. Usually, the realization of fatal flaw results in catharsis or epiphany. The tragic flaw is sometimes referred to as an Achilles heel after the single fatal flaw of the Greek warrior Achilles. [citation needed] Aristotelian tragic hero In a complex Aristotelian tragedy, the hero is of noble birth and is more admirable than ordinary men. He cannot, however, be morallyRead MoreOedipus the King, a Tragic Hero Essay1713 Words   |  7 PagesOedipus, a tragic hero Sophocless Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous tragedy ever written. Sophocless tragedy represents a monumental theatrical and interpretative challenge. Oedipus Rex is the story of a King of Thebes upon whom a hereditary curse is placed and who therefore has to suffer the tragic consequences of fate (tragic flaws or hamartia). In the play, Oedipus is the tragic hero. Even though fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty

Who is Talking About Special Attributes Essay Samples and Why You Should Be Worried

Who is Talking About Special Attributes Essay Samples and Why You Should Be Worried A wonderful leader never attempts to prove his power in order to produce someone feel bad or insecure. Being the most essential characteristic that defines leadership, positive attitude is important energy a leader must have. Showing empathy and concern are also rather important. An excellent leader is never scared to take responsibility. When describing the perfect qualities of a fantastic leader, there are essential skills a superior manger should portray. To conclude, there are numerous diverse characteristics which make a great leader. One of the absolute most important qualities of a fantastic leader is they will need to actually be ready to lead. What to Expect From Special Attributes Essay Samples? Terrific leaders can communicate in a manner that others can engage with. Creativity and Innovation are the 2 sides of the very same coin. You have to make strong connections between your experiences and the qualities you want to convey. The 30-Second Trick for Special Attributes Essay Samples Therefore, you don't must be pleased with a study paper that is already composed. With us, there isn't any need to worry your essay is going to be plagiarized. Bridget's essay is quite strong, but there continue to be a couple little things that could be ma de better. The trick to writing an excellent effectiveA essay is to get the passion to write it. Essay writing comes in various forms. Make certain that your essay follows a particular format, consisting of the appropriate partsA of essay. If you would like to write up the very best essay, make sure to ask yourself some questions. Stephen's essay is quite effective. Every work is quite a bit simpler to write, in the event you actually lived something you write about through. At times, experience is the very best teacher. Consider the vocation that you prefer to pursue and the job in that field which you would love to have (if you currently have your fantasy job, you can use that one). You ought to learn how to lick a woman's clitoris so that you can offer her an orgasm. Special Attributes Essay Samples - Dead or Alive? Even though a teacher has a duty to inspire learning, a CEO has the obligation to lead and execute a corporation's strategies, and get the long-term targets. A superb leader must also make sure he or she not only communicates the acceptable info to the team, but in addition that everybody understands it. He must also show a commitment to his or her team. To summarize, being an excellent employee isn't always uncomplicated. Therefore, it's considered that fantastic managers are effective leaders. Meanwhile, a superb manager should continuously evaluate the operation of all of the followers. In the duration of delivering, organizational or group's activities, a superb manager has to exercise a high degree of control and motivation for all of the participants involved. In a number of situations, the school may provide an article topic for you. What makes a cover letter special is when it's extremely clear that the candidate is conscious of what he or she wants to achieve professionally. So it's very important for a young child. Communication, since the definition goes, is the procedure of disseminating information from 1 party to another. Browsing the web to find all the vital information takes a good deal of time and energy. It is extremely important to read carefully essay services reviews, since you wish to steer clear of low quality that's high. Therefore, you might relax knowing your term paper solution is probably going to be delivered in the shape of an expert. In a way it forces you to be more creative to locate a solution. You have to follow APA format (example is going to be provided) in addition to use proper grammar and spelling. Your presentation must have a description of each crucial function in your words. Definitions of Special Attributes Essay Samples A skill, on the flip side, is generally something which is taught. Skills are merely something which you are good at or they are part of you. Secondly, Interpersonal skills are also among the most indispensable job abilities. In summary, you have to know all the vital job skills in addition to know where and how to utilize it. For that reason, it's neither strange nor unusual that you may want composing assistance from a specialist. You might talk to your writer that's private on internet to specify some extra nuances or correcting the work training. To begin with, you've got to select a fantastic matter for your own composition. Someone will undergo training to learn or enhance a specific skill. Some school districts in the us believe all students ought to be tested and rewarded equally irrespective of their adversities. Leadership is a significant aspect within the Army in order to attain excellence and the desired goals. Higher education is just one of the most important criterion for employers when contemplating work candidate.

Impact of Assimilation Policy on the Aboriginal Free Sample

Question: Write an Essay the Impact of Assimilation Policy on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Answer: Introduction Australian Government initiated the Assimilation Policy by the end of 1951 to improve the social context of the community. By the virtue of this policy full blood aboriginal peoplemust have to be left for die out, on the other hand their children needs to be adopted in the white community(Armitage, 1995). At that particular point of time aboriginal people were segmented in two categories one was Full Blood and other were Half Cast. Aboriginal children were taken under the consideration of Half Cast section(Zimmermann etal, 2000). According to this step, children were separated from their parents and they were admitted in different schools where they could be able to adopt the White culture and lifestyle. Through this overall process government expected that they could be able to remove aboriginal people from the site of Australian Provision(Tatz, 1964). Later, impact of this policy found very crucial on the overall indigenous community. Disposal of children from their parents impacted on the mental and health related stability of aboriginals. Death rates of aboriginal mothers were found as they were separated from their children. Moreover, overall aboriginal culture was hampered due to this process(Sutton, 2001). By the help of above discussion a brief understanding of assimilation policy and its impact of Australian aboriginal and Islander could be observed. Some articles and journals have been used to show how they made the research and what kind of results they obtained in that time (Cunneen, 2001). By observing the views and principles of different authors a brief overview of assimilation policy could be observed. Essay outline Introduction: (It will mainly showcase the current condition and actual purpose of making this essay.) Critical Analysis of the paper: (Different argumentative views on this particular assimilation policy will be driven through this context..) Conclusion: (Finally this section will summarize each and every view point of the matter. Reference Armitage, A., 1995.Comparing the policy of aboriginal assimilation: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. UBC Press. Zimmermann, K.F., Bauer, T.K. and Lofstrom, M., 2000. Immigration policy, assimilation of immigrants and natives' sentiments towards immigrants: evidence from 12 OECD-countries. Sutton, P., 2001, November. The politics of suffering: Indigenous policy in Australia since the 1970s. InAnthropological Forum(Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 125-173). Taylor Francis Group. Tatz, C.M., 1964. Aboriginal administration in the Northern Territory of Australia. Cunneen, C., 2001. Conflict, politics and crime: Aboriginal communities and the police.

Saving the Environment Essays - Industrial Ecology, Structure

Saving the Environment Climate disruption is already leaving deep imprints on every sector of the environment and that the consequences of these changes will grow steadily worse in coming decades. United States finds that global warming has touched every corner: Heavier downpours, strengthened heat waves, altered river flows and extended growing seasons. These changes, the report notes, will place increasing stress on water, health, energy and transportation systems and have, in several instances, already crossed tipping points to irreversible change. Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present, the scientists declared in a major new report assessing the situation in the United States. Summers are longer and hotter, and extended periods of unusual heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours. People are seeing changes in the length and severity of seasonal allergies, the plant varieties that thrive in their gardens, and the kinds of birds they see in any particular month in their neighborhoods. U.S. scientists said that the climate is changing in the United States and that the warming of the past 50 years was primarily caused by emissions of heat-trapping gases released by humans. Burning coal for electricity, using gasoline to fuel vehicles, clear-cutting forests and engaging in certain agricultural practices that remove carbon-trapping vegetation contribute to the problem, the assessment said Taking steps to conserve and reuse is easier than you might think. You can do your part just by changing your daily habits. To help save the environment, try decreasing energy and water consumption, changing your eating and transportation habits to conserve natural resources, and adapting your home and yard to be more environmentally friendly. Once you've made your own lifestyle more environmentally conscious, you can also engage in activism to help educate others on doing the same. anything you use only a few times and throw away consumes resources only to spend centuries in a landfill. Be sure to consider the future growth of any plantings and plant far enough from your house that the root systems will not disrupt your foundation. Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging including the economy size when that makes sense for you will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually Walk or ride your bike to work, school and anywhere you can. You can reduce greenhouse gases while burning some calories and improving your health. If you can't walk or bike, use mass transit or carpool. Every car not on the road makes a difference. Finally, let's teach other people to respect nature and the environment, and learn in the process how w e can hold on to the one planet which has a miracle called life.

s Role In Society

Women’s Roles in Society In this essay I will attempt to show you how women’s roles in society have changed over the years. I will explain how they were denied their rights as Americans, and suffered many years of inferiority. From the Renaissance era to modern society, men have acted as though they were superior. They claim that God meant for the male of the house to be completely dominating and therefore the only he that should truly experience the privileges and rights of voting and holding a job or a political office. This holds true with nearly every time period. As in almost every civilization, money brings certain advantages. For an upper class woman in the Renaissance era that means that they are allowed to learn. But they were not taught about the economy or of business matters, but of society’s expectation of them. For example, you are obligated to your husband and you must remain silent until he gives you permission to talk. Eloquence was equivalent to silence in the male frame of mi nd. Acts of free will and liberation were taken as a violation against God and His word. Later in Europe, as changes were beginning to take place, no one thought about the rights of women. Women were again being taught that silence is golden. They were allowed to learn to read, but with the setback of also grasping the fact that males will always be superior to them. It is clearly shown that women are capable of learning more. But during this time period women did not have the esteem nor the motivation to take learning into there own hands and expand their knowledge. Due to Europeans thoughts during the colonization of America, many of the early politicians did not think twice before ratifying the 14th Amendment in Congress in 1868. It is the first time that â€Å"citizens† and â€Å"voters† are clearly defined as â€Å"male†. Many newspapers at the time would trash the newsletters of women’s movements. In doing this, they also publi... 's Role In Society Free Essays on Women\'s Role In Society Women’s Roles in Society In this essay I will attempt to show you how women’s roles in society have changed over the years. I will explain how they were denied their rights as Americans, and suffered many years of inferiority. From the Renaissance era to modern society, men have acted as though they were superior. They claim that God meant for the male of the house to be completely dominating and therefore the only he that should truly experience the privileges and rights of voting and holding a job or a political office. This holds true with nearly every time period. As in almost every civilization, money brings certain advantages. For an upper class woman in the Renaissance era that means that they are allowed to learn. But they were not taught about the economy or of business matters, but of society’s expectation of them. For example, you are obligated to your husband and you must remain silent until he gives you permission to talk. Eloquence was equivalent to silence in the male frame of mi nd. Acts of free will and liberation were taken as a violation against God and His word. Later in Europe, as changes were beginning to take place, no one thought about the rights of women. Women were again being taught that silence is golden. They were allowed to learn to read, but with the setback of also grasping the fact that males will always be superior to them. It is clearly shown that women are capable of learning more. But during this time period women did not have the esteem nor the motivation to take learning into there own hands and expand their knowledge. Due to Europeans thoughts during the colonization of America, many of the early politicians did not think twice before ratifying the 14th Amendment in Congress in 1868. It is the first time that â€Å"citizens† and â€Å"voters† are clearly defined as â€Å"male†. Many newspapers at the time would trash the newsletters of women’s movements. In doing this, they also publi...

