Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 850 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/09/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Introduction In the high end retail market, Gucci (1921), Louis Vuitton (1854) Vertu (2000) are three successful so-called luxury brands. However, creating luxury brands is a difficult marketing exercise. Marketers are moving from the traditional marketing mix approach towards greater use of experiential marketing to create an emotional attachment between the brand and the customer. It is necessary for a brand to convey a personality that the customer can relate or aspire to. Q1: What are the key success factors in creating an exclusive product/service? Using the brands discussed in the case. a) Gucci * Gucci’s products grabbed the attention of many powerful celebrities including Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. These women represent elegance and style, which enhances the prestigious aura of Gucci. * Another key success to maintain its exclusive status is to never compromise into the down-market even with bankruptcy at stake in the 90s. * A major influe nce on the success of Gucci in the 90’s was the appointment of leading designer Tom Ford as the creative director of Gucci overseeing product lines, store image and store design. In March 1995, his first collection caught attention of the press by utilizing sex and glamour, which reinvented its image to bring back an aura of exclusivity and prestige. In addition to this, Tom Ford believes in giving the whole experience of buying Gucci through stores with rich and classic decor located on expensive streets, model like salespeople, great customer service and distinctive Gucci packaging. (b) Louis Vuitton * Louis Vuitton has tried to modernize its image by using young designers, while maintaining the classic designs. However, no designers can eclipse the powerful brand image of Louis Vuitton itself. * Louis Vuitton stands out from peer by focusing on product quality. All products are extensively tested to make sure they can withstand wear and tear. The company emphasize in tegrate manufacturing initiatives such as â€Å"quality circles† in the production process. * The company operates a pricing strategy by practicing on never reduced in price and no sales period. * The company offers customized products such as personal engraving on their products and ponsoring elite sport events such as yachting and motorsport events. (c) Vertu * Vertu utilizes craftsmanship, precision engineering, high-end technology and unique personal service dimension, to create a distinctive luxury brand. Vertu wants their phones to be a status symbol and aims to create a fashion brand rather than a technology brand. * Vertu Concierge provides specialized travel assistance, allowing users to access and reserve restaurants, hotels, concert tickets and much more. Also, the company offers free upgradeability when new technology emerges. Q2: What is the importance of concentrating on retail environment when adopting a marketing strategy of experiential marketing? Give exa mples using the Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu brands . Stores are another extension of brand image. * Gucci stores are located on expensive high street with provocative window display and free flow of interior that appeals more to customers, which allow them to browse comfortably. The decor is rich and classic. To add to the image, the salespersons are dressed smartly and even security guard is suitably dressed. For the convenience for the customers, Gucci products can also be purchased online. * Gucci became a Multi Brand Global Company through the acquisition of several labels and uses different channels of distribution for each of its acquired labels. * Vertu established flagship stores in exclusive shopping districts, thus benefiting from a halo effect. Vertu has developed a unique buying experience by creating â€Å"gallery-like† feels to its retail environments. In keeping with element of exclusivity, original artworks were commissioned and exhibited throughout the stores. By offering a first class personal service combined with extensive product knowledge, Vertu has enhanced their image of reliability and expertise. Vertu phones are available online and customer can personalize their mobile phone too. The company is also extremely particular when choosing suitable retail channels that must have a global reputation in offering quality and luxury products. Q3: Discuss how exclusive brands may lose their aura of exclusiveness and fashion status, identifying possible threats to these brands? Some brands are targeting both ends of the market. The risk of ‘democratizing’ the brand is that they may lose their aura of exclusivity – as it can be obtained by anyone. If one brand goes down-market, it may have profound repercussions on the appeal of the parent brand. Calvin Klein brand name was affected when they sold the jean in discount supermarkets such as Wal Mart during the 90s. This has downgraded the image of Calvin Klein jeans. Failure to retain talented designer or losing them to their rivals may also affect the brand’s exclusiveness. Counterfeiting is huge subculture within the luxury brand sector. The quality of fakes is getting better, making it harder and harder for people to distinguish the fake from the real thing apart from price. This is a huge threat to luxury brands. Conclusion Advertising can only create awareness for the product/service. The success of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu can be attributed to quality of service, brand image, retail environment, management structure, and ability to combine these factors to create exclusive experience. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu" essay for you Create order

The And Its Effects On America s Reconstruction - 866 Words

More is Better Society is not ran by its citizens but rather by the materialistic idea that ‘more is better’. Disregarding another to receive more for oneself has become the norm. What becomes of the disregarded ‘loser ’is irrelevant in the mind of the ‘winner’, however disregarding individuals causes more harm to society than success. While materialism often trumps moral values, society must develop compassion for others to receive the benefits of generosity and build unity. With a compassionate mindset set, one will begin to develop a habit of generosity which in turn will lessen taxes for government aid programs. While examining South Africa’s reconstruction, Tutu noted that â€Å"Harmony, friendliness, (and) community are the greater goods. Social harmony is for us the greatest good. Anything that subverts, that undermines this sought-after good, is to be avoided like the plague.† He noticed that his nation received greater benefits when the people personally controlled amnesty instead of the courts. Likewise, America receives greater benefits when its citizens control charitable aid instead of its government. One afternoon on my way home from work, I noticed a malnourished homeless man on the side of the street. All of the surrounding cars drove by and ignored his suffering. I went through the Burger king drive thru and bought him a meal. I then pulled up next to the man and held the bag of food out of my window. He walked over to me, t ook the bag and began to cry. IfShow MoreRelatedHow Did The Radical Republican s Rise For The Failure Of The Post Civil War Reconstruction?1619 Words   |  7 Pageswar reconstruction? 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Which played several major roles in shaping America from the late nineteenth into the twentieth centuries.These three aspects, political, social, and economical, affected one another so much that they were inseparable. The beginning

The Importance of Personal Responsibility free essay sample

The Importance of Personal Responsibility GEN/200 As an adult you are responsible for every action that you take, but before that action are a series of thoughts that lead you to taking that action. Your personal responsibility starts at a young age, you are either taught personal responsibility as you grow into an adult by being held accountable of your own actions or the responsibility is taken from you. Depending on how you were brought up your transition into becoming an adult can either be an easy one or a difficult one where everyone is to blame but yourself. As an adult the one thing that you know is a constant is that you will be held accountable for your actions whether you like it or not. Holding yourself accountable and having self discipline has a lot to do with personal responsibility in my opinion. When you hold yourself accountable for your actions, your thoughts, your intentions†¦ you are making a conscious effort to be a responsible person. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Personal Responsibility or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Every action starts with a thought, whether it’s a good thought or a bad thought will determine the outcome of that action. For example when you wake up in the morning and the first thought that comes to mind is that you will have a bad day, whether you know it or not you are subconsciously going to make it a bad day. Personal responsibility starts with holding yourself accountable, if you stopped that thought when it happened and told yourself that today will be a good day you have already turned the outcome around. By holding yourself accountable you are in control, you are not aimlessly going through life reacting to what happens to you. Self discipline goes hand in hand with holding yourself accountable, by having self discipline you are able to make sure that you are staying on track and checking up on yourself regularly. Having self discipline will go a long way in making sure you make it to your intended destination. Take flight paths for example, when you fly somewhere they generally show you the path that they will take. It is impossible to stay exactly on that line since you are in the air constantly battling the changes circumstances around you, air pockets, up drafts, down drafts, adverse weather, etc. The ilots are disciplined enough to make necessary adjustments to stay on track on make it to their destination on time. This holds true in life by having the self discipline to make adjustments where need be to hold yourself accountable to what is happening around you. Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and having the characteristics of personal responsibility you will be able to adjust and continue on. P ersonal responsibility is incredibly important, by making sure that you are aware of what is happening and holding yourself responsible for the outcome of your actions you will go a long way. Everybody knows someone who always has an excuse for why something didn’t happen the way that they wanted it to, they know just who or what to blame. They will actively look for something or someone to blame to avoid facing the fact that they may have done something wrong to have the outcome that received. That person generally hasn’t changed very much from the person they were in high school both personally and professionally. By holding yourself responsible you are more aware of what is happening, you can review your actions and determine what adjustments need to be made. Some of the most successful people in life are the most critical of themselves, whether it’s a professional athlete studying game tapes before a game or a college student doing the necessary research before giving a presentation. Personal responsibility can help you achieve your goals in your college degree in stride. By using your personal responsibility you would make the time to read ahead on your class syllabus to make sure that you are missing any large assignments that are coming up. As an adult learner putting together a plan to help practice personal responsibility is a key component to your success. With the economy in its present state many students require a full time job to be able to go to school, scheduling enough time to study and finish your assignments without impeding on your work schedule will help. Taking a look into your class and what is required when you start a new class will help you plan and schedule your time, having that plan in place will make it a lot easier to hold yourself accountable to complete each block. Having a written plan, specific goals with set timelines, and a vision will help you succeed in making sure that you accomplish what you set out. Ultimately personal responsibility will make your tenure in college a lot easier, it will also become second nature as you enter the professional world. Whether you are entering your first career or going back to school to pursue a new career having personal responsibility will take you far in life. If you were to interview the most successful people in the world I can almost guarantee that being personally responsible will be a key component to their success.

Tears of Fear free essay sample

As I entered my house that beautiful Juneday, I was on top of the world. My last day in eighth grade was done andmy imagination was running wild with thoughts of varsity basketball andhigh school. When I noticed my brothers car, I was astonished.Not only had I not noticed he was home, but he hadnt greeted me. Wevealways been close; he was usually thrilled to be home, and even morethrilled to see me. His door was closed. My fear lessened. Hemust be sleeping, I thought as I grasped the door handle. But my fearreturned when it would not open. No one in our family locks doors. Ididnt know what to do. I calmed myself and gentlyknocked. Chris, are you okay? Iasked. Yeah, bud, he replied. I didnt believehim, though. He never locked his door. Something wasup. Hey, man, can I come in? I asked in myfriendliest voice. We will write a custom essay sample on Tears of Fear or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There was a pause. By this point I wanted tokick the door down. I didnt know what was wrong. My adrenaline wasflowing and my muscles were tensed. Yeah, bud, wait asec, he said. As the door opened I started to ask him whyhed locked his door, but what I saw stopped me. My brother, always sostrong and proud, looked like pure sadness. Ill never forget his eyes.Always gleaming with confidence and happiness, they were barely open. Ididnt know what to say. I had no choice but just to hug him. I hadnever seen him like this. He hugged me tight and I could tell he wastense. Whats wrong? I whispered. He pulled awayand I could see tears building. The sight of my strong, larger-than-lifebrother crying brought tears to my eyes. He looked straight atme. I dont want to go to college, Nick, he choked.I never have. College just isnt for me. Im so scared; I justcant go. Confusion ran through me. Not in a million yearswould I expect him to say this. I was so glad he told me, but didntknow what to say. I hugged him again and said, Thats okay, bud,no one ever said you had to go. I could feel him relax. Ill neverforget his face, so sad, but most of all, Ill never forget those tears.Those tears of fear.

Custom Essay Writing Help

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Articulated Prepositions in Italian

Articulated Prepositions in Italian You’ve learned about prepositions like â€Å"a†, â€Å"di†, and â€Å"da†, but you’ve also been seeing ones that look like â€Å"al†, â€Å"del†, and â€Å"dal†. Are these the same prepositions, and if so, how do you know when to use them? These prepositions are called articulated prepositions, and they are formed when the simple preposition (like â€Å"su†) combines with a definite article (like â€Å"lo†), and form one word that looks like, â€Å"sullo†. Why Do Articulated Prepositions Exist? Despite the difficulty they add to all of the Italian grammar you have to learn, articulated prepositions are probably one of the reasons you like listening to Italian. They add a melodic flow to the language that makes Italian easier on the ears. What Do Articulated Prepositions Look Like? Below you’ll find a table with all of the articulated prepositions.   For example: Ho comprato delle uova. - I bought some eggs. Delle - di le Note: Pay particular attention to what happens when you combine the preposition â€Å"in† with a definite article as the form changes more dramatically than the others. Articulated Prepositions in Italian Definite Article A DI DA IN SU CON il al del dal nel sul col/con il lo allo dello dallo nello sullo con lo l all dell dall nell sull con l i ai dei dai nei sui coi/con i gli agli degli dagli negli sugli con gli la alla della dalla nella sulla con la l all dell dall nell sull con l le alle delle dalle nelle sulle con le Esempi: Vai al cinema? - You’re going to the movies?Vorrei tanto andare negli Stati Uniti! - I would really like to go to the United States!Ci sono tanti ristoranti sulla spiaggia. - There are a lot of restaurants on the beach.Uno dei miei amici mi ha consigliato di andare a Verona. Che ne pensi? - One of my friends advised that I go to Verona. What do you think?Mi piace leggere alla sera. - I like to read in the evening. Also, note that you only need to know how to change five of the seven prepositions into their articulated forms, with con typically only combining with il and i.   You never need to change â€Å"tra†, â€Å"fra† or â€Å"per†. When Do You Use Articulated Prepositions? When you do or do not use this form of prepositions can get tricky very quickly as there are often more exceptions than rules. However, there is one rule that tends to stay consistent. Typically, you would use articulated prepositions when the noun following whatever preposition you’re using requires an article, like â€Å"Che ore sono? - What time is it? → Sono le dieci. - It’s ten†. When you’re talking about time, the article is most likely needed. With that in mind, you would know to use an articulated preposition in this phrase: We’ll see each other at ten. → Ci vediamo alle dieci. Some expressions in Italian are also fixed and must include the articulated preposition, and you’ll often see this happen with locations. For example, â€Å"I’m going to to the dentist† would be, â€Å"Vado dal dentista†. It’s easier, however, to talk about when you should avoid using articulated prepositions. Here are the most common situations. DON’T use articulated prepositions before: A name, like â€Å"Luca†Names of cities, like â€Å"Boston†Fixed phrases, like â€Å"vacanza da sogno - dream vacation†

