Preparing for the SAT How Many Hours is Enough

10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting

10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting Have you at any point been really busy showing a class, looked at your understudies, and discovered them gazing into space? Exactly when you think youve made the ideal exercise plan or connecting with action, you may find that your understudies are unfocused and out somewhere else. However its fundamental that you discover approaches to keep your classes intriguing so your understudies can ingest and hold the data that you present. For quite a long time, instructors have been attempting new instructing systems to cause their understudies to remain alert and get them amped up for learning. Albeit a few methodologies have fizzled, others have been seen as very viable. Investigate 10 instructor tried approaches to keep your class intriguing so your understudies will remain connected constantly. 1. Consolidate Mystery Into Your Lessons Learning might be the most diversion for your understudies when they dont realize what's in store. Attempt to consolidate a feeling of shock and puzzle into your exercises. When youre going to reveal another exercise, provide understudies another insight every day up until the most recent day before the beginning of the exercise. This is a pleasant method to make your exercise secretive, and you may find that your understudies are really anticipating discovering what theyll be finding out about straightaway. 2. Dont Repeat Classroom Material Its fitting and fundamental to survey study hall material, however make an effort not to rehash it verbatim on the grounds that this can make it less intriguing for understudies. Whenever you have to audit material, take a stab at playing a survey game during which you present the data in a manner that is not quite the same as the first occasion when you showed the understudies. The 3-2-1 procedure is a pleasant method to survey and not rehash material. For this movement, understudies attract a pyramid their scratch pad and record three things they learned, two things they thought were intriguing, and one inquiry they despite everything have. 3. Make Classroom Games Regardless of whether youre 5 or 25, playing a game can be entertaining. Games are likewise an incredible method to keep exercises fascinating. On the off chance that your understudies need to recollect their spelling words, lead a spelling honey bee a challenge where members are wiped out when they incorrectly spell a word. Or on the other hand if the understudies need to rehearse math, have a math honey bee, which is like a spelling honey bee, yet with math issues or realities as opposed to spelling words. Games make learning fun, and games in class are a remedy for upbeat children. 4. Give Your Students Choices One system that instructors have seen as powerful is offering their understudies the capacity to settle on their own decisions with regards to learning. Decision can be an incredible inspiration since it assists with encouraging understudy intrigue and freedom. Whenever youre arranging an action, have a go at settling on a decision board. Print out a tic-tac-toe board and record nine unique assignments for understudies to finish. The objective is for every understudy to pick three errands in succession. 5. Use Technology Innovation is an incredible method to keep your exercises intriguing. Youngsters love gadgets, so have a go at fusing it into your general instructing system. Rather than remaining before the room and addressing, take a stab at utilizing a Smartboard intuitive presentation. Extend your agreeable learning movement exercises by interfacing with a homeroom in another city or nation through videoconferencing. Use innovation in an assortment of ways, and youll see the intrigue level in your study hall increment significantly. 6. Dont Take Teaching so Seriously Being a compelling instructor is a significant activity, yet that doesnt imply that you need to stay genuine in class consistently. Attempt to extricate up a piece and recognize that your understudies may have various premiums and learning styles than your own. Its OK to chuckle at yourself now and again and to have a ton of fun. You may find that your understudies are increasingly intrigued when youre somewhat more loose. 7. Make Your Lessons Interactive In a conventional study hall, the educator remains before the room and talks to the understudies as the understudies tune in and take notes. Sadly, this isn't the best method to hold understudies intrigue. Make learning intuitive by making hands-on exercises that include understudies at all times. Take a stab at utilizing the Jigsaw helpful learning action in which every understudy is answerable for their own piece of a gathering action. Or on the other hand give a hands-a shot science try. At the point when you include understudies and make your exercises intuitive, your class turns out to be all the more intriguing. 8. Relate Material to Your Students Lives Attempt to make a certifiable association with what your understudies are realizing. This will give them a superior comprehension of why they have to realize what youre educating. On the off chance that theyre continually asking you for what valid reason they have to master something and youre continually replying with â€Å"because,† you will before long lose believability. Rather, take a stab at offering them a genuine response, for example, Youre finding out about cash in light of the fact that in reality, youll need to realize how to purchase food and take care of your tabs. By furnishing a direct response, youre helping them make an association between what theyre realizing in class and how theyll utilize this data later on. 9. Flip Your Lessons The flipped homeroom has been picking up in ubiquity since the term flipped entered the more extensive instruction world in 2012. At the point when it was first introduced, the possibility that understudies could learn new data at home and afterward come to class and use class time for basic reasoning exercises and fortification of ideas was exceptional. Notwithstanding, numerous instructors are utilizing this system and accomplishing positive outcomes. Understudies in a flipped homeroom can work at their own pace (which is incredible for separated learning) and draw in with their companions in a progressively intelligent, important way when theyre in the study hall. Take a stab at utilizing the flipped showing system for your next exercise and watch the profundity of your understudies commitment. 10. Consider some fresh possibilities Exercise plans dont need to incorporate worksheets or talks during which understudies sit and take notes on numerous occasions. Have a go at considering some fresh possibilities and plan an exercise that is totally strange. Welcome a visitor speaker, go on a field excursion, or take adapting outside. At the point when you have a go at something new and extraordinary, theres a decent possibility that your understudies will react emphatically. When arranging an exercise, take a stab at working together with another educator or taking your understudies on a virtual field trip. Discovering that connects with understudies is the best. Your understudies will think that its additionally fascinating to realize when you present the material to them in an assortment of inventive manners.

What Metrics Do You Watch During Customer Development

What Metrics Do You Watch During Customer Development © Shutterstock.com | AniwhiteIn this article, we explain 1) the difference between vanity and actionable metrics, 2) an introduction to the AARRR metrics framework, and 3) how the AARRR framework can be used during customer development.INTRODUCTIONThere is nothing in business that is not worth measuring, including success. In fact, it is hard to know if you have succeeded if you are not measuring your initiatives, your failures and your successes. All of these measurements will come from different metrics. These metrics are not all the same and not all metrics will apply to you and your business.But measuring customer development metrics is about more than generating numerical figures. You need to be able to distinguish which metrics are most valuable for your business. You also need to know how to use them and what do to do with them when you have them.VANITY METRICS VS ACTIONABLE METRICSIn general, you will find that there are two different kinds of metrics that you will use. Thes e main groups of metrics are known as vanity metrics and actionable metrics. While both can be valuable, there are distinct differences between the two groups.Vanity metrics are metrics that make you feel good about what you have done. These are numbers or statistics that look good in reports. Vanity metrics are fun. They show you how many visitors you get, how many followers you have or how many new subscribers have signed up for more information. These metrics are often easy to track and they can show growth. But the data they produce is relatively meaningless. You cannot do very much with them that is meaningful for growing your business.Maybe your tweet did get thirty favorites and a bunch of retweets. But that only tells you a few things. It tells you that you tweeted at the right time. It may even show that you were relevant or funny once. But it does not correlate to data that you can really use to develop your customers.Vanity metrics are not an accurate gauge of what is hap pening within your business. In fact, if you really want to, you can purchase your vanity metrics for only a small fee. It is not difficult to find someone who can generate hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of followers or fake signups for you. The problem is that you then have thousands of people following your business but none of them are customers. Many of them may not even be real people.Because vanity metrics are easy to track and easy to achieve, many people begin to focus on improving them. Unfortunately, this can be a mistake because it means that you begin to spend time focusing on metrics that make you feel good. You should really be focusing on metrics that can help you improve your business.Vanity metrics are data but having huge amounts of data is not always wat you need. This especially true if the data does not provide you with new information to base your decisions on. That is why you need to focus on actionable metrics. Actionable metrics are those stat istics that you can use to measure and assess specific tasks that are directly related to the goals of your business. These are important because they allow you to read data and then make changes to attract more customers. These metrics help you make decisions about your strategy.Actionable metrics are not necessarily compiled into handy graphs with the touch of the button. They often take some work and interpretation. One great kind of actionable metric is a split test or an A/B experiment. These metrics produce some of the most actionable data that you can ever find. This is because they either confirm or deny a hypothesis explicitly. They are also useful because you can use them in many different areas. You can use the A/B test to make changes to your advertising copy or even to make major changes to your product.Keyword metrics are also great metrics to use for your business. These tests are sometimes known as SEM or SEO tests. They are also great for developing your customers b ecause they will demonstrate real insights about your customers.AARRR METRICSThe origins of AARRR do not differ much from the origins of the Customer Development model. AARRR, otherwise known as Startup Metrics for Pirates, was developed by Dave McClure. He is the person who created the term and created a presentation that anyone can now find either on Slideshare or on Dave McClure’s blog, Master of 500 Hats. Dave is an entrepreneur and an active investor. He also cofounded 500Startups.The model was initially created to support Dave’s hypothesis that founders only need to focus on five key actionable metrics in order to make their business model a successful one. AAARR provides a measurable framework for startups to tell whether or not the current business model is worth developing into a fully-fledged company.As indicated by its acronym, AARRR has five key phases. In order, these phases are: acquisition, activation, retention, revenue and referral.AcquisitionAcquisition is the first of the five key phases of the framework. It is also the first point when you will make contact with your customer. You can acquire customers from social networks, SEO, PR, affiliates, business development efforts and direct advertising. Many people confuse acquisition for casual visitors. Acquisition is not the number of views you get per month. You can use this metric in a more meaningful way than this.Instead, you should be measuring where your visitors are coming from. You can then begin to see which of your efforts are working best within your customer market. This information will tell you if your SEO is on track or if your social media efforts are currently worth your while.You will see where the big spikes of customers are coming from. You will also see where a low but steady volume is coming from. But at this point, you should not be disregarding methods that bring in low but steady stream of customers. You need to go through the rest of the process before you begin to make decisions about which streams to keep and which to put lower on the list of priorities.ActivationActivation naturally follows customer acquisition. This is because once you get traffic to your website or your business, you need to create a great user experience. This is the part where you need to use your value propositions to hook your customers.Your landing page is an essential part of customer activation. But not any old landing page is suitable. You should be split or A/B testing here to find the best customer experience. When you have figured out what works best for customers, you will be able to activate more customers.It is not enough to get customers to sign up in your registration form. Customers who give you their information are more likely to buy but they haven’t bought yet. You still need to get them to buy. You might have 5,000 email addresses but if you aren’t taking orders that data is not incredibly useful to you yet. Conversion happens further down the ch ain.RetentionThe AARRR framework does not stop once you have activated your customers. You need to keep them coming back for more once they have arrived. While it is important to focus on acquiring those first customers in the first step of the method, you need to have equal focus on keeping them. Repeat business and loyal customers are far more valuable to you than anyone who buys from you once and never comes back again.How you retain customers will depend on your business. However, you should avoid giving things away for free. Yes, you will have a high retention rate. But you still don’t have paying customers. Since paying customers are usually your initial goal as a startup, giving things away will put adding paying customers further back on your timeline. Also, you will have a much lower conversion rate if you decide to begin charging for your services.Retaining customers is not just about keeping them on your mailing list. You want them to be interacting with you. You want t hem to open the emails you send them. You want them to be clicking around your site rather than visiting your home page.However, do not measure your retention every day. You can retain customers who are not visiting you every day and they will still be valuable to you. In fact, customers who visit regularly are often more valuable than those who are around constantly.  Think of it this way. If you were a retail store and you have customers who came in everyday, they would probably make smaller purchase, if they bought at all. But customers who came in every week to do their shopping? They are probably making bigger, regular purchases that you can count on. These are the customers that you want to please.You can measure your retention rates in whichever way is most appropriate for your business. For some, it might be seeing how many people visit your product monthly. For others, it will be how many people return to the product and how often.ReferralThere is nothing sweeter than a cus tomer referral. Creating an experience where your customer can do half your work for you is your ultimate goal. You want to be able to create an experience that does not just draw in customers. You want an experience that makes those customers want to tell all their friends. However, you should keep this sharing under control under you have a great product. Allowing your customers to refer your product to all of their friends will not serve you if you are not ready for the business yet.You should be qualitatively testing your product until it is ready for a hard launch before you allow your product to go viral.Referrals are powerful and you can use them to your advantage as a way to control both your product and your customers.OnePlus is a Chinese phone manufacturer which creates high end phones that are sold at low prices. Though it has many of the specs of the latest Apple or Samsung products, these phones are often sold at less than half the price of the biggest phones on the mar ket.The way that OnePlus sells its phones is evidence that the referral process can be very valuable for your business. While Apple has stunning, and expensive, advertising, OnePlus operates solely on the invitation system. This means that customers have to visit the landing page and place themselves on a list if they want to buy the newest version of the phone.Because of the nature of the product, OnePlus reaches out to its target market and allows its target market to expand its market for it.This leaves OnePlus in complete control of its market. Current owners can invite friends to sign up for an invitation. The more people that sign up for an invitation the higher up the original invite moves up on the list. Thus, it encourages referrals for real rewards. But the gratification is delayed. OnePlus maintains is exclusivity by forcing customers to wait on a waiting list until an invitation is available. Once the customer gets the invitation, they have 72 hours to activate the invit ation. When the invitation is activated, they have 24 hours to purchase.OnePlus has a genius system. However, it only works because the company offers a genius product with a real value proposition. You can’t make customers wait three months for a new phone and then randomly demand $400 from them in a matter of days if you do not have a gripping value proposition.RevenueYour revenue is the least vain out of all your metrics. Measuring revenue is a perfect place to really determine the success of your business model. If you are bringing in real revenue, you are on to something. It is then okay to begin to scale up your model into a real company.However, it is important that you go through the previous four steps before measuring your revenue. Without doing this, you will not be getting all of the other valuable data that you need. Knowing how much you’re bringing in is great but it is only useful in the context of other metrics such as where your money is coming from.USING AARRR IN THE CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT MODELThe AARRR method is perfectly designed to use alongside the Customer Development model. You can use this framework throughout the model but it is most useful in the last two stages: customer creation and company building. Successfully moving through the AARRR framework will help you determine whether your business model is ready to be scaled up into a fully-fledged company.The acquisition and activation stages are best used during the customer validation phase of Customer Development. These stages are great for the measurement that you should be doing when you validate your customers. You can use the acquisition phase to measure where your customers are coming from. You can also use the activation stage and its metrics to measure your customer engagement. This will help you validate your customers.The activation stage of AARRR is also essential for the customer creation stage of Customer Development. In the activation stage, you are measuring the mar keting activities that you need to help your customers not only learn more about your product but actually want to buy it. These methods can be used together to create a successful strategy for not just gaining customers but keeping them. The reason that these fit together so well is because they are not about creating marketing but about creating a positive experience for the customers.The retention, referral and revenue phases can all be used to measure whether or not your business model qualifies as a something that should be scaled up in the company building phase of Customer Development. Measuring your customer retention is important because the customers that you retain will be your most valuable customers. You want to create a business that does not just draw customers in for single purchases but creates valuable buyers.You also want your business to be so engaging that these customers want to share it with their friends. There is no point in building a business that your cus tomers would not tell anyone about. Finally, measuring your revenue streams is important because it is the proof you need that people are will to spend money on your business. If all three of these things point to success, you can officially move into the company building phase of the Customer Development model.CONCLUSIONLearning the difference between vanity metrics and meaningful measurements is essential if you want to incorporate measurements into the Customer Development model. Since the Customer Development model is all about learning and validating your data, it makes sense that you would want to use your metrics to make actionable decisions about what you know.Using the AARRR framework alongside the Customer Development model is a great way to measure your success. When you successfully apply AARRR to the relevant stages of Customer Development, you will find that you will be able to come to a clear decision about whether or not you should transform your business model into a fully-fledged company.

