Confederacy of dunces essays

Confederacy of dunces essays John Kennedy Toole was only 32 when he took his life in 1969. Tooles story A Confederacy of Dunces was not published during his lifetime. When it was finally published 11 long years after his death, it immediately won the Pulitzer prize. Through out the entire novel there is any underlying sense of pathos that which suggests that A Confederacy of Dunces may be some sort of personal depiction of Tooles life. The epigraph by Jonathan Swift on the first page of the book reads, When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. Now given that this quote was not written specifically for this novel, there is not a more effective way to sum up the life of the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly. Never before has a person been more convinced of his own genius, and the idiocy of those surrounding him. Yet, at the same time, he is the most unsuitable candidate for such a flattering title. Ignatius is an obese, unemployed, self-centered, and socially challenged man that wears a green hunting cap, wool coat, and scarf all year long, despite the fact that he resides in balmy New Orleans. He lives with his widowed mother in a dingy, working-class neighborhood. Because his diet strictly consists of pastries and Dr. Nut, a local Louisiana cola, he is always complaining of gastric difficulties, and relieving them with various eruptions. And when under any sort of pressure Ignatius is likely to suffer from a shutting of the pyloric valve, this gastric malady is more than likely a figment of his imagination. On top of this Ignatius believes himself to be some sort of Christian philosopher that maintains and open disgust with the modern world in which he lives. The events of the novel center around a few weeks in Ignatius life. In the first main scene, Ignatius mother, ...

