Public Health and Page Ref Essay Example

Public Health and Page Ref Paper Access to Health, 13e (Donatelle) Chapter 1 Accessing Your Health 1) Which of the following individual choices has a major effect on both current health and projected life expectancy? A) Genetic tendency toward obesity. B) Pollution C) Level of education D) Smoking Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 3 Skill: Analyzing 2) The medical model of health would most likely focus on which of the following? A) Controlling air and water pollution B) Lifestyle interventions to prevent chronic diseases C) Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics D) Serving marginalized populations Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 6 Skill: Understanding 3) The number of years a person is anticipated to live based on conditions at the time of birth is A) life expectancy. B) population control. C) mortality. D) morbidity. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 4) Which of the following were cited by college students in a national survey as major impediments to performing well academically? A) Pressure from parents and family members B) Stress, anxiety, and sleep difficulties C) Repeated strep infections D) Carrying a too-heavy course load Answer: B Diff: 1 Page Ref: 3 Skill: Understanding/Analyzing 1 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 5) What is the leading cause of death in the United States across all age groups? A) Heart disease B) Cancer C) Cerebrovascular disease D) Unintentional injuries Answer: A Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 6) Which of the following describes the rate of deaths within a certain population? A) Prevalence B) Life expectancy C) Mortality D) Morbidity Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 7) Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are examples of A) chronic disease. B) hereditary disease. C) communicable disease. D) acute disease. Answer: A We will write a custom essay sample on Public Health and Page Ref specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Public Health and Page Ref specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Public Health and Page Ref specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Remembering 8) SINCE THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF AMERICANS HAS A) increased by more than 10 years. B) increased by more than 20 years. C) increased by more than 30 years. D) increased by more than 40 years. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 9) Healthy life expectancy refers to the number of years a person can expect to live A) while covered by Medicare. B) without chronic pain, disability, or significant illness. C) without pain or short-term or long-term disability. D) without cancer or diabetes. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Remembering 2 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 10) Life expectancy 100 years ago was largely determined by A) medical history. B) lifestyle choices. C) susceptibility to chronic disease. D) susceptibility to infectious disease. Answer: D Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding/Evaluating 11) The term health is often interchangeable with the term A) adaptability. B) flexibility. C) wellness. D) pain-free. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 6 Skill: Remembering 12) Jerome eats healthy foods, exercises regularly, gets eight hours of sleep each night, and rarely becomes ill. His ability to ward off illness is related to which dimension of health? A) Social B) Intellectual C) Physical D) Emotional Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 8 Skill: Applying 13) Jasmine has many friends, is respected by her coworkers, and maintains a great relationship with her boyfriend. Her ability to interact with others exemplifies which dimension of health? A) Social B) Intellectual C) Emotional D) Physical Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 8 Skill: Applying 14) Rashid volunteers weekly to help pick up trash in his neighborhood. This action contributes to improving which dimension of his health? A) Intellectual. B) Social C) Environmental D) Spiritual Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Applying 3 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 15) Which of the following best describes emotional health? A) Ability to be self-sufficient B) Ability to solve problems C) Ability to express or control feelings D) Ability to adapt to various social situations Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 16) An example of intellectual health is A) having a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. B) successfully interacting with others. C) having low self-efficacy. D) having a healthy curiosity about life in general. Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 17) Which of the following best describes spiritual health? A) Possessing and expressing a purpose in life B) Expressing emotions C) Having satisfying relationships D) Being able to reason and think objectively Answer: A Diff: 1 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 18) A multidimensional concept of health that includes elements of physical, mental, emotional, and social function is A) physical and emotional health. B) holistic health care. C) health-related quality of life. D) healthy life expectancy. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Understanding. 19) The first step in modifying your health behavior to achieve overall wellness is to A) review your medical records and schedule a physical examination by a doctor. B) become aware of individual behaviors that contribute to or detract from your health. C) complete a detailed behavior change contract. D) find a reliable support person or support group. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 10 Skill: Understanding 4 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 20) Holistic wellness involves A) integrating mind, body, and spiritual components. B) taking nutritional supplements daily. C) combining exercise with some form of meditation. D) consuming organic foods and being treated by a naturopathic doctor. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Applying 21) The range of factors that influence a persons health status are known as A) ethnic or cultural traditions. B) determinants of health. C) age-related conditions. D) genetic influences on health. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 22) Determinants of health include A) personal, social, economic, and environmental factors. B) physical, intellectual, spiritual, and cultural factors. C) nutritional, social, financial, and environmental factors. D) genetic and lifestyle factors. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 23) Which of the following methods is an example of successful lifestyle change? A) Making a New Years resolution to stop smoking again after failing in the past B) Creating a demanding workout plan in hopes of someday losing weight C) Beginning a daily walking program and gradually increasing your time and distance D) Stopping smoking cold turkey Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 16 Skill: Applying 24) Jackson made a goal to quit smoking by the end of the year through a lot of hard work and willpower. When he achieved this goal, he bought himself a new car. This is an example of A) repeated enabling. B) social reinforcement. C) positive reinforcement. D) negative reinforcement. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Understanding/Applying 5 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 25) Moving from thinking about starting an exercise program to joining a club, working with a trainer to set goals, and showing up for workouts is an example of which model of behavior change? A) Health belief model B) Social cognitive model C) Transtheoretical model D) Contemplation model Answer: C Diff: 3 Page Ref: 16 Skill: Understanding 26) Tasks that are necessary for normal functioning in society are known as A) activities of daily living. B) high-level tasks. C) low-level tasks. D) vocational activities. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 8 Skill: Remembering 27) Mark is a junior in college and plans to move to his own apartment before his senior year. He hopes to quit drinking, get more sleep, and spend more time exercising and studying instead of spending so much of his free time on Facebook. The best plan for Mark to succeed is for him to A) make a chart with an algorithm for coordinating all the changes. B) try to change all of his bad behaviors at once. C) select the most important behavior to change and take things one step at a time. D) worry about changing behaviors later because hell have plenty of time to change after he finishes college. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 17-18 Skill: Applying 28) Which of the following factors would be considered a nonmodifiable determinant of health? A) Sexual behavior B) Sleep habits C) Geographic location D) Genetics Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 10 Skill: Understanding 6 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 29) Which of the following is an example of a belief? A) Disliking the smell of cigarette smoke B) Thinking that smoking is unhealthy and causes cancer C) Being happy no one is smoking near you D) Understanding that smoking has become more prevalent among teenagers Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 14 Skill: Understanding 30) Marissa has tried to quit smoking several times but ultimately failed because she lost motivation and didnt believe she could succeed. Which of the following may have contributed to her failure? A) She has a strong internal locus of control. B) She has high self-efficacy. C) She has a strong external locus of control. D) She has a strong, positive support group. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 19-20 Skill: Analyzing 31) Because both of Johns parents smoke, John has a higher-than-average chance of being a smoker. This is an example of A) a reinforcing factor. B) a predisposing factor. C) a confirming factor. D) an enabling factor. Answer: B Diff: 3 Page Ref: 17 Skill: Understanding 32) Which of the following best describes an enabling factor? A) Living near a hiking trail when you want to begin a walking program B) Nagging your parents because they smoke C) Encouraging your spouse to go to the fitness club with you. D) Having friends who dont exercise, but you want to start a fitness program Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 17 Skill: Understanding 33) Poor housing, lack of funds for adequate food and clothes, and insecure employment are which type of factors that negatively affect human health? A) Biological B) Economic C) Behavioral D) Genetic Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11 Skill: Understanding 7 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 34) Carrie grew up in an active family. Now that Carrie lives on her own, her family continues to check in to see if she is making time for exercise. They praise her for joining a fitness club and  keeping to a workout schedule. This is an example of A) a predisposing factor. B) a confirming factor. C) a reinforcing factor. D) an enabling factor. Answer: C Diff: 3 Page Ref: 17 Skill: Applying 35) Which model explains why a young woman who smokes is NOT likely to quit because she does not think she will get lung disease, and quitting will result in weight gain? A) Health belief model B) Social cognitive model C) Transtheoretical model D) Behavior change model Answer: A Diff: 3 Page Ref: 14 Skill: Applying 36) Marias husband has agreed to join her in an exercise program. Theyve scheduled times to meet to run at a local park. This is an example of A) reward. B) social support. C) enabling. D) readiness. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20-21 Skill: Applying 37) Agents in the physical environment that can be harmful to health include which of the following? A) Minerals B) Toxins C) Water D) Nutrients Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11 Skill: Understanding 8 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 38) Which of the following groups of actions would most likely reduce a persons risk of premature death? A) Not smoking, avoiding junk foods, and maintaining a healthy weight. B) Wearing a seat belt only when driving on the freeway and avoiding second-hand smoke C) Using natural dietary supplements, working the night shift, and spending frugally D) Avoiding excessive sun exposure and seeing at least two specialists each year Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Analyzing 39) Setting achievable and incremental goals and rewarding yourself for progress are proven tips for maintaining A) ongoing support from others. B) motivation for behavior change. C) an outstanding academic record. D) a lower body-mass index. Answer: B Diff: 3 Page Ref: 19. Skill: Understanding 40) Selective smoking bans and child restraint laws designed to protect the health of citizens are examples of A) publicity campaigns. B) public policies. C) profiling. D) public health research. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11 Skill: Understanding/Applying 41) The perceived source or cause (internal or external) of events in a persons life is known as his or her A) locus of control. B) ability to reason. C) stages of behavior change. D) sense of victimization. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Understanding 9 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 42) Jules is trying to lose weight. When she craves a high-fat treat from the local ice cream shop, she is prepared to allow herself a cup of low-fat frozen yogurt in her favorite flavor. The tactic she is using to avoid eating more calories is A) rewarding. B) manipulating. C) negotiating. D) countering. Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 22 Skill: Applying 43) An example of shaping is A) starting with small changes in behavior and gradually increasing the changes. B) using specific exercises to mold your body to a desired image. C) trying to influence your younger brothers behavior with rewards. D) watching a friends behavior and then trying to mimic him or her. Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Applying 44) Using rational, positive statements and deliberately blocking negative thoughts are ways to avoid negative A) influences. B) actions. C) self-talk. D) awareness. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 22 Skill: Applying 45) Visualizing yourself successfully losing 15 pounds by choosing healthy foods at your favorite restaurant is an example of A) situational inducement. B) planned control. C) imagined rehearsal. D) modeling. Answer: C Diff: 2 Page Ref: 21 Skill: Understanding/Applying. 10 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 46) Rewarding yourself for reaching your weight loss goal with a trip to Hawaii is an example of which type of reinforcer? A) Activity B) Possessional C) Manipulative D) Social Answer: A Diff: 2 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Understanding/Applying 47) Observing a friends success at quitting smoking has helped you to quit a few months later, which demonstrates the process of A) copying. B) shaping. C) mirroring. D) modeling. Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 21 Skill: Applying 48) Carlos wants to avoid overeating and eating unhealthy food. Because of this, he may decline  invitations when his friends ask him to join them at a fast food restaurant. Which method is Carlos using to control the risk of overeating? A) Modeling B) Imagined rehearsal C) Consumable reinforcer D) Situational inducement Answer: D Diff: 2 Page Ref: 22 Skill: Applying 49) Which of the following is the best example of a realistic, specific, and attainable goal? A) I will lose a lot of weight. B) I will lose 1 pound a week over the next four weeks. C) I will lose 10 pounds if I start exercising. D) I will lose 10 pounds if I start exercising and stop eating after 8:00 p. m. Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Understanding/Applying 11 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 50) Lower health insurance rates for nonsmokers serves as which type of reinforcer? A) Possessional B) Manipulative C) Social D) Activity Answer: B Diff: 2 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Understanding/Evaluating 51) Behavior is a nonmodifiable determinant. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 10 Skill: Remembering 52) Health disparities are differences in the levels of health and disease among specific population groups, such as the low-income or uninsured. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 14-15 Skill: Understanding. 53) More people across all age groups die from cancer than any other chronic disease. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 54) Daily choices influence an individuals health status and well-being. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 3 Skill: Understanding 55) The medical model of health focuses on the individuals reaction to his or her social and physical environment. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 6 Skill: Understanding 56) In the early 1900s, the ecological model or public health model became a major focus of health investigation. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 6-7. Skill: Remembering 57) Effectively controlling anger demonstrates intellectual health. Answer: FALSE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Applying 12 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 58) The primary goal of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is to provide access to health insurance for millions of uninsured Americans. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 13 Skill: Understanding 59) Today, quality of life is recognized as being as important as years of life. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Understanding 60) ACCORDING TO MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY STATISTICS, IN THE 21ST CENTURY, A PERSON IS MORE LIKELY TO  die from an infectious disease rather than from a chronic disease. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Understanding 61) Tran is a 47-year-old-male who suffered a knee injury in high school while playing football. This injury is a biological determinant of health. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 10 Skill: Understanding 62) The average life expectancy for an American child born in 2012 is 78. 5 years. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Remembering 63) Obesity creates a burden on the overall U. S. economy. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Understanding. 64) Mortality is defined as the proportion of deaths to the population. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 4 Skill: Remembering 65) Under the Affordable Care Act, new health plans are banned from imposing deductibles. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 13 Skill: Understanding 13 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 66) Life expectancy may decline in coming years due to the prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5 Skill: Understanding 67) Today, the concept of adaptability is a key element in the overall definition of health. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 7-8. Skill: Understanding 68) Believing that you will be able to run two mile miles without stopping by the end of the semester demonstrates self-efficacy. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 19 Skill: Applying 69) A person who has the attitude, knowledge, skills, and resources to make change possible possesses ambition. Answer: FALSE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 19 Skill: Understanding 70) Learning communication and relationship skills can enhance the social dimension of health. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 8-9 Skill: Applying 71) Having high self-esteem always improves the intellectual dimension of health. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 72) Losing your temper because someone said something that made you angry demonstrates an external locus of control. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Applying 73) Developing better problem-solving and decision-making skills enhances the emotional dimension of health. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 14 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 74) Positive reinforcers are punishments for not accomplishing goals. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Understanding. 75) Actions taken or changes in behavior designed to treat an existing illness are part of disease prevention. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 7 Skill: Understanding 76) Spiritual health encompasses more than simply religious beliefs. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 77) Attaining the optimal level of well-being for your unique limitations and strengths is known as wellness. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 78) Adolescent teens having access to cigarette vending machines is an example of a positive reinforcing factor that can influence smoking behavior. Answer: FALSE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Applying 79) Healthy People 2020 is the Surgeon Generals health promotion plan to improve the quality of life and years of life for all Americans. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 9 Skill: Understanding 80) Global warming, decreased water supplies, and toxic chemicals are serious health threats with far-reaching effects worldwide. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11 Skill: Understanding 81) Risk behaviors are those actions that increase the likelihood of negative health outcomes. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 7 Skill: Understanding 15. Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 82) The Summary Plan Description (SPD) explains covered services, benefits, deductibles, copays, and network rules under a specific health insurance plan. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 12 Skill: Understanding 83) A reinforcing factor of your weight management program would be having your clothes fit better. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 16 Skill: Applying 84) Locus of control may be internal or external. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 19-20 Skill: Understanding 85) Asking your doctor to help you obtain the lowest-cost care is inappropriate. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 12 Skill: Applying 86) A consumable reinforcer could be a healthy edible item that you enjoy. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 23 Skill: Understanding 87) The three components of the social cognitive model of behavior change are thoughts, behavior, and genetics. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 15 Skill: Understanding 88) When a person who wants to eat healthier and lose weight clears out unhealthy foods from the refrigerator and pantry, this is an example of situational inducement. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 22 Skill: Understanding 89) Economic status and geographic location have very little influence on a persons health status. Answer: FALSE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 15 Skill: Understanding 16 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 90) Obesity, sedentary lifestyles, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and illegal drug use result in direct and indirect costs to society. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5-6 Skill: Evaluating 91) List and briefly explain the six steps of the transtheoretical (stages of change) model of behavior change. Answer: 1. Precontemplation no current intention to change. 2. Contemplation recognizing there is a problem but not yet planning to change. 3. Preparation coming up with a plan for change. 4. Action taking real steps to achieve goals. 5. Maintenance continues to make changes a permanent part of life. 6. Termination new behavior has become part of daily living, so ongoing vigilance may not be needed. Diff: 3 Page Ref: 16 Skill: Understanding/Applying 92) Explain the purpose of a behavior change contract and how it can help you make a positive change. Answer: A behavior change contract functions as a promise to yourself, a public declaration of  your intentions, an organized plan for change, a way to identify barriers to change and determine how to overcome them, a list of sources of support, and a reminder of the benefits of sticking to your plan. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 21 Skill: Understanding/Applying 93) Compare and contrast the medical model and public health models of health. Answer: The medical model focuses on the individual, his or her tissues and organs, and the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The public health model (also known as the ecological model) views diseases and negative health events as resulting from an individual interacting with  his or her social and physical environment. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 6-7 Skill: Analyzing 94) Explain the nature of SMART goals. Answer: SMART goals are: Specific with a defined outcome Measurable can be objectively observed and measured Action-oriented involve specific tasks or actions Realistic are likely to be accomplished Time-oriented involve the commitment of a specific amount of time Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Remembering 17 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 95) When analyzing your behavior prior to making a change, which factors must you examine before making your plan? Answer: You should examine your current health habit and patterns, including: How long has the behavior been going on? How frequently does the behavior occur? How serious are the short-term and long-term consequences of this behavior? Why have you continued this problematic behavior? What kinds of situations trigger the behavior? Are other people involved? If yes, how do they influence your behavior? Diff: 2 Page Ref: 16 Skill: Understanding/Applying 96) What is self-efficacy, and why is it important in making a behavior change? Answer: Self-efficacy is an individuals belief that he or she is capable of performing a task  successfully and of achieving specific goals. If an individual approaches a behavior change with a high level of self-efficacy, his or her chances of success will be much greater. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 19 Skill: Understanding/Applying 97) Differentiate between the health belief model, social cognitive model, and transtheoretical (stages of change) model of behavior change. Answer: 1. The health belief model addresses three factors that must exist before a person can make a change: the perceived seriousness of the potential health problem; the perceived susceptibility to  the problem, and cues to action, alerts or reminders to take preventive action. 2. The social cognitive model is based on the concept that three elements interact to motivate and enable change: a persons thoughts, behaviors, and the social environment. 3. The transtheoretical model views change in six stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Diff: 3 Page Ref: 14-16 Skill: Analyzing 98) You want to improve your health by initiating an exercise program. Describe at least three ways you can maintain your motivation for regular exercise. Answer: Any three of the following: Pick one specific behavior to change and assess that behavior. Set achievable, incremental goals. Reward yourself for achieving goals. Anticipate and avoid barriers and temptations. Remind yourself why you want to change. Enlist help and support from others. Dont be discouraged by relapses, just get back on track. Diff: 3 Page Ref: 19 Skill: Applying 18 Copyright  © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 99) List at least three common barriers to behavior change. Answer: Any three of the following: Setting overambitious goals Holding on to self-defeating beliefs and attitudes. Not accurately assessing your current state of wellness or fitness Not having adequate support or guidance Allowing negative emotions to sabotage your efforts Diff: 2 Page Ref: 20 Skill: Understanding 100) Define self-talk and explain how you can use it to help your efforts toward change. Answer: Self-talk is your usual manner of thinking and talking to yourself (the voice in your head) that can affect your self-image and behavior. Deliberately changing your self-talk can have a big influence on behavior change by: Using rational, positive statements Blocking or stopping negative thoughts when they occur  Not dwelling on negative thoughts or images and focusing on more positive, uplifting, and encouraging thoughts Diff: 2 Page Ref: 22-23 Skill: Understanding/Applying 19 Copyright  ©Ã‚   2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Art History Through the 19th Century Essays

