Pre-lecture response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pre-lecture response - Essay Example In effect, the Southerners favored retrogressive practices and opposed governmental policies such as taxation whenever they perceived them as an attack on their agrarian practices. The Southern states stood their ground in opposing State Rights that gave the federal government the authority to regulate slavery. Specifically, the reason for this was that slaves were the primary source of labor in the cotton fields. According to the Southern representatives, there was no solution to the slavery business. Notably, the Southerners through William Cobb, Georgia Congressman asserted that by abolishing slavery â€Å"you have kindled a fire which all the waters of the ocean cannot put out, which seas of blood can only extinguish† (151). Specifically, the reason for this was that slavery was an essential institution and economic engine for the economy of the US and other countries like Britain that depended on the Southern-grown cotton for their industries. On the other hand, the north was more political matures and expressed a high level of modernization in the way the representatives addressed political and social differences. In particular, slavery was a major factor in the division between the regions as the Northern section supported the abolishment of the practice and the freedom to the slaves. In practice, several Northern Tycoons demonstrated their willingness to support the end of slavery. In particular, the admission of Missouri raised great concern due to its slavery policies. Specifically, New York Congressman James Tallmadge suggested amendment of the constitution â€Å"that all children born within the said state (Missouri) after the admission thereof into the Union shall be free at the age of 25 years†

A General Biography Essay Example for Free

A General Biography Essay Colin Jones presents a moderate and historical description of the development of the city of Paris. According to Jones, although Paris was the center of European culture, it was also the center of political intrigues, rebellion, and revolution. From 1715, Paris became the witness of the sad pages in the books of Western history. Revolutions, religious wars, and political chaos descended the city – a result of factionalism. Indeed, according to the author, the beautiful city of Paris shrouded the problems which were common to the French state. From 1715 The reign of Louis XIV brought France to a period of relative peace and prosperity. The ‘Sun King’ built palaces throughout the country to commemorate his glorious reign. Near Paris, for example, he ordered the building of the Versailles Palace. The city, however, was relentless. Riots periodically broke out, as the supply of food in the city gradually diminished. In 1750, the city was again torn by civil dissent. This time, it was the issue of continued colonial wars. Many of the Parisians regarded the colonial wars as addition burden on the part of the common people. However, when viewed from the lens of a historian, it was clear that the dissent was caused by periodic famine in the city. After the death of Louis XIV, the stage was set for a revolution. The reign of Louis XVI seemed to be calm and on the road to progress. Many of the Parisians, as most of the French people, liked the new monarch. He was spiritually subtle and politically mild. The extravagance of his court, however, caught the imagination of the people of Paris. France was suffering from bankruptcy; Paris was descending into another great famine. The French monarchy did nothing to alleviate these sufferings. In fact, when Marie Antoinette asked, â€Å"what is happening to the city? † her maid said, â€Å"the people do not have enough bread. † The queen replied, â€Å"Then, they should eat cakes. † Paris was ripe for a revolution. On July 14, 1789, the prison of Bastille was attacked by a large Parisian mob. The king was forced to call the Estate-General to resolve the economic and political issues. The Third Estate broke from the council and declared the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Over the years, Paris became a battleground of political ideologies. A republic was established. The king, together with prominent royalists, was executed. Over the course of five years, Paris saw the rise of Napoleon to the throne of France. Paris became the capital of the First French Empire under Napoleon. With the demise of Napoleon in the early 1800s, Paris was the scene of political turmoil. The monarchy was reestablished. By 1830, Parisians revolted against the monarchy during the July Revolution. The February Revolution of 1848 ended the monarchy of Louis-Philippe. The Second Republic was established. The Industrial Revolution and the Second French Empire brought Paris the greatest development in its history. From 1840, rail transport allowed the flow of migrants into Paris. Most of these migrant were attracted by employment in factories. Under Napoleon II, the city underwent massive renovations. Streets were widened and the neo-classical facades of Paris were improved. During the Second and Third Republics, Paris was again renovated. Modern buildings were constructed. During the First World War, the city known today was in place. It was spared from the trenches of the Western Front because the German Army failed to reach its suburbs in 1914. During the Second World War, the city was again spared. It was neither the center of German industry nor the primary target of Allied bombers. After the war, the city was renovated. It became the center of arts and culture in the European continent. Reference Colin Jones. 2004. Paris: The Biography of a City. New York: Penguin Viking.

