Ethical Lens Essay Example for Free

Ethical Lens Essay During the Ethical Lens Inventory exercise that I did, I learned that I do not really have a personal preferred ethical lens. I see the gifts and the weaknesses of each lens and I am able to move fluidly among them to adapt the right tools to each situation to assure the best outcome. I am able to use my reasoning skills to determine my duties, as well as the universal rules and the systems that will assure fairness and justice for everyone. I also listen to my intuition to determine the greatest good for each individual, as well as the virtues that will best serve the community. I have either a mature ability to use the right tools in a given situation or a paralyzed belief that everyone has a valid point. Although each of us has preferred lens, some who are ethically mature and able to use the tools of all the lenses, adapting them as appropriate in a given situation, test in the center of the grid. Others who test in the center of the grid actually have underdeveloped ethical skills. Those without skills tend to be paralyzed by their ability to see all sides and are too desperate to please everyone. I personally think I do more of the being desperate to please everyone than the not being able to see all sides of the situation. I was able to get this information from the exercise I did at: http://www. ethicsgame. com/Exec/Eli/EthicalLensResults. aspx? R=1 My Core Values are: Autonomy, Equality, Rationality and Sensibility. I value autonomy and equality equally and I value rationality and sensibility equally. My Classic Values are: Temperance, Prudence, Justice and Fortitude. I am able to manifest all four classic virtues depending on what the circumstances require. My Key Phrase is: â€Å"I make ethical choices for myself and others. † I am able to see myself and others clearly, therefore I do not make assumptions about why people act the way they do or how things should be done. My Definition of Ethical Behavior is: Doing the Right Thing. I tend to hold this high standard for myself but I do not judge others who fall short, so long as their intentions were honorable. My Tools for Analyzing Problems are: Reason, Experience, Authority and Tradition. I am comfortable using all available tools to analyze a problem. These can include critical thinking skills, reference to experts, my own past experience and the traditions of the community. My Gift to the community is balance among all four lenses, because I can see the benefits of each of the lenses and I can use the tools of all of them. The mature expression of this position has no blind spot. I am able to see both the strengths and the weaknesses of each lens and to harmonize the four core values of autonomy, equality, rationality and sensibility. Discernment comes with ethical maturity and provides direction in specific situations. My Risk is: Inaction. I run the risk of seeing everything and deciding nothing if I am not self-aware. As one who sees the legitimacy of everyone’s point of view, I am particularly prone to delay or outright inaction. My Temptation is: Superiority. Believing that my balanced vantage point gives me a superior ability to resolve ethical dilemmas, I may convince myself that I have all the answers and do not need any input from others. My Vice is: Insistence on Agreement. By insisting that everyone validate all points of view as I do before moving forward, I become tyrannical and may actually provoke dissenters into sabotaging the process as the only way they feel they can maintain the integrity of their different viewpoint. My Crisis is: Confusion. Unless I develop the practice of mindfulness and reflection, at some point I will become confused and find that I have lost my moral compass. The downside of being able to see everyone else’s perspective is that I can lose track of my own. My Seeing Clearly is: Listen to my heart; use my head; act with confidence. To see more clearly, I need to first consider the nature of the problem. Then I need to use both my head and my heart to discern which course of action will best manifest interdependence. Once I have assessed the ramifications of the various options, I will need to act with confidence and courage. Although there may be more than one way to resolve a problem, some actually are better than others. I think I could use my personal ethics to determine a course of action by knowing how I feel about the situation along with all the circumstances involving the situation.

How Divorce Effects Kids Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If two people love each other enough to get married, and together choose to form a lifelong commitment, why are so many of these marriages ending? What does marriage mean to people nowadays and why do people decide to get married? Records show us that people have been getting married for as long as the earliest recorded history. There are many benefits for couples who have a successful marriage. When a marriage begins to fail it is usually due to a couple's inability to communicate, lack of a common goal, or a trust vs. mistrust issue; therefore, more so than not, these types of situations will ultimately result in a divorce. The most frequently asked question over the last two decades has been, â€Å"Does divorce effect children and how so?† Studies have shown that divorce affects children in many ways: affects their self-esteem, feels as thought they "lose" a parent, and takes away their sense of family. The divorce rate has quadrupled from 4.3 million in 1970 to 18.3 million in 1996 (quoted form census bureau’s release about its marital status and living arrangements). "The number of children living with both parents declined from 85 to 68 percent between 1970 and 1996. The proportion of children living with one parent has grown from 12 percent to 28 percent during this same time span (Quoted from Census Bureau's release about its report on marital status and living arrangements)". A person's first marriage, if it were to end in divorce, will most likely end in the firs...