Art History Through the 19th Century Essays Art History Through the 19th Century Essay Art History Through the 19th Century Essay Artists have forever been able to take us to places where we have never been or would like to go. They can make our fantasies come alive on the canvas and transport our thoughts to far off places. Real life is often harder to paint because you are bound by reality and your audience is not always willing to face it. Therefore, the artists that can paint reality but connect it in some way to our fantasies are the ones that truly understand the power of art. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painted the Grand Odalisque in 1814 during the Romantic era of France. He uses a classical linear style and narrates morality, which is referred to as a poussiniste technique. France at the time was fascinated with the orient and other far off places and politically involved with Turkey and Africa. The erotica of this painting captured them and took them where one’s imagination could take control and forbidden things could be explored. Ingres uses a classically influenced body on the female with the volumetric, softly lit, warm skin that is revealed to the viewer. Her reclining pose is one so familiar to the art world and obviously referencing the earlier masterpieces Ingres studied during his life. He has idealized the woman’s shape by elongating her back and softening her curves. ( If you can mention elongated poses were often used because long limbs on a woman was considered ideal beauty. There is also a name for this kind of pose but I cannot think of it. Commonly found in mannerism but that was like 1520-1600, and was High Renaissance. That might help you find the term. High Renaissance features elongated, contorted poses, crowded canvases, and harsh lighting and coloring. You could use that to compare) Her face portrayed as more like those of the Renaissance, (nice you picked up on that) idealized, as well and looking straight out at the viewer. She is doing what the concubines did best, inviting us in to her private scene. With Mannerist (good) and Venetian colors, the background fabrics are cool and highly detailed to contrast the warmth and smoothness of the woman’s skin. Ingres’ hyper real details throughout the scene only help sell the illusion that this is something that could be in real life. The props placed in this harem complete the erotica of the scene and add symbolic reference to the romantic scene. A pipe is placed to the side symbolizing the euphoric atmosphere. The Odalisque holds a peacock fan in her hand and sensually brushes it against her upper thigh. The jeweled turban and gold bracelets are characteristic of the orient and add to the focus of her nude body. With all the erotic reference and symbolism the viewers were able to peek at a forbidden and immoral scene without having to confront the subject of sex. I remember this one and it was consider a Oriental nude, which in those times the idea of sex was lessen he does by showing orient artifacts the fan the turban placing her in orient setting was exploiting women trapped in their own closed world. She gases as if tired broken and worn down. ) Manet was a painter of the Realism era that referenced Ingres’ Grand Odelisque with his Olympia, painted in 1865. This painting is considered to be the very f irst truly modern painting. Here we have the reclining female nude again, but this time it is portrayed as never before. Much like the Odelisque, Olympia is a nickname of some of the prostitutes of the time. However, Olympia is an actual portrait of Victorine Meurent, a local French prostitute. Manet has not simply painted a female nude as so many before him, but instead he has taken it a step further and painted this female naked. This painting is closely modeled after the Venus of Urbino from Venice because of the position of the figure and the composition of the scene. Even though there are some large differences, Olympia has most in common with Ingres’ Odalisque. Both paintings show the figures with some ornaments and accessories on their nude bodies. Manet chose to put more focus on the fact this his woman was purposefully naked by leaving a ribbon on her neck and by having one of her slippers be carelessly dangling off her foot. He places an exotic orchid in her hair, which is considered erotic and sexual and a black cat at the foot of the bed the represents promiscuity. A clever opposite of the Venus of Urbino’s dog placed at the end of the bed for fidelity. Line was very important to Manet as it was to Ingres. His color patch technique and hard light earned more critisism for Manet. The Salon said that his figure looked flat and un-modeled, but Manet wasn’t trying to portray an ideal feminine embodiment. He was trying to show us the scene as it was seen it in real life. This was a look into another forbidden scene of fantasy except with the reality of the current indulgers. Unlike the Odalisque Olympia was not received by the public as a glimpse into forbidden pleasures, instead she was looked at as a public display of France’s immorality. While some critics labeled the painting as pornography, the crowds were very intrigued by Olympia and came in rushes to see her when she was finally displayed. This was not meant to through France’s moral faults at her but to capture the way she was at the time, life without idealistic cover-up. Although the people of France were disgusted that Manet would want to capture a prostitute, they were more appalled at her haughty gaze towards them. She was the one in control and the critics were not used to that kind of mood. Society was undergoing revolutions in the industrial, intellectual and working classes so control was a big concern. Realist painters like Manet were more concerned with making the everyday subjects be acceptable in art instead of playing to the ideal. I chose to write about these works because of the effect they had on me the first time that I saw them in this class. The Grand Odalisque was stunning and made me want to creep into the picture. It’s a beautiful work with captivating detail. Olympia was my favorite from this half of the semester class. She stares at you so matter of fact and as if to beg you to challenge her. Her small frame is so different from the voluptuous models seen so many times before. I think that the two offer a very intriguing comparison and are worthy of recognition. Both Ingres and Manet painted the reclining female nude, one as a concubine and the other as a prostitute. They focused the lighting on their figures and were concerned with the use of line. Although the detail that Ingres used did not match the brushwork of Manet, they still were both obviously concerned with symbolism. The biggest difference between the Grand Odalisque and Olympia is in how they were received by the public. Ingres harem was from somewhere far away in an exotic land where this scene was supposedly acceptable. The viewers were invited into the scene as bystanders and able to indulge the fantasies with imaginations of that place. Manet’s bedroom scene was just like the one that everyone had at home and very familiar. As the viewer you are locked into the gaze of the female as if you were there for her. She makes you part of the scene instead of a bystander. Your fantasies of her are laid out in plain view and reminding you of the current socially unacceptable prostitution taking place. Ingres was a master of fantasy and used hyper-detail to fake reality, but Manet could paint reality and connect it to the fantasies that we indulge in our everyday life. This association that Manet mastered between the fantasy world and the actual world makes anything possible for the viewer, and that is the true power of art.