The Best SAT Vocabulary Practice Tips and Resources

The Best SAT Vocabulary Practice Tips and Resources SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips A solid vocabulary is essential to getting a high SAT score. But what methods can give you the quality SAT vocab practice you'll need to succeed on test day? After all, just reading a lengthy list of vocab words doesn't necessarily mean you'll know how to use them in a sentence or be able to remember what they mean on during the exam. We explain how important vocab is on the SAT and how it’s tested. More importantly, we give you our top four vocab study methods as well as our picks for the five best resources to use for quality SAT vocabulary practice. Read on to learn what these are! How Important Is SAT Vocab Practice? Although it’s important to know some vocabulary, the truth is that vocabulary doesn’t play a very big part on the SAT. So if you’re not a fan of memorizing hundreds of words, this is great news! However, if you’re aiming for a high or even perfect SAT score, you'll definitely need to memorize some of the vocab words most likely to appear on the test. But what exactly does vocabulary look like on the SAT? For starters, all vocab questions (in both the Reading and Writing and Language sections) are based on reading passages, so you’ll always have context to help you figure out the meaning of a word or phrase. On the old (pre-2016) SAT, you had Sentence Completion questions, for which you had to choose the correct vocab word for an isolated sentence. Basically, you hadzero context! Thankfully, these questions are no longer on the SAT. Secondly, all vocab words are about medium difficulty, sodon't expect to see hard words such as pugnacious and obstreperous. Instead, the SAT will test you on more common words, usually ones with multiple meanings. On SAT Reading, vocab questions are calledWords in Context questions; theseask you to match a word with the correct meaning.On the Writing section, vocab questions that ask you to replace (or leave as is) a certain word in a passage are called Precision questions. Here’s an example of a Words in Context SAT Reading question (with the relevant line from the passage): Source: Official SAT Practice Test #1 And here’s an example of an SAT Writing Precision question (again, with the relevant line from the passage): Source: Official SAT Practice Test #2 As you can see, you'll need to be especially adept at using context clues to figure out which word best fits the tone and meaning of the sentence in the passage. That said, remember that vocab doesn’t make up a particularly large part of the SAT.Based on our analysis ofofficial SAT practice tests, we've found that you’ll get aroundseven Words in Context questions (~13%)on Reading, and about three Precision questions(~7%) on Writing. Next up, we look at the four best methods you can use for your SAT vocabulary practice sessions. The 4 Best Methods for Quality SAT Vocab Practice Now that you understand how vocab is tested on the SAT and how important it is, how can you study effectively for it?Here are some of the best methods you can use to get quality SAT vocab practice. Method 1: Use Flashcards and the Waterfall Method By far the best way to study SAT vocab is to make flashcards and use the waterfall method. The waterfall method is a way of going through a deck of flashcards so that you learn all the words in it- even the hardest ones! Here’s how to use this method: start with a deck of about 30-50 cards. This will be your Starting Stack: Go through the entire stack. Put the cards you know in a Know It pile, and the cards you don’t know in a Struggled pile as so: Now, pick up your Struggled pile and go through all the cards in it again. For the words you know, put them in a second Know It pile. For the words you don’t know, put them in a Struggled pile. This will give you two Know It piles and one Struggled pile: Repeat these steps until you have one to five cards left in your Struggled pile: At this point, you’ll have gone through your entire deck and should have multiple Know It piles and one Struggled pile. It's now time to work back up your "waterfall" of flashcards. To do this, combine your Struggled pile with your most recent Know It pile (i.e., the one closest to your Struggled pile). This will be your Working pile: Go through all the words in your Working pile until you've memorized all the meanings in it. If you forget any, go through the entire deck again.This might sound annoying, but it's a crucial step that'll ultimately help you memorize all the words and their meanings. Repeat this process bycombining the pile in your hands with the next Know It pile and then going through it in full until you’ve gotten down all the words' meanings in it. By the time you finish, you should be back at your Starting Stack.You now know all the words in your deck! If you have more vocab words you’d like to study, repeat this entire process (again, using decks of about 30-50 cards) until you’ve memorized all the SAT words you want to know. Method 2: Take an Online SAT Vocabulary Practice Test Another great way to get in some SAT vocab practice is to take online vocab tests or quizzes. Quizzes are great for putting your SAT vocab knowledge to the test.You can find (or make) an SAT vocabulary practice test through free websites such as QuizletandCram. On Quizlet, you can study with flashcards and then use the Test function to take a randomized quiz that includes only the words in your deck. Feel free to skip the question formats that aren’t relevant to the SAT. For example, you won't need to write in vocab words on the SAT, so don't bother doing the write-in questions. Cram is similar to Quizlet: with this site, you can study SAT words using digital flashcards and then take an SAT vocabulary practice test using the Test function. Again, some question types aren't particularly helpful, so try to focus on the questions that are most similar to those on the SAT, particularly the multiple-choice ones. A word of caution, though: if you’re studying with a pre-made flashcard deck, be sure to choose one that contains relevant SAT vocab.The difficulty and type of vocab have changed a lot since 2016.Therefore, the easiest way to ensure you're studying appropriate words is to look for decks created in 2016 or later. You should also check that the definitions and parts of speech are correct so that you’re actually learning the right information! Method 3: Read in Context Since the SAT is all about context, it’s a good idea to study SAT vocab by simply reading more in general.This method can help you make more accurate educated guesses on the SAT, and also teaches you to more quickly identify the tone and purpose of a passage. Here's how to use it: Find a paragraph or passage to read (see the next section for tips on what resources you can use). Begin reading it. Whenever you come across a word you don’t know in the text,try to use the context of the sentence it's in to guess its meaning. Look up the definition of the word (it also helps to see what its synonyms are since the SAT loves to ask for these). If you didn't know the correct meaning, write down the word and its actual definition on your vocab list or in your flashcard deck so you can study it later. If you'd prefer a more convenient way to read in context, try using the free browser application ProfessorWord. This application identifies potential SAT/ACT vocab words in online articles and provides definitions for them, too. Here’s an example of the application in action (using an article taken from The Atlantic): Method 4: Take Official SAT Practice Tests The final way you can get SAT vocabulary practice is to takeofficial SAT practice tests. This method is a great one to try after you’ve used most or all of the ones above and want to test out your vocab skills in the context of a full-length SAT. Moreover, you’ll get to see how questions are worded, what kinds of words you should know, and how much time it takes you to answer them.There are currentlyeight full-length tests available. I suggest taking one official practice test before you begin any SAT vocab practice.This way you’ll be able to get a feel for what questions and vocab words are most challenging for you. When taking a practice test, make sure to emulate real testing conditions as closely as possible: take the test in a quiet room and abide byofficial SAT time limits.Once done, check your answers and calculate your score. Take care to look closely at the vocab questions you answered on both the Reading and Writing sections. Here's how to proceed depending on how many vocab questions you answered correctly in your first practice test: If you got most vocab questions right, congratulations! You’re doing pretty well with your SAT vocab practice. Continue reviewing any difficult words using, ideally, a combination of the resources above (such as flashcards, websites, etc.). If you got most vocab questions wrong, take this as an opportunity to figure out what tripped you up. Were there too many vocab words you didn’t know? Did you run out of time? Look for patterns in your mistakes. Once you’ve determined your specific weakness, use SATReading and Writing practice questions, as well asofficial and unofficial full-length SAT practice tests, to track your progress. Top 5 Free Resources for SAT Vocab Practice So far we've given you our four best methods for studying SAT vocabulary. In this section, we give you the five best free resources you can use for top-notch SAT vocabulary practice. #1: The College Board We've already talked about the importance of using full-length SAT practice tests, but this isn't everything. Through the College Board website, you can access tons of official SAT practice questions, some of which center on vocab.In total, you'll get24 SAT Reading and 22 Writing questions, complete with in-depth answer explanations. Though most of these questions aren’t vocab questions, you can still use them to practice reading in context and to get a better feel for the types of words you’ll be expected to know on these two sections. #2: Khan Academy A partner of the College Board, Khan Academyis a free website offering tons of official SAT practice questions, which you can use to get even more quality SAT vocab practice. With this website, you can not only practice vocab in the context of realistic SAT questions, but you can also get tips on how to answer Reading and Writing questions and how to read passages effectively. For more advice, check out our articleon how to use Khan Academy in your SAT prep. #3: PrepScholar SAT Vocab List If you’re not a fan of having to look for SAT vocab words on your own, never fear- we make it easy for you! Our extensive SAT vocab list (coming soon) contains more than250 of the most common SAT vocab words.We chose these words based on what we found in official SAT practice tests and other high-quality online SAT vocab lists. The best way to use our vocab list is to make your own (paper or digital) flashcards.While you don’t need to memorize every single word, being familiar with them will definitely give you a leg up on test day. By studying our list, you'll waste less time trying to figure out the meaning of a word and will have a better chance of choosing the correct answer. #4: Anki Not into the idea of making paper flashcards for your SAT vocab practice? Then consider usingAnki as an alternative. Unlike Quizlet and Cram- those free flashcard-making websites we mentioned above- Anki is a free software you can download directly onto your computer. So, no,you don’t need to have an internet connection in order to use it when you study SAT vocab! With this program, you can downloadflashcard decks submitted by other users or make your own. Its special spaced-repetition software (SRS) makes it so that you’ll study difficult cards more often than cards you already know (similar to how the waterfall method works). #5: Newspapers and Publications If you’re studying vocab by reading in context, you'll need to find relevant articles in order to get high-quality SAT vocab practice. Studying for the SAT involves reading articles on a wide variety of topics.According to the College Board, you’ll get the following quantities and types of reading passages on SAT Reading: One passage from a classic or contemporary piece of US or world literature One passage (or pair of passages) based on a US founding document or text in the Great Global Conversation One social science passage Two science passages In addition, here are the types of passages you’ll see on SAT Writing: History Social studies Science It’s crucial toregularly read a variety of articles as you study vocab for the SAT. For example, it won’t help you to read only science articles since these will likely use the same types of terms and won’t teach you anything new after a while. Here are some of the best online (and free) publications to use for your SAT vocabulary practice: US and World Literature: The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, The Los Angeles Review of Books History/Social Science/Social Studies: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, The Economist Science: Psychology Today, Wired, Discover, Popular Science Conclusion: The Best SAT Vocab Practice Although vocab doesn’t play a large role on the SAT, it’s important to know what kinds of words and questions you should expect on the SAT Reading and Writing sections. Most SAT vocab words are about medium difficulty and will have multiple meanings. By far the four best methods to use for your SAT vocab practice are as follows: Make flashcards and use the waterfall method to study all the words in your deck Take online vocab tests and quizzes on free websites such as Quizlet and Cram Read in context using high-quality resources such as online newspapers and literary magazines Take official SAT practice tests In terms of SAT vocab resources, we recommend starting with the College Board and Khan Academy to get as many official SAT vocab practice questions as you can. Other solid options include the following: Our PrepScholar SAT vocab list, which contains more than 250 high-frequency vocab words Anki, a free downloadable software with which you can make and download flashcards Online newspapers and publications that cover a wide range of topics and genres, such asThe New York Times, Psychology Today, and The Paris Review You're now equipped with all the most important info you need to start studying SAT vocab! What’s Next? Not sure which vocabulary words to study for the SAT?Check out our comprehensive list of 250+ SAT vocab words. Our ultimate SAT Reading guideexplainshow to read passages effectively and how to find the correct answer choice for Reading questions. Likewise,our Writing guideoffers expert advice on the most important things you need to know, from grammar rules to passage-reading strategies. Got more questions about the SAT's Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section?Our guide tells you what's tested on the Reading and Writing sections, goes over how each section is scored, and provides you with key tips for doing well on the SAT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also feature thousands of practice questions, 6 official SAT practice tests, and personal feedback on your essays from an expert instructor. Check out our 5-day free trial:

The Investigation of an Ethical Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Investigation of an Ethical Issue - Essay Example Even while acknowledging the validity of a number of the ethical concerns raised, the fact is that not only are they resolvable but the merit scheme is a meritorious strategy. As school populations increase, teacher populations decrease. While the obvious solution to the problems associated with public school teacher shortages is the recruitment and employment of more teachers, Cornett and Gaines (2002) quite rightly maintain that this is a non-solution insofar as public teachers’ wage and benefit packages dissuade potential recruits from joining the public school system. Added to that, both federal and state resources are simply insufficient to meet the demand for across the board pay increases. Needless to say, long working hours and intense levels of on the job-stress versus low pay and unattractive benefits, de-motivates teachers and discourages a significant percentage from investing and dedicating themselves to their work (Cornett and Gaines, 2002). There is, however, a sizeable percentage of public school teachers who do dedicate themselves to their job, put in the extra hours their students by need and, indeed, invest themselves in their te aching. The merit scheme, according to Cornett and Gaines (2002) arose in response to the two points mentioned: low salaries and differentiations in teachers’ performances. Merit pay is designed to compensate the deserving for low salaries while, at the same time, encourage and reward the latter group of educators. Merit pay, when perceived of in the terms outlined in the preceding, does not simply emerge as a solution to the identified problems but as a meritorious concept insofar as it is fundamentally based on rewarding the deserving. As Johnson (2000) maintains, however, merit pay has been critiqued by many as fundamentally flawed and, ultimately, unethical. To this end, Johnson (2000) quotes Olsen (1987, p. 2) as saying that merit