Properties of Ionic and Covalent Compounds

Properties of Ionic and Covalent Compounds If you know the chemical formula of a compound, you can predict whether it contains ionic bonds, covalent bonds, or a mixture of bond types. Nonmetals bond to each other via covalent bonds while oppositely charged ions, such as metals and nonmetals, form ionic bonds. Compounds which contain polyatomic ions may have both ionic and covalent bonds. Identifying Bond Types But, how do you know if a compound is ionic or covalent just by looking at a sample? This is where the properties of ionic and covalent compounds can be useful. Because there are exceptions, you need to look at several properties to determine whether a sample is ionic or covalent, but here are some characteristics to consider: Most crystals are ionic compounds. This is because the ions in these compounds tend to stack into crystal lattices to balance between the attractive forces between opposite ions and the repulsive forces between like ions. Covalent or molecular compounds can exist as crystals, though. Examples include sugar crystals and diamond.Ionic compounds tend to have higher melting and boiling points than covalent compounds.Ionic compounds tend to be hard and brittle while covalent compounds tend to be softer and more flexible.Ionic compounds conduct electricity when dissolved in water while covalent compounds typically dont. This is because covalent compounds dissolve into molecules while ionic compounds dissolve into ions, which can conduct charge.

CURRENT PROBLEMS OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY Research Paper

CURRENT PROBLEMS OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY - Research Paper Example The problem in question arose out of a much older â€Å"war† being fought by the United States (US) lawmakers and administrators: the war on drugs. The attempts to ensure a drug-free world stretch not only to the prohibition on harder substances like (powder and crack) cocaine and heroin, but also to marijuana, which has proven medicinal qualities as a pain reliever. The Mariana Policy Project (MPP), a D.C. based think-tank, describes marijuana prohibition as a resounding failure, and reports that in the US, â€Å"there are more arrests for marijuana possession each year than for all violent crimes combined† (MPP.org). Frivolous incarcerations for marijuana possession and use not only put increasing pressure on prisons and community jails, but also use up precious resources that could otherwise be diverted to other, more useful, areas of public spending. This paper proposes that the existing marijuana policy be repealed and drug legalization takes its place; the followi ng paragraphs shall attempt to substantiate this suggestion. Marijuana or medical cannabis, as mentioned above, has proven medicinal qualities, mostly as a herbal pain reliever, and this fact is what seems to have taken the issue of drug prohibition into a veritable gray area. Due to the high costs of prescription painkillers, many opt to smoke marijuana instead as a cheap alternative; under the current regulations, however, this is unlawful. The arrest of a Seattle resident in July 2008 for marijuana possession incited one news editor to brand the existing legal framework governing the use of marijuana as â€Å"reefer madness† (Ramsey 2008). What confounds this legal framework is the disparity between the laws in certain states vis-à  -vis other states’ and federal laws on the matter. The Controlled Substances Act, a federal statute, deems cannabis as a Schedule I drug, without any expressly known or accepted medicinal value. Therefore, one cannot have an unfettered access to marijuana,

Document Interpretation 1 Upload Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Document Interpretation 1 Upload - Coursework Example According to the story teller, those Natives looked much exited. They danced and signaled the strangers to come to their home. This shows that these natives were friendly and were willing to make friends with strangers whom toured their land. Despite their hospitality, Jacque did not trust them. This is symbolized by the fact that he was afraid to go to their home because his crew had only one boat. May be he was afraid since they had no back up and things could go wrong. The Natives did not let go and made sure that they followed them. They were exited and very happy indeed to have seen the strangers. According to the writer, the Natives showed that they were in need of their friendship. Jacques shot at them and they were afraid since that was strange to them, hence the fled (Sympatico). Jacques and his crew slowly learned how friendly the Natives were. They got closer and closer to them as time went by and soon they were exchanging goods; skins for metallic goods among other goods. After all, the wild people were not such bad people. Despite that they did not have much to offer, they could offer everything that they had. Jacques admired their hospitality and even that he could convert them to his religion. The only problem is that what the wild people offered for trade was of no value (Wisconsin Historical Society). Later, Cartier erected a 30 foot wooden cross which had a fleur-de-lys shieldas well as plaque with â€Å"Vive-le Roi- de France† which means â€Å"long live the king of France,† which had been engraved in it as well as knelt in prayer. Donnacona became upset with the fact that his land was being taken away from him and his people. He showed signs that the land belonged to his people. However, Cartier lied to him that this cross was just a marker of the way and since Donnacano could not read what had been written, Cartier managed to trick him in this way

The attitudes of Christianity Essay Example for Free

The attitudes of Christianity Essay Islam and Christianity share a lot of similarities and differences. One of the most important similarities that they share is that they are both universal religions. Both Islam and Christianity are monotheistic religions, believing in only one god, which is also believed by some religions researchers to be the same god, but referred with different nominatives. In the Christian religion it is referred to as Christ and in the Islam religion it is referred to as Allah. They do not only share these little similarities, but much more: like the beginning of the religions. In both holy books: the Bible for Christians and the Quran for Muslims, it is described the creation of the earth in the very firsts chapters. The Bible, as the Quran states that Christ created the world in six days; in the other hand the Quran states the same thing, but using the nominative of Allah instead than Christ. As time advanced many differences born between Christianity and Islam. Christianity and Islam looked at merchants and trade form different points of views. With the years, the views of both religions of trade and merchants have altered in positive and negative ways. During the early years of Christianity, trade was not viewed in a positive way, but it was more considered like an obstacle that would stand and block the bridge linking a person to heaven. In fact as we can see Document 1 states that being wealthy would place you further away from God and consequently, further away from Gods kingdom. a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Being wealthy was thought of negatively by the New Testament, possibly meaning that earning a lower income would draw you nearer to God. In Christianity trade was seen depending on how the merchant was going to use the profit, because there are two prospective to see trade. The negative way; which is the one stated in Document1 is when someone trades with the purpose not to benefits other people, but to benefit himself with the profit. The other way, which is different is the positive way, is much  different because is the one where a merchant trades not only for benefit himself, but also to benefit others; donating part of the profit. Only in this way trade wouldnt be an obstacle in the bridge linking the person to heaven; but instead it would be a sort of shortcut. In fact Document 3, which describes the life of a twelfth-century British wealthy merchant named St. Godric, shows that there is a positive and negative way in which Christ looks at trade. Godric, after named St. Godric, was one of the firsts to understand the ways in which Christ looks at trade because even know that the Bible, or the word of Christ, stated that a wealthy man would hardly go to heaven, St. Godric proceeded trading. But he devoted himself to God, during his reteriment, using his wealth in charities, and aiding the poor people. He sold all his possessions and distributed them among the poor. For above all things he coveted the life of a hermit. This example shows that trade is not done only for personal benefits but that it is also done for the benefits of others, such as the poor and the sick people. During the seventh century Islam viewed merchants and trade in a positive way in fact many Muslims were traders or merchants traveling around the known world selling or trading their home goods, and so spreading the Islam culture and religion. Islam supports trade, but until a certain level. In fact Document 2, which is a part of the Muslims holy book, the Quran, instructs merchants how to trade lawfully and truthfully. If the two parties speak the truth and make it manifest, their transaction shall be blessed, and if they conceal and tell a lie, the blessing of their transaction shall be obliterated. On the day of judgment, the honest, truthful Muslim merchant will take rank with the martyrs of the faith This quote shows that merchants and traders were supported by the Quran, and so by the Islam religion, as long as they traded honestly between each other. In conclusion the Islam religion supported the Muslims merchants and allowed them to trade as long as they did not steal from each other and were honest. Christianity has changed over the centuries. The radical changed is that Christians now accept trade in a positive way, but must be done accordingly.  In Document 4, Thomas Aquinas, a leading Scholastic theologian of 1273, almost 1100 years after Document 1 was written, describes how to trade in the way that Christ will accept it. As we have seen in Document 1, Matthew states that a merchant should not sell something to another man for more than it is worth. All thingswhatsoever you would that men should do to you do you also to them. In the opposite hand, Thomas Aquinas is tring to interpret that message by saying that trade is allowed as long as the merchant doesnt cheat its costumer or sells things that are not of his property. During that period people started thinking differently because at the early years of Christianity people so trade in a negative way; while during the thirteenth century people started thinking that Christ influenced people to trade and that with his presence their trading will go well; and so we can conclude that a new similarity between Islam and Christianity born, because according to Document 2 Muslims could trade as long as they were honest between each other. Also Document 6 supports the fact that a radical changed occurred because, one of the merchants states in a letter: With God always before us, we will carry out your bidding. Christianitys views on trade and merchants have changed from being condemned, to being used for daily life. Also Islams views about trade and merchants got better with the years, because the Muslims like the Christians made it a daily occupation; and infact in document 5 Ibn Khaldun mainly writes about the importance of trade and making profit. This is a sign of change because in Document 2 it states that you shouldnt sell something for more than it is worth. Islam, as Christianity, has not followed the writings of the Quran. This is another similarity between the two universal religions that shows that the two religions are very alike. Document 7, which describes a problem that had occurred during a trade transaction, shows that a negative change occurred in Muslims merchants: they started to think to much about the profit that hey were going to make, and so forgot the writings in the Quran. Both Christianity and Islam have changed over time, due to scholars who thought openly to the New Testament and the Quran. Since trade in both of  the religions had started off at different paces and different starting points, their views on trade and merchants turned out different. Overall, Christianitys development was more righteous and more realistic than the development of Islam. Christianity and Islam have altered because of different perspectives of scholars of their religions and due to the requirement and changes of the market. To better understand the development of trade according to Christianity, I would need an additional document that describes if the Christians merchants took advantage of the situations to cheat on their costumers or if they respected the new developments: trade was allowed as long as the merchants were honest between each other. If I would have the opportunity to have that document I could make a final affirmation about the developments of Christianity from the early years until 1500 C.E.