Importance Of Critical Thinking In Higher Institutions Education Essay

Importance Of Critical Thinking In Higher Institutions Education Essay The term critical thinking began in the mid 20th century. It is an idea that has continuously developed for the past 2500 years. Critical thinking is a type of reflective thinking that helps someone in deciding what to do and how do it without any misconception. Developing the ability to read and understand critically is a very important aspect of education in university study.Critical thinking is a very important aspect in most professions. This essay is designed to help boost your knowledge on the ability to read, understand and evaluate texts critically. It will also help to develop and examine your thinking possibly to the fullest extent. B.K Beyer has defined who a critical thinker is. His own definition of critical thinkers is that, critical thinkers are skeptical, open-minded, respect evidence and reasoning, respect clarity and precision, look at different points of view and will change positions when reason leads them to do so(Beyer 12). Researches conducted so far, one can define critical thinking as the process of gathering, interpreting, evaluating and analyzing gathered information, skillfully and actively . It can also be seen as an aspect of someones life that helps him to go beyond just thinking so as to improve and clarify and improve it. Critical thinking helps someone to think clearly and rationally. It is also the ability of thinking clearly, independently and reflectively. It is lugubrious that most people misunderstand critical thinking and normal thinking. There is a great difference between critical and normal thinking. Below are some of the qualities of a good critical thinker. People with good critical thinking skills should be able to: Think actively and open mindedly Explores situations with questions Think Independently Raise important questions and formulate them clearly Views situations from different aspects of life Identify the relevance and advantages of ideas Supporting his views with evidence Critical thinking is not all about accumulating ideas. Not all people with good memory, who also have lot of facts are very good in critical thinking. A critical thinker should be able to make good use of what he/she knows to solve various problems, and seek various sources of information in order to inform himself. Critical thinking should not be compared or mistaken to being argumentative or being able to criticize other people. Though critical thinking skills can be used to expose false information and rumors, it can also play a very important role in cooperative and constructive tasks. Critical thinking helps people to acquire knowledge and strengthen ones arguments. Critical thinking skills can be used to improve social institutions and enhance work processes. In academics, critical thinking allows people to understand and apply things instead of just remembering and maybe later forgetting them. Being a good student requires thinking critically about what is going on in your school and other institutions. It can be argued that being a good human requires you to learn actively and make choices rationally. Critical thinking in education also helps people to analyze interpret, observe and explain concepts. Critical thinking also has deep effect to all the learning processes. In our lives, critical thinking is advantageous because it helps us to overcome any form of deception. Every successful university student is expected to be a very good critical thinker. Critical thinker can be seen as someone who has the ability and capacity to think at a higher level. Students are expected to think critically in such a way that their ideas would provide better life for themselves and the people around them. Lots of people take thinking for granted but it is very important. However, people tend to develop their thinking when they find out their weakness and strengths. When people think actively in schools, they are not just required to wait for something to happen. It can be said that people are engaging themselves in process of achieving your goal making their decision wisely and solving or finding possible solutions to their problems. Critical thinking also comes in when someone is talking about school environment. The school environment is different in terms of physical facilities, opportunities for pursuing academically enriched programs and classroom atmosphere. Students are required to know how to use their critical thinking skills to adapt to their environmental changes. Critical thinking also comes in because young people who really want to succeed are impeded not only by lack of talent or Clichà ©s, but by an academic environment that makes academic success vitally impossible. Students can also use their skills of critical thinking in examining their results. Examining ones result is a very important aspect in assessing students plans or ideas. This helps to tell people how particular method of learning has been so far. It also helps to tell if there is need for improving ones learning method, or to introduce a new one. Critical thinking also applies when someone is in search of competent school mate or class mate. People often find it difficult to search for a reasonable course mate while some others find it difficult in taking care of some academic challenges. This can be improved by attacking the complex course of studying and sharing of ideas between one another and charting each other understands to bring out best results. When people read textbooks and some other vital materials like legal method, government, history and so on, they are expected to use their skill in critical thinking to consider some notable events and dates as some of these courses like history as mentioned above deals with date and making precise description of the events that is being taught. In some academic writings specifically English, students are expected to get used to spellings correctly as English language is often seen as the universal language used nationwide for communicating and writings. Students in the university also use critical thinking when writing of notes and learning actively. People who take and make good note for themselves often success in universities. Some strategies a good college student can use when writing is jotting down main points when a lecturer or a tutor is presenting lectures. These main points mainly serve as a support when someone is trying to read what he must have learnt during the lectures. College students are also required to use their skills in critical thinking when writing assignments. Most students often plagiarise their assignments from friends, internet or sometimes books which is not advisable. Students often see plagiarism as a minor offence which is not true. Other people refer to plagiarism to as an academic fraud which am sure is true. Plagiarism is really not acceptable for someone to successfully pass and make good grades in the university. In absence of critical thinking, most university students will not be able to do anything reasonable in their academic environment. Thinking is very crucial to learning. Thinking requires entire personality in peoples learning process. As Kabilan rightly observes, To become proficient in a language learners need to use creative and critical thinking through the target language. Teaching students how to think rather than what to think is a way of assessing their ways of thinking, researching and learning independently. Critical thinking can therefore help in motivating students to learn and application of their knowledge. Most lecturers or tutors see students as empty vessels that needs refilling. They mostly focus on drilling students to memorise notes and make answers readily available. At times, they tend to ignore students personality. As a result of this, students critical thinking skill is never fully developed. Most students come into class silent minded and do not participate in the interactive academic sections. This teaching approach is highly criticised by a writer named Paulo Friere who sees it as the banking approach. Paulo rather suggested a dialogical approach method of teaching because he thinks that would be the best. From the essay above, critical thinking can simply be described as a desirable skill in ALL aspects of university work because it is the only skill that will allow someones knowledge and skill to develop and evolve. Its necessary for ones: Reading, Note making, Assignment writing, Presentations, And lastly, for students whose studies involve a practical component.