Religion and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Religion and Society - Essay Example This led to the conclusion that Protestantism in Europe helped to shape capitalism thereby having a profound effect on economic systems across Europe. I hold the opinion that religion and economy are closely linked and both have a major contribution in the society. Religion affects how people relate with each other and themselves, thereby having a huge impact on the views, opinions and beliefs of individuals with regard to other activities that they are engaged in within their societies. These opinions, worldviews and beliefs are then transferred in business where people exchange goods and services using recognized media of exchange. Religious values such as love, respect, trust hard work and other doctrines such as salvation, sin and predestination also shape how people view ownership, use and disposal of property (Johnstone, 2007). Religion encourages people to be diligent and take care of the surroundings in a way that pleases the Supreme Being, through hard work. Max Weber, realizing the influence of religion on individuals sought to analyze how such influence affected how individuals perceived the economy and business in general. In his theory, Max Weber attempts to elucidate the emergence of Europe and its uniqueness as a dominant economic force globally. Protestantism forms the core of his theory on the origins of capitalism as a major economic model. Capitalism emerged in the 17th century; concurrently with the Protestant reformation, that was taking place in Europe (Johnstone, 2007). During this time, religion was very important to most people and had a lot of influence in their actions and ways of thinking. According to Weber, capitalism began from religion and not from any technological developments that had started springing in the society at the time. Calvinist religions in Germany in particular were very fundamental in shaping the economic system in Germany and across Europe. Weber believed that the work ethic of