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What is our purpose here? How did we become to be? Many humans ask these questions at some point in their life. The answers are very controversial. Some people say a higher power created the universe and everything in it. That our purpose for living is to serve the power. Others give scientific reasons for our existence such as the Big Bang, that our purpose for living is simply survival. The first theory stated above is known as Creationism. The other is evolution the majority of schools encourage this. But the both of them may not be true. Evolution disproves Creationism as Creationism disproves evolution. Why is one not clearly right and the other clearly false? Lack of hard proof makes Creationism hard to believe, and gaps in the evolution chain makes that hard to believe. Is there no middle ground on these two issues? To understand the conflict of Creationism and evolution you must first understand Creationism. Creationism is the theory that all life was started by a higher power. Creationists believe the version of creation found in the Bible in the book of Genesis. (1, L. Ross) The story of this higher power creating the universe, galaxies, planets, animals, plants and everything else. The tale of Adam and Eve is part of this theory. Noah and his ark saved all the species that live today from a great flood. The belief that the higher power gave each creature what it needs to survive and reproduce. In this teaching the earth is not over 100,000 years old. So how could evolution be true since evolution requires that earth and other things on earth are much older then that. Along with understanding Creationism you must understand Evolution. Evolution is the theory of the Big Bang, natural selection and other theories like that. A broad definition of it is "Species change over time.". (1, E. Jeremy) That there are reasons why plants, animals, and everything else is the way it is. Take humans for example, we evolved from primates so that we could survive. It was a slow process making little changes at a time. The big bang is the theory that all matter in the universe was created by a massive explosion. That certain species died out because they were not strong enough and could not change. While others who could change adapted to the environment to survive best.

Isp – Internet Service Provider

Internet service provider * ISP (Internet service provider) * Regional ISPs provide Internet access to a specific geographical area * National ISPs provide Internet access in cities and towns nationwide * Online service provider (OSP) * Has many members-only features * Popular OSPs include AOL (America Online) and MSN (Microsoft Network) * Wireless Internet service provider (WISP) * Provides wireless Internet access to computers and mobile devices * May require a wireless modem An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. [1] Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers (colocation). Transit ISPs provide large amounts of bandwidth for connecting hosting ISPs to access ISPs. [2] Internet connectivity options from end-user to Tier 3/2 ISPs * | History The Internet started off as a closed network between government research laboratories and relevant parts of universities. As it became more popular, universities and colleges started giving more of their members access to it. As a result of its popularity, commercial Internet service providers sprang up to offer access to the Internet to anyone willing to pay for the service, mainly to those who missed their university accounts. In 1990, Brookline, Massachusetts-based The World became the first commercial ISP. [3] Access provider ISPs employ a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network. For users and small businesses, traditional options include: dial-up, DSL (typically Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, ADSL), broadband wireless, cable modem, fiber to the premises (FTTH), and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) (typically basic rate interface). For customers with more demanding requirements, such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs, DSL (often Single-Pair High-speed Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL), Ethernet, Metropolythian Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Frame Relay, ISDN (B. R. I. or P. R. I. ), ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and upload satellite Internet access. Sync-optical cabling (SONET) are more likely to be used. [citation needed] Typical home user connectivity * Broadband wireless access * Cable Internet * Dial-up * ISDN * Modem * DSL * FTTH * Wi-Fi Business-type connection: * DSL * Metro Ethernet technology * Leased line * SHDSL Locality When using a dial-up or ISDN connection method, the ISP cannot determine the caller's physical location to more detail than using the number transmitted using an appropriate form of Caller ID; it is entirely possible to e. g. connect to an ISP located in Mexico from the USA. Other means of connection such as cable or DSL require a fixed registered connection node, usually associated at the ISP with a physical address. Mailbox provider A company or organization that provides email mailbox hosting services for end users and/or organizations. Many Mailbox Providers are also Access Providers. Hosting ISPs Hosting ISPs routinely provide email, FTP, and web-hosting services. Other services include virtual machines, clouds, or entire physical servers where customers can run their own custom software. Transit ISPs Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet access. An upstream ISP usually has a larger network than the contracting ISP and/or is able to provide the contracting ISP with access to parts of the Internet the contracting ISP by itself has no access to. In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to or from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often cascaded multiple times until reaching a Tier 1 carrier. In reality, the situation is often more complex. ISPs with more than one point of presence (PoP) may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple PoPs, or they may be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and may have connections to each one of them at one or more point of presence. Peering Main article: Peering ISPs may engage in peering, where multiple ISPs interconnect at peering points or Internet exchange points (IXs), allowing routing of data between each network, without charging one another for the data transmitted—data that would otherwise have passed through a third upstream ISP, incurring charges from the upstream ISP. ISPs requiring no upstream and having only customers (end customers and/or peer ISPs) are called Tier 1 ISPs. Network hardware, software and specifications, as well as the expertise of network management personnel are important in ensuring that data follows the most efficient route, and upstream connections work reliably. A tradeoff between cost and efficiency is possible. Derivatives The following are not a different type of the above ISPs, rather they are derivatives of the 3 core ISP types. A VISP is reselling either access or hosting services. Free ISPs are similar, but they just have a different revenue model. Virtual ISP Main article: Virtual ISP A Virtual ISP (VISP) is an operation which purchases services from another ISP (sometimes called a â€Å"wholesale ISP† in this context)[4] which allow the VISP's customers to access the Internet using services and infrastructure owned and operated by the wholesale ISP. Free ISP Free ISPs are Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which provide service free of charge. Many free ISPs display advertisements while the user is connected; like commercial television, in a sense they are selling the users' attention to the advertiser. Other free ISPs, often called freenets, are run on a nonprofit basis, usually with volunteer staff. Related services * Broadband Internet access * Fixed wireless access * Cable * Triple play * Internet hosting service * Web hosting service * E-mail hosting service * DNS hosting service * Dynamic DNS