Race and racism (evolution) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Race and racism (evolution) - Coursework Example These Blacks come from a number of African regions including the West Central African region, the Mozambique-Madagascar area, the Gold Coast, the Sierra Leone region, the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra and the Senegambia areas (Gomez. 1998). Although these people come from different parts of Africa and embrace different cultures and traditions, they are collective referred to as African-American owing to their continent of origin and the color of their skin. The early black slaves were treated as in debentured servants who are under contract to serve their masters for a certain number of years in exchange for their passage or transportation, food, shelter, clothes and others (Foner, 2004). As slaves, these people are under the control of their masters and they can be sold to another master. Since these people are literally owned by their masters, they are not allowed to marry without the express permission of their masters and if they do not follow the rules of their masters, th ey can be subjected to harsh physical punishment (Foner, 2004). Female slaves who were allowed to marry and have children often have to stay longer with their owners to make up for the â€Å"lost† days that they missed when they got pregnant and had children (Foner, 2004). Since indentured slaves are released after a number of years or after they are able to pay their so-called â€Å"freedom dues†, many blacks were freed after a certain period (Hine et al., 2002). However, this freedom was short lived since laws were passed legalizing slavery in many parts of the country. The first law that legalized slavery was passed in the State of Massachusetts in 1641 and allow for race-based slavery (Hine et al., 2002). As a result, blacks were relegated to slavery and their children remained as properties of their owners. Children who were born into bondage were treated as properties of their owners and they were under the full control of their masters for the rest of their live s (Hine et al., 2002). The history of slavery among Blacks started the culture of racism against African-Americans and despite the fact that many prominent members of the black community, including President Barrack Obama, have shown the world that Blacks are do not belong to an inferior race, still, racism continue at different sectors and levels in society. Although racism may not be a prevalent as it was several years ago, still it cannot be denied that racism is still very much alive in the United States. According to a survey conducted by USA Today/Gallup poll (Jones, 2008) shows that racism is still very much present in our society and despite efforts to eradicate racism against Blacks, it cannot be denied that Blacks still feel the effects of racism. To get a clearer picture on how race and racism have shaped the lives of the Black community, let up trace the history of the struggles and triumphs of the African-Americans. II. Racism Facts and Issues Faced by African Americans There are a number issues faced by African-Americans over the years and these issues include slavery, racial segregation, political discrimination, economic disadvantages and social inequities. To get a clearer picture of these issues, let us discuss these issues based on facts and historical data. a. African-Americans in the Age of Slavery, Emancipation and Segregation During

Contemporary issues in managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Contemporary issues in managment - Essay Example One cannot thus separate a corporation from the community in which it operates and as such, whatever it does should be for the collective good of that communities for happiness to be achieved. A corporation in this case is itself a citizen and has an intrinsic responsibility as a social entity; that is, it should be socially responsible. This is in contradiction to economists such as Milton Friedman who viewed corporations as individual entities whose sole responsibility was to make profits. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was traditionally associated with philanthropy and charity but later came to be associated with stakeholder interests. Carroll and Shabana consider it a post-World War II phenomenon defined as the â€Å"economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectations that a society has of organisations at a given point in time† (2010: 89). For McGuire (1963), CSR extends beyond those four expectations such as reputation and company image. Whatever the case, suc cess of CSR depends on commitment from senior management as well as low-level staff and its implementation varies from company to company depending on its context. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss and evaluate an environmental issue that an organisation addresses using the framework presented by Wood (1991). In this case, the orgnisation to be discussed is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The first section will give a brief background of the organisation. The Second section will be a brief background of CSR. Third section will discuss the business case for CSR followed by analysis of the environmental issue using the corporate social performance model and finally, a brief summary will be given. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc is the world’s number one retailer with 100 million U.S. shoppers a week visiting their stores. It was founded in 1962 with a commitment to make a difference in the lives of its customers. It has 11,000 stores with 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce in