Forrest Gump Essay

Forrest Gump is one of my favorite movie of all times. It stars Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, very innocent minded man going through many difficult situations and overcoming them. The story isn’t about a hero, a ticking clock or a villain. It is just a remarkable story of a young man going through his amazing life. Metacritic.com says that it is one of the movies you must see before you die and I must agree! It has won six Academy Awards which includes best picture. The cinematography and mise en scene play major roles in grasping the viewer, making the main character feel relatable and helped the viewers understand the time and place Forrest is in. The first shot the cinematographer uses, which is my favorite scene, is the long shots used when following the feather in the open scenes of the movie. The feather flows from way up high in the sky to and lands on the bench Forrest sits on. An example of very long shots in the film are when Forrest is running (all throughout the movie) and also during the war scenes. Cinematographer Don Burgess recalls, â€Å"With Forrest Gump, I felt very strongly about shooting anamorphic: it depicted the character’s relationship to the world and how he saw the world. I thought anamorphic lens worked so well, compositionally. With the character of Forrest Gump, I short-sighted him a lot to put him out of context, so he always felt odd with things around him. The anamorphic format has a tendency to short-sight better anyway, and we used really wide lenses focused on him; I think it creates that feeling of his relationship to everything else.† I believe that the making Forrest stand out and not really fit in to his surroundings, yet effortlessly moving through the motions is captured by the use of anamorphic shooting. It also helps the viewer understand the time and place in which the story takes place and how the character relates to that period of time. However, the cinematography isn’t the only aspect of the filmmaking process that helps the viewer know the time and place; mise en scene also has plays an important role. Mise en scene is French for â€Å"place on set.† It is the way props or objects are placed on the set in order to bring out the theme of a movie and make it  more realistic for the time and place. Mise en scene can be like entering a time machine when done correctly and that’s exactly how I felt while watching Forrest Gump. From the beginning of the film, at the center of attention is the bench. The placement of the bench lets us know that it is at a bus stop as opposed to a park because a bus stops in front of it, people walk behind and in front of the bench, and also the bus stop sign placed near it. Mise en scene can also be symbolic. There are many examples throughout the film but my favorite is the signed Marilyn Monroe picture behind the picture of the Kennedy Brothers at the Watergate Hotel. Its a bit scandalous and fun since Marilyn was rumored to having affairs with both brother and it also brings out a little bit of history, which I love. Also, in one of the scenes where Forrest is running, there’s a confederate flag on the car. Since they’re in the south and many people believe Forrest symbolizes America, it can be presumed that America is running or moving past its racists history. That’s just one theory. There are so many more examples of mise en scene but that would turn this journal into a ten page paper. Forrest Gump has won an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Film Editing and Best Editing and nominated for six more Oscars, Best Cinematography among them. I believe that all the elements that go into making a film made this movie great but the cinematography and use of mise en scene really made it outstanding.