Lion’s Creed Essay

Listen good, my children; this is a story of my past, and it takes place when I was a little whelp, like you, in a village in Africa. We might be in chains now, but free your ears of the shackles of slavery and listen closely. This is a tale of a man called Credo, a brave man, a strong man. Once, not so long ago, there were these two men, strong as lions fighting over territory in the savannahs of the African continent, a man called Credo, and a man called Kha’Jin. But this story begins much earlier, when Credo was still a pup: The air was stale and the sun was scorching the earth as clouds of dust hovered over the grassy plains, and besides the squawking noise of various carrion feeders, everything seemed to be at a halt. There, a blood-gorged pit near a small tribal village; in this arena did, by a trial of blood, boys become true men. And one boy in particular has passed his test, a boy lighter than the others, who was adopted by the Zulus as an infant, when a pack of hyena s attacked and most likely killed his parents. I would know, as my father was the one who found him in the savannah, I was but a boy when Credo passed his test, and I was afraid because he was different. But he grew, and as he grew, he honored the tribe by hard work and dedication, the values that would bring him into the ring of blood in which he now stands. There he is covered in blood, shaking from exhaustion, breathing for his life, the young boy, and above him, a grown man with a spear in one hand, and in the other, a shield decorated with a bloody, zebra’s hide. They know each other, at least the boy knows the man. This is a man deemed to be one of the strongest in the village, a man that can lift a whole wildebeest by himself! With a quick thrust at Credo, the man seemed to have secured his victory– or so he thought. The boy leapt to the side like a cougar, passion and fear intermixing in his deep, blue eyes to become the most powerful weapon one can ever hope to yield; as salty sweat ran down his blood and d ust covered face, the will to live helped the boy defeat his enemy. Swinging recklessly, the man stumbled, and the boy, Credo, took this opportunity to win. As he turned, Credo’s tomahawk began to enter the area between the enemy’s shoulderblades. The man’s eyes widened in despair, and he stood motionless for a few, good moments. Then, as if the stone axe took a week to lodge itself into his body, a loud scream decorated the stale silence of the crowd watching around the ring; the man was now on his knees, not ready, but helpless enough to receive the finishing blow. The boy stood over his enemy, snatched the spear out of his hand, and looked him in the eyes. What he saw, was fear–the fear of death; this fear, however, did not stop Credo from taking his place among the tribe. â€Å"Kill or be killed,† echoed through his head†¦ The spear now stood erect in the man’s chest, the dust clouds whizzing by, while everything else remained silent. In the silence, the gravel grinding beneath credo’s footste ps was the only noise. Slowly circling his nearly dead enemy, Credo took his tomahawk into his hands once again. He turned towards the man again, lifted his hands high, so everyone could see them, and as the rays of sunlight enveloped his weapon, he struck downwards with unrelenting force. An unpleasant sound of bones breaking and teeth and skull fragments dropping to the ground like dates, blood gushing faster than the raging Ncandu Falls. Red all over, Credo knew that this was hi’s domain now. But the story begins in his prime; after passing his test, Credo, seeing no point in fighting his, now, own people, turned to the hunt and was recognized by the son of the Chief Kha’Zix, Kha’Jin. The two grew up to be inseparable; they were the two who would bring our tribe to new heights. I remember looking up to their brotherhood, as a boy. The two would come back from a long day of hunting, with large, white grins on their faces as they dragged their catch into the village. I hoped I could be like them one day†¦ Marching out of a amber sunset with food for the tribe. But at the turning of age, when the Zulu chief, Kha’Zix is on his ill with an unknown disease brought in by those white devils from far away lands, a new chief was needed. Credo, who proved himself over and over with his leadership abilities and fiery attitude, has caught the eye of the village elders. Despite most of the tribe not wanting a ‘white devil’ as their leader, Credo was in position to be the next chief. Obsessing with the thrill of the hunt, and proving his village that he was the ultimate hunter, Credo unconsciously ignored the struggle for power as things fell apart. Credo had his eyes set on the greatest honor amongst the Zulu people, mastering the lion’s own game. He intended to use the pelt of the lion as a gift to his chief and father, and at the same time prove his worth. The sun was beating down the Zulu village, as usual, and everyone was busy; some over come with sweat, curved like sickles, hastily picking out ripe yams from the dirty fields, some sitting, with their brows tense, scraping and tanning leather, while others were stringing bows, arguing what traps are best suited for hunting and warfare, as though preparing for war, actually. And as this went on, Credo was further away, in the open fields of South Africa, hunting like a wild cat, prowling through the low brush of the plains of South Africa, sneaking, trying not to make a single branch crackle under his cautious footsteps. Wildebeest was his game today; he needed a large catch as food was scarce those days†¦ He let out a beastly yell as he started running towards the herd, which immediately ran in the opposite direction. This hunter, had no intention of letting his prey loose; he guided one of the smaller calves into an oasis, where he carefully prepared a trap to catch it. Trapped, the beast was dazed, but slowly breaking loose, as the net was not meant to hold down such large animals. He flung his bola at the calf wildebeest’s legs. The bola wrapped around them with a whizzing sound, and moments after, it was helpless, on the ground, yelping. The other wildebeest were long gone by the time Credo was standing dominant above his prey, its tongue out, struggling to stand up and run away, still producing inarticulate sounds, crying for help. Bowing down, Credo unsheathed his jambiya, a curved dagger he ‘confiscated’ from a corpse of a merchant up north near the town of Sofala, east from our village. He looked at the calf one last time, and bathed in its fear; he placed the tip, gently at the left side of the base of its head, his eyes widened, his hand jerked, his roar frightened th e birds around, as he pushed in, and then across, leaving a pool of blood behind as a memory. Bringing the carcass back to the village, Credo is stopped by Kha’Jin, the son of the sickly chief. â€Å"Going back to the village with such a large amount of meat by yourself, are you?† said Kha’Jin as he blocked Creedo’s way with his large body. â€Å"Yes, brother, how are you doing today?† Kha’Jin’s smile was showing now, and they embraced each other with a powerful pat on the back. â€Å"What an odd question to ask someone when their father is dying, and their so called ‘friend’ is next in line.† Smiled Kha’Jin. â€Å"I am†¦ sorry, I did not mean to offend. And, what exactly do you mean ‘next in line,’ next in line for what?† The mood suddenly changed to something less friendly, and you could almost hear Kha’Jin’s brow furrowing. â€Å"Are you serious?! You are to become the next chief, Credo, you are to become what I was destined to! You†¦ you took that away from me, just like you tried to take away my father, but he never favored you, I was always his favourite, because†¦ because I am his real son, and because I am the same like everyone in the village–† Now losing his patience, Credo dropped his prey and a familiar darkness surrounded his head. Credo was alway one to lose his temper quickly; lies and disrespect were ways to make him furious, as he tolerated neither. Credo, in fact, was always favored by the chief, as he did not show great ambition to become chief, but to help his village, even if it meant the most difficult labor. The son, on the other hand, was proving himself worthy to be chief, arrogant enough to think the title will be bestowed upon him no matter what. A thundering fist flew towards Kha’Jin’s face, who was much larger than Credo, physically. Credo was not afraid, he assaulted the chief’s son with great fury before being held back by other village members, who now looked down upon his behavior. â€Å"Who attacks someone in mourning,† we thought. The next day, no one spoke to Credo, and stricken with rage and anguish, Credo attempted something he was not yet ready for. Gathering his weapons, he headed towards the barren plains to the north. Now I know that this was, in fact, the part of Kha’Jin’s plan to get rid of the only thing standing between him and the title of chief. The sun set with a glaring orange tint, and the tribe moved on to the tomorrow as Credo to his demise. The night was young and Credo stupid. He decided to attack the alpha lion by himself, in the dark. Stalking the lion, Credo’s only thoughts were of his timed attack; â€Å"Strike when ready†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He thought. The lion was asleep, and Credo was going to take this chance to best the beast. He was too foolish to remember that lions do not sleep alone. Before he even got close, let alone the chance to pounce, he was jumped by a lioness, which pinned him to the ground and looked at him, baring her teeth, ready to attack. She tore off a fist sized portion of Credo’s muscle with a single rake of her claw, but our hero made up for his lack of insight with his agility; he grabbed some dust into his bleeding fist and flung it, along with his fingers, into the lioness’ right eye. The beast roared, and stumbled away from him. Barely managing to get up, Credo ran for his dear life. He didn’t get too far when he fell and stopped moving. The next morning Credo awoke, and the lushness of a forest surrounded him, he was marveled, yet confused by its beauty, still dazed from the wound the lioness inflicted. He realized: the closest forest to the village is half a day away, and above him stood three large figures, one of which was Kha’Jin. He stood there, his shadow gleaming over Credo, with a wide smirk on his face. â€Å"Awake, ‘brother’? I have good news, and bad news, at least; I decided. I will make you chief. Bad news: You will not be chief of MY village, not while alive.† laughed the man. The men, carrying sticks and stones, took turns savagely beating Credo into a pulp of bloody fury. Bones were cracking and skin was tearing; if he did not die of the sheer pain, he would die of shame later on. Just like a lion will die if his mane is cut off. Laying there broken, defeated, humiliated, the only thoughts that were coming through Credo’s head were that of vengeance and redemption. The young hunter spent two days and two nights whimpering in pain, until he was found by a group of those ‘white devils’ passing through the forest, scouting the area. Unconscious he lay there, as the group approached†¦ Chapter 2: A Fresh Beginning Day 2: After arriving to this new land, me and the royal expedition have decided to explore and get familiar with the environment. Mostly a savannah, this region is dotted with several forests; we are about to examine the one close to our base camp for new species of animals and plants. This hot weather will, most certainly, prove to be difficult to handle in this warm clothing. â€Å"Good Lord, Mary! Look at this poor man, laying over there under that tree!† pointed one of the three soldiers accompanying me. â€Å"Quickly, someone, give that man some help!† No matter how and how much we tried to awaken him, he would not budge, exhausted, beaten and dehydrated, he was in barely any condition to live, let alone open his eyes. If the pain did not kill him, the infections, surely would. Still, it is important to try. We scurried him back to the camp where I treated him with bandages and liniment. Day 5: Miraculously, a few days later, he awoke. He seemed different than the rest of the royal expedition, feral is the word best describing him. He saw, that we seem quite like himself, or so he thought. He was intrigued by our skin color, for some reason; it is fairer than his own, and living amongst the Africans, it must have confused him. With his head lowered, the subject in front of me, Samuel, I will name him, looked around in curiosity. I take it he grew up here, though he looks very British to me. At first frightened by the unknown, this man was willing to set that aside and accept us as family in order to, perhaps, repay the debt of saving his life. Day 246: A long time has passed since we rescued Samuel, and he has, over the course of the last half a year, or so, has proven to be the most fascinating creature ever. His learning abilities are extraordinary, as are his abilities to hunt, learned from the native tribes, I presume. I also note that in such a short time, we have been able to learn much about his former people, as he calls them, as he learned about us. We are now able to communicate, to a certain extent, and Samuel seems to have taken a liking in us, especially myself. Unfortunate this is, indeed. We have received a new mission, it is to use Samuel to find the tribes, and expand the borders of the British, Christian Empire and remove all potential barricades and threats. It pains me to use this man after he has done so much for us, but if the Lord wishes so, it will be done. In the meantime, Samuel still practiced his hunting skills, though this time, with gunpowder and rifles. He finally caught, what he told me to be the most dangerous game in the savannah, the lion. He presented its pelt as a gift, which was in his culture, the greatest honor, for both factions. â€Å"This is thank you, for rescuing me,† stated Credo, on his knees. â€Å"This is most peculiar, Samuel, why†¦ I don’t know what to say! I suppose a thank you is in an order, and you are most certainly welcome. It was only proper of God’s men and women to save their lost brother, I am sure you would have done the same.† I reluctantly took the lion’s pelt. There was a glimmer of hope in Samuel’s eyes, he had found his true family, his own kin. The rest of the colonists made him believe that they meant only the best for the native peoples, and that the only thing they wanted was to spread Christianity and bring peace amongst the tribes. Chapter 3: The Return Foolishly enough, Credo led the colonists to our village, his old home. He was the ambassador of the two factions, not the great hunter I was used to seeing as a young boy. The peacebringer, not the hunter, not the warrior he used to be, and that is what brought him to his knees once again, he was reborn, but he was weak, not strong. He was naive, still; he believed anyone who said they believed him. Even the colonists, the white demons who wanted to purge our land of US! Kha’Jin was now chief of our tribe, and he did not want the rest to find out what he has done to Credo. Credo was managing to convince the tribe to convert to this strange belief, and he was saying how we would be protected from the other tribes and given technology to dominate. We did not need that, we needed Credo, the Great Lion. After one of his preachings, Credo was returning back to the colonist camp with two other soldiers. Kidnapping him, once again, he tied him to a tree in the same forest he was beaten in before. But things were different this time, Credo has matured into a better being, he has learned about the technology of the north and of the power of reason. Unfortunately, that was not at all effective with Kha’Jin, who tried to break Credo once again. Unwilling to suffer defeat once more, by the hand of the unjust, Credo’s animalistic instincts reactivated. The rush of pure adrenaline allowed him to snap the vines as though they were hay, and he leapt onto Kha’Jin, grabbing the first thing he could find, started savagely beating him until there was a bloody pool left on the ground. Meanwhile, in the village, the colonists were displeased with our lack of cooperation, so they decided to use force. One by one, the colonists were slaughtering my people like cattle, in an attempt to make an example. When Credo returned from the forest, still bloody and baring his fangs, the village consisted of two parts. One of which was the old, familiar place he used to call home, and the other a steaming pile of carcasses and stench of his former brethren. Baffled, he snuck into one of the houses still standing to find out the colonists were cleaning the land from the Zulu people. Overcome with anger, not thinking clearly, Credo decided it was time for retribution. Finding his dagger and old clothing, Credo, along with the night, crept into the colonist camp closest to his village, and as he has done before, slaughtered all living things in that camp, but one. He left Mary alive, he owed her his life, and he could not take hers away without taking his own too. With both Kha’Jin and the colonists gone, Credo was appointed the chief of the tribe and quickly regained his reputation in the village through hard work and his ferociousness. He was happy with himself, as he finally proved to everyone that he was the lion, the ultimate predator. Chapter 4: In The End†¦ Day 321: When I woke up in the morning, everyone was gone, and a note was stuck on a spear in the ground, next to my bed, it read: â€Å"Blood for blood, you killed my people, I killed yours. -Samuel Credo† I, the single colonist that survived, Mary, fled back to the port where I came form, grateful for my life, but furious with Credo’s actions. When I went back to the port, I demanded reinforcements and the cleansing of the Zulus, as they have killed the children of the Lord. Soon after, a battalion of one hundred or so royal soldiers marched to the village, and with our superior technological power, destroyed the Zulus, along with Credo, who fought relentlessly until the end.