Discuss Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude Research Paper

Discuss Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude - Research Paper Example She does not consider her mother to be weak in the physical state but in the emotional state (In Leavenworth, 1960, 34).   Hamlet developed a different opinion of romance and love after her mother accepted to marry his uncle shortly, â€Å"two months dead† (138). Gertrude makes Hamlet change his earlier belief that those in love need to hang on one another despite the prevailing challenges. He therefore believes that the action of Gertrude was a betrayal not just to his father but to the whole institution of marriage and love in general (Crowl, 2014, 138-139).   She had shown a lot of affection towards his late father which is evident in the statement, "Why, she would hang on him As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on" but she seems to have quickly forgotten that and was now deeply in love with Claudius. He regards her mother’s action as sign of poor judgment and an act of sheer cowardice (Howard, 2007, 67). The fact that she quickly gives in to the advances if Claudius is an indication that she never loved Hamlet’s father after all which angers Hamlet and increase her hatred towards her. Her action seems to confirm his suspicion that Gertrude and Claudius were having an affair before the death of his father and he suspects that they might have contributed to his untimely death. Hamlet makes a comparison of his mother moving from his late father to Claudius as one moving from the loving arms of the gods to the animals, "So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr" (Shakespeare, Act 1, scene 2). He is quick to judge his mother as being very foolish and uncaring. On her part, Gertrude considers her action as being innocent and not based on any form of malice or insincere motive and wonders how she has been misunderstood by her son. The story shows some evidence that Gertrude got into a

The number of migrants in the world has more than doubled since 1975 Essay

The number of migrants in the world has more than doubled since 1975. Discuss, with specific reference to UK - Essay Example Moreover, according to reports from the Office of National Statistics the net migration into UK was roughly 189,000 between mid-2005 and mid-2006. Also, the overall migration in to the UK since 1994 has been estimated to be in excess of 2 million people. These staggering figures all point to the fact that the negative net migration is contributing hugely to the population expansion in UK. There are numerous reasons for this. One view claims that this is a direct consequence of the respective immigration policies in the UK and outside it and is hence a consequence of a choice made by the policymakers. However, migration demographics gathered from other countries seems to contradict this theory and suggest that in addition to the UK immigration policy, this is more due to the economic forces working silently behind the scenes.1 Hatton summarizes in his paper that relative income, immigration policy and inequality all have a role to play in the inducement to migrate to or from UK. However, he wraps up his paper by saying that patterns of unemployment and relative income have a comparatively smaller impact on the migration of UK when compared to UK inequality and relative policy disparities between UK and rest of the Europe in specific and rest of the world in general. This has huge implications on the UK economy and on UK as a whole. ... the high net migration but also because of increasing life expectance and fertility), a city the size of Birmingham must be constructed every two and a half years in order to meet the growing needs!' Apart from the obvious problems of over-population and lack of space in the society, a huge negative immigration can have many other consequences to the common Britisher. Sir Andrew Green, the Chairman of Migration Watch UK said on the November 4th, 2007 edition of The Sunday Times; 'Failure to act now will mean that our society will be changed beyond recognition - and especially our cities. London is one-third immigrant and half of all babies born there have a foreign parent. Other large cities will follow. According to one academic study, the ethnic community in Britain will grow from 9% to 29% by mid-century. There is every reason for concern. The Commission for Racial Equality's final report spoke frankly about growing segregation and of our society "fracturing", with bonds of solidarity across different groups weakening, and tensions between people increasing. These are serious warnings. The Commission Racial Equality was in denial about the role of mass immigration in all this but the rest of us can see it clearly.' (Sir Green A., 2007, Sunday Times). Putting this fact aside too, other problems such as the cheaper immigrant labor being absorbed into the workforce while one million (according to independent studies) laborers who would like to work but cannot do so because certain laborers are charging below the market rate for their services emerge. However, it is apparent that there must be certain advantages of having a high number of immigrants into the economy. For example, the injection of foreigners into the economy means that they can do those things which

Professional Development Essay Example for Free

Professional Development Essay Nurses are the largest work force in the healthcare industry. The increasing demands for nurses opt to increase the quality of care given by these nurses. The Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2010) states that patients â€Å"deserve the care that centered on their unique needs and not what is most convenient for the health care professionals†. Nursing practice has changed significantly since the beginning of the profession secondary to increased demand for high quality care given and for the safety of the nurses and the patients. In order to overcome these challenges the Institute of Medicine (IOM) created a report that served as a foundation for the future and advancement of nursing. IOM reported that, â€Å"Nurses have the opportunity to play a central role in transforming the healthcare system to create a more accessible, high quality, and value-driven environment for patients†. (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010, pg. 85) The IOM report, †The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health†, emphasized on different topics with regards to the future of nursing especially the importance of nursing education, nursing practice and the roles of nurses as a leader in the healthcare system. The goal of nursing education is for the nurses to be prepared to face the increasing needs of a diverse population of patients and to deliver a safe and quality patient care. In addition, the transformation of nursing education is encouraged to prepare new nurses to work hand in hand with other healthcare professionals in different settings. These changes are needed because of technological advancements, older patient population and increasing complexity of the patient conditions. Care in the acute care setting and outside the hospital has become more complex as well. Nurses have to be trained on flexibility and ability to take in more roles than what is expected when they graduate nursing. With this note, advancement in the education curriculum and changes are needed to compensate for these demands. Nurses should be able to have evidence-based practice care, collaborative skills with other professionals, be proficient with the new technologies and even more skilled on the acute and chronic healthcare settings. Most hospitals are teaching hospitals and require more BSN graduate nurses  in their workforce. The IOM has a view to increase BSN nurses working in hospitals from 50% to 100%. In spite of this view, IOM set a goal of having BSN nursing percentage of 80% by 2020. This is â€Å"necessary to move the nursing workforce to an expanded set of competencies, especially in the domains of community and public health, leadership, systems improvement and change, research and health policy†. (IOM, 2010, pg. 173) In addition, having a BSN degree is a good foundation for nurses to advance to a higher education, APRNs and Doctorate levels, that will in turn advance nurses to research, faculty nurses to teach future nurses, ability to participate in creating healthcare policies and leadership roles. IOM also encourages having bridge programs from RN to BSN and having a residency program that will allow nurses to gain more skills, experience and knowledge and alleviate the stress around new nurses that are being thrown out of the real world without enough exposure and understanding of the profession. There are plenty of barriers in accomplishing these goals but with proper incentives, motivation and encouragement that are given to nurses, it is not impossible to have a better future in nursing education and have more educated and advanced nursing workforce in our society today. IOM also emphasized the importance of advancing the nursing practice to the community and not just concentrate in the acute care setting due to the increasing needs of the population and changes in the healthcare system. The outdated policies governing nursing scope of practice is a hindrance to the advancement of nursing practice and because of this patients are limited to access a better quality of care. IOM stressed on their report that a necessary alteration in nursing practice is needed to provide patient-centered care; deliver more primary as opposed to specialty care; deliver more care in the community rather than the acute care setting; provide seamless care; enable all health professionals to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and competencies; and foster inter-professional collaboration. (IOM, 2010, pg. 86-87) Nurses are encouraged to pursue their education to Advanced Practical Registered Nurses (APRN) due to a shortage of primary care professionals in the acute and mainly in the community healthcare setting. APRNs are knowledgeable, well trained and proficient enough to provide safe and high quality of care without the supervision of a primary doctor. IOM believes that changes in the regulations and expanding the scope of practice of nurses and of APRNs are necessary so that they can have the ability to practice and make decisions more independently. â€Å"The committee believes all health professionals should practice to the full extent of their education and training so that more patients may benefit†. (IOM, 2010, pg. 96) Again having bridge programs and residency programs for new nurses will help with the advancement of nursing practice. Redefining the roles and extending the scope of nursing practice is highly recommended by the IOM for the future of the nursing profession and to keep up with the evolution of the healthcare environment. Another vision that the IOM has is nurses as leaders in healthcare. It is time for nurses to move forward from bedside roles and start being active as leaders and partners with other healthcare professionals in delivering high quality care to patients. Together with the changes of nursing education and nursing practice, nurses as leaders are required to finally reach the goal of an advanced healthcare system. IOM’s vision â€Å"specifically challenges nurses to demonstrate full partnership with physicians and other healthcare professionals in redesigning U.S healthcare.† (Porer-OGrady, 2011, pg. 33) in addition the IOM â€Å"report suggests that the nursing profession must produce leaders at every level of the system and accept key leadership positions in policy, politics, organizations, and practice.† (Porer-OGrady, 2011, pg. 33) Today’s advancements in technology, nurses have an important role in research and they assist in developing evidence-based practice care to maintain safety. Nurses are the main caregivers and they understand very well the healthcare process. Nurses also play a vital role in delivering quality patient care through facilitation, coordination and making sure everything is at ease. So it is imperative that nurses be involved in policy making and provide strategies to improve care delivery and ensure quality  care. With these expectations put into nurses, it is every nurse’s responsibility to advance in their career, through education, be very well rounded with competencies and be active partners and be future leaders in the healthcare system. In conclusion, IOM has a very broad insight and goals with regards to the future of nursing. In order to achieve these goals, the importance of advancing nursing education and practice are emphasized as well as having more nursing leaders in the healthcare system. Having more BSN graduate nurses in the acute care settings and having more APRNs extending their services to the community is going to facilitate the advancement that the IOM views. Changing policies and extending the scope of practice for nurses to avoid limiting their abilities to practice and taking advantage of the nurse’s full capabilities is another goal that the IOM envisions. Lastly, nurses are seen more involved as leaders for a successful reform and in turn provide a better quality and safe care to patients. References Porer-OGrady, T. (2011). Future of Nursing Special:Leadership at All Levels. Nursing Management, 32-37. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/journalarticle?Article_ID=1163290 The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. (2010). Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12956

Personal Perspective on the Science Versus Religion Debate :: Theology

Personal Perspective on the Science Versus Religion Debate In Alfred North Whitehead’s â€Å"Religion and Science†, he nullifies the argument between the religious factions and scientists of the world by eliminating all grounds for the argument. Although debated to the â€Å"ends of the Earth†, Whitehead points out that these two subjects are actually based upon events that are unrelated. He states â€Å"Science is concerned with the general conditions which are observed to regulate phenomenon; whereas religion is wholly wrapped up in the contemplation of moral and aesthetic values†(Whitehead, Religion and Science). Through his definition of both viewpoints, he is able to explain one will never see the other, thus no argument exists. This topic is quite personal for me at this point in my life. I have always lived as if everything could be explained. I tortured myself with the whole idea of â€Å"heaven†. I was scared that not believing would sentence me to eternal death, but my logical side just couldn’t fathom the idea. My religious side was in a â€Å"fight to the death† war with my logical side. However, my internal war is now over. The battle is done. And, yes one side did come out waving the proverbial white flag. To make a long story short, eighteen months ago my husband suffered a broken neck due to a swimming accident. We as a family had been in debate over our family’s relationship with God. As we discovered, ones religion is often decided during the darkest times of our lives. It was at that time we discovered that there was something more to life than money, possessions, or â€Å"facts†. The specialists couldn’t explain what had saved Shane’s life. Their science failed them. Luckily, the neurologist was a Christian, and her only explanation was God wasn’t finished with him yet. We realized that for once there was no other answer. Without hesitation, my husband and I both committed our lives to serving the Lord Jesus Christ to the best of our ability. To get back to the point of this, as a new Christian I thought the Science vs. Religion debate would be completely over for me. It isn’t. I still catch myself trying to explain things that don’t need to be explained. I have spent many restless nights fighting my guilty conscience for doubting my faith.