Overview of Alice Munros The Turkey Season

Alice Munros The Turkey Season was first published in the December 29, 1980, issue of The New Yorker. It was later included in Munros 1982 collection, The Moons of Jupiter, and in 1996s Selected Stories. The Globe and Mail calls The Turkey Season one of Munros very best stories. Plot In the story, the adult narrator looks back at a time in the late 1940s when, at age 14, she took a job as a turkey gutter for the Christmas season. The story goes into great detail about the various other workers at the Turkey Barn -- Herb Abbott, the mysterious and alluring supervisor; two middle-aged sisters, Lily and Marjorie, skillful gutters who take pride in never letting their husbands come near them; cheerful Irene, young, pregnant, and belatedly married; Henry, who periodically drinks whisky from his thermos and who, at age 86, is still a devil for work; Morgan, the rough-edged owner; Morgy, his teenage son; Gladys, Morgans fragile sister, who brings her own soap to prevent allergies, frequently calls in sick, and is  rumored to have suffered a nervous breakdown. Finally, there is Brian, a crass, lazy newcomer. Eventually, Brians rude behavior goes too far. Munro never tells us exactly what his offense is, but the narrator enters the barn after school one day to find Morgan screaming at Brian not only to leave the barn but also to leave town entirely. Morgan calls him filthy and a pervert and a maniac. Meanwhile, Gladys is said to be recuperating. The story concludes some days later with the strange camaraderie of the Turkey Barn crew celebrating their last delivery on Christmas Eve. They are all drinking rye whiskey -- even Morgy and the narrator. Morgan presents everyone with a bonus turkey -- the deformed ones that are missing a wing or a leg and thus cant be sold -- but at least hes taking one home himself, too. When the party is over, snow is falling. Everyone heads home, with Marjorie, Lily, and the narrator linking arms as if we were old comrades, singing, Im Dreaming of a White Christmas. Thematic Threads As we might expect from an Alice Munro story, The Turkey Season yields new layers of meaning with every reading. One particularly interesting theme in the story involves, quite simply, work. Munro spares us no details of the raw job at hand, describing the turkeys, plucked and stiffened, pale and cold, with the heads and necks limp, the eyes and nostrils clotted with blood. She also highlights the conflict between manual labor and intellectual labor. The narrator explains that she took the job to prove she was capable of manual work because thats what the people around her valued, as opposed to the things I was good at, like schoolwork, which were suspect or held in plain contempt. This conflict mirrors the tension between Lily and Marjorie, comfortable with the work of gutting, and Gladys, who used to work in a bank and who seems to find manual labor beneath her. Another intriguing theme in the story involves the definition and enforcement of gender roles. The women in the story have clear ideas about the ways in which women should behave, though their opinions often contradict each other. They openly disapprove of each others perceived transgressions, and when they do agree on standards, they become almost competitive about whos better fulfilling them. All of the women seem uniformly drawn to the character of Herb Abbott precisely because of his ambiguous sexuality. He doesnt meet any of their gender stereotypes, and thus he becomes an endless source of fascination for them, a puzzle to be solved. (You can read more about the way Munro establishes Herbs elusive character in Ambiguity in Alice Munros The Turkey Season.) Though it would be possible to read The Turkey Season as a story about Herbs sexual orientation, I think its really a story about the other characters fixation on Herbs sexuality, their discomfort with ambiguity, and their obsessive need to fix the label.

Why School Should Start Later - 899 Words

School Should Start Later Almost every day high school students are waking up around six o’clock in the morning to get ready for school, some even earlier than that. Nearly every morning students are waking up without adequate sleep. If sleep is one of the most essential needs of the body in order to grow and develop, shouldn’t we be more aware of how much it affects students everyday performance? The ways in which students are affected by sleep-deprivation is precisely why school needs to start later. Schools that start before 8 a.m. are a major reason students aren’t getting adequate sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation teenagers need on average 8  ½ - 9  ½ hours of sleep a night(Schute, Nancy). Realistically students rarely get that much sleep. When students don’t get adequate sleep it has the ability to affect their attention span, memory, problem-solving ability, and mood(Rosenberg, Russell). Are these students actually expected to pay attention, learn, solve problems, and have an acceptable attitude when they wake up sleep deprived? With a sleep cycle that changes once students hit puberty and an increase in the production of melatonin its nearly impossible for teens to fall asleep before 10:30 p.m.(Edwards, Finley). In my own experience I don’t even get tired until around 11:30 p.m. and barely fall asleep before 12, so it makes it extremely difficult to wake up at 6 a.m. and get ready for the day. Pushing school start times back could produce negativeShow MoreRelatedWhy School Should Start Later1531 Words   |  7 PagesI realized I missed the bus! Does this happen to you? Because of early school starts I have to wake up super early which makes me super tired. School starts way too early! Should students have to wake up at unreasonably early times just to get to school on time? No, they shouldn t and school should start later because it causes many risks and problems in students lives. There are many reasons that school should start later, but the main reason is because students don t get enough sleep and areRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later816 Words   |  4 Pagesbiggest issues facing our high school systems. Many school’s across America have started to push back their school start times. Is it worth it? The answer is yes. School should start later in order to unlock our nation’s high school potential. One of the reasons that school should be started later is because it does not give growing teens enough time to sleep. Sleep researcher, Wendy Troxel, who spoke on TED, says that high school aged kids’ sleep cycles do no start until 11 p.m and do not end untilRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later1371 Words   |  6 Pagesreasons for why this is which doesn’t include the laziness of students, and there is no reason for school not to have a later start. So, schools should start later in the day. Reason 1: Many students are not getting enough sleep. In especially middle schools and high school, teenagers are sleep deprived. At the age when they need it the most, teens are not getting enough hours of rest because of how early their school starts. It is very unreasonable that school for teenagers starts early when theyRead MoreWhy School Should Start Later1056 Words   |  5 Pages Later Start Times School start times should be later because school times should revolve around the student’s best ability to learn. When America started public schools, they had the same time frame, around seven to three. They did this so the farmers would have time to go and work in the afternoon. Well, needless to say we still have the same schedule now, with a much different industry and way of life. There are countless reasons schools should start later and countless studies that proveRead MoreWhy We Should Start School Later Essay506 Words   |  3 Pagesthat the average high school student does not get enough sleep. While some experts like Dr. Lee Yanku say â€Å"It is not the schools starting time that is the problem as to why students don’t get enough sleep, it is because of facebook, myspace and cell phones† The truth behind it is that we can’t budget sports, homework and extracurricular activities into one day and still get nine hours of sleep. This is hurt ing student’s academic averages and needs to change. Changing the school time will help boostRead MoreReasons Why Schools Should Start Later During The Day1295 Words   |  6 Pages I am doing my paper on the reasons of why schools should start later in the day. I will analyze many negative effects that come with sleep deprivation, such as caffeine usage and car wrecks. I will also discuss the positive aspects of schools starting early, such as extra time for extracurricular activities. American Academy of Pediatrics. â€Å"School Start Times for Adolescents.† Pediatrics, vol. 134, no.3, Sept 2014, pp.642-649. pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2014/08/19/pedsRead MoreSchool Hours895 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Later School hours we Demand Topic Outline Introduction: Students complain about how tired they are during their morning periods. Thesis: Schools should start later according to Dr. Ross and Mr. Philips. Students feel very emotionally distress early in the mornings. It’s only reasonable to think that concentration would be better after enough of time to actually wake up. i. Dr. Ross and Mr. Philips ii. Emotional distress Read MoreShould School Day Start Later? Essay1395 Words   |  6 PagesMs. Scruggs English 3 08 December 2016 Should School Day Start Later Even though that schools are starting too early and students aren t getting enough sleep. Schools should start later because teens can get more sleep and teens can get their work on time., That schools should start later so students can learn better. because Teens are falling asleep in class because they are getting to school early. and Schools are starting too early and should start later. Students need more sleep in the morningRead MoreSchool Should Start Later642 Words   |  3 Pagesmiddle and high schools start as early as 7:00 am, requiring teenagers to rise at least at 6:30 in order to make it to class. As a nation, we can only view this as a monstrosity. In this essay, I will be going over three areas of analysis: one, why early start times for middle and high school create situations not in the interest of learning, two, why a later commencement time would have substantial benefits, and three, why said benefits would outweigh the disadvantages. First, why early commencementRead MorePersuasive Essay On Why School Should Start In School769 Words   |  4 PagesWhy do we hate going to school? Why are we sluggish all day? Why do some people get too tired to put full effort into a test? People are tired of these unfair school hours. Things need to change; but how? Well, theres plenty of options. Schools should be on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s, with a week break every two weeks, starting at 9:00 a.m. and goes year round. Why does school start so early anyway? I’ve always been told it has to do with preparing us for a regular work schedule, but