“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essay

â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† is an essay by Mary Wollstonecraft, written to urge women to ascend above their traditional gender roles in society through the utilization of education. Education is a right, not a privilege because it allows people to contribute to society and that is why Wollstonecraft stresses the importance of its existence in a woman’s life as a tool for higher purpose and societal progression. Her ideologies – combined with rising support behind the emerging feminist movement – were relevant and consequently impacted the lives of whoever encountered her writings. Through this passage, Wollstonecraft utilizes antithesis, rhetorical questions, and analogies to redefine â€Å"attractiveness† by emphasizing the importance of higher intellect rather than physical beauty. Through antithesis, Wollstonecraft is able to highlight the strong contrast between a woman’s role in society with and without education. While women â€Å"have been stripped of the virtues that should clothe humanity, they have been decked with artificial graces that enable them to exercise a short-lived tyranny† (lines 205-207). The artificial graces are symbolic of the traditional â€Å"education† society has forced upon women. Educating women solely on home making skills and how to be a good wife essentially deprives them of their natural rights to an academic based education and instead fills them with skills that only serve to strengthen gender roles. Wollstonecraft emphasizes the â€Å"art of pleasing †¦ [to only be] useful to a mistress; the chaste wife and serious mother should only consider her power to please as the polish of her virtues and the affection of her husband as one of the comforts that render her talk less difficult and her life happi er† (line 133-136). Education at that point in time only served to prevent women from fulfilling their full potential and weakened their worth in society. The general public associated learning with masculinity and consequently refused to recognize the role a rudimentary academic education would play in helping a woman excel as a wife and a mother. Through the lack of education offered to women in society, their promise was hindered and they were forced to follow the straight and narrow paths set forth by society. Wollstonecraft utilizes analogies to illustrate the temporal existence and futility of physical beauty. Women â€Å"just like the flowers †¦planted in too rich a soil †¦after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk† (line 15-17). Although society places immense value on beauty, it does not last forever, and as a result, once female appeal fades, so does their functionality in civilization. This lack of long lasting purpose and sense of usefulness comes from an inadequate system of education for women which only focuses on superficial aspects that will only keep them feeling fulfilled for a short period of time. A woman whose sole purpose is â€Å"to please will soon find that her charms are oblique sunbeams and that they cannot have much effect on her husband’s heart when they are seen every day† (line 113-115). Through this analogy, Wollstonecraft denotes the momentary existence of physical beauty and its diminishing effect on a man who is witness to it on a daily basis. Constant objectification of feminine existence forced women themselves to denigrate their self worth down to their physical appearance and once again, conforming to demands set forth by their misogynistic environment. Since a woman’s physical appearance is temporary, their worth in a traditional and patriarchal society is also just as temporary. Rhetorical questions were employed throughout the work to emphasize the frustration and disbelief Wollstonecraft had towards that lack of importance placed on educating women. Women were encouraged to hold their tongues and swallow their emotions, forcing most of them to question â€Å"why should not one woman acknowledge that she can take more exercise than another† (line 146-148)? Even after many years of progression and liberation in different aspects of life, the emancipation of women from the control of men was not an issue in anyone’s mind. Men literally controlled every aspect of a woman’s life during that time period and consequently forced them to turn their backs on common sense and truth in order to avoid making immodest gestures by saying what they felt. â€Å"To gain the affections of a virtuous man† affectation was seen as a necessity (line 162). Women accepted these kinds of degrading societal expectations because they were dependent on the men in their lives. In Wollstonecraft’s eyes it was outrageous that women did not understand that their lack of education kept them vulnerable and  that society itself did not understand that educating women would only lead to improvement rather than hindrance. Wollstonecraft’s outrage towards the matter was obviously justified because even after all the progress she made in the name of feminism, women around the world are still being denied an education on a daily basis. Through the use of antithesis, analogies, and rhetorical questions, Wollstonecraft was able to encourage women to question societal constraints that limited their contribution to the communities they were a part of. â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman† was written to highlight the prominence of gender roles and the negative impact it was having on society. Her work urged people to recognize that restricting a woman’s role in society by claiming that academic ventures were too â€Å"masculine† would ultimately be detrimental and counterproductive.