How to Speak Like a Italian Like

How to Speak Like a Italian Like If you want to learn Italian, forget your native tongue. If you want to speak Italian like a native, then spend some time in Italy speaking only Italian. If you want to read Italian, then pick up an Italian newspaper and peruse whatever section interests you. The point is, if you want to achieve competency in Italian, you must think like an Italian- and that means getting rid of the helpers that are real hindrances and standing on your own two (linguistic) feet. Bilingual Dictionaries Are a Crutch Speaking English to your friends is a waste of time if your goal is to speak Italian. Making grammatical comparisons between English and Italian are worthless. It sounds counterintuitive, but in the end, each language has rules and forms that are unique and sometimes illogical. And translating back and forth in your head before speaking or reading is the ultimate fools errand that will never lead to real-time speaking competence. Interact With Native Speakers So many people approach language as a science and get completely tongue-tied- witness the e-mail questions this SiteGuide receives daily about obscure Italian grammatical points and textbook recommendations. Learners obsess over minutiae, as if Italian could be dissected, instead of speaking Italian and interacting with native speakers. Imitate them. Mimic them. Ape them. Copy them. Let go of your ego and make believe youre an actor trying to sound Italian. But please- no books with something else to memorize. That turns off students immediately and is not effective in the least. Ignore English Grammar If there’s one bit of advice I can offer to anyone studying Italian, regardless of your level: Stop thinking in English! Ignore English grammar- you’re wasting a lot of mental energy trying to translate literally and construct sentences according to English syntax. In a letter to the editor in The New York Times Magazine, Lance Strate, an associate professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University in The Bronx reinforces this point: ...it does not follow that all languages are equal, and therefore interchangeable. If this were true, the translation would be a relatively simple and straightforward affair, and learning another language would involve nothing more than learning to substitute one code for another, much like using Roman numerals. The truth is that different languages differ in highly significant ways, in grammar as well as vocabulary, which is why each language represents a unique way of codifying, expressing, and understanding the world. We do not become fluent in a new language until we stop translating and simply start thinking in the new language, because each language represents a distinctive medium of thought. Let Go of Your Fear of Making Mistakes Your goal should be to communicate, not sound as if you have a Ph.D. in Italian grammar (you’ll never do it, anyway, since there are only a small number of native Italians who are that well-versed in the intricacies of their own language. But certainly, most of them can communicate their every emotion, fear, want, and need.). Your biggest mistake, and what will hold you back, is using English as a crutch and being afraid of opening your mouth wide and singing that lovely language called la bella lingua. At the risk of sounding discouraging, a lot of language learners just don’t get it, and never will. It’s similar to taking dance lessons. You can put cut-out feet on the floor with numbers on them and take lessons from an expert, but if you don’t have rhythm, and you don’t have that swing, you’re always and forever going to look like a klutz on the dance floor, no matter how many lessons you take and how much you practice. So what do you do if you’re not a good dancer and weren’t born with natural rhythm? Scripted Responses Learning scripted responses in foreign languages is unproductive. Every textbook for beginners devotes many pages to dialogue that’s stilted and simply doesn’t occur in real life. So why teach it?! If you ask a person on the street Dov’e’ il museo? and he doesn’t respond according to the script you memorized, then what? You’re stuck, because there is an infinite number of potential responses, and none of us has enough time on the face of this earth to memorize them. And that person on the street is going to keep on walking because he’s headed to a great pizzeria. Learning scripted responses in foreign languages encourages a false sense of confidence. It doesnt translate into real-time speaking competence nor will you understand the musicality of the language. It’s like looking at a musical score and expecting to be a master violinist just because youve memorized the notes. Instead, you have to play it, and play it again and again. Likewise with the Italian language. Play with it! Practice! Listen to native Italian speakers and mimic them. Laugh at yourself trying to pronounce gli correctly. Italian, more so than many languages, is musical, and if you remember that analogy it will come easier. There is no secret, no Rosetta Stone, no silver bullet when it comes to learning a language. You have to listen and repeat ad nauseum. You will make a quantum leap in learning Italian when you abandon your native tongue and disengage from the grammar that you implicitly learned when you were a child.