BUS COM WK3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BUS COM WK3 - Essay Example In the article the authors conducted a specific type of study in which they tracked for about 60 families and their hundred above children. They inquired about the effects the divorce had produced on them. They found out that the boys of the divorced families do not have any goal; they do not want to grow in life, while the girls of the divorced families do not trust other men in their lives. They suffer from the special type of fear in which they fear from bounding themselves in a family with a man. This fear is known as the Sleepers affect. In short with the data the authors tried to prove the negative effects of the divorce on the children. The declared that the divorce is traumatizing and it produces severe effects on the lives of the affected families. I totally disagree with both the authors and their statistics. It is just that they wanted to show the negative side of the issue. The data was not neutrally collected. Only the negative theme was extracted. The authors presented a graph in their study in which they tried to show that most of children suffer emotional and behavioral problems after the marriage of their parents. According to the data presented it shows that about 25% of children of such families suffer from mental disorders. They did not show in the graph the prior state of the children of such families. It must be possible that the children were in great stress due to the constant family conflicts of marriage and after divorced their mental state was improved due to living alone or with the single parent. The authors also showed by statistics that approx 66% of the women from the age of 9 to 23 suffered from the sleeper effect. They were too afraid to bind themselves in any relation. Also the memories of the divorce of their parents never helped them to make a stable relation. The greater flaw in the study is that these women might be afraid of the poor marriages not the divorces. They

The Horror of the Salem Witch Trials

The Horror of the Salem Witch Trials Delia Peterson Would you ever die for what you believe? In 1692, many people had no other choice but to do just that. The belief in magic and spells was introduced by Native American and African slaves in New England. Many who practiced this were accused of witchcraft. Salem, Massachusetts was the sight of many witch trials and perhaps the most well-known, but other villages held them too such as Andover, Massachusetts; Fairfield, Connecticut; and other places in New England (Historical Witches, n.p.). Historians have analyzed the accusations and hearings of the Salem Witch Trials, and have since observed possible causes of the hysteria. It all started when Betty Parris, the daughter of Puritan minister, Samuel Parris, and his niece, Abigail Williams, experimented with magic and witchcraft (Salem Witch, n.p.). They began twitching, screaming, and not speaking, so a doctor diagnosed the girls with being under the spell of a witch (Currie, 7-8). Samuel Parris pressured the girls to identify the perpetrator. They named Tituba, their slave, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn. The latter two, who were outcasts and did not attend church regularly, declared their innocence, but Good accused Osborn. Tituba originally pleaded innocent, but eventually told the officials of her dealings with the devil (Britannica School Salem witch, n.p.). What followed was a witch hunt, as the girls went on a spree of identifying witches, even pointing the finger at a former minister. Newly identified and confessed witches then turned around and named more witches. By the time the uproar had quieted down, 156 people sat in prison, charged as witches. Then trials were held by a panel of untrained judges, trying people who were forced to defend themselves without lawyers (Salem witch, n.p.). The trials took a year to complete, only stopping when accusations extended to well respected members of the community. The accused were convicted using spectral evidence, which is claims by victims that the defendants Satanic form attacked them. As, each witch testified, the victims seemed to have fits in the crowd, giving the judges enough evidence to believe that person is guilty (Britannica School Salem witch, n.p.). The judges also allowed a touch test, and if the accused persons touch stopped the victims contortions, their demonic presence was confirmed. Other forms of evidence was allowed such as examining people for witch marks and accepting gossip, hearsay, and stories (The Witchcraft, n.p.). If someone confessed (or confessed and named others), they were spared as it was thought they would receive their punishment from God. Those who declared their innocence did not have it so easy, becoming martyrs to their own sense of justice (Britannica School Salem witch, n.p.). It was thought a witch could not recite the Lords Prayer perfectly, yet an ex-minister did so but was still hanged. Using these methods, 19 people were hanged that year. An additional eight people died in prison, and one man was pressed to death by a heavy board. Over 200 townspeople were accused of being witches by the young girls between June and September of 1692. (Currie 37-38). When the accusations extended to his own wife, the governor stopped the trials and established a court that accepted only concrete evidence. There, the rest of the accused were pardoned by the governor (Britannica School Salem witch, n.p.). Historians have turned to many different reasons for so many people to believe the claims of the girls. Many believe that in transitioning from one governor to the next, Salem was in the midst of many social issues. The former governor had done nothing to stop the worsening of the hysteria, and while the new leader tried to step in and conduct fair trials, he unearthed a law causing the death penalty to be inflicted on those practicing witchcraft, a capital punishment. Betty Parriss involvement was attributed to her fear of having disobeyed the laws of her religion as her father was a minister (Salem Witch, n.p.). There is also a theory that ergotism was present in Salem during this time, and is what caused mass hysteria. Ergot grows on cereal grain, and in this case, it would have been rye which the people relied heavily on. It causes a poisoning that is most common in women and children (Ergotism, n.p.). One type of ergotism, or long term ergot poisoning causes hallucinations, delu sions, muscle contractions or convulsions, and shaking, all of which were reported in Salem. All the facts add up, and the weather at that time was warm and damp which is perfect for ergot to thrive (Ergot Theory, n.p.). There are many other theories, but no one knows for sure if any of them are the real cause of the frenzy. The accusations and trials have led to many theories about the possible reasons for the delusions in Salem around 1692. Many people wonder how the judges were able to convict so many without concrete evidence or why the governor did not stop it until it was too late. It has taught us a lot about our countrys history and about the many mistakes we made. Those trials led to the first amendment which is freedom of religion. Nowadays, the government cannot persecute anyone for what religion they practice or for what they believe. We need to respect others and their beliefs even if they are different from us. We know now that we should not be afraid to stand up for what we believe, and not conform to what society tells us because it is not always right. Work Cited Caporael, Linnda R. Ergotism: the Satan loosed in Salem. Science, 1976. science.sciencemag.org. 16 Jan. 2017. Carlson, Marc. Historical Witches and Witchtrials in North America. personal.utulsa.edu. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. Currie, Stephen. The Salem Witch Trials. San Diego: KidHaven Press, 2002. K, Anna. Ergot Theory Could Clear Accused Witches. The Salem Journal: The Aftermath Witches Remise. 2012. people.ucls.uchicago.edu. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017. Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692. Famous American Trials. law2.umkc.edu. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017. Salem witch trials. Britannica School, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 26 Jan. 2016. school.eb.com. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017. Salem Witch Trials. Research in Context, Gale, 2016. Research in Context, go.galegroup.com. Accessed 4 Nov. 2016.

Mary Shelley :: essays research papers

Mary Shelley: Bride of Frankenstein Authors have written horror novels with old props of haunted castles and moonlit dagger scenes for ages. However, there is one author deserving of significant commemorations for her horrific novel, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley, author of the most notable gothic novel of all times, inspires authors who read her work. Mary Shelley’s professional life as her husband’s editor, a novelist, and a poet began in 1816, in Scotland when she began her first novel. First of all, while Mary Shelley visited her family in England, Shelley became an acquaintance to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and later became his wife (Walling 9) and full time editor. As Percy Shelley’s reviser, she promoted the understanding of his works, which led to the history of biographical-literary criticism (Spark ix). Shelley traveled frequently, once to Italy in 1818, where she composed Italian Lives, which appeared in Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia (Walling 10). Shelley’s marriage persisted for eight years (Spark ix), which ended on July 8, 1822 when Percy Shelley drown (Walling 10), and left her a single mother of a child, and a son on the way (Spark ix). Second, Mary Shelley achieved her highest acknowledgments for her writings and gothic novels. Shelley began her first novel Frankenstein (T hompson 2), at nineteen years of age in the summer of 1816 and publicized it on March 11, 1818 (Walling 9). The horror novel received numerous reviews and became one of the literary events of 1818 (Walling 34). Shelley wrote five other novels in her lifetime including The Last Man (Walling 72) and Valpera. The Last Man, published in 1826 (Walling 10), and Frankenstein are Shelley’s two most sought novels, and William Walling observes that they are "two novels whose loneliness is final Mensik 2 and irreparable" (86). Valperga, published in 1823, received reviews with modern critics that were not as highly ranked as the others. Shelley first began Valperga in 1817, however, she completed the novella in 1821, during which Shelley went through a marriage crisis with her husband Percy Shelley and mourned over the loss of two children (Walling 52). Walling observes that Shelley’s other novelettes were Matilda, completed in 1819, Perkin Warbeck, published in 1830, Lodore, published in 1835, and Falker, published in 1837. Society also granted fame to Mary Shelley for her intriguing poetry. In 1822, Shelley wrote her first poem, "The Choice". Shelley’s release of Shelley’s Prometheus Poems in 1824 sold more than three hundred copies (10).