Overview of Sociologys Conflict Theory

Overview of Sociologys Conflict Theory Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unevenly distributed between groups in society  and that these conflicts become the engine for social change. In this context, power can be understood as control of material resources and accumulated wealth, control of politics and the institutions that make up society, and ones social status relative to others (determined not just by class but by race, gender, sexuality, culture, and religion, among other things). Karl Marx A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses are likewise small, it satisfies all social requirement for a residence. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and the little house shrinks to a hut. Wage Labour and Capital (1847) Marxs Conflict Theory Conflict theory originated in the work of Karl Marx, who focused on the causes and consequences of class conflict between the bourgeoisie (the owners of the means of production and the capitalists) and the proletariat (the working class and the poor). Focusing on the economic, social, and political implications of the rise of capitalism in Europe, Marx theorized that this system, premised on the existence of a powerful minority class (the bourgeoisie) and an oppressed majority class (the proletariat), created class conflict because the interests of the two were at odds, and resources were unjustly distributed among them. Within this system an unequal social order was maintained through ideological coercion which created consensusand acceptance of the values, expectations, and conditions as determined by the bourgeoisie.  Marx theorized that the work of producing consensus was done in the superstructure of society, which is composed of social  institutions, political structures, and culture, and what it produced consensus for was the base, the economic relations of production.   Marx reasoned that as the socio-economic conditions worsened for the proletariat, they would develop a class consciousness that revealed their exploitation at the hands of the wealthy capitalist class of bourgeoisie, and then they would revolt, demanding changes to smooth the conflict. According to Marx, if the changes made to appease conflict maintained a capitalist system, then the cycle of conflict would repeat. However, if the changes made created a new system, like socialism, then peace and stability would be achieved. Evolution of Conflict Theory Many social theorists have built on Marxs conflict theory to bolster it, grow it, and refine it over the years. Explaining why Marxs theory of revolution did not manifest in his lifetime,  Italian scholar and activist  Antonio Gramsci  argued that the power of ideology was stronger than Marx had realized  and that more work needed to be done to overcome cultural hegemony, or  rule through common sense. Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, critical theorists who were part of The Frankfurt School, focused their work on how the rise of mass culturemass produced art, music, and mediacontributed to the maintenance of cultural hegemony. More recently, C. Wright Mills drew on conflict theory to describe the rise of a tiny power elite composed of military, economic, and political figures who have ruled America from the mid-twentieth century. Many others have drawn on conflict theory to develop other types of theory within the social sciences, including feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodern and postcolonial theory, queer theory, post-structural theory, and theories of globalization and world systems. So, while initially conflict theory described class conflicts specifically, it has lent itself over the years to studies of how other kinds of conflicts, like those premised on race, gender, sexuality, religion, culture, and nationality, among others, are a part of contemporary social structures, and how they affect our lives. Applying Conflict Theory Conflict theory and its variants are used by many sociologists today to study a wide range of social problems. Examples include: How todays global capitalism creates a global system of power and inequality.How words play a role in reproducing and justifying conflict.The causes and consequences of the gender pay gap between men and women. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Think Your New ACT Writing Score Is Wrong Recent Issues, Explained

Think Your New ACT Writing Score Is Wrong Recent Issues, Explained SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you took the ACT with Writing in September, October, or December of 2015, you may have been taken by surprise by the change in the essay prompt (compared to previous ACT Writing tests). And when you got your scores back...well, you may have been even more confused. While the change in the ACT essay format was announced ahead of time, the full explanation of how the Writing scores would be normalized was not made clear until after the first administration of the new ACT Writing test. Because of this, ACT, Inc. faceda bit of controversy about the scoring of the new Writing test.Now they've returned to a 12-point scoring scale, with a more transparent calculation system. Read on to learn what all this means for you. feature image credit: Shock and Awe by Pascal. Public domain. Some Quick Background Information Saturday, September 12, 2015 was the first worldwide administration of the new ACT Writing Test. The changes to the essay included a completely different assignment, a different scoring system (essay scores range from 1-36 instead of 2-12), and a different amount of time for the essay (40 minutes instead of 30). These parameters were made publicly available beforehand (although they were not perhaps