How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic Free Essays

The realisation of the reader from this extract, that Jekyll has only been experimenting with science produces dramatic tension. Throughout the extract, Jekyll confesses that he can only speak ‘by theory alone’ regarding his attempts to create the potions to transform himself into Hyde. This represents his constant uncertainty about the results of his experiments. We will write a custom essay sample on How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore if even Jekyll, the man performing the experiments, is uncertain of the results, dramatic tension is caused for the reader to discover the results of the experiment. Jekyll also confirms that he doesn’t know anything for certain, as he only speaks what appears ‘to be most probable’. Since the results are uncertain, the reader doesn’t know the effect the experiment would have on Jekyll. The reader also discovers that no-one has attempted the experiment before, which builds up tension and suspense about the end result and makes the reader intrigued to continue reading in order to discover it. The unknown of the experiments Jekyll performs builds drama and is dramatic since the unexpected may happen. Stevenson’s imagery of imprisonment in this extract makes it more dramatic since it portrays the idea of Jekyll being trapped. Jekyll presents being Hyde as a disguise ‘like a thick cloak’ in order to abandon his life as Jekyll, which is boring and tiresome, as if he is escaping from prison in order to live a new and free life. The ‘thick cloak’ could represent protection and by suggesting it is like a piece of clothing, this shows that transforming into Hyde is effortless and comforting to do but the constant interchanging between the views of Jekyll, when he is himself, and Hyde is dramatic. Jekyll likens the potion to a drug by saying that it had ‘no discriminating action’, explaining that it is addicting once he has tried it. However it then became impossible to prevent the change describing it as falling into ‘slavery’ and by being trapped this leads to the extract becoming tense and exciting. Metaphors are used through the extract to provide imagery for the reader. Jekyll explains that Hyde was pure evil and that it was ‘written broadly and plainly on his face’ suggesting that when people saw Hyde, it was immediately clear that he was a cruel person. By using this metaphor, Stevenson is attempting to show the personality of Hyde through his face and that his characteristics were clear from his physical appearance. After drinking the potion, Jekyll ‘had come to the fatal cross-roads’ which is a crucial moment in the novel for him, as he can choose only choose option suggested by the ‘cross roads’. This is dramatic because as there is a decision to be made which is extremely important, this builds suspense, especially as the decision carried the possibility of death which requires Jekyll to ponder his options carefully. Since the cross roads are ‘fatal’ this may imply that the cross roads will lead to disaster or death. It could also indicate that the cross roads were unavoidable as it was fate that determined Jekyll would have to make this decision. The dangerous decision that has been forced upon Jekyll makes the extract dramatic, since his decision may lead to his death. The use of violent and dramatic language by Stevenson in the extract increases the pace of the novel and makes it more engaging and exciting. Jekyll is uncertain about the result of him drinking his potion which creates tension and by ‘hurrying back to my cabinet’ this shows that there is urgency from Jekyll to discover the effects of the potion which leads to the extract being exciting and dramatic and it is building up tension. When Jekyll had transformed into Hyde he was aware that people were frightened of him and took an instant dislike. He said that people couldn’t approach him without ‘a visible misgiving of the flesh’ and by using violent language to describe their reaction, it demonstrates the severity of the cruelty that Hyde possessed. By saying ‘the flesh’ instead of skin, this shows that people were unable to hide beneath their skin, the reactions they felt regarding Hyde. This language engages the reader with the emotions felt by the characters towards Hyde, producing anxiety among the reader resulting in a dramatic confrontation that is described. The exposure of many mysteries is revealed all at once which creates a dramatic atmosphere. In the extract we learn that Edward Hyde ‘was pure evil’ which is the reason behind people such as Utterson and Enfield ‘taking an instant dislike to him’ as we learn previously. We also discover the motive for Jekyll to transform into Hyde which is because he ‘began to profit by the strange immunities’ of his position, as he is taking advantage of the freedom he has when Jekyll is Hyde. The answers to the questions which were formed by the reader earlier in the novel were slowly being revealed throughout it. However in this short extract, lots of answers are provided to the reader from Jekyll, because he is explaining the actions of both himself and Mr Hyde. Also since the novel is told in third but in this extract it is in the first person perspective, it leaves few questions remaining, allowing the reader to piece together Utterson’s perception. This therefore results in dramatic tension as the reader now understands the actions Jekyll has taken and is intrigued to discover the fate of Jekyll and Hyde. How to cite How Is the Extract of Jekyll and Hyde Dramatic, Papers

The musical techniques Essay Example

The musical techniques Essay There is only one similarity between the two films in the musical techniques which occurs when Miss Havisham asks to see some play, when both films have a small crescendo and both use many notes in a short time which really makes an impact. There is a large build up in questioning, as if to ask, What is your fancy? Making this moment in the film very suspicious where Miss Havisham could either be a complete psychopath with a sick bordering on perverted mind or just an over-interested old woman. Both films use music to build suspense but the 1946 version uses considerably more music than Jarrold, however, the music Jarrold does use is very effective. As Pip enters the room in Leans version, there is an enormous crescendo on the brass and strings which gets louder as the door opens and more of the room is revealed and only quietens when Miss Havisham talks, and increases further until you actually see Miss Havisham, when it comes to an abrupt halt, this music builds tension and really gets the viewer going because nobody has any idea of what is lying behind the door. We will write a custom essay sample on The musical techniques specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The musical techniques specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The musical techniques specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer There is total silence as Pip and Miss Havisham talk, making the scene spooky and totally unpredictable. As Miss Havisham puts her hand on her heart and makes the viewer feel sympathetic towards her, there is some sad, depressing music on the strings and a small trill (alarm sound) to increase this potential sadness. A very delicate, melodic piece of music is played on the woodwind until the end which creates a sense of confusion and slight bewilderment. This is in contrast with Jarrolds 1999 version where a quiet, magical, mysterious piece is played using a piano which emphasises the questioning aurora of the room, i.e. the room used to be so beautiful and involved in the happiest day of a life and now it is almost discarded and uncared for. As the camera shows the purposely stopped clocks, a cymbal is hit gently to emphasise them and this noise is weird which is a perfect match with the clocks. As Pip opens the jewellery box, the music completely stops which makes the viewer expect Miss Havisham to appear at that point but Jarrold keeps us in suspense, and keeps us hanging on the end of our seats for a little longer. From the point of Pip entering to him opening the box, there is a constant drone in the background which makes the viewer think another person is present besides Pip; this coincides brilliantly with the high camera shots mentioned in the last paragraph. When Pip is looking in the mirror, there is a roll on the kettle drums to create a sweeping sound as Miss Havisham appears. A very ghost like noise, for a very ghost like person. The notes on the piano get quicker at this stage, as does Pips heart rate and leaves us with the question, Is Miss Havisham going to shout? Lean and Jarrold use a few visual effect similarities with almost identical characteristics. The main similarity in both extracts is that lots of shadow is used to create corners that cant be seen and cast shadows that add to mystery and makes the viewer question what is hiding behind the cover of darkness.  The 1946 version takes a much darker, silhouetted approach, to bring out Pips pathetic appearance in comparison to the room. Lean creates a silhouette of Pip as he enters, from dark to light as he walks into the room, showing Pip as a patronised young boy, lost in a huge and scary room, again, Pip looks patronised by his silhouette, at this point the spotlight focuses on Miss Havisham, portraying her as the main part of the room, and then jumps to Pips face as he starts talking. As Estella enters, she walks into the spotlight. When the card game appears on screen, the spotlight focuses on Miss Havisham even though she doesnt speak; this is done for three reasons. Firstly, to show Miss Havishams expression when Pip is being insulted. Secondly, to prove that Miss Havisham is still the most important person in the room even when she has no participation in the main activity (the card game) and the light draws the viewers attention to this. And finally, it adds to the dominance of Estella and Pip, that she is that much greater she must be the focal point. This is in contrast with Jarrolds ideas, which predominantly has brighter lights and a lighter atmosphere, however, the amount of shadow he does use is very effective. Jarrold begins by putting a spotlight on the door before Pip enters, this is simply to point the door out to the audience, and show it is the entrance. The rooms interior is quite dark and lit only by candles; this creates a vast amount of tension, which is added to by Pips position in a dark shadowed area. Pip creates long shadows, making the whole process of fumbling around the room a lot scarier, elongated, twisted shadows build up creepiness and mystery. When Pip sees Miss Havisham, full light is on both of their faces to show both reactions at once. When a long shot shows Miss Havisham and Pip fully, Pip is stood in her shadow which shows power over Pip and makes a very daunting image of control. Pips face is only half lit up which again creates tension as we dont totally know what facial expressions Pip is making. When Miss Havisham tells Estella what Pip said about her, the spotlight zooms onto Pip showing his mortified and embarrassed expression and how he reacts when he realises he has been used. Estella is shown in the dark during this as she is not involved in the conversation. I think both extracts build up mystery, tension, confusion and audience questioning superbly. Both have used their independent filming techniques to create as good an interpretation of the book as possible and although both are very different, both get the important points across well. Each scene has portrayed each character as they should be, i.e. over-confident, snobbish Estella, unconfident Pip and powerful, intimidating Miss Havisham. The rooms appeared totally different, Jarrolds interpretation was much more glamorous and pretty at one point and Leans was dull and old, and, I agree more with Jarrold, the room, like Miss Havisham, was beautiful at some point but is now messy and discarded, and Jarrold shows this perfectly. Miss Havisham appeared much stricter in Leans version, and I have to say I dont agree and think Jarrolds Miss Havisham was better played. Although very different filming techniques were used, both portrayed all the necessary emotions very well. Both directors use totally different approaches in all aspects, but it is necessary to look a little deeper into the reasons for using each option. Although Jarrold uses a lighter approach to shadow techniques and his silhouettes arent as bold, the effects put across to the viewer are very strong and portray the correct atmosphere for Pips belittlement. The music used by Jarrold is minimal compared to Leans interpretation but the delicate tune is more of a background noise that increases tension to a greater amount than a full orchestral approach, it just sits in the back of the audiences mind and is almost spooky.