How to Get 36 on ACT Reading 11 Strategies from a Perfect Scorer

How to Get 36 on ACT Reading Strategies from a Perfect Scorer SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you scoring in the 26–34 range on ACT Critical Reading? Do you want to raise that score as high as possible- to a perfect 36? Getting to a 36 ACT Reading score isn't easy. It'll require perfection. But with hard work and my strategies below, you'll be able to do it. I've consistently scored 36 on Reading on my real ACTs, and I know what it takes. Follow my advice, and you'll get a perfect score- or get very close. Brief note: This article is suited for students already scoring a 26 on ACT Reading or above. If you're below this range, my "How to Improve your ACT Reading Score to a 26" article is more appropriate for you. Follow the advice in that article, then come back to this one when you've reached a 26. Overview Most guides on the internet on how to score a 36 are pretty bad quality. They're often written by people who never scored a 36 themselves. You can tell because their advice is usually vague and not very pragmatic. In contrast, I've written what I believe to be the best guide on getting a 36 available anywhere. I have confidence that these strategies work because I used them myself to score 36 on ACT Reading consistently. They've also worked for thousands of my students at PrepScholar. In this article, I'm going to discuss why scoring a 36 is a good idea, what it takes to score a 36, and then go into the 10 key strategies so you know how to get a 36 on ACT Reading. Stick with me- as an advanced student, you probably already know that scoring high is good. But it's important to know why a 36 Reading score is useful, since this will fuel your motivation to get a high score. Final note: in this guide, I talk mainly about getting to a 36. But if your goal is a 34, these strategies still equally apply. Understand the Stakes: Why a 36 ACT Reading? Let's make something clear: for all intents and purposes, a 34 on an ACT is equivalent to a perfect 36. No top college is going to give you more credit for a 36 than a 34. You've already crossed their score threshold, and whether you get in now depends on the rest of your application. So if you're already scoring a 34, don't waste your time studying trying to get a 36. You're already set for the top colleges, and it's time to work on the rest of your application. But if you're scoring a 33 or below AND you want to go to a top 10 college, it's worth your time to push your score up to a 34 or above. There's a big difference between a 32 and a 34, largely because it's easy to get a 32 (and a lot more applicants do) and a lot harder to get a 34. A 33 places you right around average at Harvard and Princeton and when it comes to admissions, being average is bad, since the admissions rate is typically below 10%. So why get a 36 on ACT Reading? Because it helps you compensate for weaknesses in other sections. By and large, schools consider your ACT composite score more than your individual section scores. If you can get a 36 in ACT Reading, that gives you more flexibility in your Math, English, and Science scores. It can compensate for a 32 in one other section, for example, to bring your average back up to 34. Harvard's 75th percentile Reading score is likely a 36. There's another scenario where a 36 in ACT Reading is really important. First is if you're planning to apply as a humanities or social science major (like English, political science, communications) to a top school. Here's the reason: college admissions is all about comparisons between applicants. The school wants to admit the best, and you're competing with other people in the same "bucket" as you. By applying as a humanities/social science major, you're competing against other humanities/social science folks: people for whom ACT Reading is easy. Really easy. Here are a few examples from schools. For Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and U Chicago, the 75th percentile SAT Reading score is an 800, or equivalent to a 36 in ACT Reading. That means at least 25% of all students at these schools have a 36 in ACT Reading. But if you can work your way to a 36, you show that you're at an equal level (at least on this metric). Even if it takes you a ton of work, all that matters is the score you achieve at the end. I'll be honest- ACT Reading wasn't my strong suit in high school. When I started studying, I was scoring around the 31–32 range. I was always stronger in math and science. But I learned the tricks of the test, and I developed the strategies below to raise my score to a 36. Now I'm sharing them with you. Know that You Can Do It This isn't just some fuzzy feel-good message you see on the back of a Starbucks cup. I mean, literally, you and every other reasonably intelligent student can score a 36 on ACT Reading. The reason most people don't is they don't try hard enough or they don't study the right way. Even if language isn't your strongest suit, or you got a B+ in AP English, you're capable of this. Because I know that more than anything else, your ACT score is a reflection of how hard you work and how smartly you study. ACT Reading is Designed to Trick You. You Need to Learn How Here's why: the ACT is a weird test. When you take the Reading section, don't you get the sense that the questions are nothing like what you've seen in school? I bet you've had this problem: in ACT Reading passages, you often miss questions because of an "unlucky guess." You'll try to eliminate a few answer choices, and the remaining answer choices will all sound equally good to you. Well, you throw up your hands and randomly guess. This was one of the major issues for myself when I was studying ACT Reading, and I know they affect thousands of my students at PrepScholar. The ACT is purposely designed this way to confuse you. Literally millions of other students have the exact same problem you do. And the ACT knows this. Normally in your school's English class, the teacher tells you that all interpretations of the text are valid. You can write an essay about anything you want, and English teachers aren't (usually) allowed to tell you that your opinion is wrong. This is because they can get in trouble for telling you what to think, especially for complex issues like slavery or poverty. But the ACT has an entirely different problem. It's a national test, which means it needs a level playing field for all students around the country. It needs a solid test to compare students with each other. Every question needs a single, unambiguously, 100% correct answer. There's only ever one correct answer. Find a way to eliminate three incorrect answers. Imagine if this weren't the case. Imagine that each reading answer had two answer choices that might each be plausibly correct. When the scores came out, every single student who got the question wrong would complain to the ACT, Inc. about the test being wrong. If this were true, the ACT, Inc. would then have to invalidate the question, which weakens the power of the test. The ACT, Inc. wants to avoid this nightmare scenario. Therefore, every single Reading passage question has only one, single correct answer. But the ACT disguises this fact. It asks questions that sound subjective, like: The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements? The first paragraph primarily serves to: In line 20, 'dark' most nearly means: Notice a pattern here? The ACT always disguises the fact that there's always one unambiguous answer. It tries to make you waver between two or three answer choices that are most likely. And then you guess randomly. And then you get it wrong. You can bet that students fall for this. Millions of times every year. Students who don't prepare for the ACT in the right way don't appreciate this. But, if you prepare for the ACT in the right way, you'll learn the tricks the ACT plays on you. And you'll raise your score. The ACT Reading section is full of patterns like these. To improve your score, you just need to: learn the types of questions that the ACT tests, like the one above learn strategies to solve these questions, using skills you already know practice on a lot of questions so you learn from your mistakes The point is that you can learn these skills, even if you don't consider yourself a good reader or a great English student. I'll go into more detail about exactly how to do this. One last point: let's make sure we understand how many questions we can miss and still score a 36. What It Takes to Get a 36 in Reading If we have a target score in mind, it helps to understand what you need to get that score on the actual test. Unlike for English and Math, there's a large amount of variation in grading scale for the Reading and Science sections. On some tests, a certain raw score could get you a 36; on others, that same raw score could drop you down to a 34. I've compiled the conversion tables from 4 official ACT practice tests to show you what I mean. (If you could use a refresher on how the ACT is scored and how raw scores are calculated, read this.) ACT Reading Score Raw Scores Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 36 40 38–40 40 40 35 39 37 39 39 34 38 36 38 38 33 – 35 37 – 32 37 34 36 37 31 36 – 35 36 30 35 33 34 35 29 34 32 32–33 34 28 32–33 30–31 31 33 27 31 29 30 32 Notice that Test 1 is the strictest grading scale out of the four. In this case, missing one question drops you to a 35; miss another and you'll drop to a 34; miss one more, and you drop to a 32. This is a very unforgiving test that requires perfection. Test 2, on the other hand, is much more forgiving. You can miss two questions- with a raw score of 38- and still get a 36! The reason these tests differ so much is that the ACT tries to make the scores from every test equivalent to all other tests. A 36 on one test should mean the same as a 36 on another. So if a test has particularly difficult passages or questions, they'll soften the curve. Regardless: The safest thing to do is to aim for perfection. On every practice test, you need to aim for a perfect raw score for a 36. Notice that in three of the four tests, you needed a perfect raw score to get a 36. Whatever you're scoring now, take note of the difference you need to get to a 36. For example, if you're scoring a 30 now, you need to answer five to seven more questions right to get to a 36. As a final example, here's a screenshot from my ACT score report. You can see that I likely missed one question, since I scored a 17 on Social Studies/Sciences. Also notice that a single mistake already drops me down to a 97 percentile- there are a lot of students who do extremely well on this test! OK- so we've covered why scoring a higher Reading score is important, why you specifically are capable of improving your score, and the raw score you need to get to your target. Now we'll get into the meat of the article: actionable strategies and reading tips that you should use in your own studying to maximize your score improvement. Strategies to Get a 36 on ACT Reading What's your greatest weakness? Strategy 1: Understand Your High Level Weakness: Time Management, Passage Strategy, or Vocabulary Every student has different flaws in ACT Reading. Some people don't have good strategies for tackling the passage questions. Others don't read quickly enough and struggle to get through all the questions. Here's how you can figure out which one applies more to you: Find an official ACT practice test, and take only the Reading section. We have the complete list of free practice tests here. For that section, use a timer for 35 minutes. Treat it like a real test. If time runs out and you're not done yet, keep working for as long as you need. But starting now, for every new answer or answer that you change, mark it with a special note as "Extra Time." Grade your test using the answer key and score chart, but we want two scores: the realistic score you got under normal timing conditions, and the extra time score. This is why you marked the questions you answered or changed during Extra Time. Get what we're doing here? By marking which questions you did under Extra Time, we can figure out what score you got if you were given all the time you needed. This will help us figure out where your weaknesses lie. If you didn't take any extra time, then your Extra Time score is the same as your Realistic score. Here's a flowchart to help you figure this out: Was your Extra Time score a 32 or above? If NO (Extra Time score 32), then you have remaining content weaknesses. You might have weaknesses across a range of subjects, or a deep weakness in only a few subjects. (We'll cover this later). Your first plan of attack should be to develop more comfort with all ACT Reading subjects. If YES (Extra Time score 32), then: Was your Realistic score a 32 or above? If NO (Extra Time score 32, Realistic 32), then that means you have a difference between your Extra Time score and your Realistic score. If this difference is more than 2 points, then you have some big problems with time management. We need to figure out why this is. Are you generally slow across most questions? Or did particular questions slow you down more than others? Or are you spending too much time on reading the passage? Generally, doing a lot of practice questions and learning the most efficient solutions will help reduce your time. More on this later. If YES (both Extra Time and Realistic scores 32), then you have a really good shot at getting an 36. Compare your Extra Time and Realistic score- if they differed by more than one point, then you would benefit from learning how to solve questions more quickly. If not, then you likely can benefit from shoring up on your last skill weaknesses and avoiding careless mistakes (more on this strategy later). Hopefully that makes sense. Typically I see that students have both timing and content issues, but you might find that one is much more dominant for you than the other. For example, if you can get a 36 with extra time, but score a 32 in regular time, you know exactly that you need to work on time management to get an 36. This type of analysis is so important that it's a central part of my prep program, PrepScholar. When a new student joins, he or she gets a diagnostic that figures out specific strengths and weaknesses. The program then automatically customizes your learning so that you're always studying according to where you can make the most improvement. No matter what your weakness is, my following strategies will address all weaknesses comprehensively. Strategy 2: Learn to Eliminate 3 Wrong Answers This strategy was by far the most effective for me in raising my Reading score. It completely changed the way I viewed passage questions. I spent some time talking above about how the ACT always has one unambiguous answer. This has a huge implication for the strategy you should use to find the right ACT Reading answer. Here's the other way to see it: Out of the four answer choices, three of them have something that is totally wrong about them. Only one answer is 100% correct, which means the other three are 100% wrong. You know how you try to eliminate answer choices, and then end up with a few at the end that all seem equally likely to be correct? "Well, this can work...but then again this could work as well..." STOP doing that. You're not doing a good enough job of eliminating answer choices. Remember- every single wrong choice can be crossed out for its own reasons. You need to do a 180 on your approach to Reading questions. Instead of trying to find the one right answer, find a reason to eliminate three answer choices. "Can I find a reason to eliminate this answer choice? How about this one?" You have to learn how to eliminate three answer choices for every single question. "Great, Allen. But this doesn't tell me anything about HOW to eliminate answer choices." Thanks for asking. One thing to remember is that even a single word can make an