publicized as widely as they could have been), so while some students didn’t realize the test was changing, that part wasn't entirely ACT, Inc.'s fault. Deadline Drama Many students applying early decision or early action to schools had thought that taking the September ACT would leave plenty of time for their scores to be ready before those November 1st Early Decision or Early Action deadlines. After all, in the past, multiple choice scores had been released by a couple of weeks after the test date, and Writing scores by a couple of weeks after that. Even though ACT, Inc. gave its standard caution that scores could take as much as 8 weeks, most students expected (reasonably) that their scores would be in and sent to colleges well before the ED/EA deadlines. It rapidly became apparent, however, that scoring the Writing tests was taking longer than usual, presumably because of the new scoring for the new Writing test. On October 14th (about one month after the September 12th test date), one student complained: "My writing score isn't up yet, even though I got my multiple choice scores 2 weeks ago. This is so frustrating." Six days later, students and parents alike were starting to get nervous. As one parent wrote, "...apparently most people who took the September 12th test have still not received their complete scores, which is putting some ED applications in jeopardy. (I have a niece in this situation.)" The concern students were feeling about not having their Writing scores back rapidly snowballed when it was realized that, if you take the ACT with Writing, ACT, Inc. won't send out your score report at all until your essay has been graded. This meant that if your essay wasn’t graded before the end of October (or before October 15th, in the case of some ED/EA deadlines), whatever school(s) you were applying to wouldn’t even get to see your multiple choice scores on English, Math, Reading, and Science for the September ACT. Soon, the frenzy about the delay in Writing scores spread beyond (mainly student-populated) forums to online news sites. As Examiner.com reported: So far, ACT has refused to support students affected by the absence of Writing scores by sending colleges official score reports minus the Writing score for those needing these results for early consideration. No reason has been provided, only an indication that it’s not the policy of ACT to send partial results. This policy made many students and parents less than happy with ACT, Inc. â€Å"Still no writing score. As many of you, cannot get scores out without writing. We reached out to some colleges to let them know that an updated score would be coming. Very disappointing, as ACT released the MC choice later than expected (states on their website "most" score are released within 2 weeks.... So of course they did not release the MC scores timely, and then once again, falsely state that the writing score would be available 14 days after MC scores are released again, did not occur. So, same story as you all and then of course those who still have not even received your MC scores my heart goes out to you... Bottom line - ACT needs to revise their processes, it's just not working well or fairly.† (source: College Confidential) Most likely as a result of the outcry from students and parents, ACT, Inc. reached out to schools in October to notify them of the issue with the delay in score release. Inside Higher Ed reported that ACT, Inc. had sent an email to the National Association of College Admission Counseling urging colleges to allow screenshots of multiple-choice scores from the September ACT as a stopgap measure. While many students were unhappy with the score delay, however, it was clear that ACT, Inc. was still within the timeframe it had set out for itself for grading the essays. As another College Confidential poster wrote: "There is no "fiasco". When we signed up for the Sept. test, the website very clearly stated what bluebayou posted above. This means that some people will not have their complete score report until after Nov. 1, since 8 weeks after Sept. 12 is clearly after Nov. 1. D has received all of her scores, including writing, as of last week. But we went in knowing that they might be late enough that she'd miss an EA date or two. I don't know why it's shocking to people that ACT is releasing scores exactly as the website says it will." Because of the scoring issues in September, when students asked if the December ACT with Writing scores would be available by January, I advised that the answer was probably NO. The Plot Thickens So...some students thought they’d be able to squeeze in one more ACT before early decision/early action deadlines, but it turns out they were wrong. So what? Well, the ACT Writing scoring saga doesn’t stop there. When students finally did get their scores back, confusion still abounded over how exactly these scores were reached. Students who were used to getting in the 30s on all the other sections of the ACT found that they were getting essay scores in the low 20s on the Writing section. One student posted on Reddit: â€Å"I was really disappointed that I got a 20 on writing but 32 composite.. I pretty much can't send this score anymore.