Glorifying the Tudor Dynasty: Shakespeares Richard III and the Perfect

Arts in England flourished and prospered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Furthermore, â€Å"The Golden Age† was characterized by the Queen’s patronizing of theatre, which lead it to gain popularity among England. The sixteenth and early seventeenth century witnessed a period of English nationalism, evidently shown through diffused texts in the English language, rather than in Latin. Additionally, the Queen supported playwrights such as William Shakespeare, which lead to depictions of Elizabethan society in his plays. Consequently, influences from London and the royal family influenced plays such as Richard III. Specifically, the play affected the glorification of the Tudors, leading to the villanization of former king Richard III. This paper discusses and argues the effects of Elizabethan England on the plot, villain, and gender roles- all leading to the glorification of the Tudor dynasty. Firstly, Niccollo Machiavelli’s influences on England during the Elizabethan Era transmit in the plot of the play. Machiavelli, an Italian politician, published Il Principe, which established guidelines on how a prince could get and secure his power. Machiavellian ideas diffused among the political elite of England during Elizabeth’s reign (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). Consequently, Shakespeare adapted these influences to produce the character of King Richard III. The principal influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare’s version of Richard is the Machiavellian concept of â€Å"the ends justify the means† (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). When Richard outlines his plans that will lead him to the throne of the kingdom, Shakespeare shows the influence of this concept because he shows willingness to do anything in ord... ... plot, the characters, and the overall conflicts. Culturally London is present in the events and characters of the play, since Shakespeare manages to take influences from historians and his patron to target a historical figure. Finally, while embedding historical events in his plot, Shakespeare manages to legitimize the rule of the reining dynasty. Works Cited Mclean, Ralph. â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli On Shakespeare.† Britain In Print, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Preis, Dorothea. â€Å"Richard III Society of NSW.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HSC History Extension, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Cambridge: U, 1954. Print. Shapiro, Susan. â€Å"Feminism in Elizabethan England.† History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 â€Å"The Richard III Society.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HRH. The Duke of Clougester, n.d Web. 07 Apr. 2014

