Democratic Route To Modernity Essays - Barrington Moore, Jr.

Democratic Route To Modernity Barrington Moore, Jr. in Chapter seven of his Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, explores among other things, the reason for England and other countries (such as the US and France) taking the democratic route to the modern world; a route which he refers to as the bourgeois revolution. This is relatively different for each country at the inception and at various points in time, but is essentially a combination of parlimentary democracy and capitalism. Whereas in China, Russia, and Germany, preindustrial bureacratic rule has proven unfavorable to democracy, in England, on a comparative level, there was more of a balance between the crown and the nobility. Moore maintains that the concept of a relatively independent nobility has proven favorable to the growth of democracy. The bourgeois class was essential to this growth as well. Whereas in France, Russia and a large part of Germany there was a strong growth of absolutism, in England there was resistance to this ideology. The landed aristocracy began getting involved in commerce at an early date in Englan d whereas in large areas of Europe there were still communities of self sufficiency. In England a particular type of commercial agriculture (or an appropriate form as Moore puts it) was conducive to the democratic route. It fostered a relationship of dependency between the landed upper class and the bourgeois class. In order to portray the differences with the English (or even on a smaller scale) route to democracy and the Russian route, for example, Moore examines critically all these aspects and explores the variants on a comparative level, and concludes that the English experience for these specific reasons was conducive to a democratic route to modernity. Bibliography moore, barrington social origins of dictatorship and democracy