† For students who didn’t know there was a new prompt, or who have difficulty writing under pressure, low Writing scores weren't all that surprising. But some students soon realized that there seemed to be a disconnect between their writing subscores and their overall essay scores. As another confused student put it: â€Å"I received a 9 on all subscores for Writing, but my score came out to a 24. Is this correct on ACT's part, or is there a scoring error† It seemed that the Writing scores on, for instance, the September 2015 ACT were equated differently from how ACT, Inc. had announced they'd be scored. For instance, one commenter on our blog received 11/12 on all four subscores but a 31/36 for her ACT Writing score, whereas the Preparing for the ACT 2015-2016 PDF indicated that 11/12 on all four subscores should result in a 34/36 Writing score. Another student on a different site noted this same issue, writing: â€Å"†¦what's also weird is that the curve for the writing section changes for each administration. So, 11/11/11/11 may be a 31 on one test (like the September one) and a 34 on a different test (the 2015-2016 Official Practice Test). It seems odd that there isn't a uniform curve for the writing section. How is one prompt harder than another prompt?† Was ACT, Inc. changing how the Writing test was scored from test to test? If so, it hadn't made that fact clear beforehand. Still other students saw a precipitous drop in their essay scores from one administration of the new Writing test to the next. One angry student wrote: â€Å"I literally just got my Dec 12th test back, and my composite is a whopping 35, but my writing score is 09. This is extremely peculiar, because the last two times I took the test, my writing scores were 34 and 35, respectively, and if anything, I only IMPROVED during my most recent attempt. Clearly my writing booklet has been mixed up with someone else's, because this is not only an inaccurate measure of my abilities, but a clear CLERICAL error.† What Happened? Why the huge issues with scoring for ACT Writing? Why were normally 32+ composite scoring students getting single-digit scores on the ACT Writing? I believe that there were a couple of reasons that things went so wrong. 1. Grading Error Every time the ACT is administered, a few tests are graded incorrectly. Whether the wrong score report gets sent out, or the scanner read a â€Å"7† instead of a â€Å"27,† or you didn't fill in your multiple choice answers darkly enough†¦these things happen. The fraction of students who are affected by these errors is so small that it’s normally not an issue. In addition, any scoring errors on the previous ACT Writing test might not have been as noticeable, since there were smaller gaps between the score points. It was conceivable that you could go from a 11/12 on a good day to a 6/12 on a not-so-great day. However, the September and December ACT administrations were critical for early and regular admissions deadlines, which made students hyper-conscious of any unusual blips in their scores. Add that to the change in scoring method, and there were just more people complaining about oddly low scores than usual. 2. Norming Error ACT, Inc. did finally release a concordance chart for the new ACT writing test in late September. This chart explains how the current system of ACT Writing scoring and the old system are linked. Basically, ACT, Inc. ran a special score concordance study where the same group of students took both essay tests. The scores for the new ACT Writing were then normalized so that the same numbers of students got scores at each new score point as they would have on the old essay (although it wasn’t necessarily the same students in each percentile). Normalizing scores like this is a little tricky because, just like when comparing the SAT and ACT, the scores aren’t on the same scale, so some extra math is required to equate the scores. Here is a copy of the chart the ACT has released comparing the previous out-of-12 Writing scores to the current out-of-36 Writing scores: Former ACT Writing Score Concordant Current ACT Writing Score 2 1 3 7 4 10 5 12 6 16 7 19 8 23 9 30 10 32 11 34 12 36 (source: ACT.org) As you can see, there are some pretty large leaps in the concordant scores, particularly between what used to be an 8/12 (both graders giving the essay 4/6) and a 9/12 (one grader giving the essay 4/6 and one giving it 5/6). Now, when you look at the ACT’s percentile ranking for the new Writing test, it’s clear that a 23/36 on the Writing still places you in the 83rd percentile, which is not too shabby. Score Writing Percentile 36 99 35 99 34 99 33 99 32 99 31 98 30 98 29 97 28 95 27 95 26 93 25 90 24 88 23 83 But as one concerned parent pointed out: â€Å"My DD also got a 35 composite and a 23 on writing. This sounds really low, but actually correlates to the 83rd percentile. But a 23 on the other sections correlate to percentiles in the 60s. So when colleges see a 23, will they also see the 83rd percentile, or will they assume it's much worse than it is?† And as ACT, Inc. itself admitted in a January 2016 report, "A casual observer may assume that a student who received a score of 32 on ACT English, ACT Composite, and ACT writing demonstrated consistent performance, but that would be incorrect." To explain why, we need to look at the percentile ranks for all the sections, side by side. I've combined the most recent information ACT, Inc. has released for the Writing scores and for composite and section scores in the below chart: Score (/36) Composite Percentile English Percentile Math Percentile Reading Percentile Science Percentile Writing Percentile 36 99 99 99 99 99 99 35 99 99 99 99 99 99 34 99 98 99 98 99 99 33 99 97 98 97 98 99 32 98 95 97 95 97 99 31 96 93 96 92 96 98 30 95 92 95 89 95 98 29 92 90 93 86 94 97 28 90 88 91 84 92 95 27 87 85 88 81 90 95 26 83 82 84 78 87 93 25 79 79 78 75 83 90 24 74 74 73 71 77 88 23 68 69 67 66 70 83 For a refresher what percentiles rankings mean, read our guide to percentiles and score ranking on the ACT. As you can see, there is a pretty big discrepancy between a 23 on the Writing (which places you at or above 83 percent of all test takers) and a 23 on any of the other sections (which only places you at or above 66-70 percent of all test takers). Here's a graph that illustrates this contrast