answer choice wrong. Every single word in each answer choice is put there by the ACT for a reason. If a single word in the answer choice isn't supported by the passage text, you need to eliminate it, even if the rest of the answer sounds good. There are a few classic wrong answer choices the ACT loves to use. Here's an example question. For example, let’s imagine you just read a passage talking about how human evolution shaped the environment. It gives a few examples. First, it talks about how the transition from earlier species like Homo habilis to neanderthals led to more tool usage like fire, which caused wildfires and shaped the ecology. It then talks about Homo sapiens 40,000 years ago and their overhunting of species like woolly mammoths to extinction. So then we run into a question asking, "Which of the following best describes the main subject of the passage?" Here are the answer choices: A: The transition between Homo habilis and neanderthals B: The study of evolution C: How the environment shaped human evolution D: The plausibility of evolution E: The influence of human development on ecology (I know the ACT only has four answer choices, but we'll just pretend they have five for this example to discuss the different kinds of wrong answers.) As you're reading these answer choices, a few of them probably started sounded really plausible to you. Surprise! Each of the answers from A–D has something seriously wrong about it. Each one is a classic example of a wrong answer type given by the ACT. Wrong Answer 1: Too Specific A: The transition between Homo habilis and neanderthals This type of wrong answer focuses on a smaller detail in the passage. It’s meant to trick you because you might think to yourself, "well, I see this mentioned in the passage, so it’s a plausible answer choice." Wrong! Think to yourself- can this answer choice really describe the entire passage? Can it basically function as the title of this passage? You’ll find that it’s just way too specific to convey the point of the overall passage. Wrong Answer 2: Too Broad B: The study of evolution This type of wrong answer has the opposite problem- it’s way too broad. Yes, theoretically the passage concerns the study of evolution, but only one aspect of it, and especially as it relates to the impact on the environment. To give another ludicrous example, if you talked to your friend about losing your cell phone, and he said your main point was about the universe. Yes, you were talking about the universe (since we all live in this universe), but you were talking about only a tiny, tiny fraction of it. This is way too broad. Wrong Answer 3: Reversed Relationship C: How the environment shaped human evolution This wrong answer choice can be tricky because it mentions all the right words. But of course the relationship between those words needs to be correct as well. Here, the relationship is flipped. Students who read too quickly make careless mistakes like these! Wrong Answer 4: Unrelated Concept D: The plausibility of evolution Finally, this kind of wrong answer preys on the tendency of students to overthink the question. If you’re passionate about arguing about evolution, this might be a trigger answer since any discussion of evolution becomes a chance to argue about the plausibility of evolution. Of course, this concept will appear nowhere in the passage, but some students just won’t be able to resist. Do you see the point? On the surface, each of the answer choices sounds possibly correct. A less prepared student would think that all of these were plausible answers. But plausible isn't good enough. The right answer needs to be 100%, totally right. Wrong answers might be off by even one word- you need to eliminate these. Carry this thought into every ACT Reading passage question you do and I guarantee you will start raising your score. Strategy 3: Predict the Answer Before Reading the Answer Choices As we've discussed already, the ACT is designed to goad you into making mistakes by putting really similar answer choices next to each other. In Strategy 2, we covered the strategy of ruthless, unforgiving elimination of answer choices. Here's another Strategy that works well for me. Before reading the answer choices, come up with your own answer to the question. Gaze into your crystal ball and predict the right answer. This strategy is exactly designed to counteract the trickiness of the answer choices. If you don't apply this strategy, your thinking process likely resembles something like this: "OK, I just read the question. Answer A is definitely out. B can kind of work. C...it doesn't exactly fit, but I can see how it can work." and so on. By now, you've already fallen into ACT, Inc.'s trap of starting to muddle the answer choices. Take the opposite approach. While you're reading the question, come up with your own ideal answer to the question before reading the answer choices. This prevents you from getting biased by the ACT's answer choices, especially the incorrect ones. If it's a "Big Picture" type question asking about the main point of the passage, answer for yourself, "What would make a good title for this passage?" If it's an "Inference" question, answer for yourself, "What would the author think about the situation given in the question?" Even if you can't answer the question straight away- for example, if you have to refer back to the line number to remember what the passage was saying- try to form a hunch briefly before looking at the answer choices. (There are of course some detail-oriented questions that are hard to solve this way. For example, questions that ask "All of these were mentioned as details EXCEPT FOR" require you to look at the passage. Even in these cases, you can form hunches about details that you remember reading about, and those you don't.) The key here is that the passage must support your answer choice. Every correct answer on ACT passages needs to be justified by the passage- otherwise the answer would be ambiguous, which would cause problems of cancelling questions I referred to earlier. Note that this only works if you can read and understand passages well! That's why I don't recommend this strategy yet before you hit a 26 level since you're more likely to come up with the wrong answer choice in your head. Strategy 4: Experiment with Passage Reading Strategies and Find the Best for You In your prep for the ACT, you may have read different strategies for how to read a passage and answer questions. Some students read the questions before reading the passage. Others read the passage in detail first. At your high level, I can't predict which method will work best for you. We're going for perfection, which means that your strategy needs to line up with your strengths and weaknesses perfectly, or else you'll make mistakes or run out of time. What I will do, however, is go through the most effective methods. You'll then have to figure out through your test data which one leads to the highest score for you. Passage Method 1: Skim the Passage, then Read the Questions This is the most common strategy I recommend to our students, and in my eyes the most effective. I prefer this one myself. Here it is: Skim the passage on the first read through. Don't try to understand every single line, or write notes predicting what the questions will be. Just get a general understanding of the passage. You want to try to finish reading the passage in three minutes, if possible. Next, go to the questions. If the question refers to a line number, then go back to that line number and understand the text around it. If you can't answer a question within 30 seconds, skip it. My preferred way to tackle a passage: skimming it on the first read-through. This strategy is a revelation for students who used to close-read every detail about a passage and run out of time. This skimming method works because the questions will ask about far fewer lines than the passage actually contains. For example, lines 5-20 of a reading passage might not be relevant to any question that follows. Therefore, if you spend time trying to deeply understand lines 5-20, you’ll be wasting time. By taking the opposite approach of going back to the passage when you need to refer to it, you guarantee reading efficiency. You're focusing only on the parts of the passage that are important to answering questions. Critical Skill: You must be able to skim effectively. This means being able to quickly digest a text without having to slowly read every word. If you're not quite good at this yet, practice it on newspaper articles and your homework reading. Passage Method 2: Read the Questions First and Mark the Passage This is the second most common strategy and, if used well, as effective as the first method. But it has some pitfalls if you don't do it correctly. Here's how it goes: Before you read the passage, go to the questions and read each one. If the question refers to a series of lines, mark those lines on the passage. Take a brief note about the gist of the question. Go back to the passage and skim it. When you reach one of your notes, slow down and take more notice of the question. Answer the questions. Here's an example passage that I marked up, with questions on the right. Notice that beyond marking the lines and phrases referenced in the question, I left clues for myself on what's important to get out of this phrase. In the hands of an ACT expert, this is a powerful strategy. Just like Method 1 above, you save time by skipping parts of the passage that aren't asked about. Furthermore, you get a head start on the questions by trying to answer them beforehand. But there are serious potential pitfalls to this method if you're not careful or prepared enough. Here's one: when you first read the questions before the passage, you won't have enough time to digest the actual answer choices (nor will they make sense to you). So you have to make your best guess for what the question is asking when you're writing a note along the passage. In some cases, this can lead you astray. Take this example from above: When I read the question, I saw that it referred to lines 75-76, starting with "Like an eagle." So I marked this in the passage and added a note to myself: "Meaning?" The problem is, it's not obvious what this is supposed to mean. What does it mean for a person's words to "slip regally and strike with awful ease?" This is especially difficult with figurative language. If I were the obsessive type, I might struggle for far too long trying to understand what this means. What meaning am I supposed to extract from these lines? How deeply should I read into this? But when I read the answer choices, I can see the answer choice is actually pretty obvious. The line is referring to the rich customer's words. It has nothing to do with the narrator and her relationship with her parents. It's clear then that the answer is G. The customer is implying that most of the house is dirty, and that the narrator's mother should take care to find a place where there aren't cockroaches scampering about. Critical Skill: You need to have so much experience with the ACT Reading section that you can anticipate what the question is going to ask you for your notes to be helpful. If you're not sure of this, you can easily be led down the wrong track and focus on the wrong aspect of the passage. Passage Method 3: Read the Passage In Detail, then Answer Questions This method is what beginner students usually use by default, because it's what they've been trained to do in school. Some beginner books like Princeton Review and Kaplan also suggest this as a strategy. It's my least favorite method because there are so many ways for it to go wrong. But for the sake of completeness, I'm listing it here in case it works best for you. Here's how it goes: Read the passage in detail, line by line. Take notes to yourself about the main point of each paragraph. Answer the questions. As you might guess, I don't like this method for the following reasons: By reading the passage closely, you absorb a lot of details that aren't useful for answering questions. The notes you take aren't directed toward helping you answer the questions. By interpreting the passage ahead of time, you risk being led astray. But this might work especially well for you if you're very good at reading for understanding, and if you have so much expertise with the ACT that you can predict what the test is going to ask you about anyway. This can also work if taking notes forces you to read the passage much more closely than you would otherwise. In all other cases, I haven't seen this strategy work very well. Choose Which Works Best for You, Based on Test Data Because I can't predict which one will work best for you, you need to figure this out yourself. To do this, you need cold, hard data from your test scores. Try each method on two sample test passages each, and tally up your percentage score for each. If one of them is a clear winner for you, then develop that method further. If there isn't a clear winner, choose the one that feels most comfortable for you. As part of our PrepScholar program, we give you advanced statistics on your score performance so that you can experiment with methods that work best for you. Next strategy: find your weak links and fix them. Strategy 5: Understand Every Single Mistake You Make On the path to perfection, you need to make sure every single one of your weak points is covered. Even just two mistakes will knock you down from a 36. The first step is simply to do a ton of practice. If you're studying from free materials or from books, you have access to a lot of practice questions in bulk. As part of our PrepScholar program, we have over 1,500 ACT questions customized to each skill. The second step- and the more important part- is to be ruthless about understanding your mistakes. Every mistake you make on a test happens for a reason. If you don't understand exactly why you missed that question, you will make that mistake over and over again. I've seen students who have done 20 practice tests. They've solved over 3,000 questions, but they're still nowhere near a 36 on ACT Reading. Why? They never understood their mistakes. They just hit their heads against the wall over and over again. Think of yourself as an exterminator, and your mistakes are cockroaches. You need to eliminate every single one- and find the source of each one- or else the restaurant you work for will be shut down. Here's what you need to do: On every practice test or question set that you take, mark every question that you're even 20% unsure about. When you grade your test or quiz, review every single question that you marked, and every incorrect question. This way even if you guessed a question correctly, you'll make sure to review it. In a notebook, write down the gist of the question, why you missed it, and what you'll do to avoid that mistake in the future. Have separate sections by question type (vocab questions, big picture questions, inference questions, etc.). It's not enough to just think about it and move on. It's not enough to just read the answer explanation. You have to think hard about why you specifically failed on this question. By taking this structured approach to your mistakes, you'll now have a running log of every question you missed, and your reflection on why. No excuses when it comes to your mistakes. Always Go Deeper- Why Did You Miss a Reading Question? Now, what are some common reasons that you missed a question? Don't just say, "I didn't get this question right." That's a cop out. Always take it one step further- what specifically did you miss, and what do you have to improve in the future? Here are some examples of common reasons you miss a Reading question, and how you take the analysis one step further: Elimination: I couldn't eliminate enough incorrect answer choices, or I eliminated the correct answer. One step further: Why couldn't I eliminate the answer choice during the test? How can