How to Attack Paired Passages in ACT Reading

How to Attack Paired Passages in ACT Reading SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Paired passages on the ACT have been around since 2013, and they can make the Reading section seem a lot more difficult than it really is. After all, you're required to answer multiple questions to two whole reading passages! But there are ways to do this effectively. How should you go about attacking ACT Reading paired passages? Read on for our best strategies. Feature Image:Randy Robertson/Flickr Paired Passages on ACT Reading: A Brief Rundown Paired passages are two short passages (40-50 lines each) that are related in some way (usually by topic). There is only one set of paired passages per ACT.I've only seen them in literary narrative or humanities sections, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pop up elsewhere. The set of paired passages will have 10 questions altogether; the first few questions will be about passage A, while the next few will be about passage B.The final three to four questions(I’ve only seen three, but I’m using a range to be on the safer side) will ask about both passages. The presence of paired passages on ACT Reading allowsACT, Inc. to test students' abilities to "use evidence to make connections between different texts that are related by topic." Attacking Paired Passages on ACT Reading: 4 Strategies There's no one surefire strategy that'll let you power through questions on paired passages. Why? Depending on how you approach ACT reading passages, certain strategies simply might not work as well for you. I've gathered together my top four strategies for mastering paired-passage questions on ACT Reading.I recommend trying all of them out and then using the one that works best for you! Strategy 1: Start by Answering Questions on Individual Passages For paired passages,I highly recommend answering all the questions about each individual passagebefore moving on to the multi-passage questions. Even if you're planning to guess on questions that ask about multiple passages (more on why you might want to do that later), it’s still worth it to take time to answer questions dealing with individual passages. But why?The advantage of answering questions that refer to a single passage before moving on to multi-passage questions is twofold. For one, each passage that's part of a pair of passages is shorter and less complicated than the standalone long passages. This is because you're comparing two separate passages and not just focusing on one. As a result, it's usually easier to answer questions on one or the other of the set of paired passages, compared with questions on the longer, unpaired passages- each of the paired passages has fewer words after all, making it easier to find details in them. Secondly, the questions the ACT asks about each individual passage will help you with the multi-passage questions. For example, take a look at the two questions below about individual passages (adapted from official ACT sample questions): 2. In Passage A, the narrator’s descriptions of Alsop suggest that she sees her as ultimately: F. self-confident and triumphant.G. isolated and alone.H. awe-inspiring and heroic.J. stiff and ceremonial. 5. Passage B indicates that compared to the narrator’s expectation about how the first woman to conduct a major orchestra would be treated in print, the articles themselves were: A. similar; the narrator had expected the newspapers to prolong the event with preliminary material leading up to Alsop’s first performance.B. similar; the narrator had expected Alsop would be announced as the next conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.C. dissimilar; the narrator had expected there would be more coverage of male conductors of color before a woman conducting would be written about.D. dissimilar; the narrator had expected to be able to read about Alsop’s performance in the papers shortly after it occurred. Now, here’s a question that asks about both passages: 7. Which of the following statements provides the most accurate comparison of the tone of each passage? A. Passage A is fondly nostalgic, while Passage B is impersonal and scientific.B. Passage A is optimistic and exuberant, while Passage B is sarcastic and cynical.C. Both passages begin by conveying some sense of the narrator’s wonder but conclude with a note of disenchantment.D. Both passages begin by conveying the narrator’s doubt but conclude with some sense of lasting pride. If you’ve answered questions 2 and 5, you already know a little bit about the tones of the passages (the answer to question 2 tells you how the narrator of passage A views Alsop, while the answer to question 5 tells you a little about the expectations of passage B's narrator). This informationisn’t necessarily enough to give you the answer to question 7 (the one about both passages),but it might help you eliminate some answers. Strategy 2: Guess on Multi-Passage Questions If you’re aiming for an ACT Reading score around or below 26, my recommendation is to not even bother with trying to answer questions that ask about two passages. W-w-w-w-whaaaaat? (Hamner_Fotos/Flickr) I know- this strategy sounds like it could be risky. But based on the small sample size of ACTs with paired-passage questions, I have been able to glean the following: the questions that ask you to compare aspects of two passages are (unsurprisingly) far more complex than those that ask you to answer questions about one passage. Take this sample question (modified from a sample question on the ACT, Inc. website): "It can reasonably be inferred that after seeing the first woman conducting a major orchestra, compared to the narrator of Passage B, the narrator of Passage A felt ..." Answering this question requires you togo back to passage Ato determine how the narrator felt after seeing a woman conduct a major orchestra. You must then do the same for passage B. There are some strategies you can use to help with eliminating answers (which I’ll discuss later in this article). But if you're aiming for a 26 on ACT Reading, you can afford to guess on the multi-passage questions. The proof can be found in the sample scoring chart below, taken from the most recent official ACT practice test. As a reminder, a raw score is equal to the number of questions you got right. (For more information, check out our in-depth guide to ACT scoring.) Note that althoughthis scoring chart does not apply universally to every ACT Reading section, it should give you a general idea of how many questions you'll need to answer correctly in order to get a certain scale score on Reading. Raw Score Reading Score Raw Score Reading Score Raw Score Reading Score 40 36 27 24 9-10 12 39 35 25-26 23 8 38 34 24 22 6-7 10 37 33 22-23 21 - 9 35-36 32 21 20 5 8 34 31 19-20 19 4 7 33 30 18 18 3 6 32 29 17 17 - 5 31 28 15-16 16 2 4 30 27 14 15 - 3 29 26 12-13 14 1 2 28 25 13 0 1 As this chart indicates,if you’re aiming for a 26 on ACT Reading, you only need a raw score of about 29 out of 40 questions. If you guess on the three or four multi-passage questions, you: Can still miss another five to six questions on the Reading section and get a 26 Will now have 35 minutes to answer 34-35 questions, giving youmore time per question Pick your favorite answer choice (A/F, B/G, C/H, or D/J) and fill it in for all the multi-passage questions. If there are three multi-passage questions, you'll have a 75% chance of getting one of them right ... and you won’t have to spend more than a few seconds on any one of them! Strategy 3: Use the Process of Elimination This tip is partially related to strategy 1. Questions that ask about both passages have to meet the same standard as questions about a single passage: there must be one unambiguously correct answer. But what does this mean for multi-passage questions? If part of an answer is wrong, then you can immediately eliminate that answer choice. For instance, take the ACT Reading example I used earlier: 7. Which of the following statements provides the most accurate comparison of the tone of each passage? A. Passage A is fondly nostalgic, while Passage B is impersonal and scientific.B. Passage A is optimistic and exuberant, while Passage B is sarcastic and cynical.C. Both passages begin by conveying some sense of the narrator’s wonder but conclude with a note of disenchantment.D. Both passages begin by conveying the narrator’s doubt but conclude with some sense of lasting pride. Let’s say you’ve just finished answering questions about passage B when you get to this question about both passages, so it’s clear in your mind. You can tackle two of the answers right away. Look at answer A: A.Passage A is fondly nostalgic, while Passage B is impersonal and scientific. Ask yourself: was Passage B impersonal and scientific? Let’s say no (for the sake of argument). It doesn’t matter, then, whether the part in this answer choice about passage A is correct or not- since the part about passage B is wrong, that whole answer is wrong. What about answer choice B? Let's take a look: B.Passage A is optimistic and exuberant, while Passage B is sarcastic and cynical. My thinking: for answer choice B, passage A does start out exuberant, and passage B does end with something sort of sarcastic or cynical. On the other hand, answer choice C, C. Both passages begin by conveying some sense of the narrator’s wonder but conclude with a note of disenchantment, ... isdefinitely correct.Passage A starts out with the sentence, "I was amazed to see a woman on stage," while passage B starts with, "I’d been hoping so long to read about someone like me doing something I wanted to do that I couldn’t stop my foot from nervously jiggling."Both of these intro sentencesconvey a sense of wonder. Moreover, passage A ends with, "I guess it was too much to expect the newspapers would ignore her sex and focus on her musicianship," while B ends with, "In the end, I didn’t feel bolstered by the performance; I felt more discouraged than ever." Both of theseconvey disenchantment. A common recommendation for using the process of elimination is to cross out any answers that suggest that the passages are the same (the ACT wants you to compare passages, so what would be the point in comparing two nearly identical ones?). As you can see from the example above, though, eliminating answers that point out the passages' similarities might cause you to get rid of the right answer, too.So read carefully! Don’t make Marin Alsop come after you for accidentally eliminating the right answer. (Governo do Estado de So Paulo/Flickr) Strategy 4: Practice With Official SAT Paired-Passage Questions Honestly, this feels like a bit of a cop-out. It’s weird to advise students to prepare for one test by using questions from another one. Unfortunately, ACT Inc. doesn’t leave students much choice. The only official (and free) paired-passage questions availableare the three on theACT, Inc. websiteand the three in the most recent official ACT practice test. This means that, in total, there aresix multi-passage questions you can use for practice(19 paired-passage questions altogether). This lack of practice questions is partly what makes preparing for ACT paired passages so difficult. Luckily, recentchanges to the SAT have made the test strongly resemble the ACT- and both have paired-passage questions on their respective Reading sections. SAT paired passages involvelong (approximately 45-line) passages with a few questions about each passage followed by some questions about both passages. In total, there are about 10- questions per paired passage set on the SAT.Because this format is so similar to that on the ACT, SAT paired passages are quite useful for ACT Reading practice. Every official SAT practice testcontains a set of paired passages with 10- questions (for a total of more than 80 questions). That's about four times as many paired-passage questions as ACT, Inc. currently provides for practice (bonus math practice if you want to check that ratio). This will also give you a chance to figure out what the most difficult question types are for you when it comes to paired passages. Since ACT, Inc. only has six multi-passage questions available, it's hard to know if there's a particular type of multi-passage question you struggle with more than others. Use the SAT paired-passage questions to hunt down your weaknesses and overcome them. How to Attack Paired-Passage Questions: A Summary As you can see, paired passages on ACT Reading can be tricky- but they're certainly not impossible to master. To wrap up, let's briefly go over the four best strategies you can use to attack paired passages: Answer single-passage questions first:Answering questions about individual passages will often give you clues you can later use to answer questions that deal with both passages. Guess on multi-passage questions:Figure out which type of question you tend to get wrong and then focus on improving that skill. Use the process of elimination:If even just part of an answer is wrong, you can eliminate that answer choice immediately. Remember the rule: there is only ever one unambiguously correct answer. Practice with official SAT paired-passage questions:Since not many ACT paired-passage questions are available for practice, it's a good idea to use SAT paired-passage questions so you can get more used to answering questions that address multiple passages. What’s Next? For more reading strategies, take a look atmy article on SAT paired passages. What about answering questions on non-paired passages? Learn more about how to approach passages on ACT Readingwith our in-depth guide. Wondering what will the ACT Reading passages be about? Read my article on the four types of ACT Reading passagesto learn everything you need to know. Dig into your ACT prep by studying each skill the Reading section tests, starting with vocab-in-context questions. 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. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. 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:

Communication situation i been to Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication situation i been to - Essay Example One thing that differentiated Dr. Smith from other teachers was that he was very difficult to talk to. In the start, I thought it was the huge difference of our ages that made it difficult for me to develop a comfort level with him. But later, I realized he was determined not to be satisfied, though with a positive intention, so that I would work even harder to get him satisfied. â€Å"Yes Jonathan, show me what have you done,† he started the investigation. I handed over the questionnaire to him. After having a bird’s eye-view on the paper, he pursed his lips and gave me a stern look. Without sufficiently understanding the statements, he asked me why I had included certain questions in the questionnaire. Before I would answer him, he questioned about the link of another question in the questionnaire to the thesis. I realized I would have to make my point in order to let him understand why the questions were there. Although it was too difficult to interrupt him in the mi ddle of his endless taunt, I mustered up all my courage and said to him, â€Å"Sir, sorry to interrupt you, but here I want to clarify the validity of these questions.† He stopped, â€Å"Ok, what do you want to say?† While saying this to him, I looked him straight in the eyes, though with due respect. In all of my meetings with him, I was tentative to confront him or constantly look him straight in the eyes while talking to him. But this time, I did do it because I had recently learnt that eyes play a fundamental role in making the communication meaningful. Once we make eye contact with the other person while talking to him/her, we convey the feeling that we are mean what we say. This casts a good impression on the other person and he/she takes our point seriously. Eye contact is indeed, the most important of all facial expressions because it conveys an individual’s sincerity and credibility to the other (E. C. G., 2003). Making a constant eye-contact

American Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

American Imperialism - Essay Example Therefore the main reason for adopting an imperialistic policy was to dominate over economic resources which have always been control by the advanced capitalist countries over the liquid and real economic resources of economically backward areas. Since the easiest way to colonize was to take over main liquid resources as foreign exchange and public and private savings, and real resources consist of agricultural, mineral, transportation, communication, manufacturing, and commercial facilities and other assets, therefore Nationalist economic policy worked. Restricted free trade was monopolized and inhibited the growth of income and economic well-being, but these barriers were lowered by the breakup of the European empires. Such an imperialist policy was rationalized as the trademark of this doctrine was based on the notion that exploitive economic relations between the advanced and backward capitalist countries would not be able survive in a world of politically independent countries (Fann & Hodges, 1971: 24). The countries that were affected by the foreign policy of America were Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau and Puerto Rico. However across the globe American imperialism in the first half of the nineteenth century presided over Ottoman, Persian and Russian empires thereby expanding its empire towards the northward, westward, and southward while establishing its authority over all parts of its territory (Iriye, 2005). As an imperial state, the nineteenth century for America brought persuasion, coercion, and outright conquest and often insured that tariffs and other taxes were turned over to foreign bondholders. Therefore in the presence of military rule, foreign lending was frequently a precarious undertaking which Latin American countries, witnessed by experiencing an uneven history of bond payments. The deployment of the U.S Imperialist policies, particularly in

Thesis Statements Essay Example for Free

Thesis Statements Essay There are two aspects that must be present in any thesis statement that is worthy of being written: 1. Textual Evidence 2. Specific Argument Your thesis should include both textual evidence (some description of the text and what you think is important or interesting in it) and a specific argument (the argumentative context in which you are making some claim about what you have seen). The argument should always answer the question â€Å"So what?† regarding the textual evidence. Do not just offer some facts about the text, or statements that cannot be debated. For example, â€Å"Elie Wiesel from Night struggles to survive† is self-evident and does not warrant an argumentative essay. No critical reader would bother to read such an essay since its central claim provokes no argumentative thought, which equates to little to no interest. If you do merely state a fact about the text, I will ask you â€Å"So what?† or, â€Å"What is important ABOUT the fact?† For instance: if your thesis statement is something along the lines of: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet depicts opposing characters like Benvolio and Tybalt. I will point out that this is merely a factual plot reference, not a claim about the text; basically, no one who has read the story could reasonably conclude otherwise. You’re just telling me that Benvolio and Tybalt are contrasting characters, not what is important or interesting ABOUT the fact that they are opposing. (So what?) But do not abandon this sort of sentence; after all, you have to begin by noticing something. Just make it the first part of your thesis: The opposition of Benvolio and Tybalt in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. . . becomes the subordinate clause (the textual evidence) in your thesis statement.

Plagiarism and the Internet :: Cheating Education Essays

Plagiarism and the Internet The web influences peopleà °s lives relating to plagiarism and the law. In this paper I will discuss why plagiarism is increasing with time. Technology is becoming more prominent each day. Now, personal computers are seemingly a necessity in college dormitories. They are even being used routinely for nightly homework assignments for high school and even elementary school students. Moreover, the web is not only being used for research assignments, but also for game-playing, meeting new people, and quicker, easier communication. This increase in Internet usage is recognizable on a personal basis alone. As a high school freshman, the computer was not used nearly as much as it was as a high school senior. High school assignments were computer based, but in only four years, it seemed as if subject curriculums were being modified to incorporate more computer-based projects and activities to parallel the computerà °s increasing use in society. Although computer use is increasing in society, ethics are decreasing. As students are directed to use the web on a routine basis to complete assignments, many worth a substantial part of the courseà °s grade, it is nearly impossible to avoid a pop-up advertisement or a website that diverts the student from valuable information to lengthy papers covering nearly every conceivable topic. Even the most gifted students are tempted at times since society is moving at a fast pace, and people are attempting to complete as many tasks in the least amount of time possible. This pressure to complete numerous tasks in short periods of time promotes a cheating environment. People, students more specifically, want to do things as easily as possible. In addition, many students are not caught cheating, so they will make a habit of cheating time and time again. Even those that are caught cheating are not always reprimanded in the proper way. In fact, some students caught cheating are not even disciplined at all, as teachers are afraid to confront a student or deal with administrative issues. This is a fine example of how school systems are less ethical than in years prior. On a broader forum, society is becoming less and less ethical, not just school systems. There are an increasing number of television shows where experts will argue the ethics of a situation, simply because the law can be used to support either side. For example, there has been a great deal of commotion dealing with downloading music.