even further: (source: ACT.org) That jagged purple line to the left, lagging behind all the other section scores? That's the Writing scores for the September and October 2015 ACT. Because of this discrepancy, ACT, Inc. warns against comparing scores on the Writing test directy to scores on the other sections of the ACT. Quoted verbatim: "However, the new writing test combines the four domain scores, which are also reported to students, into an overall summary score on the 1–36 scale, making comparisons with other scores much more tempting. Perhaps too tempting!" What’s particularly weird is ACT, Inc.'s explanation of this scoring difference. In the same article in which the graph appears, the writers stated that it made sense that there was more variation in writing scores because it was just one question. True enough, but the rest of their explanation left me baffled: "Therefore, the writing test does have significantly greater variation than other scores because it is a single task, evaluated by raters using a 6-point interval scale, while other ACT tests are comprised of 40 to 75 questions." One of the big changes with the new ACT essay is that the essay graders aren’t giving essays a holistic score any more - two graders are giving each essay four domain scores out of six, for total domain scores out of twelve. Which means that the essay is really evaluated out of a 48 point raw score - not entirely dissimilar to the rest of the sections. So where does the score out of 36 come from? How is it being equated from the sum of the domain scores (which would be out of 48)? Well, according to ACT, Inc.: "The new writing scale score (1–36) is a nonlinear transformation of the sum of the two 1–to–6 rater scores on four domain scores (8–48)." But while ACT, Inc. released a preliminary chart for how this would work for the Preparing for the ACT 2015-2016 practice test, it appears, as I noted earlier, that the equating may be changing from test to test. Alas, it does not appear that a copy of the equating chart is sent out with the score report, so students have no way of knowing how the score out of 36 was arrived at. Without transparency about the process, it’s understandable why some students are confused and upset. Lifeless Face #038, by Nottsexminer, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped and resized from original. This hinge is just as upset as you. If not more so! Look at that face. UPDATE: More Changes to ACT Writing Ahead Just one year after ACT, Inc. completely overhauled the ACT Writing test, the scoring for the test is changing yet again. As of September 2016, the ACT Writing Test will no longer be scored on a scale of 1-36. Instead, students will receive a Writing score on a scale of 2-12 that is the average of all four of their domain scores (Ideas Analysis, Development Support, Organization, and Language Use), which are also each scored on a scale of 2-12. In addition, there are some "minor changes" to the wording of the prompt that removed the necessity of discussing all three perspectives in your essay. Here's a look at what the ACT essay task looked like up through June 2016: Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the conflict between public health and individual freedom. In your essay, be sure to: analyze and evaluate the perspectives given state and develop your own perspective on the issue explain the relationship between your perspective and those given Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples. And here's what it'll look like from September 2016 onwards. I've bolded the relevant change below. Write a unified, coherent essay about the conflict between public health and individual freedom. In your essay, be sure to: clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective develop and support your ideas with reasoning and examples organize your ideas clearly and logically communicate your ideas effectively in standard written English Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of those given, in partial agreement, or completely different. ACT, Inc. announced the changes to the Writing test would go into effect September 2016 as part of ACT, Inc.’s effort to â€Å"reduce confusion among users.† As stated in both the official press release and in the FAQs about the Writing section, the reason for the scoring change was due to the larger differences between the scoring of the Writing test and the English, Math, Reading, and Science subject scores. "Students assumed that the scores on the 1-36 scale meant the same thing from one subject test to another. We recognize that this is a logical assumption, but it is not a correct assumption" (source: ACT Writing FAQs). The formal announcement of the changes to the ACT Writing test scoring occurred June 28, 2016; however, these changes didn’t come entirely out of nowhere. We at PrepScholar first noticed something odd when reading through the newly-released â€Å"Preparing for the ACT 2016-2017† PDF in mid-June 2016. Here's what it says on page 8, under the discussion of the ACT Writing Test: You will receive a total of five scores for this test: a single subject-level writing score reported on a scale of 2–12, and four domain scores based on an analytic scoring rubric. The four domain scores are: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Note: The subject score is the rounded average of the four domain scores. On page 62, further information was given on how to calculate your ACT Writing score for the practice test included in the PDF: So other than Step 2 (which on the real ACT will involve adding the two essay graders' scores on each rubric area together, rather than just multiplying each area score by two), this domain-score-averaging process is how the ACT Writing test will be scored starting September 2016. What Does This Mean For You? At this point, many colleges are aware of the issues ACT, Inc. had with the score release of the new ACT Writing. As Boston College states on its admissions website, "ACT has notified us that delivery of scores this year will be delayed due to their implementation of an enhanced design to the Writing portion of the test.