Military Ranks, Units and Weapons

Military Ranks, Units and Weapons Military Ranks, Units and Weapons Military Ranks, Units and Weapons By Mark Nichol Even the best and most popular authors get facts wrong sometimes (often because they leave research to others and don’t vet it, or are careless in their own investigations), but that’s no excuse for shoddy writing that contradicts what a large segment of the readership knows to be true. One area that’s a minefield, so to speak, for writers is the military. It’s easy to find detailed information about military ranks, units, and weaponry, not to mention history, but here’s some basic training: Military Rank Various nations follow differing conventions of nomenclature for military ranks, which specify an individual’s place in the military hierarchy. Charts that compare various military ranks among and within countries abound in print and online, but the major distinction is between commissioned officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted personnel. The first category is for personnel, often college graduates, who command units of various sizes depending on seniority. Noncoms are experienced enlisted personnel who supervise smaller groups of lower-ranking personnel. The term captain is a common point of confusion. A captain (the word is from the Latin for â€Å"head†) originally led a company of soldiers of indeterminate size. In modern armies, marine units, and air forces, captains are relatively low-ranking officers probably in their late 20s or early 30s. Naval captains, however, for reasons I won’t detail here, are much higher in equivalent seniority and usually much older. Furthermore, the commanding officer of most vessels is, by tradition, called the captain, though they may not hold that specific rank. In books, films, and television programs, the creators often stretch the bounds of probability as far as rank is concerned. In the original Star Trek TV series, for example, Captain Kirk was very young to be commanding a starship, though the 2009 big-screen reboot gives a plausible explanation for his precocious promotion. (Well, as plausible as anything is concerned when the subject is Star Trek.) By contrast, Brad Pitt’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s World War II action flick Inglourious Basterds [sic] is a mere army lieutenant. People who hold that beginner’s rank are likely to be in their early to mid-20s, but Pitt is old enough to be a lieutenant’s father. Military-style ranks are used in American police and fire departments. In large cities, a captain is a fairly high rank (while lieutenants are fairly common, especially among detectives), but in smaller departments, the chief may hold the rank of captain, and there may be only one lieutenant, or up to several. Similarly, a captain or a lieutenant heads up a fire company, which may consist of only a few firefighters, but a small-town fire department with a single station may be headed by a captain. Military Units You’ve seen it before: a book or movie synopsis that goes something like â€Å"A tough sergeant leads a platoon of commandos behind enemy lines . . . .† The military has a very specific organizational structure, and a platoon, which consists of several dozen soldiers, is never led by a sergeant, who in combat would be responsible for no more than a dozen or so men. As it turns out, the story’s commando unit consists of eight guys. There’s no military unit ordinarily consisting of eight soldiers, but an ad hoc assemblage could informally be called a squad. But if it’s on a special mission, even a mere eight-man unit would likely be led not by a sergeant but by a fairly junior officer, like Tom Hanks’s Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan (who is assisted by a sergeant, who would take charge if his commanding officer were killed or incapacitated). Military Weapons Plenty of derision has been aimed over the years at war and cop movies and westerns, and at genre fiction, in which the hero’s magic gun never runs out of bullets, but it still happens. (I was annoyed too, while watching an already annoying fantasy film, when a character ambled through a crowded market square with an uncovered double-bladed battle-ax strapped to his back. All he had to do was inadvertently back into somebody to perform an instant nose-ectomy.) Follow the Drill Details like these may seem trivial to civilians, but they’re distracting to millions of service members and veterans, and many others, who know a sergeant major from a major general, a division from a detachment, and a Luger from a Ruger. The same problem afflicts people with firsthand or secondhand knowledge of any other system or profession or industry or avocation. So, if you’re going to write about the military, or about any other topic, do your research, and write it right. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Gratitude" or "Gratefulness"?20 Clipped Forms and Their Place (If Any) in Formal Writing