WaterAid International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

WaterAid International - Essay Example In 2012, The Big Dig request gets unimaginable help and raises more than  £2m for our work in country Malawi, bringing clean water and safe sanitation to more than 134,000 individuals. The cash and backing has likewise helped them to impact strategy and practice to guarantee that the imperative part of water, cleanliness and sanitation in diminishing neediness is distinguished universally 1.2 Company Structure WaterAid worldwide is our worldwide legislation structure that organizes the exercises of WaterAid part nations (see note 14 of the Financial Statements for the records of WaterAid universal for the year finished 31 March 2013). In 2012-13, WaterAid was made up of four part nations: the UK, America, Australia and Stheyden (Watercan, an autonomously legislated NGO in Canada, joined in July 2013). WaterAid UK, America, Australia and Stheyden are all autonomously constituted associations with their Boards and Chief Executives. A year ago, WaterAid UK kept on putting resources into WaterAid worldwide to backing the development of Stheyden and our start-up in Japan where an agent was named throughout the year. They likewise put resources into the running expenses of WaterAid universal, and in supporting WaterAid America and WaterAid Australia as they expand their commitments to the accomplishment of the Global Strategy.

How to Calculate the Broadcast Address Assignment - 1

How to Calculate the Broadcast Address - Assignment Example Now you have to right click on the adapter and go to properties option. The Networking tab would be opened, not please select Internet Protocol version 4, press properties button. Please enter the IP address in the respective textbox 12.2.201.2, due to class ‘A’ network, the subnet mask would automatically be filled as 255.0.0.0. Â  The given IP address 211.106.32.0 falls into the class C range and the subnet mask of the Class C range is 255.255.255.0. We need to subclass the subnet mask 255.255.255.224, its equivalent bitmask in binary is 11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000 (FF.FF.FF.E0). The next network address can be calculated as the first three parts 11111111.11111111.11111111 does not change; therefore the network address would be 211.106.32.32. Moreover, the broadcast address would be 211.106.32.63 (Answer), as the last IP in the subnet is ‘00111111’ equivalent to 63. It is calculated as the broadcast address = IP address | (! Subnet). In other words, you need the IP address or (operator) the inverted subnet (Pean, 2002). Â  The given IP address 131.34.0.0 belongs to class B (range of class B is 128.1.0.1 to 191.255.255.254 total 65,000 hosts on each of 16,000 networks). Keeping in view the given IP address, the range of the given host IPs is from 131.34.0.1 to 131.34.15.254, this becomes total 4096 IP addresses that also include network and broadcast addresses. The three ranges can include from 131.34.16.0 to 131.34.31.255, the second range can be from 131.34.32.0 to 131.34.47.255, the third and the final range can be from 131.34.240.0 to 131.34.255.255. Â  The bitmask of the given subnet mask 255.255.255.192 is FF.FF.FF.C0 (192 = C0, where C=1100, and 0=0000) and the IP address 152.19.0.0 belongs to Class B.

Message in the music paper This Train Don't Stop by Elton John Essay

Message in the music paper This Train Don't Stop by Elton John - Essay Example He therefore in a way connotes that he has evolved into a new world where he shall provide his fans with a complete different taste. He asserts that he has â€Å"put one over† on his listeners as a presumption that he has finally realized the inadequacy of the music he was giving them previously. Elton has encoded the message in the song in a symbolic manner as in poetry so that the receivers can keenly decode the whole information to deduce the meaning. The channel of communication in this case relates to all the devices and avenues through which the fans will get to hear the song including radio, internet and television. The feedback on the other hand refers to the output from the receivers as a consequence of absorbing the message in the song. Elton is very keen in keeping track of all the ethical standards expected of him as a songwriter and this is reflected in his careful selection of the words he uses. In a way, Elton appears to be learning how to cope with the str esses and challenges of living with drugs in a life of public fame and limelight. The concept of the train is an interesting analogy that gives the song its melancholy and sad tone as a show of frustration the writer seems to put across. The train won’t stop aspect of the song is a sad reality that Elton could no longer control his addiction to drugs and had abandoned his earlier joys of life in pursuit of satisfying the urge of drugs. It pains for Elton to realize that he was a special being in the past yet he does not hold presently own his earlier self. On deeper scrutiny, much of the lyrics seem to depict the image of a person reflecting upon their life, challenges and all the issues they have encountered in the course on their live. These realities are contrasted to the present