Moods of Poetry Essay

Poetry is a way of expression a speaker’s feelings and emotions into a literary work. All poems have unique tones and moods which show what the speaker feels when writing the poem, and what the reader feels when reading it. For example, â€Å"The Rhodora† by Ralph Waldo Emerson, â€Å"Sonnet XVII: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?† by William Shakespeare, and â€Å"Song of Myself† by Walt Whitman, all have the similar mood of happiness and vitality. In â€Å"The Rhodora† by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the speaker finds a flower that is unique in beauty compared to the rest of nature. This poem is written loosely in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of aabbcdcdeeffghgh. In line twelve the speaker states â€Å"Then beauty is its own excuse for Being;† meaning that the purpose of the flower is to show beauty, and nothing more. â€Å"The Rhodora† provides the reader with a mood that is happy and uplifting and gives the reader a more respectful view of nature. â€Å"Sonnet XVII: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?† by William Shakespeare, is a sonnet which consists of 14 lines and is in one stanza. In line two the speaker writes â€Å"Thou art more lovely and more temperate†. The speaker is saying that she is more beautiful and gentle than anything he has ever seen. The speaker states that he loves her more than a summers day. The mood of this poem is uplifting and loving, making the reader happier.

The HiSET Test - High School Equivalency Exam

The HiSET Test - High School Equivalency Exam On January 1, 2016, the GED (General Educational Development) test, offered by GED Testing Service, changed big time, and so did the options available to the states in the U.S., each of which sets its own requirements. States now have three testing choices: GED Testing Service (partner in the past) HiSET Program, developed by ETS (Educational Testing Service) Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC, developed by McGraw Hill) This article is about the new HiSET test offered in: HawaiiIowaLouisianaMaineMissouriMontanaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyTennesseeWyoming If your state isnt listed here, it offers one of the other high school equivalency tests. Find out which one in our list of states: GED/High School Equivalency Programs in the United States Whats on the HiSET Test? The HiSET test has five parts, and is taken on a computer: Language Arts - Reading (65 minutes)40 multiple-choice questions that require you to read and interpret literary texts from various genres, including memoirs, essays, biographies, editorials, and poetry. Language Arts - Writing (Part 1 is 75 minutes; Part 2 is 45 minutes)Part 1 has 50 multiple-choice questions that test your ability to edit letters, essays, newspaper articles, and other texts for organization, sentence structure, usage, and mechanics.Part 2 involves writing one essay. You will be graded on development, organization, and language. Mathematics (90 minutes)50 multiple-choice questions that test your reasoning skills and understanding of numerical operations, measurement, estimation, data interpretation, and logical thinking. You may use a calculator. Science (80 minutes)50 multiple-choice questions that require you to apply your knowledge of physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, health, and astronomy. Interpretation of graphs, tables, and charts is involved. Social Stud ies (70 minutes)50 multiple-choice questions regarding history, political science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, and economics. You will be required to distinguish fact from opinion, analyze methods, and judge the reliability of sources. The cost of the test, as of January 1, 2014, is $50 with individual parts costing $15 each. The $50 price includes free test prep and two free retests within 12 months. Fees may be slightly different in each state. Test Prep The HiSET website provides a free tutorial video, study companion in the form of a PDF, sample questions, and practice tests. You can purchase additional prep materials on the website. The HiSET site also offers some helpful tips and strategies for passing the test, including how to know if youre ready, how to organize your time, how to answer the multiple-choice questions, and how to approach the essay question on the writing part of the language arts test. The Other Two Tests For information about the other two high school equivalency tests, see: The GED TestThe Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) coming soon!