Why Did Americans Pass the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act?

During the late 1800s, The Gilden Age was in full effect. After the Decade of Crisis, when thousands of settlers came to the West in search of gold, reconstruction began. While many of these temporary settlers left when the Gold Rush was over, some stayed like the Chinese.They worked on the Transcontinental Railroad, more commonly as replacements for fellow Irishmen, Germans, Englishmen, or Italians who were unreliable for miscellaneous reasons. Tensions rose between the two groups once the railroad was finished in 1869. By 1878, courts ruled that any Chinese man couldn't be naturalized.Americans then passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which denied all Chinese the right to American citizenship, even those born in the United States. Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act because they resented the competition for work, they had stereotypical hatred toward the Chinese, and they felt exclusion was the Chinese's only protection.Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act because they resented the competition for work. When approximately 25,000 Chinese had immigrated to America, about 15,000 of them were employed by the Central Pacific Railroad.After the railroad was finished, many Chinese continued to find work elsewhere within the West. â€Å"Today, every avenue of labor, of every sort, is crowded with Chinese slave labor worse than it was eight years ago. The boot, shoe, and cigar industries are almost entirely in their hands†¦They monopolize nearly all the farming done to supply the market with all sorts of vegetables† (Doc C). After the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, slavery was no longer an issue in all U. S. territories, although Americans saw Chinese labor equivalent to the same threatening competition of slavery from the early 1800s.The Chinese argued that their work was fair, hard, and respectable work that had no resemblance to slavery, and demanded a high market price. â€Å"No one would hire an Irishman, German, Englishman, or Ita lian when he could get a Chinese, because our countrymen are so much more honest, industrious, steady, sober, and painstaking† (Doc D).Americans denied Chinese citizenship and lives in the United States is mere fear of their virtues which were mistaken as vices. Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act because they had stereotypical hatred toward Chinese.Many Americans saw the Chinese as pseudo-men, they were short and small with ponytails. The Chinese were also underestimated and seen as uneducated. Document A: Anti-Chinese Play, 1879, The Chinese Must Go, states that a Chinese man thinks white men are foolish for having families and less money for themselves. This document fails to mention that Chinese women were banned from immigrating to the U. S. in 1870, then courts preventing Chinese workers to have families in the America once interracial marriage was banned later on in 1879.Document A also says that a Chinese man reminds Frank B. of his mother's debt of six dollars to himself. In reality, no uneducated man would so boldly denounce their employer for pay, let alone know how much from what month. Not only were the Chinese killed and discriminated against in anti-Chinese violence through your the late 1800s, but America's courts made it nearly impossible for them to pursue happiness. The Chinese Exclusion Act only made this hatred more apparent. Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act because they felt that exclusion was the only protection for the Chinese.Within one year of the act being passed the Chinese immigration dropped from 40,000 to 23,000. This difference smoothed out a lot of heat between Americans and Chinese because there were less Chinese â€Å"flocking into our States† (Doc C).Even the Chinese felt the resentment once they were denied any sort of naturalized or natural born citizenship. â€Å"More than half the Chinese in this country would become citizens if allowed to do so, and would be patriotic Americans. But how ca n they make this country their home as matters now are! †¦Under the circumstances, how can I call this my home, and how can any one blame me if I take my money and go back to my village in China? † (Doc D). The Chinese felt more comfortable and protected going back to their homes across the pond than what homes they made in the United States through hard work and opportunity.Document B illustrates Columbia, America's feminine symbol, standing between a group of aggressive Irish and German thugs and a lonely Chinese man who seems to have done nothing to provoke them, other than being Chinese.Artist, Thomas Nast portrays that not only is America trying to stop the anti-Chinese violence, but that the only way the Chinese can protected and safe is separated from the people of America. The Chinese were victims of the later 19th century, who were persecuted for their virtues, not their vices.Americans banned any sort of legal citizenship and immigration to appease the jealous s ociety of the West. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed because the ignorant and judgmental Americans hated to see someone else do what they did with better ethics and spirits, therefore their aggressive acts resulted in racial exclusion.