Chapter 10 Mayhem at the Ministry

Mr. Weasley woke them after only a few hours sleep. He used magic to pack up the tents, and they left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr. Roberts at the door of his cottage. Mr. Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague â€Å"Merry Christmas.† â€Å"He'll be all right,† said Mr. Weasley quietly as they marched off onto the moor. â€Å"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes him a bit disorientated for a while†¦and that was a big thing they had to make him forget.† They heard urgent voices as they approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and when they reached it, they found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys, all clamoring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible. Mr. Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil; they joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen. They walked back through Ottery St. Catchpole and up the damp lane toward the Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted, and thinking longingly of their breakfast. As they rounded the corner and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the lane. â€Å"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!† Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand. â€Å"Arthur – I've been so worried – so worried -â€Å" She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the Daily Prophet fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Harry saw the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, complete with a twinkling black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops. â€Å"You're all right,† Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, â€Å"you're alive†¦.Oh boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together. â€Å"Ouch! Mum – you're strangling us -â€Å" â€Å"I shouted at you before you left!† Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. â€Å"It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OW.L.s? Oh Fred†¦George†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay,† said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. â€Å"Bill,† he added in an undertone, â€Å"pick up that paper, I want to see what it says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen, and Hermione had made Mrs. Weasley a cup of very strong tea, into which Mr. Weasley insisted on pouring a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey, Bill handed his father the newspaper. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder. â€Å"I knew it,† said Mr. Weasley heavily. â€Å"Ministry blunders†¦culprits not apprehended†¦lax security†¦Dark wizards running unchecked†¦national disgrace†¦.Who wrote this? Ah†¦of course†¦Rita Skeeter.† â€Å"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!† said Percy furiously. â€Å"Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -â€Å" â€Å"Do us a favor, Perce,† said Bill, yawning, â€Å"and shut up.† â€Å"I'm mentioned,† said Mr. Weasley, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the Daily Prophet article. â€Å"Where?† spluttered Mrs. Weasley, choking on her tea and whiskey. â€Å"If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!† â€Å"Not by name,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Listen to this: ‘If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.'.Oh really,† said Mr. Weasley in exasperation, handing the paper to Percy. â€Å"Nobody was hurt. What was I supposed to say? Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods†¦well, there certainly will be rumors now she's printed that.† He heaved a deep sigh. â€Å"Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over.† â€Å"I'll come with you, Father,† said Percy importantly. â€Å"Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person.† He bustled out of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley looked most upset. â€Å"Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office; surely they can handle this without you?† â€Å"I've got to go, Molly,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"I've made things worse. I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off†¦.† â€Å"Mrs. Weasley,† said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself, â€Å"Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?† â€Å"Hedwig, dear?† said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. â€Å"No†¦no, there hasn't been any post at all.† Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry. With a meaningful look at both of them he said, â€Å"All right if I go and dump my stuff in your room, Ron?† â€Å"Yeah†¦think I will too,† said Ron at once. â€Å"Hermione?† â€Å"Yes,† she said quickly, and the three of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs. â€Å"What's up, Harry?† said Ron, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them. â€Å"There's something I haven't told you,† Harry said. â€Å"On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again.† Ron's and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry had imagined them back in his bedroom on Privet Drive. Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. Ron simply looked dumbstruck. â€Å"But – he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean – last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?† â€Å"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive,† said Harry. â€Å"But I was dreaming about him†¦him and Peter – you know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were plotting to kill†¦someone.† He had teetered for a moment on the verge of saying â€Å"me,† but couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did. â€Å"It was only a dream,† said Ron bracingly. â€Å"Just a nightmare.† â€Å"Yeah, but was it, though?† said Harry, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. â€Å"It's weird, isn't it?†¦My scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again.† â€Å"Don't – say – his – name!† Ron hissed through gritted teeth. â€Å"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?† Harry went on, ignoring Ron. â€Å"At the end of last year?† Professor Trelawney was their Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Hermione's terrified look vanished as she let out a derisive snort. â€Å"Oh Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says?† â€Å"You weren't there,† said Harry. â€Å"You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you, she went into a trance – a real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again†¦greater and more terrible than ever before†¦and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him†¦and that night Wormtail escaped.† There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absentmindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread. â€Å"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?† Hermione asked. â€Å"Are you expecting a letter?† â€Å"I told Sirius about my scar,† said Harry, shrugging. â€Å"I'm waiting for his answer.† â€Å"Good thinking!† said Ron, his expression clearing. â€Å"I bet Sirius'll know what to do!† â€Å"I hoped he'd get back to me quickly,† said Harry. â€Å"But we don't know where Sirius is†¦he could be in Africa or somewhere, couldn't he?† said Hermione reasonably. â€Å"Hedwig's not going to manage that journey in a few days.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† said Harry, but there was a leaden feeling in his stomach as he looked out of the window at the Hedwig-free sky. â€Å"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry† said Ron. â€Å"Come on – three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play†¦.You can try out the Wronski Feint†¦.† â€Å"Ron,† said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, â€Å"Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now†¦.He's worried, and he's tired†¦.We all need to go to bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt.† Hermione left the room, muttering something that sounded very much like â€Å"Boys.† Neither Mr. Weasley nor Percy was at home much over the following week. Both left the house each morning before the rest of the family got up, and returned well after dinner every night. â€Å"It's been an absolute uproar,† Percy told them importantly the Sunday evening before they were due to return to Hogwarts. â€Å"I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers, and of course, if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes. Scorch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders.† â€Å"Why are they all sending Howlers?† asked Ginny, who was mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape on the rug in front of the living room fire. â€Å"Complaining about security at the World Cup,† said Percy. â€Å"They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks.† Mrs. Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. â€Å"Home,† â€Å"school,† and â€Å"work† were there, but there was also â€Å"traveling,† â€Å"lost,† â€Å"hospital,† â€Å"prison,† and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, â€Å"mortal peril.† Eight of the hands were currently pointing to the â€Å"home† position, but Mr. Weasley's, which was the longest, was still pointing to â€Å"work.† Mrs. Weasley sighed. â€Å"Your father hasn't had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who,† she said. â€Å"They're working him far too hard. His dinner's going to be ruined if he doesn't come home soon.† â€Å"Well, Father feels he's got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn't he?† said Percy. â€Å"If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first -â€Å" â€Å"Don't you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!† said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once. â€Å"If Dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented,† said Bill, who was playing chess with Ron. â€Å"Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts' Charm Breakers once, and called me ‘a long-haired pillock'?† â€Å"Well, it is a bit long, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley gently. â€Å"If you'd just let me -â€Å" â€Å"No, Mum.† Rain lashed against the living room window. Hermione was immersed in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, copies of which Mrs. Weasley had bought for her, Harry, and Ron in Diagon Alley. Charlie was darning a fireproof balaclava. Harry was polishing his Firebolt, the broomstick servicing kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet. Fred and George were sitting in a far corner, quills out, talking in whispers, their heads bent over a piece of parchment. â€Å"What are you two up to?† said Mrs. Weasley sharply, her eyes on the twins. â€Å"Homework,† said Fred vaguely. â€Å"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Yeah, we've left it a bit late,† said George. â€Å"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you?† said Mrs. Weasley shrewdly. â€Å"You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?† â€Å"Now, Mum,† said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look on his face. â€Å"If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?† Everyone laughed, even Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Oh your father's coming!† she said suddenly, looking up at the clock again. Mr. Weasley's hand had suddenly spun from â€Å"work† to â€Å"traveling†; a second later it had shuddered to a halt on â€Å"home† with the others, and they heard him calling from the kitchen. â€Å"Coming, Arthur!† called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later, Mr. Weasley came into the warm living room carrying his dinner on a tray. He looked completely exhausted. â€Å"Well, the fat's really in the fire now,† he told Mrs. Weasley as he sat down in an armchair near the hearth and toyed unenthusiastically with his somewhat shriveled cauliflower. â€Å"Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report. And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I told Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago.† â€Å"Mr. Crouch has been saying it for weeks and weeks,† said Percy swiftly. â€Å"Crouch is very lucky Rita hasn't found out about Winky,† said Mr. Weasley irritably. â€Å"There'd be a week's worth of headlines in his house-elf being caught holding the wand that conjured the Dark Mark.† â€Å"I thought we were all agreed that that elf, while irresponsible, did not conjure the Mark?† said Percy hotly. â€Å"If you ask me, Mr. Crouch is very lucky no one at the Daily Prophet knows how mean he is to elves!† said Hermione angrily. â€Å"Now look here, Hermione!† said Percy. â€Å"A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unswerving obedience from his servants -â€Å" â€Å"His slave, you mean!† said Hermione, her voice rising passionately, â€Å"because he didn't pay Winky, did he?† â€Å"I think you'd all better go upstairs and check that you've packed properly!† said Mrs. Weasley, breaking up the argument. â€Å"Come on now, all of you†¦.† Harry repacked his broomstick servicing kit, put his Firebolt over his shoulder, and went back upstairs with Ron. The rain sounded even louder at the top of the house, accompanied by loud whistlings and moans from the wind, not to mention sporadic howls from the ghoul who lived in the attic. Pigwidgeon began twittering and zooming around his cage when they entered. The sight of the half-packed trunks seemed to have sent him into a frenzy of excitement. â€Å"Bung him some Owl Treats,† said Ron, throwing a packet across to Harry. â€Å"It might shut him up.† Harry poked a few Owl Treats through the bars of Pigwidgeon's cage, then turned to his trunk. Hedwig's cage stood next to it, still empty. â€Å"It's been over a week,† Harry said, looking at Hedwig's deserted perch. â€Å"Ron, you don't reckon Sirius has been caught, do you?† â€Å"Nah, it would've been in the Daily Prophet,† said Ron. â€Å"The Ministry would want to show they'd caught someone, wouldn't they?† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose†¦.† â€Å"Look, here's the stuff Mum got for you in Diagon Alley. And she's got some gold out of your vault for you†¦and she's washed all your socks.† He heaved a pile of parcels onto Harry's camp bed and dropped the money bag and a load of socks next to it. Harry started unwrapping the shopping. Apart from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, by Miranda Goshawk, he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment, and refills for his potion-making kit – he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna. He was just piling underwear into his cauldron when Ron made a loud noise of disgust behind him. â€Å"What is that supposed to be?† He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs. There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley entered, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes. â€Å"Here you are,† she said, sorting them into two piles. â€Å"Now, mind you pack them properly so they don't crease.† â€Å"Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress,† said Ron, handing it out to her. â€Å"Of course I haven't,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"That's for you. Dress robes.† â€Å"What?† said Ron, looking horror-struck. â€Å"Dress robes!† repeated Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"It says on your school list that you're supposed to have dress robes this year†¦robes for formal occasions.† â€Å"You've got to be kidding,† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"I'm not wearing that, no way.† â€Å"Everyone wears them, Ron!† said Mrs. Weasley crossly. â€Å"They're all like that! Your father's got some for smart parties!† â€Å"I'll go starkers before I put that on,† said Ron stubbornly. â€Å"Don't be so silly,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"You've got to have dress robes, they're on your list! I got some for Harry too†¦show him, Harry†¦.† In some trepidation, Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, however; his dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all – in fact, they were more or less the same as his school ones, except that they were bottle green instead of black. â€Å"I thought they'd bring out the color of your eyes, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley fondly. â€Å"Well, they're okay!† said Ron angrily, looking at Harry's robes. â€Å"Why couldn't I have some like that?† â€Å"Because†¦well, I had to get yours secondhand, and there wasn't a lot of choice!† said Mrs. Weasley, flushing. Harry looked away. He would willingly have split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys, but he knew they would never take it. â€Å"I'm never wearing them,† Ron was saying stubbornly. â€Å"Never.† â€Å"Fine,† snapped Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Go naked. And, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.† She left the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a funny spluttering noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat. â€Å"Why is everything I own rubbish?† said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon's beak.

Jessica’s Silence Within the Merchant of Venice

Jessica’s Silence Within Shakespeare’s tragic comedy, The Merchant of Venice, one is exposed to yet another one of his works that has an intensely packed storyline full of different characters with their own complex subplots that contribute to the main plot. One of the main characters, Jessica, is daughter of Shylock, who is a wealthy Jewish moneylender in Venice. Shylock is characterized as a villainous type of character within the play, partly because of being a Jew and partly because of his rude and mean exterior.Within the subplot of Jessica and Shylock’s relationship, it is clearly visable by Shylock’s treatment of his daughter that she has become resentful of not only being his daughter, but also of being a Jew. When Jessica decides to rob her father of quite a bit of his money and property through an arranged setup with Lorenzo, the man she plans to elope after the robbery, she takes not only many things worth a great value, but also the ring that h er father had bought her mother.When Shylock learns of his daughter not only deserting him and robbing him, but taking such invaluable and prized possession as the ring, he is utterly heartbroken. After trading the ring for a monkey and marrying Lorenzo, Jessica is faced with a deep moral guilt in Act 5, Scene 1 when exposed to how Portia feels after tricking Bassiano to give the ring away while she was disguised. In Act 5, Scene 1, Jessica is completely silent after Portia and the others enter and they begin to discuss all of the disguise and trickery that had happened.When the men are told that Portia and Nerissa were in disguise and tricked the men of their rings, rings that the men had swore to keep for eternity, Jessica is exposed to how much love and emotion was attached to those rings. One would think that it must have been a shameful kick in the stomach to see past the fog that her love for Lorenzo has caused and realize that the hurt that these women are experiencing is the same pain that her father must have felt when realizing that Jessica, his only flesh and blood, the only person he could possibly love in this world, took one of his most sentimental treasures and traded it for a damn monkey.