I eliminate answer choices like this in the future? Careless Error: I misread what the question was asking for or answered for the wrong thing. One step further: Why did I misread the question? What should I do in the future to avoid this? Vocab: I didn't know what the key word meant. One step further: What word was this? What is the definition? Are there other words in this question I didn't know? Get the idea? You're really digging into understanding why you're missing questions. Yes, this is hard, and it's draining, and it takes work. That's why most students who study ineffectively don't improve. But you're different. Just by reading this guide, you're already proving that you care more than other students. And if you apply these principles and analyze your mistakes, you'll improve more than other students too. Reviewing mistakes is so important that in PrepScholar, for every one of our 1,500+ practice questions, we explain in detail how to get the correct answer, and why incorrect answers are wrong. We also point out bait answers so that you can you can learn the tricks that the ACT plays on test takers like you. Bonus Tip: Re-solve the Question Before Reading the Answer Explanation When you're reviewing practice questions, the first thing you probably do is read the answer explanation and at most reflect on it a little. This is a little too easy. I consider this passive learning- you're not actively engaging with the mistake you made. Instead, try something different- find the correct answer choice (A-D or F-J), but don't look at the explanation. Instead, try to re-solve the question once over again and try to get to the correct answer. This will often be hard. You couldn't solve it the first time, so why could you solve it the second time around? But this time, with less time pressure, you might spot a new reason to eliminate the wrong answer choice, or something else will pop up. Something will just "click" for you. When this happens, what you learned will stick with you for 20 times longer than if you just read an answer explanation. I know this from personal experience. Because you've struggled with it and reached a breakthrough, you retain that information far better than if you just passively absorbed the information. It's too easy to just read an answer explanation and have it go in one ear and out the other. You won't actually learn from your mistake, and you'll make that mistake over and over again. Treat each wrong question like a puzzle. Struggle with each wrong answer for up to 10 minutes. Only then if you don't get it should you read the answer explanation. Strategy 6: Find Your Reading Skill Weaknesses and Drill Them Reading passage questions might look similar, but they actually test very different skills. At PrepScholar we believe the major passage skills to be: #1: Big Picture/Main Point: What is the main point of the passage or paragraph?#2: Little Picture/Detail: What does this small detail mean? Where in the passage was the following detailed mentioned?#3: Inference: What would the author most likely feel about the following hypothetical scenario?#4: Vocabulary in Context: What does this word or phrase mean in the context of the passage?#5: Author Method: How does the author construct the passage? What is the author's purpose in utilizing the following method? Each of these question types uses different skills in how you read and analyze a passage. They each require a different method of prep and focused practice. Luckily, there aren't very many unique skills on ACT Reading. There are only five above, compared to 18 for ACT English, and 24 for ACT Math. The passage tends to repeat these types of questions over and over again for the entire section. The flipside is, getting better at these skills is often a bit harder than mastering a narrow math skill like trigonometry. Because you've been reading and making logical arguments your entire life, bad habits are a lot harder to unlearn. The ACT requires a lot of skills. Make sure you know which ones are your weaknesses. If you're like most students, you're better at some areas in Reading than others. You might be better at getting the Big Picture of a passage, compared to the Inference. Or you might be great at reading passages quickly, but bad at memorizing details. If you're like most students, you also don't have an unlimited amount of time to study. This means for every hour you study for the ACT, it needs to be the most effective hour possible. In concrete terms, you need to find your greatest areas of improvement and work on those. Too many students study the "dumb" way. They just buy a book and read it cover to cover. When they don't improve, they're shocked. I'm not. Studying effectively for the ACT isn't like painting a house. You're not trying to cover all your bases with a very thin layer of understanding. What these students did wrong was they wasted time on subjects they already knew, and they didn't spend enough time on their weaknesses. Instead, studying effectively for the ACT is like plugging up the holes of a leaky boat. You need to find the biggest hole, and fill it. Then you find the next biggest hole, and you fix that. Soon you'll find that your boat isn't sinking at all. How does this relate to ACT Reading? You need to find the sub-skills that you're weakest in, and then drill those until you're no longer weak in them. Fixing up the biggest holes. Within reading, you need to figure out whether you have patterns to your mistakes. Is it that you don't get Inference questions? Or maybe you're really weak at interpreting details? Or from Strategy 1: is it that you're running out of time in reading passages? For every question that you miss, you need to identify the type of question it is. When you notice patterns to the questions you miss, you then need to find extra practice for this subskill. Say you miss a lot of inference questions (this is typically the hardest type of question for students to get). You need to find a way to get focused practice questions for this skill so you can drill your mistakes. Bonus: If all of this is making sense to you, you'd love our ACT prep program, PrepScholar. We designed our program around the concepts in this article, because they actually work. When you start with PrepScholar, you’ll take a diagnostic that will determine your weaknesses in over forty ACT skills. PrepScholar then creates a study program specifically customized for you. To improve each skill, you’ll take focused lessons dedicated to each skill, with over 20 practice questions per skill. This will train you for your specific area weaknesses, so your time is always spent most effectively to raise your score. We also force you to focus on understanding your mistakes and learning from them. If you make the same mistake over and over again, we'll call you out on it. There’s no other prep system out there that does it this way, which is why we get better score results than any other program on the market. Check it out today with a 5-day free trial: Strategy 7: Force Yourself to Be Fascinated by the Passage Subject Matter The ACT has passages about a lot of weird topics. Victorian novels, underwater basket-weaving, and the evolution of gerbils are all fair game. It's unlikely that you're naturally thrilled about all the subjects you'll read about. This makes it easy to tune out when you're reading the passage. This makes it harder to answer the questions, which will make you more frustrated. Instead, adopt this mindset: For the next 10 minutes, I am the world's most passionate person about whatever subject this passage is about. For every single passage, be as excited as she is. Force yourself to care about what the passage is telling you. Pretend that your life depends on understanding this passage. Maybe you're about to give a lecture on this subject. Or someone's holding a puppy hostage if you don't answer enough questions correctly. When I was preparing for the ACT in high school, I even took this so extremely that I ended up genuinely interested in whatever the passage was telling me about. I remember reading a passage about Native American life and thinking, "Wow, I'm really glad I just learned this." (I know this sounds crazy.) If you stay engaged while reading, you'll understand the passage so much better, and you'll answer questions with way more accuracy. Strategy 8: Finish With Extra Time and Double-Check Your goal at the end of all this work is to get so good at ACT Reading that you solve every question and have extra time left over at the end of the section to recheck your work. I'll admit, this is hard for the ACT. You have 35 minutes for 40 questions, which means less than 10 minutes per passage and less than 60 seconds per question on average. After reading the passage, this might mean less than 30-40 seconds per question. But you get better at speed. In high school and even now, I can finish the 40 minute Reading section in 30 minutes or less. I then have 10 minutes left over to recheck my answers two times over. The best way to get faster is, as explained above, to choose an efficient reading strategy that works best for you, and to do so many questions that you're fluent at interpreting what the ACT wants you to do. Here are some time benchmarks that might help: You should finish skimming a long passage within three minutes. This ultimately means less than two seconds per line. If a question takes you more than 30 seconds to solve, and you're not within 30 seconds of the answer, skip it immediately. If you can do this well, you'll get a little less than a minute per remaining passage question. What's the best way to double-check your work? I have a reliable method that I follow: Double-check any questions you marked that you're unsure of. Try hard to eliminate answer choices. Make sure that the passage supports your answer. If I'm 100% sure I'm right on a question, I mark it as such and never look at it again. If I'm not sure, I'll come back to it on the third pass. At least two minutes before time's up, I rapidly double-check that I bubbled the answers correctly. I try to do this all at once so as not to waste time looking back and forth between the test book and the answer sheet. Go five at a time ("A J D F B") for more speed. If you notice yourself spending more than 30 seconds on a problem and aren't clear how you'll get to the answer, skip and go to the next question. Even though you need a near perfect raw score for a 36, don't be afraid to skip. You can come back to it later, and for now it's more important to get as many points as possible. Quick Tip: Bubbling Answers Here's a bubbling tip that will save you two minutes per section. When I first started test taking in high school, I did what many students do: after I finished one question, I went to the bubble sheet and filled it in. Then I solved the next question. Finish question 1, bubble in answer 1. Finish question 2, bubble in answer 2. And so forth. This actually wastes a lot of time. You're distracting yourself between two distinct tasks- solving questions, and bubbling in answers. This costs you time in both mental switching costs and in physically moving your hand and eyes to different areas of the test. Here's a better method: solve all your questions first in the book, then bubble all of them in at once. This has several huge advantages: you focus on each task one at a time, rather than switching between two different tasks. You also eliminate careless entry errors, like if you skip question 7 and bubble in question 8's answer into question 7's slot. By saving just five seconds per question, you get back 200 seconds on a section that has 40 questions. This is huge. Note: If you use this strategy, you should already be finishing the section with ample extra time to spare. Otherwise, you might run out of time before you have the chance to bubble in the answer choices all at once. Strategy 9: Be Ready for Turbulence in Scores Now you know what it takes to achieve perfection in ACT Reading. You know the best strategies to use for tackling the passage. You know how to identify your weaknesses and learn from them. You know how to save time, and you know to stay engaged while reading a passage. Even despite all this, sometimes a passage just won't click with you. Of all ACT sections, I find that Reading has the most volatile score. How you vibe with a passage has a big impact on your score. You might get a string of questions wrong just because you couldn't really understand what the passage was really about. This doesn't happen on Math or Writing. No matter what happens, you need to keep calm and keep working. You might swing from a 36 on one practice test to a 32 on another. Don't let that faze you. Remember from the scoring charts above that there's a huge variation from test to test, which also suggests that students tend to vary significantly from test to test. Don't start doubting all the hard work you've put in. Keep a calm head, and, like always, work hard on reviewing your mistakes. This might even happen on the real ACT. You might get below your target score and be crestfallen. Pick yourself up. This happens. If you've consistently been getting 36's on practice tests, you should take the test again and try to score higher. Very likely, you will. And because many schools nowadays Superscore the ACT, you can combine that new 36 with your other sections for an awesome ACT score. Strategy 10: Don't Focus On Reading Other Texts One strategy for ACT Reading I hear proposed often is to read a lot of advanced writing like the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, and the New Yorker. Their logic is, the more you practice reading, the better you'll get at ACT Reading. This seems so plainly obvious that many don't question it. I don't fully agree with this approach. As I mentioned above, ACT Reading tests very specific skill sets- can you read a passage of a certain length and type, and can you answer specific types of questions about it. When you're reading a text casually, you're not going to treat it with the same type of scrutiny and mindset. You're in more of a general understanding mode, trying to get the gist of the reading. You're not actively in the mindset to pick apart what specific lines mean, or to infer what the author would feel about a specific situation. If you'd have to force yourself to read an hour a day to pick up this habit, it's far more effective to practice on ACT Reading passages. The skills you'll use align far more closely this way. Now, if reading these texts is already part of your regular routine, by all means continue doing it. You're likely reading at a very high level, and you can only get better at reading more quickly and with better comprehension. But if these kinds of texts are difficult for you, or you don't regularly do this as a habit, focus your time on the ACT. Your score will thank you. (Note that reading in general is a fantastic habit, and as a nation we don't do enough of it. It can lead to a lot of personal growth, so I encourage you to do it for your overall growth- just not if the purpose is to improve at ACT Reading). In Overview Those are the main strategies I have for you to improve your ACT Reading score to a 36. If you're scoring above a 26 right now, with hard work and smart studying, you can raise it to a perfect ACT Reading score. Even though we covered a lot of strategies, the main point is still this: you need to understand where you're falling short, and drill those weaknesses continuously. You need to be thoughtful about your mistakes and leave no mistake ignored. Keep reading for more resources on how to boost your ACT score. What's Next? We have a lot more useful guides to raise your ACT score. Read our accompanying guide to a 36 on ACT Math. Read our complete guide to a perfect 36, written by me, a perfect scorer. Learn how to write a perfect-scoring 12 ACT essay, step by step. 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