SUNY Application Tips How to Apply, Deadlines, and More

SUNY Application Tips How to Apply, Deadlines, and More SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The State University of New York system of colleges- commonly known as SUNY- encompasses some 64 different campuses throughout New York. These campuses include research universities, community colleges, and even specific programs at other universities like Cornell. Though this means that students who want to attend SUNY schools have plenty of choices, it also means that the SUNY application can feel something like a maze of options. Which school do you need? Which application should you fill out? Are you applying to one school or many? If you’re thinking of attending one of these 64 schools and need assistance filling out the SUNY application, this guide is here to help. We’ll be covering admissions requirements, which schools require supplemental essays, and some helpful information for filling out your application. SUNY has so many campuses that there's probably a few in this picture. Despite having 64 different campuses, the SUNY system’s application is fairly straightforward. Most students who apply to schools in the system use applySUNY, a proprietary application developed specifically for SUNY. You can use applySUNY to apply to almost any college within the SUNY system. However, there are a few schools that require their own applications: Cornell University, College of Agriculture Life Sciences (Universal or Common Application) Cornell University, College of Human Ecology(Universal or Common Application) Cornell University, College of School of Industrial Labor Relations(Universal or Common Application) Cornell University, College of College of Veterinary Medicine(Universal or Common Application) Downstate Medical University (Apply Yourself Application) Empire State College (SUNY ESC Application) Health Sciences Center at Stony Brook University (Multiple Applications) Nassau Community College (Nassau Community College Application) College of Optometry (OptomCAS) Rockland County Community College (RCC Application) Suffolk County Community College (Suffolk County Community College Application) Westchester County Community College (Westchester Community College Application) If you’re applying to any of those, be sure that you look up application deadlines, expectations, and other information in advance. Their requirements may differ substantially from the applySUNY requirements, so get started early. Other schools accept the Common Application in addition to applySUNY, giving you a second option if you’re also applying to schools that aren’t in the SUNY system: Purchase College, SUNY SUNY Albany SUNY Alfred State College of Technology SUNY Binghamton University SUNY Buffalo State SUNY Cobleskill SUNY College at Brockport SUNY College at Geneseo SUNY College at Old Westbury SUNY College at Oneonta SUNY College of Environmental Science Forestry SUNY College of Technology at Canton SUNY Cortland SUNY Delhi SUNY Farmingdale State College SUNY Fredonia SUNY Maritime College SUNY Morrisville State College SUNY New Paltz SUNY Oswego SUNY Plattsburgh SUNY Polytechnic Institute SUNY Potsdam SUNY Stony Brook University SUNY University at Buffalo Keep an eye on deadlines to make sure you're always on target! When Is the SUNY Application Due? Now that you know which application you’ll be filling out, it’s time to get into logistics. The applySUNY application is available online and in a paper version. Electronic applications are generally faster and easier for both students and colleges, but if you have limited internet access or other concerns, it’s totally fine to submit a paper application instead. Regardless of which one you choose, be sure that you include all required material! The SUNY system is somewhat atypical in that there is no official deadline for general applications; they’re accepted on a rolling basis as long as a program has openings. However, applications will close as soon as a program is full, so the sooner you can apply, the better. It’s always wise to double-check the website of the campus you’re applying to. And though there is no official deadline, SUNY still recommends that you get your application in by December 1. For students applying Early Decision, application dates vary. Early Decision students applying to the NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University or Maritime have a deadline of November 1, while students applying to Geneseo have a deadline of November 15, and ESF students have a deadline of December 1. For Early Action, a non-binding early application, students hoping to attend Albany or Binghamton should apply by November 1. Oswego hopefuls should apply by December 1. All other Early Action applications must be received by November 15. For all Early Action students, the deadline to finalize their enrollment decision is May 1. Good grades will make your application a slam dunk. What Test Scores and GPA Do You Need for SUNY Schools? The variety of schools within the SUNY system means that there’s no hard and fast GPA and test scores guidelines for the entire system. Aim high and work hard to get the best score possible, but if you’re looking to flesh out your college list with some SUNY schools, these are the admissions requirements: School GPA ACT SAT Acceptance Rate SUNY Adirondack n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY University at Albany 3.4 24 1095 54 percent New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University 3.03 23 1110 62.7% Alfred State College 3.04 22 1045 67.7% Binghamton University 3.7 29 1361 40.4% The College at Brockport 2.98 23 1095 53.2% SUNY Broome n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY University at Buffalo 3.6 26 1225 57.4% SUNY Buffalo State 3.15 20 970 60% SUNY Canton n/a 17 - 22 880 - 1100 82.6% Cayuga Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Clinton Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Cobleskills 3.09 20 960 94.3% Columbia Greene Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy New York State College of Agriculture Life Sciences at Cornell University 4.05 33 1470 12.7% New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University 4.05 33 1470 12.7% New York State School of Industrial Labor Relations at Cornell University 4.05 33 1470 12.7% New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University 4.05 33 1470 12.7% Corning Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Cortland 3.4 24 1125 47.9% SUNY Delhi n/a n/a n/a 51.3% SUNY Downstate Medical Center n/a n/a n/a 14% Dutchess Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Empire State College n/a n/a n/a 84% SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 3.85 26 1237 52.2% SUNY Erie Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Farmingdale State College 3.24 21 1062 59% Fashion Institute of Technology 3.6 n/a n/a 47% Finger Lakes Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Fredonia 3.3 24 1150 64.9% Fulton-Montgomery Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Genesee Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Geneseo 3.66 27 1290 72.4% Herkimer County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Hudson Valley Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Jamestown Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Jefferson Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Maritime College 3.26 25 1178 69.4% Mowhawk Valley Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Monroe Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Morrisville State College n/a 17 - 22 850 - 1060 77.4% Nassau Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY New Paltz 3.6 25 1171 44.3% SUNY Niagara County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy North Country Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY College at Old Westbury 3.1 21 1070 68.6% SUNY Oneonta 3.6 23 1115 59.5% Onondaga Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY College of Optometry n/a n/a n/a Unknown SUNY Orange County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Oswego 3.5 24 1150 54.4% SUNY Plattsburgh 3.2 23 1121 52.9% SUNY Potsdam 3.31 21 1080 66.6% SUNY Purchase College 3.1 24 1150 43.5% SUNY Rockland Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Schenectady County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Stony Brook University 3.79 28 1304 42.2% Suffolk County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Sullivan County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy SUNY Polytechnic Institute n/a n/a n/a 62% Tompkins Cortland Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Ulster County Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Upstate Medical University n/a n/a n/a 34% SUNY Westchester Community College n/a n/a n/a Open Admissions Policy Sharpen your pencils for SUNY's essay requirements. What Should You Know About SUNY Essays? Both the applySUNY application and the Common Application use the same prompts. You have seven choices, with just one required essay of 250 to 650 words. However, some colleges require or accept a supplemental essay for freshmen and transfer students.Unless otherwise stated, the colleges listed below may require or recommend the following supplemental prompt as part of the applySUNY supplement: Please provide additional information (up to 250 words) that will help us better understand your academic performance. You may also use this space to explain any chronological gaps in your academic history (e.g. a period of time after high school graduation before applying to college). Always double-check with each individual school to be sure of their requirements. Additional information may be required after submitting your essay, so check in regularly to be sure you don't miss it. Schools That Require or Recommend Supplemental Essays for Freshmen Alfred State College Required SUNY Binghamton Required SUNY at Brockport Required Buffalo State College Required SUNY at Buffalo Required, if using applySUNY College of Agriculture Technology at Cobleskill Recommended SUNY Cortland Required College of Technology at Delhi Required for Adult Learners College of Environmental Science and Forestry Required: The ESF Admissions Committee would like to understand your interest in the college and our programs of study. Please explain why you have chosen the SUNY-ESF majors you selected in the Academic section of this screen and how each would fulfill your educational and career goals. If you selected ‘Undeclared’ as one of your choices, please tell us which majors you are considering and how they will fulfill your educational and career goals. Farmingdale State College Required Fashion Institute of Technology Required: What makes you a perfect candidate for FIT? Why are you interested in the major you are applying to? The essay is also your chance to tell us more about your experiences, activities and accomplishments. (No more than 750 words, please.) If you are a transfer student, you will be prompted to submit information about your in-progress courses, including course name and numbering and the name of the school you are currently attending. SUNY Fredonia Required SUNY Geneseo Required - Geneseo Supplement Maritime College Required Morrisville State College Required SUNY New Paltz Required SUNY Old Westbury Required (Choose One): 1. Please describe the challenges you expect to face at the SUNY Old Westbury and how you are prepared to meet those challenges. 2. Please describe an experience that has impacted your educational goals, and explain how the SUNY Old Westbury can help you accomplish them. 3. Personal Statement of your choice. SUNY Oneonta Required SUNY Oswego Required SUNY Plattsburgh Recommended SUNY Potsdam Required SUNYPurchase Required: Purchase College’s motto is â€Å"Think Wide Open.† It’s our way of learning, teaching and being and so much more. By choosing Purchase, students make a conscious decision to join an intense community with a deep respect for individuality and diversity and an unparalleled environment of creativity and innovation. As an applicant, we want to know what Think Wide Open means to you. All students submit either an essay, video or other creative work (poem, song, visual artwork, etc.). It should be original and should connect to Think Wide Open broadly or specifically. Videos and creative works should include a brief introduction or statement that helps contextualize your submission for the viewer/reader. Stony Brook University Required SUNY Polytechnic Required Schools That Require or Recommend Additional Essays for Transfer Students School Requirement College of Technology at SUNY Delhi Required: Supplemental Application SUNY Purchase Required: Transfer Supplemental SUNY Polytechnic Recommended: Supplemental Application Spend some time planning to avoid chewing your pencil this much. How to Answer the SUNY Essay Prompts Since most of SUNY’s required essays are the same as the Common Application, you can follow all the best practices for writing impressive Common App essays.However, there are some additional things to keep in mind when you’re answering the prompts specifically for SUNY. Don’t answer the same prompt twice, unless you have a radically different answer the second time. Really put the effort in to ensure that your essays stand out from one another, even if they use the same prompt. Second, tie your SUNY essay into SUNY itself. Your Common Application essays can be more general because they’ll be sent to every school that you apply to, but your college-specific essays should be tied to individual colleges. To do this, consider making a visit to campus or browsing their course catalog and club lists. You want SUNY to know that you’re not applying just because of proximity or reputation- you want to go to a SUNY school because it matters to you, not because you’ve heard its good. Third, be sure that your essay is always personal and unique. You may share some features with other students, including your good grades and extracurriculars, but no student is exactly the same as you. Your essay should reflect that- a good SUNY essay will be so unique that nobody else could possibly have written the same thing. Dig deep into what makes you you as you write your essay. Don’t just present yourself as a collection of grades and time invested in extracurriculars. What does your time spent in cooking club say about you? Is it that you love creating delicious foods that feed your hungry friends? Is it that you understand the reward of simmering something all day to bring out its innate flavors? Is it the thrill of perfecting a recipe you invented yourself? The more specific and personal your essays are, the better off you’ll be. Fill them with context and personality and you’ll be on the way to a successful SUNY application. Be the red gummy bear in a sea of clear ones. What Does SUNY Look for in Students? Your essay is just one part of your SUNY application. SUNY is looking for a comprehensive picture of your strengths as a student, so keep all these things in mind as you’re working on your application: Strong Academics Grades are extremely important to a successful college application. Use the table above to find out the average admitted GPA for the schools you’re applying to in order to figure out if your grades are on target. If not, start working now to improve your grades. A guide like this one can help you start making an academic plan to get your application into shape, no matter where you’re at in your education Passion You could have the best grades in the world, but if you don’t demonstrate any interest or passion for the things you do, you’re not likely to be a successful college student. That doesn’t mean you have to be in love with every subject, but rather that your application shows that you have interests and pursuits that you’re passionate about. Let your application, and especially your essays, show that you’re a person with varied passions and interests. You can even use a â€Å"spike† approach to your application, which showcases that you’re not only a good student, but that you have a particular passion that you’re dedicated to honing at your chosen school. Say you’re very into journalism- if you weight your application with English courses, journalism courses, time spent working on your school newspaper, and maybe even a few published works outside of school, you’re showing SUNY that you’re serious about what you do and that you’re ready to put in the work to pursue it. Leadership Investment in activities is great, but leadership is even better. Colleges like SUNY want to see that you’re serious about your commitments, and a leadership position shows that you’re confident and capable of inspiring others. If you’ve acted as a team captain, an editor, a group leader, or any other position of authority related to your field, it’s worth including in your application and essay. Leadership positions not only demonstrate your passion, but also your trustworthiness and ability to inspire. These are important features on a college campus, where you’ll be participating in campus culture, not just being an individual in a sea of unfamiliar faces. Show that you can lead others and you’ll show SUNY that you’re a good person to have on campus. Diversity Students can easily get hung up on diversity, which is often used to mean difference in race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status. But even if those things don’t apply to you- or if they don’t feel like they’re relevant to your experience- that doesn’t mean that you’re not a good fit. The word â€Å"diversity† can also be applied to diversity of experience and thought. Think about your upbringing and how it’s set you apart from others. Things like the size of your hometown, the number of siblings you have, or where you live can impact your thinking and experiences, too. Don’t be afraid to include how your environment has shaped the person you are, including how you relate to others. Understanding of Mission and Goals One of the strongest ways to connect with the school you’re applying to is to understand what they want to accomplish as a college. Consult their mission statement and academic goals, and even read a little deeper into the essay prompts to understand exactly what they’re looking for. Though individual SUNY schools may have their own mission statements, you can learn a lot about the system by consulting the general SUNY mission. For example, SUNY uses words like â€Å"diversity,† â€Å"access,† and â€Å"traditional and non-traditional students,† throughout. From that, we can deduce that SUNY is interested in providing opportunities and education to all kinds of students, not just those who are wealthy or privileged or even local. Keep this in mind as you’re working on your application. How can you align yourself with these values, or the other values expressed in SUNY’s mission statement? Do these ideas apply to you? If not, how can you demonstrate that you’re committed to helping maintain and grow that mission? Make a list, check it twice. SUNY Application Checklist Applying to SUNY- let alone applying to multiple schools at once- requires a lot of forms, essays, and documents coming together. If you’re struggling to stay on top of everything you need to do to apply, this checklist will help get you started. #1: DecideWhich Schools You’re Applying To Make a list of schools you’ll be applying to and the deadlines for each to help keep you on track. #2: Pay the Application Fee or Request a Waiver SUNY has a $50 application fee. If you qualify, get the fee waiver ahead of time and get it filled out so you’re ready to submit it with your application #3: Collect Letters of Recommendation If you’re submitting letters of recommendation, they should be ready to go along with your application. Ask your teachers, counselors, coaches, and so on early to be sure that you get a letter that’s of good quality and that's ready on time. #4: Complete the SUNY Application Depending on which SUNY school you’re applying to and whether or not you’ll be applying Early Decision or Early Action, you may or may not have a deadline. Research your school early so you can keep track of when you need to apply! #5: Submit Supplemental Portfolio and Essays Some SUNY schools require or allow supplemental portfolios or other materials. If you’ll be submitting them, they should already be ready to go by the time you submit your application. SUNY will give you the due dates for any supplemental materials when you complete your application. #6: Retrieve School Counselor Forms SUNY requires a special form from your school counselor. Your counselor is responsible for submitting this form, but be sure to give them plenty of time to do so. #7: Submit International Student Forms If you’re an international student, determine which forms you need in advance so you have plenty of time to fill them out and turn them in. #8: Submit Academic Record SUNY requests transcripts from freshmen and transfer applicants. You can request that your school send them electronically or by mail, but be sure you ask for them to be sent as soon as possible to ensure they arrive on time. #9: Submit FAFSA Submit your FAFSA application by June 30, 2019- but keep in mind that the earlier you submit, the better! Stay on top of your application and you'll be feeling as calm and balanced as these rocks. SUNY Application Tips This is a lot of information, but don’t panic. There are some simple things to keep in mind as you’re working on your SUNY application. Following these steps will help you be stress-free as you’re applying. Plan Early You’re guaranteed to get stressed if you’re trying to cram the entire college application process into just one month. Start early. The best time to start thinking about college applications is freshman year. The second best time is right now. No matter where you’re at, take a moment to draft a concrete plan to follow, including deadlines, and stick to it. The earlier you get started, the better. Don’t wait until deadlines are already looming- give yourself lots of time and avoid stressing. Focus on Either the SAT or ACT Is the ACT or SAT more important? That depends on a few different factors. But as you’re getting ready to apply for colleges, don’t worry too much about excelling on both. Pick one or the other to be your focus, and hone your score on that test. Don’t try to divide your attention. As long as your chosen school accepts the test you choose, it doesn’t matter which test you take. Do your best on one of them and you’ll be good to go. Strive for Depth Over Breadth in Extracurriculars You don’t need a thousand extracurriculars to impress SUNY. You don’t even need ten extracurriculars. What you need is depth, meaning that you’ve spent time cultivating an interest in something rather than doing a whole bunch of activities for the sole purpose of fleshing out your application. Having a variety is good, but not if you’ve only spent a minimum amount of time on them. Chase your passions and dive deep into them rather than dipping your toes into a whole bunch of fields. It’s better to have a couple of strong interests than tons of shallow ones. If you have time, try out lots of things, but don’t waste time you could spend on your passions doing soccer, baseball, piano lessons, volunteer work, tutoring, acrobatics, beekeeping, woodworking, photography, journalism, and Mathletes if only one or two of them are at all interesting to you. Seek Strong Letters of Recommendation Many SUNY schools allow or require letters of recommendation, but not all letters are created equal. You should be asking people in positions of authority who know you and your academic strengths to write your letters. Ask early, and don’t be offended if you get a â€Å"no† in response- it could be that the person you ask already has quite a few letters to write. Give the person you ask as much information as possible about where you’re applying and what programs you’re applying to; that will help them write an even better letter. Also, don’t forget to say thank you- though teachers expect to write letters of recommendation, you should always express gratitude for them going above and beyond their job duties. Keep Your Momentum Up Senior Year Once your application is in and your transcripts are submitted, it might be tempting to take a little break from your hard work and start slacking off in school. Don’t do it! Some schools require a mid-year report, which could hurt your chances. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, so keep up that positive momentum to carry you forward into college and beyond! What’s Next? Knowing what a college admissions committee is and what it does can help you write an even better application. There's lots of advice out there about how to write an impressive college application. But whatreally looks good on your app? Understanding the college application process can ease some of the stress of applying to colleges. This guide covers everything you need to know about applying! Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Starting Cookie Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Starting Cookie Business - Assignment Example Debbi’s cookies were hugely popular amongst her relatives, friends and Randy’s clients and therefore could easily start a cookie business. Randy, as an economist was able to calculate the start-up cost and could contribute to the management of the business. Hence their skills were complimentary which was hugely beneficial for their future business. It was the popularity of Debbi’s cookies amongst Randy’s clients that gave birth to the idea of starting a cookie business. Her cookies were in great demand and Debbie believed that she could exploit her expertise in making cookies. Debbi’s goals were to bake great cookies and provide customers with a unique experience. Ensuring customer satisfaction through quality goods and caring and make them feel special was important for Debbi. Randy’s goals for the business was to make it successful by using technology to enhance information flow for effective decision making regarding operational efficiency, administration, and management of its various stores. He primarily believed that mechanistic work should be delegated to machines and people should use their creativity and skills to augment business productivity through direct input like interacting with customers directly. Debbi faced a huge dilemma while opening her second store of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies because she believed to be proactive in business and loved baking cookies and serving to customers. She believed that she should be involved in the business and with the second store, she would not be able to be in two places at the same time. She was not comfortable with delegation as she preferred to being hands-on! Her management style fundamentally relied on developing unique customer relationship based on trust and caring.  Thus providing customers with quality cookies and making them feel important were key ingredients.