Free Essays on The Tale Of A Student’s Life

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows the fact that men are given way too much power and have way too much credit given to them. I think that she is trying to get across that men are the weaker gender and women have power over men. It may not seem like it on the surface, but I think that is the point she does try to get across. She wrote The Handmaid’s Tale shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized what they perceived as the excesses of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. The growing power of the religious right heightened feminist fears of a reversal of the gains women had made in previous decades. She shows a society without female rights and dominated by males could not function properly. I think that women do have a lot of power, but more is deserved, and they should be treated with the same respect as males. I definitely think that men are physically stronger, and it has been debated who is the smarter gender, I personally think males are, but when it comes to trying to find a girl, and when you do, you’ll drop everything on a dime to do whatever they want you to because we can be manipulated with sex. And I think that it is shown in The Handmaid’s Tale that the women are in control. At first in The Handmaid’s Tale it seems that males are dominant. There is no argument there. The men run society and are perfectly in control over everything and if anyone breaks the rules they’ll be punished. But when Nick and Offred meet in the living room, that fateful night, everything changed. You don’t get to read the story from Nick’s perspective, but you do read that he doesn’t hesitate to kiss her even though he is risking so much. â€Å"He puts his hand on my arm, pulls me against him, hi... Free Essays on The Tale Of A Student’s Life Free Essays on The Tale Of A Student’s Life In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows the fact that men are given way too much power and have way too much credit given to them. I think that she is trying to get across that men are the weaker gender and women have power over men. It may not seem like it on the surface, but I think that is the point she does try to get across. She wrote The Handmaid’s Tale shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized what they perceived as the excesses of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. The growing power of the religious right heightened feminist fears of a reversal of the gains women had made in previous decades. She shows a society without female rights and dominated by males could not function properly. I think that women do have a lot of power, but more is deserved, and they should be treated with the same respect as males. I definitely think that men are physically stronger, and it has been debated who is the smarter gender, I personally think males are, but when it comes to trying to find a girl, and when you do, you’ll drop everything on a dime to do whatever they want you to because we can be manipulated with sex. And I think that it is shown in The Handmaid’s Tale that the women are in control. At first in The Handmaid’s Tale it seems that males are dominant. There is no argument there. The men run society and are perfectly in control over everything and if anyone breaks the rules they’ll be punished. But when Nick and Offred meet in the living room, that fateful night, everything changed. You don’t get to read the story from Nick’s perspective, but you do read that he doesn’t hesitate to kiss her even though he is risking so much. â€Å"He puts his hand on my arm, pulls me against him, hi...

Free Essays on Through My Brothers Eyes

The use of first person narrative in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† helps to portray the thoughts and emotions of a man facing the difficult streets of Harlem. The author, James Baldwin, tells a story that depicts the challenges for a young man and his brother Sonny. He writes about their childhood and the hardships that they encountered, and because it is written from the narrator’s thoughts, the reader is able to fully appreciate the character’s feelings and experiences. It provides a greater understanding of how the situations actually affected him and it emotionally ties the reader to the story. The narrator writes little about his own life, but recites incidents of his brother’s life to reveal the challenges of Harlem. The narrator develops the character of his brother throughout the story. When he first find out that his brother, Sonny, has been arrested for drugs, he recalls the innocent boy that he remembers from his childhood. â€Å"...his face had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper in it; and he’d had wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy† (117). The reader experiences the story through the narrator, and thus begins to see Sonny’s character as he does. He believed his brother was full of potential and he was shocked to find out that his brother had fallen into this kind of trouble. He says, â€Å"I couldn’t believe it: but what I mean by that is that I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside me† (117). The reader feels the anguish and confusion of the narrator and tries to understand the situation as he does. He then takes the reader back through his memories and they experience them together, while trying to make sense of the situation. As the story progresses, the narrator continues to face the challenge of understanding his brother, understanding why Sonny doesn’t care and why he chooses the things that he does. He feels an obligation to look after his l... Free Essays on Through My Brothers Eyes Free Essays on Through My Brothers Eyes The use of first person narrative in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† helps to portray the thoughts and emotions of a man facing the difficult streets of Harlem. The author, James Baldwin, tells a story that depicts the challenges for a young man and his brother Sonny. He writes about their childhood and the hardships that they encountered, and because it is written from the narrator’s thoughts, the reader is able to fully appreciate the character’s feelings and experiences. It provides a greater understanding of how the situations actually affected him and it emotionally ties the reader to the story. The narrator writes little about his own life, but recites incidents of his brother’s life to reveal the challenges of Harlem. The narrator develops the character of his brother throughout the story. When he first find out that his brother, Sonny, has been arrested for drugs, he recalls the innocent boy that he remembers from his childhood. â€Å"...his face had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper in it; and he’d had wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy† (117). The reader experiences the story through the narrator, and thus begins to see Sonny’s character as he does. He believed his brother was full of potential and he was shocked to find out that his brother had fallen into this kind of trouble. He says, â€Å"I couldn’t believe it: but what I mean by that is that I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside me† (117). The reader feels the anguish and confusion of the narrator and tries to understand the situation as he does. He then takes the reader back through his memories and they experience them together, while trying to make sense of the situation. As the story progresses, the narrator continues to face the challenge of understanding his brother, understanding why Sonny doesn’t care and why he chooses the things that he does. He feels an obligation to look after his l...

Are science and religion in conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Are science and religion in conflict - Essay Example Modern science began taking its true shape in the 16th century, while religion was around for a much longer period. The relation between these two great forces at times proved to be confusing, many-faceted and tumultuous.The real authority of religion lies on person or tradition or books. Truth behind religion is treated as universal and eternal, essentially a question of faith, and widely accepted and not challenged or questioned in general. In case of science, the authority is based on evidence and reasons. It is always open to challenges, it tries to arrive at a conclusion to a question by findings and evidences and application of pure logic. The most significant question that is answered in this paper is whether science and religion are at conflict or at concord. (Religion and Science, 2010)Science made it possible for human beings to have a different outlook, where questions are asked and attempts are made to answer them. But religion always remained unquestionable to all. For e xample, when it comes to the precious gift of life, it is argued whether it has been designed by the almighty or just emerged from evolution – that can be explained by science by putting forward various scientific theories. Christianity lies at the forefront of Western Civilization, which at times has been successful in discarding the scientific rationale behind the evolution of life. The undeniable and reasonable explanations of science often challenge religious ideas – the later is an expression of social emotion and as such much more sensitive. Science indicates advancement in terms of progressive thinking for the betterment of life but religion remains as a faith, deeply rooted in the society and the minds of many human beings (Padgett, 2007). In terms of the fundaments and the basic essence science and religion are in conflict. Part Two – Argument A number of philosophical, scientific and historical evidences demonstrate that the two concepts of science and religion are often in conflict with one another. Science is the study of the nature based mainly on evidences, whereas religion deals with faith, the powers of deity. So it can be said that one is dealing with faith and the other is dealing with logic often lead to contradiction of ideas. In the case of the â€Å"Galileo affair†, the acceptance of geocentric model by the Roman Catholic churches and their consequent opposition to heliocentrism which resulted in the death of the great philosopher and scientist is a burning example of the conflict between science and religion that occurred ages back. The concept clashed with the religious story of Joshua, but his antecedent Copernicus found more evidence and tried hard to prove it but little acceptance was possible at that point of time as this was a contradiction to the concepts preached by the churches (Levinson, 2006, pp.423-424). Another example that highlights this tension is the burning in the stakes of Giordano Bruno, be cause of his insistence on the correctness of heliocentric model of the universe. Again as per Charles Darwin’s epochal on the origin of the species, three important features were pointed out by him – common ancestry, specification through variation and natural selection. Being in contradiction to the preaching of the biblical authority, the theologians rejected to accept Darwin’s ideas. The concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ was seen as an undercutting to morality in human relation. Contrary to the popular opinion, it was found that the religious leaders were divided among themselves on the reception to Darwinism. A number of religious minded leaders supported Darwin as his theories were consistent to the Biblical teachings of mankind have a common ancestor. But the conservative theologian continued with their version, and could never agree to the concept that human race evolved from beasts. This conflict in accepting the

Quality Safety and Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Quality Safety and Management - Coursework Example These regulations lay out the duties of all the stakeholders in the construction process, ranging from the clients, designers as well as, putting more emphasis on the CDM coordinator. Generally, issues pertaining construction industry have become of grave concern to the public in totality. For instance, it has been noted that there has been much discussion in the construction industry about the duties and powers that the CDM Coordinator currently has, and what changes to those powers could improve the effectiveness of the CDM Regulations to achieve their high level aims. More evidently, research has hinted that the UK construction industry suffers from numerous problems, not least of which is its reputation for not meeting clients’ needs. This paper seeks to analyze these two connotations with a view to make clear the recommendations for the issues. Research and evaluation Since the formulation of new regulations, researchers have sought to highlight the state of affairs of th e construction industry with an intention to bring into focus their perspective on the issue of challenges facing the construction industry as it stands today. With introduction of the CDM coordinator, a turn of events was expected. ... Notably, performance of the construction industry has been rated on the cost, quality and the time involved. According to Hunt, Robitaille and Villiams (2008) following fragmented nature of the industry there has been poor communication between the stakeholders involved in a construction project and the CDM coordinator. Investigations into the matter has revealed that, the changes previously established have never been implemented implying that the construction industry has been on the verge of resisting change (Crosby, 2004). It has also been established that although clients were the main parties in instigating change in the construction industry, they were rarely involved in the governance of the sector and also there was the need for proper communication between the clients and the contractors, and the coordinator (CIRIA, 1999). Rethinking Construction pointed out on the need for adoption of mechanisms that will guarantee quality and efficiency in the UK construction industry. Th ey identified the major drivers for the proposed change as committed leadership, better focus on the customer, Integration of systems and teams, having a quality driven agenda as well as, committed people (CIRIA, 1999). Another study revealed that, the output of the UK industry rose to a considerable level prompting a rise in the standards within the sector (CIRIA, 1999). According to a report by market and the chartered institute of purchasing, in spite of increased activity in the construction sector new forms of work and employment still stood at low margins (Chau and Lai, 1994). As indicated the construction purchasing managers index (CPI) stood at 50.9 mark in October, 2012

Nursing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Nursing research - Essay Example It is important for an outcome measure to be reliable, sensitive to change, and valid. Hence, the outcome measure adopted is reliable in that the questions in the measure are easy to understand and enhances easy evaluation of the program. Importantly, the outcome measure provides an accurate indicator of the intended measure it should focus on, which makes the outcome measure valid (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2009). On the other hand, it is evident that the outcome measure evaluated successful implementation of the program. Finally, the outcome measure is sensitive to change since its focus is on aspects that contribute to successful implementation of the program. The outcome measure, which is structured in form of a Likert-Scale questionnaire, will be the best tool to use in order to evaluate the outcome. The questionnaire, which is provided as Appendix 1, will evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented change. The questionnaire focuses on mothers since they are the best suited individuals to evaluate their children’s pain. Importantly, it is essential to point out that the items in the provided questionnaire conceptualize the elements of effective pain management in children. After the implementation of the change, the questionnaire will provide the healthcare facility with an opportunity to evaluate the success of the program. Evaluation requires a combination of human and financial resources in order for it to be effective. In this case, human resources will be an essential component of the evaluation process since they will provide the questionnaires to the parents for filling and consequently collect them after filling. On the other hand, the pain nurse is a component of the human resources required in the evaluation since she will walk through the pediatric ward and identify any inconsistencies in the program. Conversely, it is important to note that financial resources