Iraq War Essay

The past wars among many sovereign countries were caused not only by misunderstanding and miscommunication. Political leaders usually have a set of premature agenda hidden from the public: agenda that seek good fruit from launching wars and political instability. Only one thing is certain: these wars, with their premature agenda, do more damage than what is intended. Invasion of Iraq: Its Positive Side   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though majority of the polls in the United States produce same results and arguments about the negative reputation of the country, it is yet empirically verified (). Poll surveys may give a view of a certain population upon an issue and from there generalizations are being made. These generalizations (based from poll surveys) cannot be the sole justification of America’s reputation because of the mere reason of its limited scope. Even if the poll surveys result to the belief that America’s reputation is damaged, empirically it is still possible that it might not really be damaged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Considering the facts, some known statesman and scholars believed that US position and reputation had certainly improved after four years of occupation of the Iraqi land. The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was stained before the US invasion of Iraq. Prince Saud of Saudi Arabia expressed that if an attack on Iraq was sanctioned by the UN Security Council, it would not be classified as an act of aggression. He noted, â€Å"So we are ardently urging the United States to continue to work with the United Nations and not to create an act of individual aggression, of individually taking charge of the duties of the Security Council† (Saudis warn US over Iraq War, 2003:1). This stained relationship of the United States and Saudi Arabia had changed after four years of occupation of Iraq by the US. Saudi Arabia supported the United States of its call for rebuilding the lives of the Iraqi people and the country as a whole under a democratic government. A diplomat from Saudi Arabia who came to the White House last August said that Saudi is willing to cooperate with the United States with its genuine effort to rebuild Iraq.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not so distant that other countries in the world supported the call of the United States in rebuilding Iraq. The Philippines and Lebanon were the first countries to accept the challenge of helping Iraq to rebuild itself.   Lebanon said that Saddam Hussein’s regime had killed thousand innocent people during his course of his rule. Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s President said that their country will send military and medical missions that will enormously help Iraq in its rebuilding process. He also promised that the government that will be established in Iraq will be given equal respect like any other sovereign country. Even though many countries had opposed the United States invasion of Iraq, they regain the respect of these countries. United States aim to rebuild Iraq had resulted to the support of multi-sectoral support of many countries. Japan, despite of the treat from North Korea promised to extend its help through Official Development Assistance to Iraq. Australia on the other hand, promised to allot a significant amount of its foreign budget for the Iraqi reconstruction. To sum up, all these promised help from many countries in the world is grounded on the notion that the United States’ effort to rebuild Iraq is genuine and based on the democratic principle of self-determination. The issue of continued occupation of the US troops in Iraq remains an open issue. Although this issue does not damage the image and credibility of the US government in other countries at recent times, it may in the near future. The rebuilding process of the Iraqi government must come into place for the self-determination of its right and sovereignty. In accordance with this, President Bush said, â€Å"The ultimate victory in Iraq, which is a government that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself, depends upon the Iraqi citizens   and the Iraqi government doing the hard work to protect their country† (Reid, 2006, p.1). Bush maintained that the role of the United States is to support the effort of the Iraqi government in the attainment of that objective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Against War Itself   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Against the political machinations and demagoguery of the Bush government, the US-led invasion and eventual occupation of Iraq is unjustified. Most people in Western liberal countries see the US-led invasion of Iraq as morally and politically unjustified. Added to that, there is also wide belief that the Bush government used the â€Å"existence† of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to launch its war. Bush’s justification of declaring war in Iraq was far from justified. The US military failed to find any weapons of mass destruction. Another justification of the US government is that Iraq can not be able to work things out their own way. They believed that the only chance for the Iraqi government to exercise democracy is to let the US led and rebuild them. In the short run, some people identified the war against Iraq as a desperate move of the US government to overthrow Saddam Hussien’s regime. In the long run, however, it seems that the war created undesirable consequences. The continued occupation of Iraq by the United States is the one referred to as long run. Retired Lieutenant General William Odom, a professor at the Yale University said, â€Å"A rapid reversal of our present situation in Iraq would improve U.S. credibility around the world† (Odom, 2007:4). According to Odom, US forces in Iraq are already caught in a trap that has damaged America’s reputation (Odom, 2007:1). He argued that the invasion is unnecessary given the justifications and reasons the US government had presented. He added that American public opinion is now justifiably against the continued war and occupation of Iraq. The search for a viable and abundant resource like oil was the reason the United States, in the face of a slowing economy, entered into war with Iraq. In England alone, citizen’s opinion on the war was negatively criticized. According to Odom, the red state citizens of England were not in favor of the war against Iraq and the eventual the domination of the country. These reasons, according to him, may give way to the possibility of withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and apparently will improve US credibility. This will allow the United States to reestablish diplomatic and military mobility. Odom mentioned the current Zogby poll which suggested that most US troops would favor an early withdrawal deadline (Odom, 2007:3). He further argued that setting an early date of withdrawal would improve the morale of the US troops in Iraq.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Washington Post released a recent poll which indicates that in the United States alone, most of the adult respondents find the government effort in Iraq vital and certainly giving the United States a negative reputation (Reid, 2006:1). Out of all the respondents, seventy percent believe that the war in Iraq was a major factor in the negative image the United States is facing. Moreover, forty-eight percent of the respondents think that the US government failed to improve the lives of Iraqi people. The opposition of the West had a decisive effect on the result of the survey. In defiance of the opinion of the United Nations Security Council, President George Bush forced his decision to attack Iraq. The war against Iraq caused the death of at least 2,803 American soldiers during its military and naval operations.    Philosophically, the war against Iraq is unjustified in the world of constitutional liberty. Any war can do no good between the involved countries. The people of an occupied country will not accept any compromise of their sovereignty.   The damage that the war may yield is immeasurable and cruel to the eyes of an observer. The history of wars repeatedly resulted to deaths of millions of innocent people. Moreover, the invasion of Iraq is evidence that the US, a superpower, can conquer and take charge of any sovereign country that does not share its ideology. In the case of Iraq, US may use the invasion of Iraq as an alibi to acquire the Iraqi oil. Added to that, the Iraq war and the continued occupation of the US troops are not justifiable because of the damaging effects to the Iraqi nation. Some examples of these are: 1) the abuse of the human rights, 2) the depletion of resources for the benefit of the US, and 3) the continued domination of the US in the oil industry. The continued occupation of Iraq must be stop for many logical reasons. These reasons are the Iraqi resistance, the military itself and the large number of opposition of people in the United States (due to the lack of financial support to many disasters in the United States. Logically, the invasion of Iraq and the continued occupation by the US troops should be withdrawn. From the above evidences of the unjustified war and occupation of Iraq, People might say â€Å"Let the people of Iraq determine their self and future†. In addition, Iraq like any other country has the right to rebuild itself. In this way they will regain their confidence and self- determination. Finally, Iraq’s freedom should not be determined by any other country (even US). The true liberty dwells on the heart and minds of the Iraqi people.

Pope Joan Essay

During the Middle Ages, the Church and the Emperor competed for control of the Holy Roman Empire. The Church and the Emperor ruled jointly over the Holy Roman Empire. Although the Church had a great deal of power, the Emperor was equally as powerful in his own way. Moreover, the powers of Church and the Emperor conflicted with each other. This led to a variety of power struggles. The novel Pope Joan by Donna Wolff Cross explores these power struggles and vividly shows how they make life more difficult for people at all levels of society. This Is very potent and recurring theme In the novel.There are many powers that collide with one another In the novel; however, the dominating powers In the Holy Roman Empire are two Institutions that oppose each other: the Roman Catholic Church and the Emperor. Both consider themselves In charge. The Church declares Itself more powerful than the Emperor, and uses Its power to preserve loyalty to the Church and Its power over the people. Pope Gregory demonstrates his power by going to the Emperor to end the feud between the Emperor and his sons. This shows that he, as the Pope, has enough power to end wars and disputes with he Emperor.Pope Gregory comments on his own power as he prays duteous, â€Å"Christ Jesus, give me wisdom I need this day†¦ Show me the way to avert this unholy war and reconcile these rebellious sons to the Emperor their father. † (Cross 174) On the contrary, the Emperor arguably does not have as much power as the Pope; however, the Emperor, Lothario, believes he does. â€Å"Trust in God, Count Gerald†¦ I'm Heaven's anointed king; He will not fail to grant us victory. † (Cross 217) Emperor Lothario believes he is truly connected to God. Throughout the novel he feels that he should rule over doth his kingdom and the Church.The power struggle between the Pope and the Emperor leads them to try to sabotage each other and increases the misery and suffering of their people. The Emperor tri es to acquire more power by having the Pope assassinated while the Pope makes sure the Emperor's power is in check by killing the Emperors allies. An example of this is the Pope's order to kill Theodore and Leo, two of the Emperors allies. â€Å"Several times they stumbled and almost fell on the tile floor, slippery with blood†¦ The men forced Theodore and Leo to their knees and pulled their heads forward.One man raised a long sword over Oleo's neck and with one quick stroke, decapitated him. But Threshold's neck was thick†¦ It took three or four sword strokes to cleave his head from his body. † (Cross 44) This shows how the Pope uses assassination to thwart the power of the Emperor. In addition, It shows how in the struggle for power, even those at the top of society are not safe. The Emperor and the Church have different ways to maintain power over their people. These methods of control cause considerable misery for the people. The Church retains its power by thre atening the people with Hell In the afterlife.It stays In power by making the people fear for their soul's eternal damnation and this causes a great deal of spiritual distress. For example, a young boy Is despondent as he confesses to Pope Leo about the Innocent blood he has shed because he fears for his Immortal soul: â€Å"l cannot live with what Eve done. Pronounce me my penance ; I will bear any Emperor uses his armies and weaponry to stay in power. It is the loyalty of the Emperor's army that enables him to do this. The Emperor's troops' are so loyal to him and that they are willing and eager to kill anyone. With a wild shout, a group from he imperial vanguard burst out of formation, spurring their horses into a disorderly run, racing against one another for the glory of being the first to engage the enemy before the eyes of their Emperor. † (Cross 219) The Church and Emperor also use similar methods to keep their power. For example, both punish their people for crimes i n similar ways. The Emperor has knights that manage the law and the Pope has church officials that handle the law. Both of their methods of punishment for crimes are similar and harsh.For instance, in the novel the Emperor's lords boil a Nan's hand and arm for lying about stealing farm animals. An event similar to this relates to how one of the church officials handles a thief by having his hands cut off, â€Å"Benedict screamed as his severed hands dropped to the ground, spurting blood†¦ The swordsman nailed Benedicts severed hands to the side of the she-wolf. † (Cross 297) The Emperor and the Church both keep their power using similar and different methods of control which cause great pain for their people. Although the Emperor does have power, he always needs to assert it to keep the Church's power is in check.Emperor Lothario makes many bold attempts to control the Church. In one instance, when the Church does not go through with a consecration, Emperor Lothario wage s full out war on the Church. One of Pope Egregious informants comes to Serious and bellows to him, â€Å"His soldiers plunder all before them, ransacking the farms, carrying off the livestock, pulling up the vines by their roots. They take what they want, and what they do not want, they burn. Those who get in their way they kill without mercy- women, old men, babes in arms- none are spared.The horror-† (Cross 273) This action led by Emperor Lothario does not succeed, but it causes many people to suffer and die. Another attempt to decrease the Church's power occurs when Emperor Lothario conspires with Anastasia to make the people supporting the Church pledge their loyalty to the Emperor. â€Å"An oath is only words. The people need a Pope who can lead them back to their old ways- to the Freakish Empire, and to you, my liege. † (Cross 291) The last attempt that Emperor Lothario makes toward the Church is the assassination of the commander of Pope Jean's militia, Gerald: â€Å"†¦The men abruptly heeled, pulled weapons from the hidden folds of their garments, and came at Gerald. â€Å"(Cross 402) In this attempt, the Emperor succeeds, and kills two birds with one stone. The Emperor weakens the militia by killing its gallant, cunning leader and kills the Pope by putting her under a prolonged period of stress. This causes her to have a premature birth and she dies in labor. Emperor Lothario makes many attempts to decrease the power of the Church, and is successful in the end but a considerable personal cost to many. Both the Church and the Emperor dominate the Holy RomanEmpire, but Anastasia who is able to play both sides against each other. Anastasia has ties with the Church and the Emperor. Anastasia uses both connections to his advantages, which grant him powerful positions among the two. Because Anastasia knows how politics work, he is able to wrap the Emperor around his finger and earn rewards. â€Å"Once Lothario was crowned in his fathe r's place, he would know how to reward Anastasia for the work he had done here. † (Cross 176) Anastasia has helped one day help make him Pope; however, Anastasia never reaches the title of Pope.Anastasia has power that that accompanies wealth and also possesses the power of persuasion and shrewdness. Anastasia with his intellect is able to earn high positions within the Church which allow him to be an informant to the Emperor. † Soon after Egregious election, Anastasia would be appointed Bishop of Castellated, a perfect position from which to ascend the papal throne after Serious†¦ † (Cross 242) Anastasia also uses his father's influence to persuade his adversaries to vote him Pope. â€Å"Before God the priest is lying Surely my countrymen will not believe the word of foreigner over that of a fellow Roman!Anastasia uses his adversaries to vote for him as Pope, but Joan accuses him of being corrupted. Even though Anastasia never reached Pope, he had power that helped him in the Church and with the Emperor. Anastasia is one of the people in the novel who has power and who is usually discreet about using it. Although there are many different power struggles in the novel between the Church and the Emperor, there are some people who were not able to gain their desired power. One minor character that never regained their power was Jean's father, the Canon. When he lost his position asCanon, he asked his daughter to get him a position in the Church again but he died shortly afterwards. Mimi have lost your position? † [Joan inquired] Reluctantly, her father nodded. â€Å"But Doe violent, I have the strength and skill to do God's work yet. † (Cross 210) One person who never gains their full power over the Church was Anastasia. Anastasia never becomes Pope because Emperor Lothario dies before making him Pope. â€Å"Lothario was long dead†¦ † (Cross 407) Another person who never gains full power over the Holy Roman Empire was Lothario. He dies and is never able to control the Church from within with one of his adversaries. .. Having died after a few months of leaving Rome. His throne had gone to his first son Louis II†¦ † We see how these characters are unable to fulfill their destinies because of the viscous competition for power. The novel, Pope Joan, encompasses many different kinds of power struggles. The main power struggle is between the Church and the Emperor. Although both have the same religious views, they have very different views on who is in charge. Pope Joan illustrates the many different forms of power and power struggles found during the medieval era of the Holy Roman Empire.In addition, the novel shows how these power struggles affect people at all levels of society to varying degrees. Those at the top may suffer death, be disenfranchised or be discredited. Soldiers willingly charge to their deaths in blind devotion to their Emperor. Those at bottom of society may suffer d eath, disfigurement or cruelty at the hands of unsympathetic soldiers or harsh magistrates. Pope Joan shows how the conflict at the top between the Church and the Emperor permeates down through all levels of society making life during the Middle Ages more difficult for everyone.