INMATE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

INMATE - Essay Example nto consideration the situation through which John is undergoing, it will be important not only to himself, but also to his family to be transferred to a medium security correctional facility, closer to his home area. However, when putting into consideration the degree and types of offences he was charged with, I will improve the security of the medium security correctional facility, closer to his home area so that he cannot escape from the prison. If I was a warden, I will have different search procedures for sentenced and awaiting trial detainees. This is because sentenced and awaiting trial detainees are governed by different laws and have different rights. However, both of them are not dangerous, but the chances of both of them to have weapons or other information are equally high (Siegel & Senna, 2009). In addition, I will use different search procedures for sentenced and awaiting trial detainees because the essence of searching each of them is different. For instance, a detainee awaiting trial is searched for evidence, and other harmful substances and weapons. On the other hand, a sentenced detainee is only searched for harmful substances and weapons. Thus, the two groups of detainees fall in different categories, which call for different search

The Inspiration of Caedmon :: Caedmon Essays

The Inspiration of Caedmon    The poem "Caedmon," written by Denise Levertov, enlists readers to learn more about God and creation and by doing so expands their understanding of the universe.   At one point or another in life, people go through stages where they have no inspiration and sometimes shrink back from something that they think is too complicated to achieve.   Therefore, they are limiting themselves and their undeveloped talents, much like Caedmon was before his sudden inspiration by the messenger of God.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of the poet Caedmon and his sudden inspiration is recounted in the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History.  Ã‚   In the following lines of the poem "Caedmon" when he is asked to contribute to the songs, he feels that it is impossible and that if he were to attempt to sing, he would break their verses like a clumsy dancer:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All others talked as if   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   talk were a dance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   would break the gliding ring.   (1575)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When anyone would try to nudge him forward to contribute, he would always use the excuse that he was a cowherd to escape the passing of the harp and retreat back to the barn with the animals.   He would feel content and at home amongst the animals where he was not forced into improvising verses to keep the banquet lively.  Ã‚   While he is sitting amongst the animals, the event occurs that changes his life.   In the following lines of "Caedmon," he describes the angel that suddenly appears in front of him:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Until the sudden angel affrighted me - light effacing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   my feeble beam,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:   (1575-76)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next few lines are in conjunction with a similar event that is recounted in the Bible.   In the poem "Caedmon," the event is described as follows:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   but the cows as before   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   were calm, and nothing was burning,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nothing but I, as that hand of fire   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   touched my lips and scorched my tongue   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     and pulled my voice  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   into the ring of the dance.   (1576)    In Chapter 6, Verse 6 of Isaiah, Isaiah is told to prophesy and he is unwilling, much like Caedmon was unwilling to contribute to the passing of the harp.   Isaiah has a similar experience when an angel confronts him in the following lines of the Bible:

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five

â€Å"Thanks, Sheeb. Back at you.† Jezebel winked once, and then smiled wider until the black of her teeth seemed to envelop her entire face. She evaporated into the night. Sheba lingered in the dirty alley until the alluring scent of brimstone had faded away entirely, and then break time was over. Invigorated by the idea of joining the front lines, Sheba hurried back to her misery. The prom was in full swing, and everything was falling into place. Celeste was scoring high in her malicious game; she awarded herself a point for every girl who cried in a dark corner of the ballroom. Two points for every boy who threw a punch at a rival. All over the room, the seeds Sheba had planted were flowering. Hate was blooming alongside lust and rage and despair. A garden straight from hell. Sheba enjoyed it all from behind a potted palm. No, she couldn't force the humans to do anything. They had their innate free will, and so she could only tempt, could only suggest. Little things-high heels and seams and minor muscle groups-she could manipulate physically, but she could never force their minds. They had to choose to listen. And tonight, they were listening. Sheba was on a roll, and she didn't want any loose ends, so before she turned back to her most ambitious scheme-Cooper was pliant with intoxication now, ready for her direction-she sent her thoughts searching through the crowd for those small, annoying bubbles of happiness. No one was walking away from this prom unscathed. Not while Sheba had a spark in her body. Over there-what was this? Bryan Walker and Clara Hurst were staring dreamily into each other's eyes, totally oblivious to the wrath and despair and bad music surrounding them, just enjoying each other's company. Sheba considered her options and decided to have Celeste interfere. Celeste should enjoy that-nothing was more evilly fun than flaunting your power right in the face of a pure romance. Besides, Celeste listened to every suggestion Sheba fed her, entirely agreeable to any demonic scheme. Sheba continued with her evaluation before acting. Not too far away, Sheba found that she'd dropped the ball in an inexcusable fashion. Was that her own date, Logan, actually enjoying himself? Impossible. So, he'd found his Libby after all and they were both unacceptably happy. Well, that would be easy enough to rectify. She'd go reclaim her partner and send Libby running away in tears. Amateur and crude to intervene bodily†¦ Still, better that than let happiness win even one small battle. Sheba's assessment was almost done. There was just one more tiny pocket of peace-not a couple this time; it was a lone boy wandering into the far end of the room from the hall. That annoying Gabe Christensen. Sheba scowled in his direction. What did he have to be happy about? He was rejected and alone. His date was the scourge of the prom. A normal boy would be full of rage or pain right now. But he insisted on making more work for her! Sheba inspected Gabe's mind more closely. Hmm. Gabe wasn't really happy. In fact, he was worrying intensely at the moment, searching for someone. Celeste was quite clearly in his view, writhing to a slow song with Rob Carlton (Pamela Green watched the display with shocked eyes, despair leaking deliciously into the air around her), but she wasn't the source of Gabe's worry. There was someone else he wanted to find. So he wasn't happy-that wasn't the sensation that had trespassed on Sheba's atmosphere of misery. It was goodness itself that was exuding from this boy. Even worse. Sheba ducked behind the palm and pushed out with her thoughts. Smoke oozed from her nose. â€Å"Gabe.† Gabe shook his head absently and continued with his search. He'd waited half an hour as throngs of girls left the bathroom, drove after drove. Here and there Gabe had felt a weak pull, but nothing at all like that one girl's raging, suffocating need. When three separate groups had all come and gone, Gabe had stopped Jill Stein to ask after the girl. â€Å"Black hair and a red dress? No, I didn't see anyone like that in there. I think the bathroom is empty.† The girl must have slipped past him somehow. Gabe had just returned to the dance floor, brooding over the mystery girl. At least Bryan and Clara and Logan and Libby were having fun. That was good. The rest of the class seemed to be having an exceptionally nasty evening. And then, there it was again. Gabe's head jerked up, feeling the desperation he'd been searching for. Where was she? Sheba hissed in frustration. The boy's mind was entirely sober and singularly closed to her insidious voice. Well, that wasn't going to stop her. She had other tools. â€Å"Celeste.† It was time the evil girl tormented her own date. Sheba leaned lightly on Celeste, suggesting that avenue. After all, Gabe was attractive by human standards. Certainly good enough for Celeste, whose standards were hardly rigorous. Gabe was tall and subtly muscular, with dark hair and symmetrical features. He had pale blue eyes that Sheba personally found a bit repulsive-they were so decidedly un-damned, almost heavenly, ugh! – but that appealed to mortal girls. It was looking into those clear eyes that had made Celeste say yes to this squeaky clean do-gooder's invitation. Do-gooder, indeed. Sheba's eyes narrowed. Gabe had already been on her list before he insisted on disregarding her here at the prom. This was the very boy who had ruined her plans for the lecherous math teacher-just a little bit of pre-prom fun Sheba had arranged in between making sure that everyone asked exactly the wrong person to the big dance. If Gabe hadn't confronted Mr. Reese at a critical moment of temptation†¦ Sheba gritted her teeth and sparks flickered out of her ears. She would have ruined the man and the impossibly innocent girl, too. Not that Mr. Reese had had far to fall, but it would have been a fantastic scandal. And now the math teacher was being especially careful, made wary by those same sky-blue eyes. Feeling guilty, even. Considering counseling for his problem. Ugh! Gabe Christensen owed Sheba some misery. She would get her due. Sheba glared at Celeste, wondering why the girl had made no move toward her date. Celeste was still wrapped around Rob, enjoying Pamela's pain. Enough fun! There was havoc to be wreaked. Sheba whispered suggestions in Celeste's mind, nudging her in Gabe's direction. Celeste shrugged away from Rob and glanced toward Gabe, who was still combing through the crowd with his gaze. Her brown eyes settled on his blue for just a second, and then she moved, cringed actually, back into Rob's arms. Odd. Gabe's light eyes seemed to be almost as repellent to the vicious blonde as they were to Sheba. Sheba leaned again, but Celeste-for once-shook her off, trying to distract herself from thoughts of Gabe with Rob's eager lips. Baffled, Sheba cast around for another avenue to destroy the irritating boy, but she was interrupted by something much more important than one good human. Cooper Silverdale was simply quivering with rage on one side of the dance floor, glowering at Melissa and Tyson. Melissa had her head on Tyson's shoulder and was oblivious to the smug grin Tyson aimed in Cooper's direction. It was time to act. Cooper was considering another glass of punch to drown his pain, and he was much too close to passing out for Sheba to allow that. She focused on him, smoke at her ears, and Cooper realized dully that the green punch was revolting. He couldn't stand any more. He threw his half-empty cup to the floor and turned back to glare at Tyson. She thinks I'm pathetic, said the voice in Cooper's head. No, she doesn't even think of me at all. But I can make it so shell never be able to forget me†¦ His head thick with alcohol, Cooper reached back and stroked his hand along the barrel of the gun under his jacket. Sheba held her breath. Sparks flew from her ears. And then, in that vital second, Sheba was distracted by the knowledge that someone was staring intensely at her own face. Here, in the ballroom, that same sucking need, pulling at him-someone drowning, shrieking for help. It had to be the same girl. Gabe had never felt anything so urgent in his life. His eyes raked desperately over the couples on the floor, but he couldn't see her. He paced the edge of the floor, searching the faces of the people on the sidelines. She wasn't there, either. He saw Celeste with yet another boy, but his eyes didn't pause. If Celeste didn't claim her ride home soon, there wasn't much he could do about it. Someone else needed Gabe more. The need tugged at him again, yanked hard, and for a moment, Gabe wondered if he was going crazy. Maybe he'd only imagined the girl in the fiery dress. Maybe this sense of frenzied need was just the onset of some delusion. At that moment, Gabe's seeking eyes found what they were searching for. Stepping around Heath McKenzie's big sulking form, Gabe's eyes locked on a tiny, but brilliant, red flash. There she was-half-hidden behind a fake tree, her earrings glinting like sparklers again-the girl in the red dress. Her dark eyes, deep as the pool he'd imagined her drowning in, met his. The vibrant need was an aura surrounding her. He didn't have to think about moving toward her. There was probably no way he could have stopped himself if he'd wanted to. He was sure he'd never seen this girl before tonight; she was completely unfamiliar. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes were composed and careful, but at the same time they cried out to him. They were the focus of the need he felt. He could no more resist their plea than he could tell his heart to stop beating. She needed him. Sheba watched with disbelief as Gabe Christensen walked straight toward her. She saw her own face in his head and realized that the person Gabe had been looking for was†¦ Sheba. She allowed the brief distraction-knowing that Cooper was hers for the taking, that a few minutes' time wouldn't save him now-and rejoiced in the delicious irony. So Gabe wanted to be ruined by Sheba personally? Well, she would oblige him. It would make his misery even sweeter knowing that he'd chosen it himself. She straightened up in her hell-hound dress, letting it caress her figure suggestively. She knew what any human male would have to feel when he examined this dress. But the exasperating boy was focused on her eyes. It was dangerous to look straight into the eyes of a demoness. Humans who didn't look away fast enough could get trapped there. And then they were stuck, pining after the demoness forever, burning for her†¦ Biting back a smile, Sheba met his gaze, staring deep into his sky-colored eyes. Silly human. Gabe stopped a few short feet from the girl, close enough that he wouldn't have to shout over the loud music. He knew he was staring too intently-she would think he was rude, or some kind of freak. But she stared back, just as intent, her deep eyes probing his. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, when suddenly the girl's careful expression melted into one of shock. Shock? Or horror? Her pale lips fell apart, and he heard a little gasp escape them. Her stiff posture crumpled, and she began to collapse. Gabe jumped toward her and caught her in his arms before she could fall. Sheba's knees buckled when her fires went out. Her internal flame died, sucked dry, snuffed like a candle in a vacuum. The room was not so cold anymore, and she could smell nothing more than sweat, cologne, and stale, conditioned air. She could no longer taste the delicious misery she'd created. She couldn't taste anything but her own dry mouth. But she could feel the strong arms of Gabe Christensen holding her up. The girl's dress was soft and warm. Maybe that was the problem, Gabe thought as he pulled her toward him. Maybe the heat of the crowded room was too much combined with her heavy dress. Anxiously, Gabe brushed the silky hair away from her face. Her forehead seemed cool enough and her soft skin wasn't clammy with sweat. All the while, her stunned eyes never wavered from his. â€Å"Are you okay? Can you stand? I'm sorry, I don't know your name.† â€Å"I'm fine,† the girl said in a low, purring voice. Despite the purr, her voice was just as stunned as her eyes. â€Å"I†¦ I can stand.† She straightened up, but Gabe didn't let her go. He didn't want to. And she wasn't pulling away. Her small hands had crept up to rest on his shoulders, like they were dancing partners. â€Å"Who are you?† she asked in that throaty voice. â€Å"Gabe-Gabriel Michael Christensen,† he elaborated with a grin. â€Å"And you are?† Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five What do you think you're doing? she asked herself. Rhetorically, since she was already up the Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarves-Do-Baby-Jesus neighbor's tree and staring into the yard of the house where she'd left Sibby. I can't wait to hear you say to the cops, â€Å"Yes, officer, I know I was trespassing but that woman was very suspicious because she was wearing false eyelashes.† With a full Creepy Cult costume. They just didn't go. Plus she had a hole for a nose piercing. And a French manicure. Maybe she just has really big pores! And a love of dated manicures! She wasn't what she was posing as. Is this about helping someone or having an excuse not to show up at prom and see Will with his face nuzzled in Ariel's huge, soft- Shut up, U-Suck. I was going to say hair. You are so not funny. You are so not brave. There were two guys sitting in the backyard, leaning across a picnic table toward each other with a book between them, both in T-shirts and khakis and Teva sandals, one of them wearing thick black-framed glasses, the other one with a scraggly beard. They looked like two geeky college guys playing Dungeons and Dragons and sounded like it too when the one wearing glasses said, â€Å"That's not how it works. It says in the Book of Rules she can't see for herself, only for other people. You know, like genies with wishes, how they can't grant their own.† Except they each had a large automatic rifle lying on the table next to them and Miranda could see shooting targets set up on the fence. So what? There are armed geeks. Maybe they're Sibby's protection. Go home. Sibby doesn't need you. She's fine. If she's fine, why isn't she out there trying to kiss the two boys? Miranda strained to hear something from inside the house but it was definitely soundproofed. A couple came out of sliding doors onto the patio away from the Geek Guys, a woman smoking a cigarette in short, tense puffs and a man. Miranda almost fell out of the tree when she recognized the woman as the cult lady, only now without the glasses, skirt, or sweater and with her hair down. Which doesn't mean anything. The woman whispered, â€Å"We still need the girl to tell us the location, Byron.† â€Å"She will.† â€Å"She hasn't yet.† â€Å"I told you, even if I can't get her to talk, the Gardener can. He's good at that.† The woman again: â€Å"I don't like that he brought a partner. That wasn't part of the plan. Does she get a cut-â€Å" The man called Byron cut her off. â€Å"Put that out and be quiet, we have company.† He pointed to the Geek Guys scrambling over to join them. The woman crushed her cigarette out under her foot and kicked it away. â€Å"Is She all right?† Bearded Geek asked breathlessly, pronouncing She like it should be capitalized. â€Å"Yes,† the man assured him. â€Å"She's resting after her ordeal.† Oh, they could not be talking about Sibby. Ordeal? No way. â€Å"Has She said anything?† Glasses Geek asked. The man said, â€Å"Just expressed how very grateful She is to be here.† Miranda almost snorted. Bearded Geek said, â€Å"Will we be able to see Her?† â€Å"When the Transition happens.† The geeks wandered off in a blissful daze and Miranda decided this was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. But it proved that Sibby was in no danger. These people clearly worshipped Her. Which meant it was time- â€Å"Why is he called the Gardener, anyway?† Fake Eyelash woman asked the man. â€Å"I believe because he's good at pulling things out.† â€Å"Things?† â€Å"Teeth, nails. Joints. That's how he gets people to talk.† – time to find Sibby. Miranda dropped out of the tree into the neighbor's yard and found herself looking down the barrel of an automatic rifle. Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five I shudder. I can't help it. Even though she's not exactly my type, it's not pleasant to think of Lila as some vampire's midnight snack. â€Å"Aren't you worried,† I ask, hoping to change the subject a little, â€Å"that Lila's just going to tell Drake not to show up at the prom since we'll be there waiting?† I say we and not you because there is no way I'm letting Mary go after this guy alone. Which I know Veronica would think is sexist, too. But Veronica's never seen Mary smile. â€Å"Are you kidding me?† Mary asks. She doesn't seem to notice the we. â€Å"I'm counting on her telling him. That way he'll show up for sure.† I stare at her. â€Å"Why would he do that?† â€Å"Because killing the exterminator's daughter will totally raise his crypt cred.† Now I'm blinking at her. â€Å"Crypt cred?† â€Å"You know,† she says, tossing her ponytail. â€Å"It's like street cred. Only among the undead.† â€Å"Oh.