The Starbucks Firm. The story of Starbucks Essay Example for Free

The Starbucks Firm. The story of Starbucks Essay Starbucks is a corporation or a firm well known for roasting, marketing and retailing of crafted quality beverage that is based on coffee. In 1971, the Starbucks started its operations in Seattle’s Pike place market with Howard Schultz helping in its marketing and retailing efforts (Bussing, 2009). However, today many Starbucks firms have extended in 60 countries in the world, Kuwait being amongst them. Some of the Starbucks in Kuwait include Marina mall, Salmiya flagship, Fashion way, sheikh center salmiya, the palms and Kuwait chamber of commerce, all operating in salmiya and Salwar cities. The objective of Kuwait Starbucks firm is to ensure that Starbucks remain the most honored and recognized brands in the world. The products offered in these Starbucks include coffee-based beverages to enjoy and discover, foods that include high quality pastries and sandwiches made from just simple ingredients. Moreover, the Kuwait Starbucks offer nutritional services in that there are special equipment that determines the nutritional value of the drinks or the foods so that customers can make informed choices. The Starbucks firms in Kuwait have realized many opportunities one of them being expansion of the network of the supplier of coffee beans. In addition, the company has not spared any of the opportunities and continues to explore more opportunities. The Starbucks has limited coffee beans and thus have to get supply from areas such as South America and African countries where coffee is clustered. Furthermore, the firm is increasing its products by expanding the number coffee houses that produce wines and beer thus reaching thus reaching a wider target group. Therefore the company enjoys the large availability of consumers. However, the Kuwait Starbucks firm is exposed to some threats such as increased competitors such as the local cafes that offer a better suited menu for its customers (Gilbert, 2009). More so, the cost of the coffee beans is continuously rising posing a great threat. In addition, the well-established economies have their coffee markets being saturated thus this firm finds it hard to thrive in such economies. The firm has got some strength as well such as well weaknesses. It has tried to outmatch the nearest competitors in terms of its return on capital and investment as well. Also, the company supplies in bulk and has one of the best quality products making it very competitive. Moreover, the reputation of the brand has been well portrayed due to the quality coffee and better customer attendance. Furthermore the firm has well experience in producing coffee that is perfectly blended and there is a warm atmosphere that attracts many customers. To add to this, the firm employs well experienced personnel who are specialized in several sectors of production, and this results to best quality product. However, there are some weaknesses associated with the firm such as being negatively publicized as not being a greener firm. In addition, there are cases of tax evasion and poor supplier relations associated with it. Furthermore , the coffee beans price keeps on fluctuating due to factors such as whether changes and hedge funds. This has made the firm unable to control the price of the coffee beans. Moreover, the price of the firm’s products is high, given that the firm spends a lot in importing the raw materials. In addition, Kuwait partners have been exposed to some facts such inadequate salaries. As a result, the cost of living is quite high in Kuwait as employees are exposed to accommodation and transportation constraints and this has demoralized them. The employees are less motivated, no transport allowances to the experts such airfare whatsoever. The Starbucks becomes less hospitable when it comes to employee motivation. To add to this, the competitors put a lot of pressure to the firm and this is a big challenge to the Starbucks firm. The management and leadership of the company constitute of the overall manager and sub-section managers. Besides, the company also has several maintenance and development engineers who are part of the management. The availability of good leadership skills is what has made the company very famous among its competitors (Gilbert, 2009). The management has a plan of continued expansion and is looking for possibilities of improving their services to the customers. It liaises with the government for support, and this is what is giving it hopes for expansion. In conclusion, the company is doing well but still has a chance of doing better. As discussed, the company has one of the best quality coffee-beverages and has a big and wide market. This assures the company of a future life if it continues on the same note. The management is structured and well skilled with future plans of expansion and quality improvement. However, there are some weaknesses noticed. The firm is recommended to relate well with the competitors and to improve the lives of its employees by considering giving them allowances and raising their salaries. References Bussing-Burks, M. (2009). Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press. Welsh, D. H., Raven, P., Al-Mutair, N. (1998). Starbucks International enters Kuwait. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 15(2), 191-197. Schultz, H., Yang, D. J. (1997). Pour your heart into it: How Starbucks built a company one cup at a time. New York, NY: Hyperion. Gilbert, S. (2009). The story of Starbucks. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education Source document

Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Parents and relatives, brothers and sisters, faculty and administration, you all have come here tonight to see the 2006 Johnson High School graduating class. Thank you for your attendance. You have been there for us and will be there for us in the future. Thank you. Fellow classmates, we have arrived! The class of 2006 is graduating. We started as little freshmen and have grown into the rulers of Johnson High as seniors. We have endured so much. There were the peaks and valleys, the ups and the downs, but the classes continued and we kept attending. There was pain, agony, heartbreak, new district standards, tragedy, defeat and failure. These have taken their tolls and there were casualties. We started with 550-plus as freshmen and are down to around 200 as seniors. But with all the changes, one stands out the most. No, it is not the Culminating Exhibition. It is the scandalous gas prices. When we were freshmen, the gas prices reached a low 90 cents a gallon!!! But of course, we were freshmen and not driving yet. But now that we are seniors, we have to drive almost everywhere. We drive to work, to school, to hang out with our friends and even to EHS activities. Then we have to drive back! Now that we are driving so much, the gas prices are $1.50 a gallon. I say it is a conspiracy. First the scholarly paper, then the CE project and finally the gas prices. Enough is enough, people. However, I do see a bright future for our class. I know that at least a few of us will come back to Johnson High and teach. But many of us will become successful businessmen and women, making the huge fortunes. We'll most likely have a few congressmen and possibly another great senator. I was not born a Seagull like most of you were. I was at first a Bulldog, then a Scottie. I thought I was going to be a Kamiakin Brave but I came to Johnson High to become a Seagull.