† Plus, by now most college application deadlines for Fall 2016 have passed, so whether or not the scores were released in time is kind of a moot point. But what if you're applying to colleges next year, or are still worried about a low Writing score? What can you do about it? Option 1: Order Hand-Scoring Some students have resorted to ordering hand-scoring for their essays to see if it affects their scores (since ACT will only send colleges the new score if it is higher). In the case of at least one student, this was a success – the re-score took a Writing score of 22 (80th percentile) up to a 28 (95th percentile). Because hand-scoring for the essay is so expensive ($50.00), it might only be worth doing if you believe that you really did receive someone else’s scores in error (i.e. if your Writing score is 6 points different from what you expected), or if the subscores don’t seem to correlate to your writing score out of 36 (e.g. subscores of all 10s, writing score of 11/36). Unfortunately, this means that some students will be at a disadvantage, because fee waivers do not apply to hand-scoring. You do get refunded the fee if a scoring error is found, but the initial investment of $50 may still be something that economically disadvantaged students don’t want to risk (if there is no score difference). Option 2: Re-take ACT Writing in September 2016 In other cases, it might be worth taking the September or October ACTs in order to get an essay score on the more-familiar (to admissions officers) 12 point scale. I would strongly urge against depending on either of these test dates if you're applying early decision or early action for most schools, given the score reporting delays that were rampant last year. If you're applying regular decision, though, taking the September or October ACT Writing test could have a positive affect on your application, since a lower Writing score won't look quite as discrepant against the rest of your ACT scores. Now that ACT Writing is scored out of 12, rather than also being out of 36, schools will be less likely to compare your Writing score directly to your ACT English, Math, Reading, Science, and composite scores, and give a sideeye to any huge discrepancies. Option 3: Wait It Out For many students, however, the lower-than-expected writing scores are just a byproduct of the way the new ACT Writing section is normed. Take heart, though – many schools already view standardized test essays with a skeptical eye. As the National Council of Teachers of English has noted, â€Å"With respect to writing ability, the ACT's figures indicate at best that students who do well on the test can perform the writing tasks required on the test.† It's unlikely that the ACT's updated September 2016 scoring system is going to do anything to dispel this skeptical attitude. With the SAT essay becoming optional as of March 2016, it’s likely that fewer and fewer schools will care about the Writing section at all. And if you’re really worried about a low ACT Writing score, make sure to blow admissions officers away with a great personal statement to showcase your real writing skills. What Should You Do Now? If you want to retake the ACT to increase your Writing score, you'll need to make sure you completely understand the new prompts, what the rubric looks like, and how scoring works. Definitely make sure to check out our articles on how to get a perfect score on the ACT essay and how to write an ACT essay, step by step. Are you within three months of the date you took the ACT and want to get your essay re-scored? You're in luck! Find out all about how hand-scoring works here. Curious about what the difference is between test information release and hand scoring? Get the details on what TIR is and why you might want to order it in this article. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get your ACT essays hand-graded by a master instructor who will give you customized feedback on how you can improve. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

International Business Organisation Report (SWOT Analysis Only) Essay

International Business Organisation Report (SWOT Analysis Only) - Essay Example Strong opportunity lies in expanding its growth. The company has made sure that in addition to its monetary achievements it also takes care of community interests i.e. encouraging legal way of collection of timber3 and avoiding unnecessary wastage of electricity4 etc. By doing so its image among the customers has been strong. For example, to help those struggling families affected by fire accident in Norply factory in Kyogle recently , Bunnings Warehouse in Lismore conducted a special auction5. In today's competitive market, advertising about the product is very crucial which has been followed strictly by the Bunnings ware house Property trust which resulted in creating an opportunity not only in maintaining the present level of customers (20% of the Australian poulation)6 but also in enhancing the customer number for future. 5. Excellent customer satisfaction : The customer representatives are well versed with product details and explain in simple manner to the customers which opened opportunity for higher customer satisfaction. 6. Diversified business activities: To compete with big firms like K Mart and Big W7, it has entered in to garden and nursery services in addition to its hardware activities.