† Strangely, this does make sense. As much as anything else I've heard this evening. â€Å"They call your dad the, um, ‘exterminator'?† I'm having a hard time picturing Mary's dad wielding a crossbow the way she did. â€Å"No,† she says, the smile vanishing. â€Å"My mom. At least†¦ she used to be. Not just vampires, either, but evil entities of all kinds-demons, werewolves, poltergeists, ghosts, warlocks, genies, satyrs, loki, shedus, vetelas, titans, leprechauns-â€Å" â€Å"Leprechauns?† I echo in disbelief. But Mary simply shrugs. â€Å"If it was evil, Mom killed it. She just had a gift for it†¦ A gift,† Mary adds softly, â€Å"I really hope I've inherited.† I just sit there for a minute. I have to admit I'm a little stunned by everything that's gone down over the past couple of hours. Crossbows and vampires and exterminators? And what in the world is a vetela? I'm not even sure I want to know. No. Wait. I know I don't want to know. There's a humming noise inside my head that won't stop. The weird thing is, I kind of like it. â€Å"So,† Mary says, lifting her gaze to meet mine. â€Å"Do you believe me now?† â€Å"I believe you,† I say. What I can't believe, actually, is that I do. Believe her, I mean. â€Å"Good,† she says. â€Å"It would probably be better if you didn't tell anybody. Now, if you don't mind, I need to start getting things ready-â€Å" â€Å"Great. Tell me what you need me to do.† Her face clouds with trouble. â€Å"Adam,† she says. And there's something about the way her lips form my name that makes me feel a little crazy†¦ like I want to throw my arms around her and race around the room at the same time. â€Å"I appreciate the offer. I really do. But it's too dangerous. If I kill Drake-â€Å" â€Å"When you kill him,† I correct her. † – chances are, his father is going to show up,† she goes on, â€Å"looking for revenge. Maybe not tonight. And maybe not tomorrow. But soon. And when he does†¦ it isn't going to be pretty. It's going to be awful. A nightmare. It's going to be-â€Å" â€Å"Apocalyptic,† I finish for her, a slight shiver going down my spine as I speak the word. â€Å"Yes. Yes, exactly.† â€Å"Don't worry,† I say, ignoring the shiver. â€Å"I'm all set for that.† â€Å"Adam.† She shakes her head. â€Å"You don't understand. I can't-well, I can't guarantee I'll be able to protect you. And I certainly can't let you risk your life like that. It's different for me, because-well, because of my mom. But you-â€Å" I stop her. â€Å"Just tell me what time I'm picking you up.† She stares at me. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Sorry,† I say. â€Å"But you're not going to the prom by yourself. End of story.† And I must have looked really scary or something as I said it, because even though she opens her mouth to argue, she closes it again when she gets a look at my face, and only says, â€Å"Um. Okay.† Still, she has to add, â€Å"It's your funeral,† just to have the last word. Which is fine with me. She can have the last word. Because I know now that I've found her: my future partner in the inevitable struggle to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Mary The music is pounding in time to my heartbeat. I can feel the bass in my chest-badoom, badoom. It's hard to see across the room of writhing bodies, especially with the flickering light show coming down from the ballroom's ceiling. But I know he's here. I can feel him. And then I see him, moving across the dance floor toward me. He's holding two glasses of bloodred liquid, one in either hand. When he gets close enough, he hands me one of the glasses, then says, â€Å"Don't worry, it's not spiked. I checked.† I don't reply. I just sip the punch, grateful for the liquid-even if it is a little too sweet-because my throat is so dry. The thing is, I know I'm making a mistake. Letting Adam do this, I mean. But†¦ there's something about him. I don't know what it is. Something that sets him apart from all the rest of the dumb jocks in school. Maybe it's the way he saved me back at the club when I lost my nerve, his shooting at Sebastian Drake-progeny of the devil himself-with a ketchup-filled squirt gun. Or maybe it's the way he was so nice about my dad, not cracking any jokes about him being like Doc from the Back to the Future movies and even calling him sir. Or the way he picked up my mom's photo like that and seemed so stunned when I told him the truth about her. Or maybe it's just the way he looked when he showed up at quarter to eight this evening, so impossibly handsome in his tux-and even holding a red rose corsage for me†¦ despite that less than twenty-four hours ago, he hadn't even known he was going to the prom (good thing tickets were available for sale at the door). Oh well. Dad was ecstatic, for once acting like a normal parent, snapping photos-â€Å"For your mother to see, when she's better,† he kept saying-and trying to slip twenty-dollar bills into Adam's hand, telling him to â€Å"treat Mary to an ice cream after the dance.† Which frankly made me decide I like Dad better when he never comes out of the lab. Still. I knew I was making a mistake by not sending Adam packing right away. This is no job for amateurs. This is†¦ this is†¦ †¦ beautiful. I mean, that's how the ballroom looks. I almost gasped when I entered it on Adam's arm. (He insisted. So we'd look like a â€Å"normal couple† if Drake was there already and watching.) The Saint Eligius Prep prom committee really outdid themselves this year. Securing the four-story grand ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria was a feat all on its own, but transforming it into such a sparkling romantic wonderland? Miraculous. I just hope all those rosettes and streamers are fireproof. I'd hate to see them go up in the flames that are bound to appear when Drake's corpse begins to self-conflagrate after I stab him in the chest. â€Å"So,† Adam says, as we stand on the edge of the dance floor, sipping our punch in a silence that's-to be frank-quickly gotten a little uncomfortable. â€Å"How's this going to go down, anyway? I don't see your crossbow anywhere.† â€Å"I'm just going with a stake,† I say, showing him my leg through the slit up the side of my gown. I'd strapped a hand-carved piece of ash there, using Mom's old thigh holster. â€Å"Keeping it sweet and simple.† â€Å"Oh,† Adam says, after choking on his punch a little. â€Å"Okay.† I realize he hasn't looked away from my inner thigh. I hastily lower my skirt. And it occurs to me-for the first time-that Adam might be in this for reasons other than wanting to liberate his best friend's girlfriend from the spell of a bloodsucking fiend. Except†¦ can such a thing even be possible? I mean, he's Adam Blum. And I'm just the new girl. He likes me, sure, but he doesn't like me. He can't. I've probably only got about ten minutes left to live. Unless something radically alters what I'm pretty sure is about to go down. Blushing, I keep my gaze on the gyrating couples in front of us. Mrs. Gregory from U.S. History is one of the chaperones. She's going around, trying to keep girls from grinding on their dates. She might as well try to keep the moon from rising. â€Å"It'd probably be best if you kept Lila busy,† I say, hoping he doesn't notice that my cheeks are now as scarlet as my gown, â€Å"while I'm doing the staking. We don't want her throwing herself in my path just to try to save him.† â€Å"That's what I dragged Ted here for,† Adam says, nodding toward Teddy Hancock, who's sitting slumped at a nearby table, looking out at the dance floor in a bored manner. Like the rest of us, he's just waiting for Lila-and her date-to arrive. â€Å"Still,† I say. â€Å"I don't want you anywhere near me when†¦ you know.† â€Å"I heard you the first nine million times you told me,† Adam mutters. â€Å"I know you can take care of yourself, Mary. You've made that abundantly clear.† I can't help wincing a little. He's not having a good time. I can tell. Well, so what? I didn't ask him to come! He invited himself! This isn't a date, anyway! It's a slaying! He knew that from the outset. He's the one changing the rules, not me. I mean, who am I kidding? I can't date. I have a legacy to fulfill. I'm the exterminator's daughter. I have to- â€Å"Want to dance?† Adam startles me by asking. â€Å"Oh,† I say, with some surprise. â€Å"I'd love to. But I really should-â€Å" â€Å"Great,† he says and takes me into his arms, steering me onto the dance floor. Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five â€Å"Will died, Frankie,† she said. â€Å"The fall, the way he landed†¦ he didn't make it.† â€Å"I'm sorry†¦ what?† â€Å"Chen is on his way to get you. You'll stay with us, yes? As long as you want.† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"I mean†¦ I don't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The box of waffles fell from my hand. â€Å"Will didn't die. Will couldn't have died?† â€Å"Frankie,† she said, her voice infinitely sad. â€Å"Please don't say that,† I said. â€Å"Please don't sound so†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I didn't understand how to make my mind work. â€Å"I know you loved him. We all did.† â€Å"Just wait† I said. â€Å"Spray painting? Will doesn't spray paint. That's something a pothead would do, not Will.† â€Å"Let's get you to the house. We'll talk about it then.† â€Å"But what was he spray painting? I don't understand!† Mrs. Yomiko didn't answer. â€Å"Let me speak to Yun Sun,† I pleaded. â€Å"Please! Put on Yun Sun!† There was a muffled exchange. Yun Sun came back on. â€Å"I'll tell you,† she said. â€Å"But you don't want to know.† A cold feeling spread over me, and suddenly, I didn't want to know. â€Å"He was spray painting a message. That's what he was up there doing.† She hesitated. â€Å"It said, ‘Frankie, will you go to prom with me? â€Å" I sank to the floor, next to a box of waffles. Why was there a box of waffles on the kitchen floor? â€Å"Frankie?† Yun Sun said. Tinny, faraway sound. â€Å"Frankie, are you there?† I didn't like that tinny sound. I pressed the Off button to make it go away. Will was buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery. I sat, numb, through the funeral, which was closed-coffin because Will's body was too mangled to be viewed. I wanted to say good-bye, but how did you say good-bye to a box? At the grave site, I watched as Will's mother threw a handful of dirt into the hole where Will lay. It was horrible, but the horror felt distant and unreal. Yun Sun squeezed my hand. I didn't squeeze back. It rained that evening, a gentle spring shower. I imagined the ground, damp and cool around Will's coffin. I thought of Fernando, whose skull Madame Zanzibar had liberated after his coffin shifted in the wet earth. I reminded myself that the east side of the cemetery, where Will was buried, was newer, with tidy landscaping. And of course there were modern ways of digging graves now, more efficient than men with shovels. Will's coffin wouldn't come undug. It was impossible. I stayed with Yun Sun for nearly two weeks. My parents were called, and they offered to return from Botswana. I told them no. What good would it do? Their presence wouldn't bring Will back. At school, for the first few days, kids talked in hushed tones and stared at me as I passed. Some thought it was romantic, what Will did. Others thought it was stupid. â€Å"A tragedy† was the phrase most often used, spoken in mournful tones. As for me, I haunted the halls like the living dead. I would have ditched, but then I'd have been corralled by the counselor and forced to talk about my feelings. Which wasn't going to happen. My grief was my own, a skeleton that would rattle forever within me. One week after Will's death, and exactly one week before prom, kids started talking less about Will and more about dresses and dinner reservations and limos. A sallow girl from Will's chemistry class got upset and said prom should be canceled, but others argued no, prom must go on. It's what Will would have wanted. Yun Sun and I were consulted, since we were his best friends. (And since I, though they didn't say it, was the girl he died for.) Yun Sun's eyes welled with tears, but after a shaky moment, she said it would be wrong to ruin everyone's plans, that sitting home and mourning wouldn't do anyone any good. â€Å"Life goes on,† she said. Her boyfriend, Jeremy, nodded. He put his arm around her and drew her close. Lucy, president of the prom committee, placed her hand over her heart. â€Å"So true,† she said. She turned to me with an overly solicitous expression. â€Å"What about you, Frankie? Do you think you could get behind it?† I shrugged. â€Å"Whatever.† She embraced me, and I staggered. â€Å"Okay, guys, we're on!† she called, bounding across the commons. â€Å"Trixie, back to work on the cherry blossoms. Jocelyn, tell the Paper Affair lady we need a hundred blue streamers and don't take no for an answer!† On the afternoon of the dance, two hours before Jeremy was due to pick up Yun Sun, I crammed my stuff in my duffel bag and told her I was going home. â€Å"What?† she said. â€Å"No!† She put down a hot roller. Her makeup lay in front of her on her vanity, her Babycakes body glitter and Dewberry lip gloss, and her dress hung over the hook of her open bathroom door. It was lilac, with a sweetheart neckline. It was gorgeous. â€Å"It's time,† I said. â€Å"Thank you for letting me stay so long†¦ but it's time.† Her mouth turned down. She wanted to argue, but she knew it was true. I wasn't happy here. That in itself wasn't the issue-I wasn't going to be happy anywhere-but moping around the Komikos' house was making me feel trapped and making Yun Sun feel helpless and guilty. â€Å"But it's prom,† Yun Sun said. â€Å"Won't that be weird, being alone in your house on the night of prom?† She came over to me. â€Å"Stay till tomorrow. I'll be quiet when I come in, I swear. And I promise not to go on and on about†¦ you know. The after-parties and who hooked up and who passed out in the girls' bathroom.† â€Å"You should get to go on about that stuff, though,† I said. â€Å"You should stay out as late as you want and come in as loudly as you want and be giddy and spazzy and all that.† Unexpectedly, my eyes filled with tears. â€Å"You should, Yun Sun.† She touched my arm. I pulled away, but in what I hoped was an unobvious manner. â€Å"So should you, Frankie,† she said. â€Å"Yeah†¦ well.† I heaved my bag over my shoulder. â€Å"Call me any time,† she said. â€Å"I'll keep my cell on, even at the dance.† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"And if you change your mind, if you decide you want to stay-â€Å" â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Or even if you decide to come to prom! We all want you there-you know that, right? It doesn't matter that you don't have a date.† I winced. She didn't mean it the way it sounded, but it most certainly did matter that I didn't have a date, because that date would have been Will. And I didn't have him not because he liked another girl or was suffering from a terrible case of the flu, but because he was dead. Because of me. â€Å"Oh God,† Yun Sun said. â€Å"Frankie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I waved her off. I didn't want any more touching. â€Å"It's all right.† We stood in a bubble of awkwardness. â€Å"I miss him, too, you know,† she said. I nodded. Then I left. I returned to my empty house to find that the electricity was out. Perfect. This happened more often than it should have: Afternoon thunderstorms threw tree branches into the transformers, and entire neighborhoods lost power for several hours. Or the power would go out for no reason. Maybe too many people had their air conditioners on and the circuits overloaded, that was my theory. Will's theory was ghosts, ha ha ha. â€Å"They've come to spoil your milk,† he'd say in a spooky voice. Will. My throat tightened. I tried not to think about him, but it was impossible, so I let him exist there with me in my mind. I fixed myself a peanut butter sandwich, which I didn't eat. I went upstairs and lay on my bed without turning down the covers. Shadows deepened. An owl hooted. I stared at my ceiling until I could no longer make out the spider-web cracks. In the dark, my thoughts went places they shouldn't. Fernando. Madame Zanzibar. You're just like all the rest, aren't you? Desperate for a heart-stopping romance? It was that very desperation that gave birth to my stupid Madame Zanzibar plan and even stupider wish. That's what prodded Will into action. If only I'd never taken the damn corsage! I bolted upright. Oh my God-the damn corsage! I grabbed my cell and held down the â€Å"three,† Yun Sun's speed dial. ?One? was for Mom and Dad; ?two? was for Will. I still hadn't deleted his name, and now I wouldn't have to. â€Å"Yun Sun!† I cried when she answered. â€Å"Frankie?† she said. â€Å"S.O.S.† by Rihanna blared in the background. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I'm fine,† I said. â€Å"Better than fine! I mean, the power's out, it's pitch-black, and I'm all alone, but whatever. I won't be for long.† I giggled and fumbled my way into the hall. â€Å"Huh?† Yun Sun said. More noise. People laughing. â€Å"Frankie, I can hardly hear you.† â€Å"The corsage. I've got two wishes left!† I jogged downstairs, zinging with glee. â€Å"Frankie, what are you-â€Å" â€Å"I can bring him back, don't you get it? Everything will be good again. We can even go to prom!†