How to Become a Straight a Student

Contents Cover Page Title Page Introduction Part 1. Study Basics Step 1 Manage Your Time in Five Minutes a Day Step 2 Declare War on Procrastination Step 3 Choose When, Where, and How Long Part One Cheat Sheet Part 2. Quizzes and Exams Step 1 Take Smart Notes Step 2 Demote Your Assignments Step 3 Marshal Your Resources Step 4 Conquer the Material Step 5 Invest in â€Å"Academic Disaster Insurance† Step 6 Provide â€Å"A+† Answers The Plan in Action Part Two Cheat Sheet Part 3. Essays and Papers Step 1 Target a Titillating Topic Step 2 Conduct a Thesis-Hunting ExpeditionStep 3 Seek a Second Opinion Step 4 Research like a Machine Step 5 Craft a Powerful Story Step 6 Consult Your Expert Panel Step 7 Write Without the Agony Step 8 Fix, Don’t Fixate The Plan in Action Part Three Cheat Sheet Conclusion Acknowledgments Getting in is just the beginning Copyright Page Introduction â€Å"My friends always wondered why I was never in the library, but instead in the student center socializing, or at a party, or at an event. They said I made it ‘all look so easy. ’† Anna, a straight-A college studentThis is not your average college study guide. Unlike the titles next to it on the shelf, none of the advice presented here was devised by professors or self-proclaimed academic skills experts. I promise that you won’t find any mention of the Cornell note-taking method, mental map diagrams, or any other â€Å"optimal learning technique† crafted in an office or laboratory—environments far removed from the realities of typical college life. Instead, this book reveals—for the first time—the study habits used by real straight-A college tudents. All of the advice that follows was distilled from a series of interviews I conducted with a large group of top-scoring undergraduates. These participants were drawn predominantly from the Phi Beta Kappa rolls of some of the country’s most rigorous colleges and u niversities—including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Amherst, and Skidmore—and they were carefully chosen to represent a wide variety of academic concentrations. In each interview, I asked the student to detail his or her study habits.The questions ranged from the general (â€Å"How do you defeat the urge to procrastinate? †) to the specific (â€Å"What techniques or systems do you use to locate and organize sources for a research paper? †). If the questionnaire revealed the student to be a grind—someone who earns high grades simply by studying an excessive amount—I discarded the responses. I was interested only in students who improved their grades through smarter, more efficient study skills—not through longer hours and more painful study sessions. How did I know such students existed?I am one of them. When I arrived as a freshman at Dartmouth College, I had no idea how to prepare for exams or write coll ege-level papers. Like most students, I left high school believing that to study meant to reread your class notes and assignments as many times as possible and that paper writing required you to sit down in front of your computer and start typing until you finished. The problem, however, is that college is not high school. The material to be mastered is much more complicated and the professors have higher expectations.In the college environment, simple brute force study methods can end up requiring a lot of time and causing a lot of pain. Nevertheless, most students still rely on them. And this is why they find themselves regularly pulling all-nighters and developing an antagonistic attitude toward their courses. The taxing effects and spotty success of these methods also underlie the common belief that only geniuses and grinds can score top grades. When I first entered college, I shared in these beliefs. But soon I became dubious. It didn’t take long for me to decide that th ere had to be a better way to learn the material.The results of my studying using simple techniques varied widely—I’d spend all night hacking away at an essay and end up scoring a B-, or give what I thought was a frantic last-minute review for a quiz and score an A. I constantly felt like I was behind in my reading, and there always seemed to be new deadlines on the horizon that I had to scramble to meet. It was truly a chaotic existence. But when I looked around, all of my friends seemed to be having the same experience—and none of them seemed willing to question it. This didn’t sit right with me.I wasn’t content to work in long, painful stretches and then earn only slightly above-average grades for my efforts. I wanted to be exceptional. And I wanted to achieve this without having to sacrifice sleep or my social life. To many students, such a goal may sound hopelessly hubristic. But I’m an optimist by nature, and, observing the sorry state of my current study skills, I was convinced that I could do better. It took me most of my freshman year to construct, through repeated experimentation, a toolbox of sufficiently improved study habits.But once I had perfected them, the results were profound. Of the thirty-six courses I took between my sophomore and senior years of college, I scored exactly one A- and 35 perfect As. The most stunning piece of this transformation, however, was how much less time I had to spend on studying. As my strategies became more refined, the hours required were reduced. By my senior year it got to the point where, during finals periods, I would sometimes pretend to be heading off to the library just so I wouldn’t demoralize my roommates, who were preparing for yet another grim all-nighter.What was my secret? Efficiency. The simple truth is that the brute force techniques used by most students are incredibly inefficient. When it comes to exam preparation, passive review is not an effective way to learn complicated concepts. It’s also mentally draining, which further diminishes the rate at which you can absorb and internalize information. For paper writing, this same problem holds. When you approach the task without proper preparation, it becomes incredibly tiring and you can end up spinning your wheels.After a while, even the formation of coherent sentences becomes difficult and time intensive. In contrast, the techniques I came up with were so streamlined that I could learn more material than my classmates and actually spend less time studying. By eliminating stupid habits and wasted effort, I transformed exam prep and paper writing from a dreaded chore to a targeted activity. For a while, I was convinced that I was unique for having discovered such a smart approach to learning. But, alas, this illusion was soon shattered.It occurred during the winter of my senior year, when I was attending a ceremony celebrating my induction, along with thirty other classmat es, into Phi Beta Kappa. This group represented, more or less, the thirty students with the highest G. P. A. s out of my class of over a thousand. Accordingly, I had arrived at the venue prepared to spend the evening with some serious nerds. As it turns out, however, I was in for a surprise. Upon walking through the door that night, I was immediately struck by how many of the other students I knew socially.These were people who, given their level of visibility on campus, I never would have imagined were scoring straight As. They were magazine editors, frat boys, and crunchy environmentalists. I knew them from parties and campus clubs and through mutual friends. They were, for the most part, normal, well-rounded, and interesting—not at all the type of super-grind one might assume would occupy such an elite level of academic achievement. The lesson of that night was obvious: Perhaps I was not, in fact, as unique as I had first imagined.Maybe there were others out there who had discovered similar secrets to academic success. The writer instincts in me soon took over. Fascinated to know exactly how these seemingly normal students had done so well, I sent all of my fellow Phi Beta Kappas a survey about their study habits. Most were happy to share their methods and I quickly confirmed that my suspicions were true. Not only were many of them using innovative, homegrown study strategies, but many of these strategies were surprisingly similar to those that I had developed during the previous few years.At the time I had just finished editing the manuscript for my first book, How to Win at College, so I wasn’t exactly eager to get started right away with another massive writing project. But after seeing these initial survey responses, I knew I had stumbled onto something big. While most college students toil arduously through the study and paper-writing processes, there exists an elite group of undergrads who have discovered unconventional strategies for ea rning much higher grades in much less time. I wanted to share these secrets with other students, and thus the idea for this book was born.Soon I was sending out more questionnaires to more straight-A students at colleges around the country, until I gathered enough responses, from students with enough different backgrounds and majors, to distill the advice presented in this guide. In the pages that follow, you will discover the details of these often surprising study strategies. I’ve included examples and case studies throughout the book to demonstrate how to apply the advice in many different reallife academic situations. You will learn how to: †¢ Manage your time and deal with the urge to procrastinate. Take targeted notes in class. †¢ Handle reading assignments and problem sets with ease. †¢ Prepare efficiently for exams. †¢ Master the art of exam-taking. †¢ Write incisive critical analysis essays. †¢ Conduct thorough research. †¢ Write st andout term papers. Remember, this advice comes from real students and was honed, through trial and error, in real college classrooms. This distinction is important. It’s what separates this book from the many existing study guides that sit next to it on the bookstore shelf.As mentioned, most study guides are written either by professors or academic skills experts, many years separated from their own college experience. The result is that the authors of these guides are disconnected from the realities of undergraduate life. For example, How to Study, by college professors Allan Mundsack, James Deese, and Ellin K. Deese, suggests that students wake up at 7 A. M. each morning, go to sleep by 11 P. M. each night, and on many days schedule only a single hour of â€Å"recreation,† with the rest of the time dedicated to attending class, eating, or working.One gets the feeling that these professors haven’t spent much time socializing with students lately. Even their pl an for Friday—the biggest party night of the week—has the student working until 10 P. M. , taking a one-hour break, then turning in by eleven. Student Success Secrets, written by Eric Jensen, a learning expert and professional public speaker, offers equally out-of-touch suggestions. His tips to help you remember concepts learned from a reading assignment include â€Å"put it in a picture or poster—use intense colors,† â€Å"act out the material or do a fun role play in your own room,† or â€Å"create or redo a song; make a rap. Just try to imagine a sophisticated liberal arts major attempting to make a rap about her recent reading assignment concerning post-structuralist interpretations of pre-Victorian English literature! (Key question: What word rhymes with â€Å"Foucault†? ) The granddaddy of all unrealistic study guides, however, just might be What Smart Students Know, by Princeton Review cofounder Adam Robinson. In this best-selling gu ide, Robinson suggests—and I swear I am not making this up—that students approach a reading assignment as a twelve-step process! That’s right, twelve separate steps.Before you even crack the actual assignment, Robinson suggests that you jot down questions about the importance of the reading and then take notes on what you know about the topic, what it reminds you of, and what you want to learn. He then asks you, among other things, to read the assignment a total of three separate times, write and then rewrite your notes, represent the information in picture form, construct â€Å"question charts,† and devise mnemonics to help you memorize the concepts. Needless to say, this approach to a simple reading assignment is humorously unrealistic.I even did a little math. For a typical college-level liberal arts course, a student might be assigned an average of two hundred pages of reading a week. In his book, Robinson provides a one-page sample reading and descri bes twenty-three different questions that students might ask about it. At this rate of twenty-three questions per page, spending thirty seconds on each query, we would end up spending around forty hours a week (i. e. , a full-time job’s worth of time) simply completing one of the twelve steps on the reading assignments for just one class.Sounds like a great plan! These examples highlight the simple truth that the advice in most existing study guides—written by â€Å"experts,† not students—is often impractical and time consuming. How to Become a Straight-A Student, on the other hand, is the first guide based on the experiences of real college students, and it was written to provide an alternative to the other titles on the market. In the pages that follow, you will find homegrown strategies that are compatible with the demands of your day-to-day student life.They may not be as elaborate as the intricate systems devised by the â€Å"experts,† but the y’re easy to implement—and they get the job done. Best of all, when you start putting these strategies into practice, you will experience immediate results. Keep in mind: If you find a piece of advice that doesn’t quite fit your needs or circumstances, that’s okay. In fact, you should expect this. Each of the students I interviewed for this book had his or her own unique take on the best way to study. Follow their lead and, when stuck, experiment.Replace techniques you don’t like with ones that seem better. If these new techniques work, keep them; if they fail, replace them with something else. The key to improving your grades without becoming a grind cannot be found in any single study habit. It is, instead, rooted in the big picture decision to reject rote review once and for all and begin the flexible search for strategies that work better for you. Above all, remember that college is a multifaceted experience, of which grades are just one of man y important pieces.It’s my hope that this book will help you painlessly conquer this one piece so you can have more time and energy to explore all of the others—the friends, the unburdened idealism, the heroic beer consumption—that make these four years so rich. A common complaint I hear from students is that they never seem to have enough time to finish all of their work. They vent about how many hours they spend—late nights reviewing in the library, weekends sacrificed to paper writing—but no matter how hard they try, there always seems to be something else due.As Matthew, a straight-A student from Brown, explains, it’s easy for college students to become â€Å"stuck in a state of permanent catch-up. † Understandably, these students feel like they have reached their academic limit; they believe that unless they forgo sleep or any semblance of a social life, there are simply not enough hours in the day to stay on top of all their sch oolwork. Let’s start by getting one thing clear: This belief is false. The problem here is not the amount of available hours, but rather how each hour is spent. I know this from firsthand experience.While researching this book, I spent time with some of the country’s most accomplished students, and I can assure you that no matter how diligent you think you are, there is a Rhodes scholar out there who fits in three times the amount of work and activities you do and probably still manages to party harder than you would ever dare. I don’t mean to imply that everyone should aim to become a drunken Rhodes scholar (though it would certainly be fun to try); rather, my point is that a surprising amount of work, relaxation, and socializing can be extracted from a single twelve-hour day.A lack of time, therefore, isn’t enough to explain why so many students feel overwhelmed. So what does explain this phenomenon? The answer, as it turns out, has much more to do with how we work than what we’re trying to accomplish. As humans, our minds have evolved to prefer short-term tasks such as â€Å"run away from that lion† or â€Å"eat food. † Therefore, when you walk into the library on a Sunday morning with the goal of finishing all of your homework and writing a paper, your brain isn’t happy. The idea of spending eight consecutive hours trapped in a study carrel is dispiriting.Plus, it’s hard to focus for that long, so pretty soon fatigue will set in, your concentration will wander, and every distraction will suddenly seem impossibly appealing. Before you know it, the day will be over and you’ll realize that you haven’t accomplished much productive work at all. The next day, new assignments will pile onto those you didn’t finish on Sunday, and the tedious process starts all over again. Jason, a straight-A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term â€Å"pseudo-working† to describe this common approach to studying.The pseudo-worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard—he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night—but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, doesn’t actually accomplish much. This bad habit is endemic on most college campuses. For example, at Dartmouth there was a section of the main library that was open twenty-four hours a day, and the students I used to see in there late at night huddled in groups, gulping coffee and griping about their hardships, were definitely pseudo-working.The roommate who flips through her chemistry notes on the couch while watching TV is pseudo-working. The guy who brings three meals, a blanket, and six-pack of Red Bull to the study lounge in preparation for an all-day paper-writing marathon is also pseudo-working. By placing themselves in distracting environments and insisting on working in long tedious stretches, these stud ents are crippling their brain’s ability to think clearly and efficiently accomplish the task at hand. The result is fatigue headaches and lackluster outcomes. The bigger problem here is that most students don’t even realize that they’re pseudo-working.To them pseudo-work is work—it’s how they’ve always done it, and it’s how all of their friends do it. It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way. Straight-A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo-work. They fear it, and for good reason. It not only wastes time, but it’s also mentally draining. There is just no way to be wellbalanced, happy, and academically successful if you’re regularly burning through your free hours in long, painful stretches of inefficient studying. The students I interviewed for this book emphasized again and again the importance of avoiding this trap.In fact, when asked what one skill was most important in becoming a non -grind straight-A student, most of them cited the ability to get work done quickly and with a minimum of wasted effort. So how do these students achieve this goal? A big part of the solution is timing—they gain efficiency by compressing work into focused bursts. To understand the power of this approach, consider the following simple formula: work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus Pseudo-work features a very low intensity of focus. Therefore, to accomplish something by pseudo-working, you need to spend a lot of time.The straight-A approach, on the other hand, maximizes intensity in order to minimize time. For example, let’s rank intensity on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most intense). Assume it takes ten hours to finish studying for a test by pseudo-working with a low intensity score of 3. According to our formula, this same amount of work can be accomplished in only three one-hour bursts, each with an intensity of 10. The work that took you all da y Sunday to complete could instead be finished by studying an hour after breakfast, an hour after lunch, and an hour after dinner—the rest of the day being free for you