How to Improve ACT Science Scores 7 Tips From a Perfect Scorer

How to Improve ACT Science Scores 7 Tips From a Perfect Scorer SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you struggling with ACT Sciencescores between 14-24? You're not alone - hundreds of thousands of other students are scoring in this range. But many don't know the best ways to break out of this score range and get 26+on the ACT. Here we'll discuss how to improve your ACT Sciencescore effectively and why it's so important to do so. Put these principles to work and I'm confident you'll be able to improve your score. Brief note: This article is tailored for lower-scoring students, currently scoring below a 26 on ACT Science. If you're already above this range, my perfect 36 ACT Sciencescore articlewill be better for you as it contains advanced strategies. In this article, I'm going to discuss why scoring high is a good idea, what it takes to score a 26, and then go into ACT Science tips. Stick with me - this is like constructing a building. First you need to lay a good foundation before putting up the walls and windows. Similarly, we need to first understand why you're doing what you're doing and what goal you're aiming for, before diving into tips and strategies. In this guide, I talk mainly about getting to a 26. But if your goal is to get to a 24 or lower, these tips still equally apply. Understand the Stakes At this ACT score range, improving your low ACT Sciencescore to a 26 range will dramatically boost your chances of getting into better colleges. The reason? A 26 puts you at the 83 percentile, well above the national average of all ACT test takers. This is roughly equal to a 1200 out of 1600 on the SAT. Let's take a popular school, University of Massachusetts Amherst,as an example. Its average ACT score is a 27. Its 25th percentile score is a 24, and 75th percentile is a 29. Furthermore, its acceptance rate is 63%. In other words, a bit more than half of all applicants are admitted. This is a decently competitive school - almost half the people are rejected, and the lower your score, the greater the chance you'll be rejected. In our analysis, if you apply with an ACT score of 21, your chance of admission drops to 25.4%. This means you have a 3 in 4 chance of being rejected! But if you raise your score to a 26, your chance of admission shoots up to 57.7% - over double the chances of admission, for just 5 points of improvement. And because your ACT Science score factors into your ACT composite score, raising your Science score will really help raise the average of your total score. In fact, if you raise your ACT Science score by 4 points, your Composite score will increase by a whole point. It's really worth your time to improve your ACT score. Hour for hour,it's the best thing you can do to raise your chance of getting into college. Curious what chances you have with a 26 ACT score? Check out ourexpert college admissions guide for a 26 ACT scoreto see what colleges you're competitive for. Know That You Can Do It This isn't just some fuzzy, feel-good message you find in a fortune cookie. I mean, literally, you and every other reasonably capable student can score a 26 on ACT Science. The reason most people don't is they don't try hard enough or they don't study the right way. Even if you don't consider yourself a science geek, or you got a B in Biology, you're capable of this. Because I know that more than anything else, your ACT score is a reflection ofhow hard you work and how strategically you study. Here's why: the ACT is a weird test. When you take it, don't you get the sense that many questions are nothing like what you've seen in school? It's purposely designed this way.The ACT is a national test, which means it needs to be a level playing field for ALL students around the country. It can't discriminate against students who never took AP Physics (or whose schools don't even offer AP classes). Therefore, the ACT can't test difficult concepts, because this would be unfair for students who never took AP Physics.The ACT Science sectioncan't ask you to solve cold fusionor build a rocket to get to Mars. So it HAS to test scientific concepts that every high school student will cover: how to interpret data graphs, what the scientific method is, how scientific theories disagree from each other. This leads to the big secret of ACT Science. The Big Secret: You Don't Have to Know Much Actual Science Many students who study ACT Science are intimidated by the mistaken impression that they need to know a lot of science to get by. The reality is the opposite - it's much more about reading comprehension, understanding graphs, and logic. Now, it SEEMS like you need to know a lot of science, because there will be weird scenarios you've never seen before, from dinosaur claw sizes to how clouds affect soil temperature. These may seem intimidating because you've never learned this in school. Here's an example graph: You've probably never seen a graph like this before in school. The thing is,every other high school student in America hasn't seen this graph before either! The ACT expects you to solve questions for this graph through the skills you've learned in high school - looking at two axes, understanding how a plot works, and getting data values from the graph. This is good news for you: if you can practice the basic skills tested on ACT Science, and you know what types of questions will be asked, you'll do a great job on the section. I guarantee it. Just to prove this to you, further down we're going to understand this graph and go through a few sample questions. The key to improving your ACT Science score is to: Learn the types of questions that the ACT tests, like the one above Put together the concepts you already know to solve the questions Practice on a lot of questions so you learn from your mistakes I'll go into more detail about exactly how to do this. First, let's see how many questions you need to get right a 26 in ACT Science. Disappointed with your ACT scores? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically. What It Takes to Get a 26in ACT Science If we have a target ACT score out of 36 in mind, it helps to understand how many questions you need to get right on the actual test. The ACT Science section has 40 questions on it. Depending on how many questions you get right, you'll get a Scaled score out of 36. Here's the raw score to ACT Science Score conversion table. (If you could use a refresher on how the ACT is scored and how raw scores are calculated, read this.) Scaled Raw Scaled Raw Scaled Raw Scaled Raw 36 40 27 32 18 16 9 5-6 35 39 26 30-31 17 14-15 8 - 34 38 25 28-29 16 13 7 4 33 37 24 26-27 15 12 6 3 32 - 23 24-25 14 5 2 31 36 22 22-23 13 10 4 - 30 35 21 21 12 9 3 1 29 34 20 19-20 8 2 - 28 33 19 17-18 10 7 1 0 So if you're aiming for a 26, on this test you need to get just 30 questions correct. This is just a 75% on the test! Also, keep in mind that you'll be able to GUESS on a lot of questions. Because there are only 4 answer choices, you get a lot of questions right with a 25% chance! So here's an example. Let's say you know how to solve just 27 questions for sure. You guess on the remaining 13, and get 4 of them right by chance. This gives you a raw score of 31, or a scaled score of 26! This has serious implications for your testing strategy. In essence, you only need to answer 2/3 of all questions right. In school, this would be a D, but on the ACT, this can get you to your ACT score target! We'll go into more detail below about what this means for your testing strategy below. Whatever you're scoring now, take note of the difference you need to get to a 26. For example, if you're scoring a 22, you need to answer 8-10 more questions right to get to a 26. Once again, if your goal is a score below 26, like a 24, the same analysis applies. Just look up what your Raw Score demands above. OK - so we've covered why scoring a higher ACT Sciencescore is important, why you specifically are capable of improving your score, and the raw score you need to get to your target. Hopefully, getting to a 26 on ACT Science doesn't seem so tough at this point! Now we'll actually get into actionable ACT Science tipsthat you should use in your own studying to maximize your score improvement. ACT Science Tips to Get a 26 ACT Science Tip #1: Don't Waste TimeUnderstanding Useless Details Tell me if this sounds familiar: you're reading an ACT Science passage, and it's so overwhelming trying to understand every detail of whatever obscure thing they're telling you about. This is by far the biggest time waster for most students - and because you only have 35 minutes to get through 7 passages and 40 questions, time is a huge factor in ACT Science. Here's the truth: ACT Science passages are full of scientific details that don’t actually matter to answering the questions. This is especially true of all those complicated graphs you see. You literally don't have to understand many of the details to get every question correct. The ACT does this on purpose to confuse you and make the test harder, and to show you what real scientific research kind of looks like. But you aren’t reading a science journal – you’re answering ACT Science questions. A common mistake people make is to try too hard to understand the passage in its entirety. They want to understand every detail in every chart. Trying to understand the entire passage is a HUGE waste of time because most of the passage isn’t going to have a question asked about it. This is true in ACT Reading, and it’s even more true in ACT Science. So what should you do instead? Skim the passage and understand the passage at a very high level. Answer these two questions only: What’s the main point here? What’s the figure showing? That’s it. When I read ACT Science passages, I don’t understand the deep details of what’s happening. I get the gist and I move on to the questions. Let’s try an example from a real ACT Science passage. I’m going to show you how useless most of the passage is and how little you need to understand to answer the questions. My skimming: There is a lake. The lake sediment tells us about the climate in the past. They mention average temperature for figure 3, so that’s probably what the main point is. There’s a weird oxygen symbol 18O, but all I need to know is that SMALLER values mean COLDER. This is a map showing 3 sites. We’ll probably be looking at samples from these 3 sites. Otherwise, I don't care right now where the sites are, how big the lake is, or whether I can see my house on this map. I'm ignoring all the fine details. This shows us a cutaway section of the lake, with the 3 sites from Figure 1. The y-axis is elevation. The key shows that each colored section is a different layer. Lake clay, glacial till, bedrock. The layers change as you move across the graph. How exactly they change I’m not going to care about until I get asked about it. I have no idea what the hell â€Å"glacial till† is but I’m not going to worry about that, since I’ll bet the ACT isn’t going to ask me to define it. Here's abunch of graphs designed to be confusing. Well, they all look about the same. We’ll just look at Site 1. The y-axis shows depth, so the further down, the deeper into the earth we go. The x-axis shows the 18O thing. From left to right, this value gets larger. What Site 1 shows is as you go UP in depth, you get a LARGER 18O value. That's all I'm going to care about for now. Now look at the other 2 Sites. Site 2 looks about the same, except for a glacial till line higher up. Site 3 looks the same as Site 1 - curve goes up and to the right. And now there’s this formula. I’m not even going to bother with this crap until they ask me a question about it. Notice from my notes that I really understand the passage only at a 30,000 foot level. I’m not getting bogged down in details, and I’m not understanding every detail of every graph. Doing that would be a waste of time. Just to convince you this high level of understanding works, we’re actually going to answer all 5 questions for thispassage. Look at the Key on the right. Lake clay is gray. Where is it thinnest? Winnipeg, F. You literally didn't even have to read the passage to solve this! You could have solved it just by looking at the picture. We want to find the SMALLEST 18O value, which means it’s more on the LEFTside of the graph. From the dots we see that’s going to be at the BOTTOM LEFTof the figure. Choice C. Once again, you barely had to read the passage to solve this! It's just figuring out where the dots are. OK, so figure 2. We start from Grand Forks on the right, then move to Site 3. Lake clay, the gray piece, gets THICKER. They say this in the question, and we see it in the figure. The question asked about glacial till, the striped layer under it. It gets THINNER as you go from Grand Forks to Site 3. So thickness DECREASES, choice J. Yet once again, you barely had to know the passage to solve this! OK, we want the elevation of the TOPof GLACIAL TILL at each of 3 sites. Glacial till is the STRIPED layer. At Site 1, the top is 200. At Site 2, the top is 205ish. At site 3, it’s 180 ish. Answer choice C is the only one that fits these values. YET AGAIN you barely had to know the passage! To rephrase: it rains. Water gets to 3m deep. What is the 18O 3m deep? Look at figure 3 at a depth of 3m. In each figure, it’s around -15. Answer J. Finally, surprise surprise, you didn't have to know the passage at all to answer this question. EASY PEASY. Notice all the crap we didn’t have to care about: In the passage, we didn’t have to care about how old the lake was or how it formed. Wedidn’t have to care about what 18O means about temperature. We didn’t use Figure 1 at all. Stupid map. In figure 2, we didn’t care at all about bedrock. Also, we only needed to care about how the layers changed when we were asked about it. In figure 3, we didn’t have to care at all about how Site 2 had a glacial till layer. We sure as hell didn’t have to know what the formula meant. I hope you get the point. So much of each passage is USELESSto getting the questions right. The stupid ACT knows this, and they WANT you to get bogged down. â€Å"Oh gee, I wonder what bedrock is? How might they ask questions about this?† â€Å"Boy this formula looks real tough. What is 18O, and what is 16O? What’s groundwater and what’s standard water? Why multiply by 1,000?