to relax!With this formula in mind, you can begin to understand why many straight-A students actually study less than their classmates: They replace long, low-intensity stretches of work with a small number of short, high-intensity sessions. Of course, this is not the whole story behind their success; what straight-A students actually do in these short bursts is also crucial—technique is just as important as timing. Part Two (Quizzes and Exams) and Part Three (Essays and Papers) of this book are dedicated to these technical details.But learning how to follow an efficient schedule, and banishing pseudo-work from your college experience for good, is a crucial first step toward your academic overhaul. To accomplish this transformation, however, you will need to gain control over your lifestyle—and t hat’s often no small task. For example, you will need to spread out the intense work sessions so that you have time in between to recharge. This requires basic time-management skills. You’re also going to have to overcome your urge to procrastinate, because scheduling your work is meaningless if you don’t actually work in the time you set aside. This requires self-motivation.Finally, to obtain the highest possible levels of intensity, you need to choose the right locations, times of day, and durations to study. If you aren’t careful about how you select these three factors, you can unintentionally sabotage your ability to focus. This requires a smart planning strategy. Part One will teach you how to satisfy these requirements. It begins with the presentation of a simple timemanagement system, customized for the busy college lifestyle. Don’t be frightened, the system is incredibly lightweight—it’s designed to require only five minutes a day of planning and can survive periods of neglect.Part One then continues with a collection of battle-tested strategies to help you fight procrastination. This advice comes straight from the experiences of real students and has been proven to work amid the chaos and distractions of the typical undergraduate lifestyle—it is simple, easy to apply, and surprisingly effective. This part concludes with a discussion of when during the day, where on campus, and for how long to study to maximize your productivity. The students interviewed for this book experimented extensively to find the right answers to these key questions, and, in this final step, I pass these answers on to you.Together, these basic skills are the foundation upon which all the advice in this book is built. Without them, you’ll be unable to implement the specific study techniques described in the parts that follow. Master them, however, and you will experience improvements in all aspects of your life†”not just grades. You’ll have more free time, you’ll get the sleep you crave, you’ll party harder, and you’ll be able to devote more energy to your extracurricular interests. So relax. You are about to take your first step toward a much more enjoyable and productive college experience. Step 1Manage Your Time in Five Minutes a Day Real straight-A students, like most reasonable students, hate time management. After all, college is supposed to be about intellectual curiosity, making new friends, and becoming obsessed with needlessly complicated drinking games. An overwhelming interest in time management is best left to harried business executives (or, perhaps, premeds). At the same time, however, you can’t abandon all attempts to keep tabs on your schedule. As mentioned in the introduction to Part One, all of the techniques described in this book require some ability to control your schedule.Ignore this skill, and you doom yourself to four long year s of playing catch-up with your work. As Doris, a straight-A student from Harvard, states: â€Å"Time management is critical—it’s a skill that you absolutely must develop over the course of your time at college. † Most students, however, misunderstand the purpose of time management—they believe it’s used only to cram as much work as possible into the day. But this is not the main motivation behind controlling your schedule. As it turns out, a little planning goes a long way toward reducing your daily stress levels. Having deadlines and bligations floating around in your mind is exhausting—it makes it impossible to completely relax, and, over time, can lead you down the path toward a breakdown. However, once you figure out what work needs to be done and when, it’s like a weight being lifted from your shoulders. The uncertainty vanishes: When you work, you can fully concentrate on the assignment in front of you, and when you relax, you can do so without any anxiety. â€Å"I don’t believe in giving up anything,† says Jenna, a straight-A student from Princeton. â€Å"Not my social life, not my extracurricular activities, not my academic success. Basic control over your schedule breeds balance. This is why time management, as Doris stated earlier, is the key to getting the most out of all aspects of your college experience. The goal of Step #1 is to present a time-management system that helps you achieve this stress-free balance without requiring you to sacrifice the spontaneity and excitement of college. Specifically, we present a system tailored to the typical undergraduate lifestyle that meets the following criteria: 1. Requires no more than five to ten minutes of effort in a single twenty-four-hour period. 2. Doesn’t force an unchangeable minute-by-minute schedule on your day. . Helps you remember, plan, and complete important tasks before the very last moment. 4. Can be quickly restarted af ter periods of neglect. We will cover the details of this system in a few simple steps and then conclude with a detailed case study so you can see how it works in a realistic setting. What You Need This system requires two pieces of equipment. 1. A calendar: It doesn’t matter what type of calendar, and it’s not something that you have to carry around with you. It can be Microsoft Outlook or iCal on your computer, a cheap day planner, or one of those advertisement-laden freebies they hand out at orientation.It just has to be something that you can reference every morning that has enough space to record at least a dozen items for each day. 2. A list: Some piece of writing material that you can update throughout the day. This you do have to carry around with you, so make it something simple, like a sheet of paper ripped out of a notebook each morning. The Basic Idea Record all of your to-dos and deadlines on your calendar. This becomes your master schedule, the one place that stores everything you need to do. The key to our system, however, is that you need to deal with your calendar only once every twenty-four hours.Each morning, you look at it to figure out what you should try to finish that day. Then, throughout the day, whenever you encounter a new to-do or deadline, simply jot it down on your list. The next morning, you can transfer this new stuff from your list onto your calendar, where it’s safe. And we’re back where we started. That’s it. Pretty simple, right? The whole system can be summarized in three easy steps: (1) Jot down new tasks and assignments on your list during the day; (2) next morning, transfer these new items from your list onto your calendar; and (3) then take a couple of minutes to plan your day.Now, we’ll examine these steps in a little more detail. In particular, we need some strategies for how to plan your day each morning using your calendar and what to do when unexpected events interfere and turn that plan upside down (trust me, this will happen more often than not). Update Your Calendar Each Morning This is where the magic happens. Every morning, spend a few minutes to update your calendar and figure out what you should try to accomplish. This is the only serious time-management thinking you have to do for the whole day, so the demand is pretty reasonable.This updating process should proceed as follows: Find your list from the day before. It will probably look something like the example described in Figure 1. Don’t worry too much about how this list is formatted; we will discuss that shortly. For now, focus on the â€Å"things to remember† column, which contains the new to-dos and deadlines that were jotted down throughout the day. Figure 1. Sample List Tuesday—1/24/06 Today’s Schedule †¢ 10:00 to 12:00 Econ class †¢ 12:00 to 1:00 Lunch with Rob †¢ 1:00 to 1:45 Government reading †¢ 2:00 to 4:00 Government class †¢ 4 :00 to 5:30 Finish government reading 5:30 to 6:30 Start French essay Things to Remember †¢ Econ study group, Thur. at 9 P. M. †¢ French quiz moved to Friday. †¢ Laundry †¢ Start researching summer internship opportunities. Transfer these new items onto your calendar. Write the deadlines on the appropriate dates, and write the todos on the days when you plan to complete them. Following the example of our sample list, you would first jot down the econ study group time under Thursday’s date and the French quiz under Friday’s date. You would then choose a day to do laundry and jot down a reminder under that date, and choose a day to start internship research and ot down a reminder under this date. You can move these items around on your calendar as many times as you want, so don’t worry too much about which date you initially choose for a new to-do. However, try to use some common sense. For example, if Wednesday afternoon and evening are packed with meetings and work, this might not be the best day to schedule doing your laundry. Similarly, if you have a big test Monday morning, don’t schedule a lot of annoying errands for Sunday; you’ll need your concentration for studying.If something is not especially time sensitive, such as the internship research example from above, don’t be afraid to put it on a day far in the future, at a point when you know you will be less busy—such as right after midterms or at the beginning of a new semester. Next, move the to-dos that you planned for yesterday, but didn’t complete, to new days on your calendar. In our sample list from Figure 1, the Today’s Schedule column describes to-dos planned from the day before. As you can see, in this example, all the to-dos were completed except the â€Å"Start French essay† task, so you would need to move this task to a new date.At this point, your calendar once again holds everything that you need to ge t done. Now it’s time to figure out your plan for the current day. Go ahead and trash yesterday’s list—it’s served its purpose—and grab a fresh sheet of paper to use as today’s list. Divide it into two columns, as shown in Figure 1, and label them Today’s Schedule and Things to Remember, respectively. Next, look at the calendar entry for the current day. It will probably contain a handful of appointments and todos. Your goal is to figure out how much of this work you can realistically accomplish.You might be tempted to simply copy all of these tasks into your Today’s Schedule column and then treat it as a simple to-do list for the day. Don’t do this! If you want to avoid getting overwhelmed by your work, you need to be smarter about your time. Here is what you should do instead: Try to label each of your to-dos for the day with a specific time period during which you are going to complete it. Be honest. Don’t reco rd that you are going to study for three hours starting at three if you know that you have a meeting at five. And be reasonable about how long things really take—don’t plan to read two hundred pages in one hour.For simplicity, group many little tasks (errands that take less than ten minutes) into one big block (for example: â€Å"10:00 to 10:45—mail letter, return library book, buy new deodorant, fill out transcript request form at registrar†). Leave plenty of time for breaks. Give yourself an hour for meals, not twenty minutes. And, if possible, end your day at an appropriate hour; don’t try to fit in work right up until sleep time because you need to be able to unwind and relax. In general—though it may seem counterintuitive—be pessimistic. The truth is: Things will come up.Don’t assume that every hour that looks free in the morning will stay free throughout the day. Remember, the goal here is not to squeeze everything into o ne day at all costs, but rather to find out how many of the tasks listed for the day you actually have time to accomplish. If you can’t fit all the to-dos into your schedule for the day, no problem! Simply move the remaining items onto the calendar entries for future dates. You can deal with them later. Your final step is to record the tasks you will have time for into the Today’s Schedule column of your list. As shown in Figure 1, label each task with its time.That’s it. You can now reference your list throughout the day to remind yourself of what you should be doing and when. But here’s the important point: The specific times on your schedule aren’t set in stone—they’re more of a suggestion. As we will discuss shortly, you will be free to move tasks around throughout the day, depending on your energy level and unexpected events that may arise. The main reason you break down your to-dos into time slots is to help you avoid the common student mistake of overestimating your free time. Many well-intentioned students use a simple to-do list to keep track of their daily obligations.But without time labeling, they have no idea how much they can actually accomplish, leading to an unrealistic plan. A twelve-hour day seems like a large amount of time, but when you account for meals and classes and meetings and breaks and socializing, your schedule suddenly becomes a lot tighter. The equation is simple: If you overestimate your free time, then you are likely to put off work until it’s too late. And this leads to all-nighters, panic attacks, and shoddy performance. A realistic sense of time is arguably one of the most important factors in succeeding as a student.After a week or two of time labeling your to-dos, you will be well along your way toward developing this crucial trait. Use the List During the Day As you move through your day, use the rough schedule recorded under the Today’s Schedule column to rem ind yourself what you should be doing. Keep in mind that the student lifestyle is, generally, quite unpredictable. Things will always come up at the last minute. Work will take longer than expected, your roommate will point you toward some absurd Web site that immediately demands an afternoon of your scrutiny—you know how it goes.So adjust your time labels as many times as needed. But don’t procrastinate excessively! The list you constructed in the morning should contain a reasonable amount of work, so if your schedule doesn’t become too unexpectedly crazy, you should be able to accomplish most, if not all, of these tasks. In general, if you’re completing most of what’s on your list at least five days out of seven, then you’re as productive as any student realistically needs to be. If not, don’t worry—the next section of Part One will teach you how to combat your urge to procrastinate.Remember, your list also serves another imp ortant purpose. During the day you will probably encounter various new to-dos and deadlines that need to be scheduled. For example, a professor might announce the date of an upcoming exam, or a friend might give you the date and time for an upcoming study group. The key is to get these obligations out of your head as soon as possible so your mind is not unnecessarily cluttered. Jot down a quick reminder on your list, in the Things to Remember column, as soon as they occur. This takes only a few seconds, and then you can forget about them.The actual scheduling of these tasks will take place the next morning; all you have to do for now is scribble a few words on a piece of scrap paper. Remember, to-dos and deadlines that exist only in your mind drain your energy, distract your attention, create stress, and are more likely to be forgotten. When you’re working, you should be able to concentrate on working, and when you’re relaxing, you should be able to enjoy relaxing. But you can’t devote 100 percent of your energy to any activity when you have important reminders bouncing around in your head.Few students have the energy to schedule every new piece of information that comes along during the day. Think about this for a moment: If it’s the middle of the afternoon, and you are hungry, and everyone is just getting up to leave at the end of a long class, when suddenly the professor yells out a notice that a paper topic is due the following week†¦you’re probably not going to have the energy to stop packing up, take out a calendar, think about what steps are involved in coming up with a paper topic, and then schedule each step on the appropriate days.It would be nice if you did, because then you could purge the deadline from your mind and be confident that it’s safely recorded in your calendar—but this is unrealistic. And it violates our original criterion that any timemanagement system should require only a few minu tes each day. That’s the power of the â€Å"things to remember† column of your list. You can’t expect yourself to be able to think seriously about time management at all points during your busy day. But the act of pulling out a piece of scrap paper from your pocket and quickly jotting down â€Å"anthro paper topic† requires minimal energy, no thinking, and barely any time.You don’t have to consider when to begin working on the paper topic, what steps are involved, or how many days it will require. You simply scribble down three words. The key is that the list is a trusted piece of storage. You are confident that tomorrow morning, when you’re doing your only time-management thinking for the day, you will see that reminder and record the appropriate steps in your calendar. Because of your list, the deadline will not be lost. It will be scheduled. Restarting After a Period of NeglectTo date, I have yet to have successfully followed any time-man agement system without interruption for longer than two months. I try, but inevitably I hit a rough patch. Typically, this happens during the few days following a really busy period—I’m so exhausted from the intensity of the preceding work that I find myself unable to even mention the word â€Å"to-do† without breaking into a cold sweat. This happens to everyone, and you can expect that periodically it will happen to you too. Don’t fear these occasions, and don’t let them make you feel like a failure.They’re normal. The key point is that these lapses are temporary. After a couple days of swearing off my calendar, I always find myself growing uncomfortable with the increasing number of obligations that are free floating in my mind. Before I know it, I’m back into the swing of using the system again, and no worse for wear. The same will be true for you. Once you have learned the power of feeling organized, you will have a hard time goin g long periods without it. Fortunately, the system described here is adaptable to these periods of neglect.If you skip a few days, all you need to do upon restarting is to dump all the to-dos and deadlines free floating in your mind onto a sheet of paper and then push these back onto your calendar for future dates. Case Study: A Monday with Stephen Even the simplest systems can come across as confusing when first described. So let’s go through a quick example that will show you how to put this system into practice. Stephen’s story is based upon the real-life college experiences of myself and the many students I interviewed. If you’re already at college, what follows will seem familiar.If you haven’t yet started your undergraduate career, don’t panic! Yes, Stephen has a lot on his plate. Notice, however, how he uses our system to keep control of his many obligations. Though he can’t finish everything in one day, he remains confident that ever ything that needs to get done will get done in time. As you read this example, imagine how Stephen’s stress might increase, and his efficiency decrease, if he didn’t have his list and calendar to guide his actions and capture the new to-dos and deadlines that constantly pop up. Monday Morning Stephen gets up early because he has class at 9:30 A.M. —a horrible thing. He grabs his calendar from his desk and roots around in his hamper to find the sheet of notebook paper that he used as yesterday’s list. He has only a couple of minutes before class, but that’s okay. Our system requires very little time. Figure 2 shows what Stephen finds recorded on his calendar for today. Figure 2. Stephen’s calendar entry for Monday Monday—3/11/07 †¢ Finish reading for Tuesday Gov class. †¢ Gift for Dad’s birthday †¢ First step of research for Gov paper—find books, Xerox relevant chapters. †¢ Pay cell phone bill. †¢ Return Mark’s CD. First half of Econ problem set (due Wed) †¢ Pick topic for Anthro paper (due tomorrow). †¢ Read five chapters from Anthro book (need to catch up for Friday’s quiz). †¢ Dinner with guys—7 P. M. —Molly’s †¢ Ill-conceived toga party—10 P. M. —Alpha Chi Figure 3. Stephen’s list from Sunday Sunday—3/10/07 Today’s Schedule †¢ 1:00 to 3:00—read article for Anthro. †¢ 3:00 to 6:00—write Government essay. †¢ 7:00 to 8:00—dinner with Sarah †¢ 9:00 to 10:00—edit Government essay. †¢ 10:00 to 11:00—start reading for Tuesday’s Government Things to Remember †¢ Call home. †¢ Start researching summer nternships. †¢ Create schedule for practicing guitar? class Figure 3 shows what he finds scrawled on yesterday’s list. There are several things to notice here. First, Stephen has a lot of work recorded on hi s calendar entry for today. More than he can probably accomplish in twelve hours, so some of these to-dos will need to be moved to other dates. Also notice Stephen’s schedule from the day before (Sunday). This is typical. A fun night on Saturday inevitably leads to a late start and a large workload on Sunday. Stephen was too ambitious with his planning, and by 10:00 P. M. e was burnt out from working on his essay and never got around to starting the Government reading he had scheduled. So this task will need to be carried over to today. Finally, notice how Stephen’s Things to Remember column from yesterday includes some long-term projects, such as â€Å"Create schedule for practicing guitar. † This is a great use of the list! If you jot down ideas for extracurricular and personal projects as they occur to you, they will get moved onto your calendar and therefore won’t be forgotten until you finally get around to doing something about them. Now let’ s see how Stephen gets a handle on all of this before class.What Does Stephen Do First? Stephen’s first step is to time label the tasks currently on his plate so he can determine how much he can actually get done. Between his calendar entry for today and the leftovers from yesterday’s list, Stephen has a lot of to-dos to schedule. His strategy is simple: He starts time labeling in order of importance until his schedule is full, and then moves the rest of the items to other days on the calendar. To effectively time label, however, he must first figure out how much free time he has available. Stephen quickly runs through the following in his head:I have class from 9:30 to 10:30, and another class from 11:00 to 12:00. It’s unlikely that I will get any work done between my 7:00 P. M. dinner and the Alpha Chi party that starts soon after. I should also try to squeeze in an hour or two for a predinner workout (have to look good in that toga), so I should aim to be don e with all of my work by 5:00. With his free time now identified, Stephen can begin to time label his to-dos. Here is his thought process: In between class, from 10:30 to 11:00, I can squeeze in my three small tasks—pay cell phone bill, buy a birthday gift for Dad, and return Mark’s CD.After my second class, I will need to get lunch, but then I should get right to work on my Government reading because it’s due tomorrow! Let’s see, I have three Government articles to read, which will realistically take two hours, so I will label this task with 1:00 to 3:00. Hmmmm, I am running out of time here. I need to start that Econ problem set because those suck, and it’s due Wednesday morning, so I’ll label that task with 3:00 to 4:30. Okay, I am down to my final half hour. What else has to get done? My Anthro paper topic is due tomorrow, so I will have to squeeze that in at 4:30 to 5:00. And that’s all I have time for.At this point, Stephen is a lmost done. All that’s left is taking care of the still-unscheduled to-dos by moving them to future dates. Remember, these include both the unscheduled tasks recorded for the current day and the â€Å"things to remember† items from yesterday’s list. On yesterday’s list I have a reminder to Call home†¦this week is so busy†¦okay, I’ll jot that down on the calendar entry for Friday, I’ll be more relaxed by then. I really don’t have time right now for these other two reminders—start internship research and create guitar schedule—so I’ll jot those down on the calendar entry for the first weekend after midterms are over.I should have more free time then. Okay, what’s left? The unlabeled items from today’s calendar entry. No problem. I can move the Anthro reading to tomorrow’s calendar entry, and then move the Government paper research to Wednesday—I can work on it after I hand in my Econ problem set. Done! That’s it. Stephen has finished all of his serious time-management thinking for the day. Before leaving for class, he rips out a fresh sheet of notebook paper to use for today’s list. He divides it into two columns and jots down the tasks he scheduled for the day. Figure 4 shows what Stephen’s list looks like as he bolts out the door.The entire process described above would realistically take only around three to five minutes to complete. The more you use this system, the more natural it becomes. Before you know it, updating your calendar and dashing off a daily schedule will become as routine as taking a morning shower. Remember, this is the only serious timemanagement thinking that Stephen has to do all day. Now he’s ready to face his Monday with his mind free from worry about tasks he’s forgetting or due dates that are looming. He knows he has scheduled all the tasks on his plate and that they will get done eventually.He has a flexible plan. And he can trust it. Figure 4. Stephen’s list on Monday morning Monday—3/11/07 Today’s Schedule †¢ 9:30 to 10:30 Class †¢ 10:30 to 11:00—Gift for Dad’s birthday, pay cell phone bill, return Mark’s CD. †¢ 11:00 to 12:00—Class †¢ 12:00 to 1:00 Lunch/Break †¢ 1:00 to 3:00 Do Government reading assignment. †¢ 3:00 to 4:30 Start work on Econ problem set. †¢ 4:30 to 5:00 Come up with topic for Anthro paper. †¢ 5:00 to 7:00 Get huge. †¢ 7:00 Dinner followed by inevitable embarrassment at toga party (Note to self: Flex a lot at party. ) Things to RememberNow let’s see how Stephen holds up†¦ During the Day on Monday The day starts off fine. Stephen successfully finishes the small tasks that he scheduled for 10:30. During his second class, he remembers that he has some overdue library books that need to be returned. No problem. Stephen whips the list out of his pocke t and jots down â€Å"Return books† under the â€Å"Things to Remember† column. A little later, the professor announces the date and time of the midterm—something else that needs to be scheduled. Again, no problem for Stephen. He adds â€Å"Sched. Gov midterm (4/5, 3 P. M. † to his list, and then leaves the classroom confident that these tasks will be scheduled appropriately tomorrow morning. After a leisurely lunch, Stephen hunkers down in the library to tackle his government reading. The articles are a little shorter than usual, so he finishes by 2:30, which is nice. As he leaves the library, however, Stephen runs into a friend who convinces him to tag along on a Wal-Mart run. To be honest, it didn’t take much convincing. College students, for some inexplicable reason, love Wal-Mart runs. After this (unavoidable) detour, Stephen gets back to campus by 3:30. Now he’s behind schedule.Quickly checking his e-mail, Stephen sees a message from a classmate asking if he wants to join a study group at 4:00 to work on the Econ problem set. Swiftly adapting, Stephen once again whips out his list and makes a couple of rapid changes to the Today’s Schedule column. He bumps up the Anthro paper topic work to start now, and then replaces his Econ problem set work with the study group that he just found out about. One of the big advantages of this system is its flexibility. Schedules will always change, but this the system makes it easy for you to regain your focus after getting sidetracked.Figure 5 shows the new state of Stephen’s list. Figure 5. Stephen’s list Monday afternoon Monday—3/11/07 Today’s Schedule †¢ 9:30 to 10:30—Class †¢ 10:30 to 11:00—Gift for Dad’s Return Mark’s CD. Things to Remember †¢ return books. †¢ Sched. Gov midterm birthday, Pay cell phone bill, (4/5, 3 P. M. ) †¢ 11:00 to 12:00—Class †¢ 12:00 to 1:00—Lu nch/Break †¢ 1:00 to 3:00—Do Government reading assignment. †¢ 3:30 to 4:00—Choose Anthro paper topic †¢ 4:00 to 5:00—Work with group on Econ problem set †¢ 5:00 to 7:00—Get huge. †¢ 7:00—Dinner followed by inevitable embarrassment at toga party. (Note to self: Flex a lot at party. )The Anthro work goes fine. Stephen finds a topic that he is happy with and then runs off to meet with his Econ group. During the meeting, the group agrees to meet again Tuesday morning to finish the problem set. Stephen quickly jots down â€Å"Econ group—10 A. M. † under Things to Remember and then heads off to the gym. He’s done with work for the day. The Aftermath Because he finished a lot of work during the morning and afternoon before the party, Stephen was able to really relax and have a good time that night. In addition, he successfully recorded all of the new to-dos and deadlines that cropped up during the day.Instead of bouncing around in his head and causing stress, they were safely placed in Stephen’s system and will be scheduled in due time. Most important, none of this required him to explicitly think about time management beyond the five minutes he spent planning that morning and the quick rescheduling he did in the afternoon. As suggested at the beginning of this case study, imagine for a moment what Stephen’s day might have been like without the simple time-management system. What if, instead, he’d employed the strategy used by most students and simply tried to remember what he needed to get done?It’s highly unlikely that the small tasks— returning a CD, buying a birthday gift, paying a bill—would have been completed. Without a schedule, people don’t like to do menial chores unless they’re 100 percent necessary. There’s also a good chance that he would have forgotten about the Anthro paper topic altogether after the last-minu te study group came up. What about the big-picture reminders from Sunday—calling home, scheduling internships, creating a guitarpracticing schedule? Those would have been pushed out of his head completely by the demands of near-future deadlines.Without a system to capture them, we can’t expect Stephen to remember long-term ideas for any extended period of time. Most important, without the system, Stephen would have completed much less schoolwork on Monday. The day would have focused, more or less, only on the Government reading, because that was the only big task actually due the next day. Without time labels, Stephen would have had a much hazier understanding of his free time, so he probably wouldn’t have started this reading until later in the afternoon (for the most part, students don’t like to start any work without a large block of free time ahead of them).Remember, however, that this assignment took a couple of hours to complete, so that means if St ephen had waited until the afternoon to start, he would have finished only this single task by 5:00, with the Econ problem set and Anthro paper topic likely falling by the wayside. Instead, Stephen ended up finishing six tasks by 5:00, leaving plenty of time for exercise and debauchery during the evening. As you can see from the case study, this simple time-management system, which requires only a few minutes of planning each day, made Stephen significantly more productive and significantly less stressed.It will do the same for you. In other words, five minutes every morning and a sheet of scrap paper in your pocket are enough to transform you from a stressed-out student struggling to get things done, into an organized, relaxed, finely tuned academic machine. If you remember one lesson from this book, it should be the lesson of this case study: A little organization goes a hell of a long way. Step 2 Declare War on Procrastination In the previous section we introduced a simple time-m anagement system to help you plan your day intelligently. That was the easy part.Anyone can spend five minutes to figure out what they should be doing. The real challenge is marshaling the motivation to actually do the work once it’s scheduled. Without some control over your schedule, you cannot be a happy and successful student—no matter how good your intentions. As you might expect, in conducting interviews for this book, I put a significant focus on the issue of procrastination. Anyone who makes straight As has clearly found a way to consistently get work done when it needs to be done, and I wanted to find out how. As it turns out, however, I was in for a surprise.Every student I interviewed was asked the following question: â€Å"How do you defeat procrastination? † As soon as the first responses were returned, it became clear that something was not quite right. I received answers such as: â€Å"I don’t. † â€Å"Rarely. † â€Å"I didnâ €™t. † â€Å"I don’t think that you can. † These were not the responses that I expected—it didn’t make sense! Everything else they told me about how they studied and wrote papers clearly indicated that these scholastic studs were kicking some very serious procrastinatory ass, so why were they all claiming they didn’t defeat procrastination?What was going on here? Fortunately, many students went on to qualify this first reaction, and it was in these qualifications that I began to figure out what they really meant. â€Å"I don’t think that you can,† was how Lee, a straight-A student from Columbia, began his answer, but he soon added: â€Å"You just have to try to limit it. † Ryan, a straight-A Dartmouth student, started by claiming, â€Å"Really, I don’t defeat procrastination. † But then he continued: â€Å"Or, at least, I don’t think I do†¦although, I suppose, compared to the majority of stu dents, I’m not as bad as I think. † I don’t know that I’ve yet defeated procrastination,† was how Christine, a straight-A Harvard student, began before concluding: â€Å"but I’ve found ways to make this inevitable tendency less destructive. † Over time, these extended responses began to paint a clear picture. When the straight-A students answered â€Å"I don’t defeat procrastination,† they really meant to say â€Å"I don’t defeat the urge to procrastinate. † And this makes perfect sense. To put it simply, some work just plain sucks, and you, like the straight-A students interviewed for this book, will want to procrastinate on this sucky work.It’s unavoidable. Therefore, the goal in this step is not to teach you how to love all work and never feel like procrastinating ever again. Instead, I’m going to describe some targeted strategies to help you sidestep this unavoidable urge when it arises†”not destroy it altogether. This is how straight-A students prevent procrastination from destabilizing their schedule. They don’t rely only on willpower and good intentions, but instead deploy an arsenal of specific, tested rules that help them short-circuit their natural desire to procrastinate.These students, of course, aren’t perfect, and they still occasionally put off work for no good reason. But overall their strategies made them significantly more effective at following a study plan then their peers—and this made all the difference. What follows are five anti-procrastination battle plans drawn directly from my straight-A interviews. These techniques are not theoretical; they are exhaustively used by real students to beat down procrastination again and again. Trust them. Put them into practice immediately. Make them into a habit. The effect will be immediate.You may never fully rid yourself of the urge to procrastinate, and that’s okay. But with t he right strategies in place, you can rid yourself of the fear that you’ll always give in to that urge. Procrastination Battle Plan #1: Keep a work progress journal Think about the last time that you procrastinated on something important. You can probably recall some of the wishy-washy excuses your mind concocted for delaying the work. Something along the lines of â€Å"I don’t have all the materials here with me now, but if I waited until tomorrow, I could get tarted right away with everything I need,† or â€Å"It’s getting late, and my concentration is waning, it would be a waste to start now, so I will wait to tackle this when I’m fresh in the morning. † Why are these excuses necessary? Why don’t we simply think: â€Å"This is boring, and I’m lazy, so I’m not going to do it,† which is much closer to the truth? The answer is that your ego is a powerful force. We procrastinate, but we don’t want to admit t o ourselves that we procrastinate. So we make excuses to ourselves to avoid the truth. A work progress journal is a simple tool that takes advantage of this reality to help you defeat procrastination.It works as follows: Buy a cheap spiral notebook, and keep it near your calendar. Each morning, when you work out your schedule for the day, quickly jot down in the notebook the date and the most important tasks that you are scheduled to get done. At the end of the day, if you’ve completed all of these tasks, simply jot down all completed. If you failed to complete some tasks, record this, along with a quick explanation. The system adds only an extra minute to your morning routine and requires only an extra minute each night before you go to sleep. It’s simple enough to turn into a habit.What’s amazing, however, is the journal’s immediate effect. Having to record, in ink, on paper, that you procrastinated over a task for no good reason is a powerful blow to y our ego. It might be easy to tell yourself a few weak excuses for putting off a tedious assignment, but when you have to record these same excuses on paper their foolishness is exposed. You can no longer get away with lame rationalizations. This is especially true if you continue to delay the same task day after day. After seeing all of those excuses pile up in your journal, there will be no escape from reality: You are being lazy!Your ego won’t like this truth, so it will kick-start your motivation in an effort to avoid it. The journal, in this way, acts like a personal drill sergeant, sitting on your shoulder and yelling into your ear: â€Å"Soldier, I want you to go get me a pillow, because I know I must be dreaming. I thought I just saw you consider not starting your paper this afternoon, and I knnnoooowwww you wouldn’t try to pull that crap with me standing right next to you! Now go grab your notes and get workin’ before I make you record your laziness in ink where everyone can see it! Many students, myself included, don’t keep a journal all the time, but use it to help them get through unusually busy periods. For example, my work progress journal was a key force in getting me through my senior fall semester, which involved classes, grad school applications, and the writing of my first book. Others have had great success with the journal to keep focused on their LSAT preparation while juggling the demands of regular class work. Some students go so far as to use the system with a friend, agreeing to review each other’s journal once a week.As Christine from Harvard suggests: â€Å"If you have a friend in the same class, check up on each other’s progress. † And even if you can’t find a willing journal partner, there are other ways to use friends to jumpstart your drive: â€Å"It helps to simply tell your roommates of your goals, and have them guilt-trip you into working. † Procrastination Battle Plan #2: Feed the Machine Low energy breeds procrastination. Most students know the feeling—your mind starts to feel sluggish, you begin to read whole pages of text without remembering a single word, and writing coherent notes becomes a Herculean task.It’s almost impossible to motivate yourself to stick to a schedule under these mental conditions. Accordingly, during long work periods, you need to feed your body the fuel it needs to perform at it