† You can waste so many minutes trying to make sense of the entire passage. If you have time management problems, skimming the passage can be a huge time savings for you! Again, when you read the passage focus on only two questions: What is the MAIN POINT of the passage? What is the MAIN POINT of each figure? I’ve started yelling more just because of how angry this test makes me. So let me take a deep breath. Moving on†¦ Bonus:Want more helpful tips like this? Check out our new ACT Science prep book. If you liked this lesson, you'll love our book. It includes everything you need to know to ace ACT Science, including deep analysis of the logic behind ACT Science questions, a full breakdown of the different passage and question types, and tons of expert test-taking and study tips. Download our full-length prep book now: ACT ScienceTip #2: Understand What ACT Science Actually Tests ACT Science stands out as the most structured and predictable section on the ACT. What I mean by that is ACT Science has 3 passage types, and each passage type has specific question types associated with it. This is unlike ACT English, where all 5 passages have all sorts of random question types associated with it. To do well on the ACT, you HAVE to predict the questions and passages that you're going to see on test day. Here are the passage types and question types associated with them: 3 Data Representation Passages - describes a study, heavy on graphs and charts Read-the-Graph Questions Interpreting Trends Calculating Values 3 Research Summaries Passages - describes an experiment with multiple parts Experimental Design Hypothetical Experimental Changes Interpreting Experiments 1 Conflicting Viewpoints Passage - 2 or more scientists disagree Understanding Viewpoints Comparing Viewpoints Remember what I said about ACT Science testing basic skills you've learned before in school? This is it - reading graphs, the scientific method, and comparing viewpoints. Here's a helpful writeup of the 3 types of ACT Science passages and an overview of question types. Your job is to understand these skills, figure out what you're weak in, and drill those skills until you've mastered them. Does this sound intimidating? Our PrepScholar ACT program does the hard work for you by dividing up the entire test into specific skills you need to master. For every skill in ACT Science and every other section, you'll get a focused lesson and a quiz customized to your skill level. This is how I studied for the ACT and got a perfect score, so that's how I designed our prep program to work. If you could use help breaking down the ACT like this, definitely check out our PrepScholar ACT program. ACT ScienceTip #3: Learn How to Read Graphs By far the most important single skill on ACT Science is knowing how to read graphs and charts. Nearly half of all questions on the test will relate to reading a graph and making sense of it. Often, the graph will be in a totally unfamiliar subject you've never learned about. The units will be weird, and the shape of the graph might be weird. Don't worry about this - the graph isweird for every other student in the country too. The ACT does this on purpose so that students with advanced science knowledge don't have a huge advantage on the test. For example, if the ACT showed problems from AP Physics, people would riot - it's unfairly discriminating against students whose schools don't have AP Physics. But if the ACT shows a graph about sabertooth tiger tooth sizes, this is OK - almost no one will have seen this graph before, so everyone's on more level footing. If you've been overwhelmed by graphs before, this is important to sink in - ACT Science is designed so that YOU are fully capable of understanding everything you need to answer the questions right - if you learn the right skills. So how do you actually read a graph? The three most important steps you need to understand every single graph are: Skim the intro text. Often the passage will tell you literally "Figure 2 is about X" and this is a big head start. (Like I said in Tip #1, though, don't get bogged down in details.) Read the axes. What does the x-axis represent, and what changes as you move from left to right? What does the y-axis represent, and what changes as you move from bottom to top? This tells you what is actually being shown. Understand the general shape of the graph. Where is it going up or down? If there are multiple lines shown, how do they differ? I mean GENERAL - don't memorize every detail, just get a sense of what's going on. Let's apply this with the following real ACT Science passage. OK - so it's about photosynthesis, which you may remember from AP Biology. It's how plants use sunlight to generate glucose (sugar).We also hear about wavelength, which is a property of light. We can see that Violet light has a shorter wavelength than Red light. Here's Figure 2: Let's step through the 3 steps: Skim the intro text.Here it tells us figure 2 "shows the average rate of photosynthesis at various wavelengths, as a percent of the average rate of photosynthesis at 670 nm." So we get a hunch for what the graph is showing - how fast photosynthesis happens, at different wavelengths. Read the axes.The x-axis shows wavelength, and as you move from left to right, the wavelength gets larger. The y-axis shows rate of photosynthesis, and as you move from bottom to top, the rate gets bigger (which means photosynthesis happensfaster). Understand the general shape of the graph.Generally, I see two peaks and a big valley in between. Remember, higher on the y-axis means faster photosynthesis. This means that photosynthesis happens really fast at two wavelengths, and really low in the middle (around 540 nm). Again, few people have ever seen this graph before - or if they have, they've probably forgotten it. Now you understand it just as well as anyone else. With this in mind, we can try answering a question! Let's rephrase the question. "At what wavelength is photosynthesis faster than it is at 670 nm?" Let's rephrase it even more simply. "At what wavelength is the graph higher than where it is at 670 nm?" Because we understood what the y-axis was showing, we know that HIGHER UP means FASTER PHOTOSYNTHESIS. So first, let's find out how fast photosynthesis is at 670 nm. It's right around 100. (Actually, it tells you this in the intro text: "Figure 2 shows the average rate of photosynthesis at various wavelengths as a percent of the average rate of photosynthesis at 670 nm." Naturally, the value at 670 nm should be 100%. You don't have to know this, and I didn't dwell on it since it's not critical to know.) OK, now we look at where the rate of photosynthesis is higher than 100 at the 4 points: 400, 430, 630, and 700 nm. I show these with orange dots here: It's pretty clear that the only dot higher than 100 is at 430 nm. So B is the answer. What we just went over is exactly how you can approach every single graph on the ACT Science section. Some graphs will be more complicated than this, but the principles are really all the same. You CAN understand every graph in ACT Science. If you keep practicing these skills over and over again, you WILL become much better at getting more questions right. Trust me. Want to learn more about reading graphs on ACT Science? Read our complete guide to How to Read Graphs, Tables, and Data on ACT Science. ACT Science Tip #4: Understand Your Weaknesses, and Keep Drilling Them You only have a limited amount of time to study for the ACT. You need to get the biggest score improvement possible for every hour you study. To get the biggest score improvement, you need to understand where your greatest weaknesses are. Then you need to keep drilling those weaknesses with practice until you solve your weakness. This makes sense, doesn't it? Most students actually actively avoid improving their weaknesses.As a result, they waste a ton of time studying without any actual improvement. Why is focusing on your weaknesses so hard to do? A few reasons: Diagnosing your weaknesses requires a lot of analysis and discipline.To do this right, you need to categorize every practice question you do by skill, score how many questions you get right on each skill, and figure out which skills are best to work on. This is pretty laborious and tough to do right. It's a lot more enjoyable to work on things you already do well.Would you rather eat ice cream or cabbage? In ACT prep, ice cream is working on skills you're already good at - it feels great to knock questions out of the park and get high quiz scores. Unfortunately, this is a false sense of confidence - you're ignoring all the weaknesses that are actually bringing down your score. You should be eating your cabbage by working on weaknesses, which takes a lot more mental energy and is unpleasant since you keep making mistakes. But it's the only way to get better. Even after you find your weaknesses, it's not clear how you should improve on them.Let's say you find out you have problems with interpreting experiments. How do you get better? Do you do a bunch of practice questions? Which questions do you use? How do you teach yourself the right skills? You have to overcome these problems to really drill down on your weaknesses.This is really the only way to get better. But it's the foundation to how I designed our ACT prep program at PrepScholar. Here's a step by step guide on how to find your weaknesses: Categorize every practice question you take by skill, especially for practice tests. You can find every skill listed in our Ultimate ACT Science Study Guide.Try to categorize as accurately as possible. Keep track of how many questions you got right and wrong in each skill. You can use a notebook or a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Identify the skillsyou're missing the most number of questions in. Don't just focus on the % correct - what really matters is how many more points you can get by mastering that skill. For example, there might be a really uncommon skill that shows up just once on every test. Even if you get 0% of those questions right, it's not lowering your score much. It's much better to work on the skill that appears 10 times per test that you're getting 50% of questions right on. Find the best resources to train your weakness. You need a way to 1) learn the underlying skills, 2) find practice questions to keep drilling that skill. Unfortunately, as I'll discuss below, there aren't that many great books for ACT Science available. Sound overwhelming? It is a lot of hard work, but it's the most effective way to improve. Most students don't take the time to do this, which is why they don't improve their score. However, doing this well really does take a lot of energy and discipline.In PrepScholar ACT, we do all of the above steps automatically for you so you can focus on actually learning.You'll avoid the hard organizational work of finding your weaknesses and gathering practice problems, and focus on actually learning the skills to improve your score. Bonus: If all of this is making sense to you, you'd love our ACT prep program, PrepScholar. It does all of the hard work in finding your weaknesses and giving you the exact lesson you need to get better. 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: ACT Science Tip #5: Use Only High-Quality Practice Materials ACT Science is an odd section. You take weird scientific concepts and papers, distill them into a high school-friendly format, and ask very specific types of questions to test science reasoning skills. This means that test prep writers have a lot of ways to go wrong. Unlike other ACT sections like Reading or Math, ACT Science has woefully few ACT books to prep from. In fact, I can't recommend ANYpublished ACT books - all the ones I've seen so far are pretty terrible. They all suffer from one or more of these problems: The passage is inappropriate. It's either too easy, too difficult, too short, or uses unnecessary jargon. Official ACT Science passages have a very specificfeel to them. The questions asked aren't stylistically correct. They might test interpretation of graphs in the wrong way, or it doesn't have the right bait answers that ACT Science has to trick you. They don't teach you the fundamental skills underlying the questions. If it's just a book of practice questions, it's not enough. This is often a problem because ACT prep companies hire people who are too unskilled or too advanced to write ACT Science material. If you hire PhD's in science who are super smart but don't know the ACT well, you'll produce ACT Science content that will be way too difficult. So where can you get great practice materials? The very best source of practice questions is official ACT practice tests. These are official tests previously administered to real students. There are some problems with just using these tests though. They aren't organized by skill, which means it's hard to find problems to drill a specific skill like Interpreting Experiments or Comparing Viewpoints. Also, there aren't that many official tests available (up to 10 or so), and you want to save some of these tests to gauge your ACT score. Finally, practice tests don't actually have any instructional material - they're just a bunch of practice questions. If you need lessons to teach you how to actually read graphs and understand ACT science, you won't find that here. If you want to supplement with more ACT Science questions, you might consider our program PrepScholar. To make sure we produce the highest quality questions possible, we broke down the test into its individual skills and categorized every wrong answer type and question type possible. You can see some of this in our Ultimate ACT Science Prep Guide. I also hire only the best ACT content writers - these people usually have years of deep tutoring experience, went to Ivy League schools, and know the test inside and out. Even if you don't use PrepScholar, make sure you find a source of great source of ACT Science materials somewhere. ACT Science Tip #6: Track Your Time Per Passage and Question Tell me if this sounds familiar - in 35 minutes, you don't even make it through the entire section. You just try your best and answer as many questions as you can, then guess on the remaining questions at the end. ACT Science has tough time pressure.You only have 35 minutes to get through 7 passages and 40 questions. Even I, a perfect ACT scorer, find ACT Science to have pretty tough time pressure. Furthermore, unlike ACT Math, the questions and passages aren't arranged in difficulty. Therefore, you can't predict ahead of time which questions are going to be harder, and just skip the hardest questions. This means you need to hustle to get through all the passages and questions. But there's good news. Remember what we said above? To get a 26 on ACT Science, you can miss 10 questions. This means you don't have to fret about getting every question correct. In fact, there are some questions that are so hard that you will never get them right, no matter how much time you spend. Therefore, I have tworecommendations: Spend no more than 1.5 minutes reading each passage. This takes 10.5 minutes away from 35 minutes. From my tip above, you already know that you don't need to actually read the entire passage to answer the questions. Spend no more than 30 seconds trying to answer each question. This takes away another 20 minutes. If you get stuck on a question and have no idea how to solve it, MOVE ON. You do NOT want to spend 90 seconds on one question - that's time better spent getting more questions right. When done right, this gives you a few spare minutes to go back to some tough questions and try to get them right. See a question that you have constant trouble with? Feel free to skip it and come back to it later. As you practice, it might help to have a timer by your side. 90 seconds for reading a passage passes a LOT more quickly than you would expect. ACT Science Tip #7: Don't Worry About Memorizing Science Here's my final tip. A lot of students try to study for ACT Science by reviewing their old class notes from biology, chemistry, and physics. The problem is, ACT Science isn't really a test on science. It's a scientific reasoning test, based mostly on scientific data you've never seen before. Aside from a few questions about basic scientific concepts (like natural selection and electrical charges), nearly everything else can be answered without a deep foundation in the subject matter. For example, look at the photosynthesis example from Tip #3 - you technically don't even need to know what photosynthesis is, and you could answer those questions. The few scientific concepts you likely already remember - but if not, here's all the actual science you need to know for ACT Science. So put aside your textbooks and notes from high school - they're not the best way to study for ACT Science. The best way, as we've discussed throughout this tips guide, is to focus on the test: Understand what's tested on ACT Science Know how to approach ACT Science passages - don't get stuck in the details Understand your skill weaknesses, and drill them Practice time management so you can get through all the questions Summary Those are the main strategies I have for you to improve your ACT Science score. If you're scoring a 17, you can improve it to a 22. If you're scoring a 21, you can boost it to a 26. I guarantee it, if you put in the right amount of work, and study like I'm suggesting above.Notice that I didn't actually teach you any sciencecontent. I didn't point to any facts or formulas that will instantly raise your score.That's because these one-size-fits-all, guaranteed strategies don't really exist. (And anyone who tells you this is deceiving you). Every student is different.Instead, you need to understand where you're falling short, and drill those weaknesses continuously. You also need to be thoughtful about your mistakes and leave no mistake ignored.This is really important to your future. Make sure you give ACT prep the attention it deserves, before it's too late, and you get a rejection letter you didn't want.If you want to review any of the strategies, here's a list of all of them: Tip #1: Don't Waste TimeUnderstanding Useless Details Tip #2: Understand What ACT Science Actually Tests Tip #3: Learn How to Read Graphs Tip #4: Understand Your Weaknesses, and Keep Drilling Them Tip #5: Use Only High-Quality Practice Materials Tip #6: Track Your Time Per Passage and Question Tip #7: Don't Worry About Memorizing Science What's Next? We have a lot more useful guides to raise your ACT score. Read my corresponding guides for other ACT Math sections: Get a 26 in ACT English, ACT Reading, and ACT Math. What's a good ACT score for you? Read our detailed guide on figuring out your ACT target score. Want a bunch of free ACT practice tests to practice with? Here's our comprehensive list of every free ACT practice test. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today: