The More You Tell, The More You Sell

The More You Tell, The More You Sell The More You Tell, The More You Sell The More You Tell, The More You Sell By Michael Most writers dont need encouragement to write more words. After all, thats how some of them get paid: by the word! Using the words you need and no more writing concisely is a skill that every writer spends a lifetime learning. Mark Twain once said, â€Å"I didnt have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.† But the main problem of many writers, especially reluctant writers and business owners, is not that they say more than they need, but rather, that they say less than they need. Writers can be too lazy to edit and trim their work, but they can also be too lazy to think enough about their subject to cover it adequately. The direct mail copywriters of old had a saying, The more you tell, the more you sell. It was a bold statement. Other copywriters argued that people dont want to read long copy, would stop reading before they got to the end of the sales letter, the advertiser would lose sales. Thats a valid objection, to which the proper response is, Then ask for the sale before they get to the end! Theres nothing wrong with giving the customer more than one chance to buy. Besides, none of us reads more than we want to, except for students and acquisitions editors. We all read until we lose interest, or we skip ahead, go back, or jump to the end. We keep reading as long as we feel theres something in it for us. And thats where, as a copywriter, you win more when you tell more. The more reasons you give the customers to buy, the more likely they will buy. Once theyre convinced, they will stop reading anyway and start ordering. Or they might go back later and read the rest to reassure themselves they made the right choice. Reassurance is an important purpose of marketing communications too. Start your writing process by listing all the reasons someone should buy your product or service. Get a friend or a customer to tell you if you dont know. Dont be lazy. If a reason is compelling, dont leave it out if you have space. On your website, you have unlimited space to tell your story. List your most attractive benefits and let your readers decide which ones are most attractive to them. True, you dont want your marketing piece to appear too long to read. You have to format your writing so people can read only what they want. In sales literature, you might use bold text and headings so your readers know where to skip to. When writing for the Web, its especially easy add links to other pages. Your benefits dont all need to be on the same page, as long as customers can find them when they need them. Your potential customers will follow the links that interest them, and will ignore the ones that dont. Certainly, start off short and sweet for those who dont want to read much. But dont stop until youve told the whole story to those who insist on hearing it all. Comparison shoppers, such as myself, actually look for longer text. We tend to believe that the product that mentions the most benefits probably has the most benefits. If the copywriter neglected to mention that it has a five-year warranty, how are we supposed to know that it does? Customers buy for many reasons. Some are convinced by one point, others are convinced by another. But if you leave out their favorite point, thats one point that wont help make the sale. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business EmailsWhat is the Difference Between Metaphor and Simile?How Long Should a Synopsis Be?

Celiac Disease - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Celiac Disease - Smart Custom Writing Internal Communication.An undeniable fact one may claim is that we are all involved in every day communication process. Whether it is a chat on the phone with a friend, daily newspaper reading, TV watching, socializing in a family circle or at school, college or at workplace – that is all a continuous information interchange thus being communication. The work for each individual is an indispensible part of life. That is the self-realization and make-a-living field. The organization of proper environment the staff is involved in goes beyond doubt. It results in coherent and collaborative team work and their effective performance. Therefore in any profit-making business sphere or public relations area we anyhow deal with management practice. So, let’s get an insight into the inner nature of a company’s arrangement. Any business structure inevitably encounters some sorts of ‘roughnesses’ that is the problems connected with underestimation and/or lack of motivation and information awareness of some staff members. Such ‘impurities’ may provoke disunity and discord in vision and perception of the company’s main priorities, future perspectives, strategies etc. that constitute its key conception. Not of the least are the issues of personnel’s obscure and misleading comprehension of his or her own role in the whole company’s success-building machine. To tune up this whole mechanism sophisticated managerial tools are applied. Hence, we touch the notion of internal communication (IC). It comprises the company’s functional leverage of monitoring, motivating, encouraging and coordinating the work of employees. It reflects the prowess of elaborate management policy. Thus, we need to clarify and elucidate some aspects concerned with the internal communic ation practice. ‘Internal’ designates the very gist of the process on question. It generally implies not only socializing among each other, but also has a wider sense representing the visible result of the correlated and interconnected efforts of each participant.   The relationships and attitudes among ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ members influence inner performance and matter a lot in shaping the image of a company outside. Here the IC is substantially helpful to reach the goals the governing body pursues. The work with personnel should not just envisage giving orders and expecting their dutiful fulfillment. This approach to dealing with staff is very delusive and lacks essentials – there must be a dialog between ‘boss’ and ‘subordinate’ in all levels of company’s operation. For the both sides to be mutually beneficial and their interests not to clash a special strategy is developed that contains certain aspects to be consid ered.   Ã¢â‚¬ËœTo listen to’ aspect can’t be ignored. It’s essential that Human Resources Management (HRM) take into account employees’ viewpoints, ideas, suggestions, since it gives the staff a feeling of their direct involvement in the process. Collection, procession and distribution of information among employees regarding the state of business and possible current problems is meaningful to create overall awareness and advances respect and loyalty to a company. In this connection we speak about interconnectivity that can be achieved by internal communication means.   Every day in any organization a great deal of issues is discussed and devolved through briefings, conferences, meetings, forums etc. where the staff participants are actually present. Hence they are engaged in face-to-face communication. Another way to represent and deliver information is either by printed regulations, newsletters and brochures or electronically – e.g. e-mail, voice-mail, messaging and corporate net system called intranet. It’s evident that nowadays world everyday witnesses the impetuous technological progress which helps to optimize and maximize people’s work. With the emergence of Internet humans saw the increasing role of electronic communication that was marked by convenience and relative velocity in information exchange. The benefits are obvious. So, firms, organizations, companies and enterprises viewed the perspective of application the analogy of global web being limited to the boundaries of internal company’s structure – intranet. Virtually it is a private network that serves the function of data storage and its distribution among all employees. The access to the system is available only to staff and restricted to non-authorized persons. The intranet constrains the external entry by means of firewall and thus provides safety of net content. Since intranet exploits the same technologies and tools which are applicable in internet for the web and e-mail service and also file transfer, no extra time and efforts are necessary for the staff members to adapt and utilize the corporate net capacity. Another advantage that counts is also the enhanced efficiency that staff show which is obtained by prompt and easy access to the database. Apparently, it proves to be useful when dealing with complex project work that necessitates the interchange of ideas with partners and seeking for the information relevant to the work performed. Therefore it might be facilitating to use links to collect data, then discuss it online with project participants and so share the viewpoints. Such an example among other positive sides of internal web resource demonstrates its time-saving expediency. In addition, the work of line managers is supported and to an extent simplified, since the work net is constantly updated and replenished. Thus, there is no need for an employee to persistently bother a line or senior manager with minor and insignificant issues. This kind of information is always at disposal in the intranet. Alongside with the virtues there come vices. The implementation of this sort of systems appears to be costly. Small businesses are unlikely to design and bring into action sophisticated intranets as compared to big corporations. Programming, design, constant upgrading inevitably requires investment. Unfortunately, another hindrance seems to be quite significant. We can’t but agree that however elaborate and well-programmed the network can be it is still exposed to insecurity (About.com. Wireless/Networking). Computer tampering may be regarded as a contemporary problem number one in electronic communication. Moreover, considering a modern arena of leadership and competition not always sound actions are undertaken. The competitors may resort to tricks in attempts to fish out the information they can get advantage of. On the grounds of the mentioned pros and cons we can arrive at conclusion that in future for the intranet as the internal communication tool to become more secure it’s essential to pay thorough attention to the company’s R D activities in search of more failsafe and reliable information guarding. Concerning the whole internal communication practice we should emphasize the importance of psychological aspect in recruiting personnel and scrutinizing their relevance to the position and the end-result of their work. A special team of professional psychologists and analysts is able to timely reveal and prevent the possible deviation of some individuals from the main policy. That will immensely contribute to foresee the leak of information and hidden intensions of intranet users in case they turn out to be not true members of the team but possible spies. Thereby, to avoid malfunction and make the whole mechanism work in accord the constituents matter a lot.

Economic Injustices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic Injustices - Essay Example t involves exploitation of children as labor, also they are forced to work for longer hours, paid low wage rates, poor working conditions that endanger their health and they are denied their rights to education. (Liz Stuart (2005)) There are two factors that lead to child labor and they include the demand factor and supply factor, the demand factor refers to the demand by employers to employ children, firms will employ children given that the children are paid less wages, they are more obedient given that they are not members of any labor union and that these children can be coerced to work more hours. The supply factor refers to the supply of labor, children may want to work in order to support their families or even earn a living. An Article by Liz Stuart (2005) provides a good example of child labor, the article states that in 1996 it was discovered that some products that were being sold in Mark & Spencer shops were produced using child labor, it was discovered that the shops were importing cloths from a factory in morocco that employed children aged 12 years, when this was made public the girls were dismissed from the factory. (Liz Stuart (2005)) On going efforts to eliminate child labor include product boycotts, consumers refuse to buy products produced using child labor, in the above example of Mark Spencer the company was afraid of the consequences of a boycott and this is why they stopped employing children. Another effort to stop child labor is the implementation of laws by various organizations, example the UN declaration on children rights regarding child labor. (Katharine Johnson (2004)) Sweatshops refers a factory that employs labor for long hours and at the same time offering low wages, it is an economic injustice given that this is a form of exploitation whereby laborers are forced to work for more hours against their will and also are paid low wage rates. The firms earn large profits as a result of this form of exploitation, due to high

AP - Art History eo 7 forum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AP - Art History eo 7 forum - Essay Example The neoclassical work painting by Jacques-Louis David indicates excellent use of colors and the work is contrastingly well polished and distinguishable. On contrary, the romantic paintings by Eugene Delacroix reveals poor use of colors. The brushwork is also not polished thus prompting the eventual derivation of contrastingly undesirable work. The exposure of the death of Socrates by David, Jacques-Louis exhibits well defined and refined piece of work and is likely to allure love by many paint art lovers. The drawings also present the desirable picture and tone desired by the viewer. From fig a, it is observable that varying colors have been applied. As compared to romantic drawing by Delacroix, Eugà ¨ne- Mad Woman, 1822 who has utilized only two or three blends of colors. Delacroix, Eugà ¨ne Mad Woman, 1822 (romantic) drawing is also rugged and does not appreciate appealing drawing. Delacroix Eugà ¨ne- Mad Woman, 1822 is very lose and does not appeal to the eye. Delacroix also failed to not the presence of the background as presented excellently by Jacques on The Death of

The Role of Communication Essay Example for Free

The Role of Communication Essay Effective communication is playing nowadays one of the most important roles in organizations and companies, because it is the only source of mutual understanding among employees and customers, directors and suppliers, etc. Effective communication arouses great interest compared with that of several decades ago. It means that the future success of a person mainly depends on his ability to use language and to communicate effectively not only within organization/company, but also across cultural boundaries. Nevertheless learning how to communicate effective isn’t limited only to one organization, because, for example, learning cross-cultural communication suggests how cultural traditions and patterns are understood and how cultural values may affect the process of communication. Learning effective communication is nowadays necessity, not only an option. Lots of spheres are influenced by communication involving, for example, health care providers, businesses, educational institutions, social service agencies and non-governmental organizations. Modern world recognizes and appreciates the role of language that is played in developing communication beyond cultural boundaries. Studying of effective communication will help to achieve goals within and outside the native country. (Managing Communication) Understanding how to communicate effectively will help to promote creating smoothly working project teams; responding to customers, clients, and markets; living and working in a culturally diverse world. Effective communication skills are really important as well as learning of cultural customs and traditions of the country, because they will assist in better company’s performance either in domestic or international market. In a modern swiftly changing world people and cultures are circulating and interacting as at a really dizzying speed. Those people who know how to use language and how to communicate effectively have a crucial advantage over others. As it was mentioned, â€Å"communication is the greatest luxury given to people†. (Managing Communication) References Managing Communications. (1996, August). Peace Watch, 2, 5, 1-2.

Workers And Laborers Essay -- essays research papers

Workers and Laborers There are two kinds of people in the work force. There are laborers and there are workers. The difference between these two types of people is that a worker enjoys his or her job while a laborer does not. To the laborer, his or her life is almost equivalent to a wage slave. For those laborers, there only escape is leisure time. This is essentially the opposite of their lives, a time where there is freedom and compulsion. To the worker, leisure time consist of enough rest so that they can do their jobs effectively. In the two ways that these two types of people enjoy their free time, how do we know which person spends their time better? I believe that a worker often spends his of her leisure time more productively than a laborer does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A personal experience of this matter consisted of a friend of mine. He used to work at a local restaurant as a bus boy. To me, he was a laborer. He didn’t enjoy his job at all. Whenever he would have a day off, he would be grateful and happy. Although, he would often spend his days complaining about how horrible his job was and the fact that he had to go back to work the next day. He would find himself doing anything that would get his mind off work. Things such as drinking or smoking ended up a major past time of his. He concluded that drinking and smoking was an escape from his horrid job. The more he hated his job, the more he would go out and party in an attemp...

Historical Development of Physical Education Essay

Primitive man moves according to their satisfaction, needs and necessity. They just live by means of hunting such wild animals in the forest, or by fishing along the rivers, streams and sometimes they engage in welfare murder to insure their protection from adverse elements or a hostile environments. Physical activities were not organized by them. Because their motives about this are for searching foods and protects their selves from their enemies, their gregarious nature was innate and drives only by mating and propagation that gives them desire to dance and play which not being organized. In the Ancient Oriental Countries, china concerned only by their intellectual excellence they neglecting physical activities however some are believes about the importance of this to the body and has a spirit. And this was only a riches and favored class this was music, dancing and archery. Like in split feather dance, whole feather dance, battle dance and the humanity dance which popular by them. Medical Gymnastics has developed as early as 2698 BC, people had felt illness because of their sedentary life which them to realize the importance of physical activities. The â€Å"Kung Fu† as an earliest exercise in the history that they contributed like in Ancient China, â€Å"Yoga† has been contributed also by Indian people that composed of exercises the posture and regulates breaths. This exercise has been accepted by people as the important activity to discipline minds and body. There as some Greece Philosopher, teachers and medical men who and contributes worth of Physical Education. According to: Herodotus – recognized the use of physical education as an aid to medicine as early as the fifth century. Galen – stated that physical education is a part of hygiene and subordinate to medicine. Socrates – gave emphasis on the important of physical education attaining health in order to achieve one’s purpose in life grave mistakes caused by poor decisions can be a result of poor health. Plato – considered gymnastics and music as the two most important subjects in the curriculum. Xenophon – thought of physical education as important in terms of the military and essential to success in life soundness of the mind and body. â€Å"The Physical Education during the Dark Ages† This period is the Physical activities are only characterized by the strong healthy and physically morally deteriorated as their way of life. This was the asceticism and scholasticism. Worldly pleasures are not recognized by them because they prepare their lives in the next world. So their body has not physically fit because they focus of what they believe. The scholasticism believes the key to successful life as the development of the mental or intellectual powers. This beliefs has presented a challenge to physical activities are not allowed to be one of the subject in curriculum. â€Å"The Physical Education during the Age of Feudalism† The period of Feudalism come into the being often the death of powerful ruler Charlemagne in 1814, it was a system of land tenure that based upon the allegiance and service of the nobleman or lord which owned everything. The kinds of Physical Education were like a social and military in nature. That strengthens and hardens the body to be rigorous of whatever tasks. Physical activities are played as a major part in the training of knighthood and for self preservation only. â€Å"Physical Education during the Renaissance† The Physical Education has an impact to their bodies and soul that inspirable and endorsable. A good physical health promoted learning and rest and recreation that needed by the body. This believes was necessary for health to develop the body as a preparation for welfare and recognition for the important contribution of physical education to the social and moral life.

Globalization and Early America, 1492-1750

America’s present is significantly shaped by its past. Hence, it is vital for one to grasp the concepts that formed America to what it is now. Globalization in America is one of the key notions that play a vital role in forming today’s society. Though several scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before the European age of discovery and voyages to the New World. However, did early American history play a role in creating today’s globalization? Does globalization in the past play a positive, or negative role in this time period? While some might argue that weakening national autonomy is a negative result of globalization, others might defend that it has also sparked economic innovation. One of the major characters that changed the history of the world was Christopher Columbus. What would be the outcome today if Columbus never discovered the New World? Firstly, colonization would be nonexistent. In addition, without colonization U. S. ould have never created. The creation of the U. S. helped move much of the world towards democracy. It also led to the development of what is now the world's only superpower. A world without the United States is impossible to imagine today. Furthermore, a discovery by another major character, Ferdinand Magellan, also had a tremendous impact on the history of the world. He proved that oceans connected continents rather than dividing them. How did this important discovery influence today’s economy? By having the knowledge that oceans were great global passageways, Magellan had demonstrated that continents could be linked. Europe had the opportunity to establish a great economy and military power over Asian, Africa and the Americas that created great global trade networks. This was the beginning of the creation of globalization, which is very significant for today’s world economy. This also further demonstrates that early American history did play a role in creating today’s globalization.

Leo tolstoy-a great humanist essays

Leo tolstoy-a great humanist essays Leo Tolstoy was a great humanist. Evolution of human character was a subject of his The main personage of the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is ordinary official who conduct his life according to a strict social code, never deviating from what was rule d by society, by his pleasure, by materialistic motives, but never by conscience. His contact with his wife and children was limited and shallow because he didn't find pleasure in this. His life satisfied him when he was healthy, but when he faced with death his loneliness overwhelmed him. After the accident which starts his long dying Ivan Ilyich realized that his life, though he has been successful and has always done the proper things, is all false. He understood that his life was meaningless. As his illness progressed, Ivan Ilyich felt increasingly the need to be loved. Only in front of death he knew what real feeling is. Ivan Ilyich felt real empathy and pity from peasant His moral misery was worse than physical. The result of this was that Ivan Ilyich in dying became the individual that he never was in his typical life. He understood that his notion about his decent and helpfulness was just illusion. He felt as if he were being squeezed down into a black hole and there at the bottom was light. This metaphor serves as image of physical death and spiritual rebirth. His death gave birth to new consciousness. He suddenly perceived that man's essential life belongs to the spirit and well-being is achieved through loving of people. He asked forgiveness of his family for his sins and welcomed death... This moral transformation makes real end of his unreal As a moralist Tolstoy would like to play attention of Russian intelligentsia how badly they live, how they waste their talents, strengths, and capabilities. He called on moral ...

ACT FAQ Expert Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

ACT FAQ Expert Answers to Frequently Asked Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Here at PrepScholar, we get a lot of questions about every aspect of the ACT. To help, we've compiled this ACT FAQ to addressall of your questions about the test– whether you haven’t even cracked open a prep book to study for it yet or if you’ve taken it four times and are wondering which scores to send to colleges. Read on to get the answers to all of your burning ACT-related questions and links to the best articles on our site to help you prepare for the ACT. ACT FAQ Table of Contents Preparing for the ACT Evaluating Your ACT Score The ACT Essay Scholarships and College Sending Scores Preparing for the ACT Should I even be taking the ACT? Don’t colleges really prefer the SAT? Colleges do not have a preference between the SAT and the ACT. They are seen as completely equal options to fulfill the standardized testing requirement. You can choose which test to take based completely on your personal preference. So why does everyone still seem to think that the SAT is seen as more prestigious? Since the SAT has been around for longer, it used to the only standardized test accepted for college applications at many institutions. But since its creation in the late 1950s, the ACT began to be widely accepted as an equally acceptable alternative to the SAT. It was adopted first in Midwestern and Western states, but eventually became common on the East Coast as well. Back in 2007, the last SAT-only holdout, Harvey Mudd, began accepting the ACT. True, if you look at the admissions data from many east-coast schools, the majority of applicants still send the SAT as opposed to the ACT. But that isn’t because those colleges prefer the SAT. It’s because students in East Coast states take the SAT more commonly than the ACT, and the majority of applicants to those schools come from the east coast. So when deciding between the ACT and the SAT, the choice comes down to your ability and your personal preferences. Choose the test that's best for you! Further Reading: What Do Ivy League Schools Think of the ACT, Do You Need to Take Both the SAT and the ACT, New SAT vs ACT: Comparison Charts When should I take the ACT for the first time? PrepScholar recommends you take the ACT for the first time junior fall. This way, you can retake the test if needed junior spring, and then be ready to focus exclusively on college applications your senior fall. This timing is also optimal given where you are in your high school career – you should have learned all the content tested on the ACT by the beginning of junior year, and you won’t be so far away from your first algebra class that you’re hazy on concepts like solving a system of equations. If you try and take the ACT earlier, as a sophomore or freshman, you may struggle with it because you lack certain content knowledge, especially in math. Of course, if you’re reading this as a junior or even a senior, don’t panic. As long as you take the test by senior fall, you’ll be able to apply to colleges. But earlier is better to avoid a last-minute time crunch or taking the last test before apps are due. Even if you have to use an accelerated study timeline, we strongly recommend working to have the ACT over and done with before senior year starts. It will save you lots of stress, we promise! Further Reading: When Should I Take the ACT for the First Time? I took the ACT at school for free, but it didn’t include the essay (also known as the ACT Plus Writing). Do I have to retake the ACT? There are two cases in which you would want to retake the ACT if you have already taken it as part of state testing, but without the optional Writing/Essay section. Case 1: You are applying to schools that require the ACT Plus Writing. Unfortunately, even if you have an ACT score from state testing, you need to take the entire ACT Plus Writing to be able to apply to certain colleges. The plus side to this is that you’ve already had a (free!) practice run at the ACT, so if you study before your first official ACT Plus Writing, you’ll be very well-prepared for the test and will likely beat your first score. Case 2: You didn’t score as high as you wanted on the ACT and/or you’re applying to schools with higher ACT score averages than you earned. The ACT is an important part of your college application, so you want to give yourself the best shot possible at your dream schools by earning a high enough score. (You can read more about finding your target ACT score below!) If you’re not applying to any schools that require ACT Plus Writing and your score is high enough for all of the schools you want to apply to, you do not have to retake the ACT. Lucky you! Further Reading: Should You Take the ACT With or Without Writing?, Which States Require the ACT? Full List and Advice, Which Colleges Require ACT Writing? 633 schools How long should I study for the ACT? There is no "one size fits all" answer to how long you should study for the ACT. How much time you spend on ACT prep varies based on the score you want and how much time you have to study. To get started, these are PrepScholar's estimates for how long you should study for the ACT, based on how many points you need to improve by. Of course, these are just estimates, and will vary based on your personal strengths and weaknesses. Don't stop studying until you're sure you can achieve your target score on the real test! 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ You can calculate your weekly ACT prep time by following these three steps: Find your starting score (which you can learn by taking a practice test) Find your score goal (see "How do I come up with a target ACT score" below) Decide much time you can spend on ACT studying each week Let’s take an example. Say Student A’s ACT score goal is a 28, but they scored a 24 on an ACT practice test. That means Student A has to improve by 4 points. Based on our estimates of point increases to study hours, Student A needs to put in around 40 hours of study time. Here are three potential study plans for Student A: Light: 4 hours a week for 10 weeks Moderate: 8 hours a week for 5 weeks Heavy: 20 hours a week for 2 weeks Each of these plans comes out to the required 40 hours. Student A can choose the right plan for them based on their schedule. If Student A has a lot of extracurricular commitments but does have plenty of time before they take their first ACT, Study Plan 1 may be best, since they can squeeze in a couple of 2-hour study sessions each week in between homework and club meetings. If Student A is taking the ACT in 3 weeks and needs to improve, fast, than they might take on the more cram-like schedule of Study Plan 3. Obviously, this plan would involve toning down other commitments, and perhaps would be most feasible over a school break or summer vacation. So your next steps are as follows: Find your target score Find your starting score (take a practice exam) Using our hours-to-points estimate, figure out how long you need to study, and then create your own schedule Further Reading: Exactly How Long Should I Study for the ACT, How to Beat Procrastination in Your ACT Prep How do I come up with a target ACT score? Your target ACT score is a score above the 75th percentile for admitted students at all of the schools you hope to apply to. Above the 75th percentile? What we mean is, you want a score above a school's "middle 50 percent range," which is the range of admitted student ACT scores between the 25th and 75th percentile. In other words, you want a score that is higher than 75% of last year's admitted applicants. Why? Because having such a high score gives you an excellent chance of admission. As an example, here are some examples of ACT middle 50 ranges at a few Massachusetts colleges: Harvard College: 32-35 Tufts University: 30-33 University of Massachusetts Amherst: 24-29 You need to look up the score ranges for all colleges you are seriously interested in applying to, and then set your target score based on the most competitive school you’re applying to. For example, a student whose most competitive school is Harvard should set their ACT target score at 36. A student whose most competitive school is University of Massachuetts Amherst should set their target score at 30. This way, even if you miss your score goal by a point or two, you will likely have a really strong ACT score for the other schools on your list! Further Reading: What's a Good ACT Score for Your College, What's a Good ACT Score? A Bad Score? An Excellent Score?, Average ACT Scores: What They Mean for You, ACT Score Percentiles How should I study for the ACT? If you haven’t already, start your ACT studying by taking a complete practice exam, timing yourself strictly. This will give you the best information about your strengths and weaknesses on the test and be the baseline for your study plan. For example, even if you're great at math, you might realize that ACT Math is really hard for you because you ran out of time while taking your first practice test. This is crucial information to know as you begin studying! Once you've taken that first practice test, grade, score, and evaluate it carefully. Calculate your starting composite score. Then, note your strengths and your weaknesses. (We recommend using a notebook to start logging and tracking your weaknesses.) Look for patterns in wrong answers. This could be in terms of content or test strategy. For example, when you evaluate the Math section, you might notice that missed most of the trigonometry questions. That's a big clue that you need to review some key trigonometry concepts and spent plenty of time practicing math questions. Or, you might notice that you tend to get most questions right at the beginning of a test section, but rush towards the end and get a lot of wrong answers. That's a clue that you need to work on timing. Next, research your target ACT score, using the method in the above question ("How do I come up with a target ACT score?"). Find the difference between your starting score and your target score.Based on the difference between your starting score and target score, estimate the amount of hours you'll need to study and how long you'll study each week. (See "How long should I study for the ACT?" above for more on this process.) Here are two quick examples: Starting Score: 24 Target Score: 28 Points to Improve: 4 Approximate Hours Needed: 40 Study Plan: 8 hours per week for 5 weeks Starting Score: 29 Target Score: 35 Points to Improve: 6 Approximate Hours Needed: 80 Study Plan: 10 hours a week for 8 weeks Now you're finally ready to hit the books! Focus your studying around your weak areas – whether that’s a particular subject area or a problem you keep hitting (like running out of time on the ACT Math or Reading sections). Some students might spend the majority of their study time on one subject area that they struggle with. Others might need to study for all four sections equally. Check out the links before for resources to get started. Further Reading: Free ACT Practice Tests, How to Get the Most Out of ACT Practice Tests, How to Get the Most Realistic ACT Practice Test Experience The Ultimate Study Guides to ACT English, ACT Math, ACT Reading, and ACT Science The Best ACT Prep Books, The Best ACT Prep Websites, 15 Tips and Tricks to Improve Your ACT Score, 26 Great Alternatives to ACT Practice Tests What should I know about the ACT before I take it? Studying for the content on the ACT is important, but it’s also helpful to be familiar with the logistics of the ACT before test day: how long the test is, what the exact rules are, and what to do to be prepared on test day. Check out the links below to get a full briefing on ACT logistics so that when you sit down at your desk on test day, you're ready to focus 100% on the test itself. Further Reading: How Long is the ACT, ACT Instructions: Complete Guide, Rules and Regulations on the ACT, What to Do the Night Before the ACT, Where Should You Take the ACT Evaluating YourACT Score Is my ACT score bad/good/amazing? In terms of the national ACT percentile rankings, these are the important score benchmarks: 20: 50th percentile (average!) 24: 75th percentile 28: 90th percentile 33+: 99th percentile So in terms of the national rankings, anything above a 20 is above average, any score above 24 is really good, and anything above a 28 is amazing! But don't let that score go to your head just yet. The real measure of your ACT score's quality is how it stacks up to the score averages at colleges you want to apply to. (See "How do I come up with my target ACT score?" for more on finding a college's ACT score ranges.) One thing that's interesting about this is that an ACT score that's amazing for one student could actually be low for another. Let's take an example. Student A got a 30 on the ACT. This is an amazing score for them since they are applying to a few colleges and universities in state. Not only is this score more than enough to get them admitted, it even is high enough to qualify for many scholarships! Student B also got a 30. This is a low score for them since they are set on getting into either Stanford or MIT, and need at least a 33, but ideally higher, to be a competitive applicant. The bottom line? You'll have to research the ACT score ranges at your dream schools to decide once and for all if your ACT score is bad, great, or amazing. Further Reading: What's a Good ACT Score for Your College, ACT Percentiles, Average ACT Scores: What They Mean for You, What's a Bad ACT Score, Scholarships for ACT Scores, ACT Scores for the Ivy League My ACT score is low. Am I doomed? Many students get really stressed after they get their ACT scores back, especially if they did worse than they wanted to. But, first of all, remember that your ACT score is not a measure of your intelligence! Just because you got a score that's low (either in terms of national rankings or the college you want to go to) does not mean that you, as a student and a person, do not have promise. The ACT, at the end of the day, is just a multiple-choice test. So if you didn't do as well as you wanted, you can study more and retake it. (This is why we recommend taking the test for the first time junior fall, so you have plenty of time for retakes!) If you didn't do as well as you wanted the first time, you likely had some test-taking strategy issues or maybe there was content you simply didn't understand. Either way, those are both things that can be fixed with hard work, study, and practice. (Check out our links to study and practice resources below to get started!) And if you're ashamed or embarrassed about your first score, don't stress. If you score higher on a retake, you can actually delete your first ACT score! It never has to see the light of day. Finally, if you get a low ACT score and you don't have time to retake it before a college's deadline, you can still apply to other schools that aren't as hard to get into. Even if you don't get into your dream school, as long as you get into college and get great grades an an undergraduate, you will be able to meet your graduate school and career goals. Don't let this one little test slow you down! Further Reading: Easiest Colleges to Get Into, Schools with Guaranteed Admission, What is a Safety School? How To Find Yours,Did You Know You Can Delete ACT Scores Free ACT Practice Tests, How to Get the Most Out of ACT Practice Tests, How to Get the Most Realistic ACT Practice Test Experience The Ultimate Study Guides to ACT English, ACT Math, ACT Reading, and ACT Science The Best ACT Prep Books, The Best ACT Prep Websites, 15 Tips and Tricks to Improve Your ACT Score, 26 Great Alternatives to ACT Practice Tests I got [x] score on my first ACT. Should I retake the test? This answer to this question depends completely on what your goals for colleges and scholarships are! So the first thing to figure out if you haven’t already is this: what is your ACT target score? (See "How do I come up with a target score?" above.) Obviously, if you scored lower than your target score, you should probably consider retaking the exam. However, you also need to consider how many points you need to improve by to hit your target, and whether you have the time to devote to making that happen. Improving 2 or 3 composite points is very doable, but trying to improve by 10 points is a very difficult task. (We will explore just how possible it is to make big point increases in the next question!) If you scored lower than your target score and you have sufficient time to restudy, then you should retake the ACT. But if you do not have sufficient time to study, do not just wing an ACT retake and hope for the best! If you retake the ACT without addressing your test-taking weaknesses or content struggles, it's likely you will either get the same composite score, or even a slightly lower score. Further Reading: What's a Good ACT Score for Your College, Should You Retake the ACT, Already Have a High ACT Score? How to Improve Even More, How to Get a Perfect 36 on the ACT, by a Perfect Scorer, ACT Score Decrease? How Much it Can Drop and Why Is it possible to go from [x] ACT score to [y] ACT score in [z] amount of time? First, in terms of ACT composite score increases, these are the basic possibilities, which of course will vary based on personal factors: 1-2 points: Very doable. Your main obstacle is likely test-taking strategy and a few small content issues. 3-5 points: Doable, but you will have to devote more study hours to accomplish this increase. 6-8 points: Possible, but it will take some very serious studying and commitment. You likely will have to address some content deficits in addition to practicing. 8+: This will really depend on your situation and time available for studying. You will likely have to address some serious content deficits before you focus on improving your test-taking strategy. Those possibilities aside, whether you can actually achieve your desired increase depends simply on this: how many hours can you devote to studying? Even if you're just aiming for a small 2-point increase, you have to devote time to studying to actually meet your goal. There are no shortcuts! With that in mind, this is an estimate of the amount of hours you will need to accomplish ACT composite point increases: 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ Again, these are just estimates, and the time you need will vary based on your own personal strengths and weaknesses. To get an idea of what these points-to-hours estimates look like in action, and how feasible it is to make certain point increases, let's look at two students who each have 2 months before their next ACT. Student A First ACT Score: 26 ACT Score Goal: 28 Points to Increase: 2 Based on our estimates, Student A has to devote about 20 hours to ACT prep to meet their goal of going from a 26 to a 28. Since they have two months to study, they can easily fit this study time into their schedule. Two months is about 8 weeks. If Student A devotes 3 hours each week to ACT prep, they will log 24 study hours, more than their total goal, by the time they sit down for their ACT retake. Student A can fit those 3 hours into their schedule however they need to: with a single 3-hour study session one day a week, or 1 hour for three days a week, or with 30 minutes six days a week. All of those study plans could fit into even a very busy student's schedule. So you can see why a 2-point ACT composite increase is very doable! Student B First ACT Score: 26 ACT Score Goal: 34 Points to Increase: 8 Student B has their work cut out for them! To go from a 26 to a 34 will require some serious study time: at least 150 hours, so let's go with 160 as our estimate. To fit 160 study hours into 8 weeks, Student B has to study, on average, for 20 hours each week: basically, the ACT will become Student B's part-time job! They could study 4 hours on each school night to fit in 20 hours, or maybe 6 hours on each weekend day, plus 2 hours a night Monday through Thursday. Either way, ACT prep will become a big part of their life, and Student B will likely have to cut back on extracurricular commitments. So while going from a 26 to a 34 in 8 weeks is certainly possible, you can see why it would take a huge time commitment and likely be quite stressful. If possible, Student B should aim for a later ACT retake date. For example, if they wait 4 months to retake the ACT, they could reduce their needed study time to much-more-manageable 10 hours per week. Further reading: How Long Should I Study for the ACT, 25 to 32: 10-Day Fast ACT Study Plan, How to Cram for the ACT The ACT Essay Can you tell me about the new ACT essay? The old ACT Writing sectionwas fairly straightforward – it gave you a prompt that you basically had to take a â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† opinion on. You could use evidence from your own life, from any books you had read, or recent articles. It was shorter, as well: just 30 minutes. Those were the days! The new essay, which was first offered in September 2015, is a bit more complicated. It’s 40 minutes long, and instead of just having you offer your opinion on a topic, you have to read through two to three opinions other people have already written on the topic. Then, your essay has to evaluate those different opinions and weave them into your own opinion about the topic. You can check out our guide with example prompts and analysis. When you take the writing test, you'll receive a writing test scoreon a scale of 1-36, and four writing domain scores (Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions), each scored on a scale of 2-12. (Those domain scores do not add up to your final writing score. Confusing, we know!)Your writing test score will not affect your overall ACT composite score. A picture of your essay will be available to the colleges you send ACT Plus Writing scores to. So it's important to give it your strongest effort, even though the essay score willnot affect your ACT Composite score. Check out the links below for more in-depth guides to the new ACT Writing test, including tips for how to approach the essay. Further Reading: Complete Guide to the New ACT Writing Test, ACT Essay Scoring: Completely Explained I got [a lowish score] on the new ACT essay even though my composite is [high]. Does this look bad to schools? When colleges evaluate the ACT, by far the most important factor is your overall composite score. Your subject area scores (English, Math, Reading, and Science) are also looked at for more context. Your essay score will be noticed, but colleges understand it’s a first draft written under timed conditions – they don’t expect it to be your best writing! They also realize the essay changed in 2015 and will expect some score fluctuations as students get used to the new essay. Part of the reason some colleges require the ACT Plus Writing is because it means they will have a sample of your actual writing – so if your personal statement sounds like it was produced by a completely different writer (say, a paid professional), they’ll know. But your ACT Essay is not meant to be the most important evaluator of your writing skills. Read more: All Colleges That Require the ACT Plus Writing So unless your score is terrible compared to your composite (say you have a 33 composite but only got 12/36 on your essay), it’s not worth retaking the ACT just to improve your essay. Especially if you have a high composite and then it drops on your essay-improving retake, that could actually hurt your chances at some selective schools. That said, if your essay score is way lower than you think it should be, be sure to read up on the recent controversy over ACT essay scoring! Scholarships and College What scholarships can I get withmy ACT score? Many students wonder if their ACT score is high enough to get them a scholarship. Before we explain how likely your score is to earn you some serious scholarship cash, it’s important to understand the two broad types of scholarships available. Merit-Based Scholarships: these are awards based on student achievement. Need-Based Scholarships/Financial Aid: these are awards based on student need. As a rough rule of thumb, the more selective the college, the less likely it is to have merit-based scholarships. Why? Well, let’s take a school like Stanford. Stanford’s admit rate last year was just about 5% so only one in twenty applicants got in. Since that means everyone who gets into Stanford is pretty exceptional, it would be hard for Stanford to pick and choose among their admits to decide who gets merit-based funding. So instead, Stanford, along with many of the Ivy Leagues and other top schools, only has need-based scholarships available, to make sure money goes to students with greater financial need. That said, plenty of selective colleges also have merit-based scholarships. I will be focusing on merit-based scholarships in this answer, since your ACT score could help you get one. But check out the links below to learn more about need-based financial aid and how to apply for it. Many colleges and universities have merit scholarships, but how they choose the winners varies widely – some scholarships are a simple combination of GPA and ACT score, while others, especially many full-rides, are a mini-application in themselves (you may have to submit your transcript, ACT score, essay or essays, a list of your extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation for some of the most prestigious scholarships!). In addition to scholarships offered by colleges, there are private scholarships (funded by companies, individuals, and foundations) that, again, have their own selection criteria (but generally, the higher the scholarship, the longer the application). You can search for these scholarships on websites like FastWeb and College Board’s Big Future. The bottom line: you have to do research. Keep in mind the higher your ACT score, the more likely it is it will earn (or help you earn) a scholarship. Based on ACT percentiles and information from college websites, these are our rough guidelines for how likely an ACT composite is to net you a scholarship (assuming you also have a strong GPA). 33-36: Very high likelihood 30-32: High likelihood 27-30: Decent likelihood 24-26 Possible Any ACT score lower than a 24 is not likely to be as competitive for scholarships on its own. Merit scholarships are given for exceptional performance, which is why a 24 and up (the 75th percentile and up) could earn a scholarship. A lower score is less likely to help you earn a merit scholarship since you don't stand out as much among other high school students. Further Reading: Guaranteed Scholarships for ACT Scores, How to Do College Research Right, 79 Colleges with Full-Ride Scholarships, What Is Financial Aid?, How to Apply for Financial Aid, 27 Colleges With the Best Financial Aid, Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid My ACT score is [x]. Where should I apply to college? â€Å"Where should I apply to college?† is an incredibly broad question, but one that we get a lot here at PrepScholar! Since there are literally hundreds of colleges and universities in the US alone, if we drew up a list of all of the colleges and universities that your ACT score could feasibly make you competitive for, it would be way too long a list to be useful! Instead, work backwards a bit. Start researching colleges based on factors that are important to you: location, size, cost, what you want to study, special programs, athletic programs, fine arts, etc. Once you have a list of between 15 to 20 colleges, then you can learn more about their admissions data and whether your ACT score would make you competitive there or not. As you refine your list, aim to include some schools that are reaches for you (your ACT score is at or below their score averages), targets (your ACT score is at or just above their averages) and safeties (your ACT score is way above). If you apply to only reach schools, you risk being rejected everywhere (it’s not like the lottery – the more tickets you buy doesn’t increase your chance of â€Å"winning!†). But if you apply to only safety schools, you could miss out on a really great college opportunity. Check out the articles below to learn more about college research and drawing up an application list. Further Reading: How to Do College Research Right, What is a Safety School?, What is a Target School?, What is a Reach School?, How to Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools, Colleges with Guaranteed Admission for ACT Scores My ACT score is [x], my GPA is [y]. Will I get into [z] college? PrepScholar has put together pages for hundreds of colleges and universities that allow you to plug in your GPA and SAT/ACT score and get an estimate of your admissions chances based on the most current admissions data. These pages are where to go if you just want to know your odds of admission given your ACT score and current GPA. Here are the pages for some of the most asked-about colleges and universities: Top Schools: Stanford, MIT, UChicago, Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Caltech, Johns Hopkins The Ivy League: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, Cornell To look up this page for any college or university, just search "[Name of College/University] ACT GPA Prepscholar" in any search engine. But moving beyond the numbers, you need to put together the strongest application possible for your chances to pan out, especially if your odds of admission are low and/or you're applying to a highly selective school. Learn more about writing the personal statement, getting stellar letters of recommendation, and which extracurriculars you should do. We also highly recommend reading our guide to getting into Harvard by PrepScholar founder Allen Cheng. Even if you're not aiming for Harvard, this post breaks down a lot of the common misconceptions about college admissions and can help you leverage your personal strengths to become the best possible applicant. Finally, it's important to make sure to apply to a mix of schools, including reaches, targets, and safeties. Read more about what a reach school is, what a target school is, and what a safety school is. When you're putting together your application list, try to include reaches, targets, and safeties to maximize your choices come senior spring. Sending Scores I have multiple ACT scores. Which ones should I send to schools? If you're applying to any schools that require all of your ACT scores, send all of your ACT scores. End of story! Read more: Colleges that Require All ACT Scores If you're applying to schools that do not require all ACT scores, you only have to send your highest composite score – after all, you need just one ACT score to apply to college. However, if the school â€Å"superscores† – combines different subject areas from different tests for a final higher composite score – consider sending the scores that would create the highest superscore. If a school does not superscore but does consider all scores they receive, it’s up to you if you want to send multiple sets of scores. In general, it’s worth sending along a test with a much higher score on a certain section, but also keep in mind the ACT charges per test date to send scores, so it is expensive to send multiple scores to multiple schools. The most important single number on your score report is your composite score, so keep that in mind as you make your decision. Further Reading: ACT Superscore Calculator, Do Colleges Average Your ACT Score?, Read This Before Sending ACT Scores to Colleges, Should You Send the Four Free ACT Score Reports?, Colleges that Superscore the ACT: Complete List I took the SAT and the ACT. I also took SAT Subject tests. Do I have to send all of these scores to colleges? First, let’s talk about the SAT and ACT (and ignore the SAT Subject Tests for now). For the vast majority of colleges, you have to send either the SAT or the ACT. You do not have to send both. Note that there are two exceptions to the SAT or ACT rule: 1. Schools like Stanford that require your entire testing history across both tests. These are rare cases – even schools that require all scores from one exam usually do not require you to send all ACT and all SAT scores, you just pick one exam and send all of the scores you have for that exam. Read more: Colleges that Require All SAT Scores, Colleges that Require All ACT Scores 2. Schools with test-flexible policies that will allow you to send AP Test Scores, IB Test Scores, SAT Subject Tests, and others in lieu of the SAT or ACT. Read more: Schools with Test-Flexible Policies But for the vast majority of American colleges, you will have to send either the SAT or the ACT. So between your SAT and the ACT scores, choose the test with the highest score (or scores!) to send. Read more: How to Convert and Compare SAT and ACT Scores You may want to consider sending both scores only if, according to the SAT/ACT conversion tables, they are in very similar ranges. For example, perhaps your composite scores on each test are about equal, but you have a higher Math score on the ACT and a higher Reading score on the SAT. In that case, it could be worth sending both scores for colleges to see your different strengths. Note that it is more expensive to send scores from both tests, and again, you are only required to send one set of scores to apply. Next, let’s talk about SAT Subject Tests. These are a separate category of tests, and treated differently by many schools. Some schools require (or â€Å"strongly encourage†) two SAT Subject tests to apply (especially many of the Ivy Leagues). Some schools only require them if you choose to take the SAT rather than the ACT. But at most schools, they are optional. Read More: Colleges that Require SAT Subject Tests: Complete List So unless you’re applying to a school that absolutely requires SAT Subject Tests to apply (in which case, send them, end of discussion!), it’s up to you whether to send those scores. You have to ask yourself if your subject scores make your application look better or worse. Often, Subject Tests can show strong ability in specific subjects, like Chemistry or United States History, which is good. But do not go out of your way to send a mediocre SAT Subject Test score! Further Reading: Complete Comparison Charts: ACT versus SAT, Are You Better at the SAT or ACT? Find Out For Sure, What is a Good SAT Subject Test Score, SAT Subject Test Scores for the Ivy League I’m a senior and have one ACT score but it’s not great. I’m taking the ACT again in December but I won’t know the score until after I’ve submitted my applications. Should I submit my not-so-great score or wait for my December score before I decide? To send your December ACT score so it’s received on time to be considered for most schools, your score needs to be sent to your schools as soon as it’s available. That means when you register to take the December ACT, you have to put down those schools on your registration, well before you’ve taken the exam and seen your score. This also means that you are sending your December ACT score blind: you will not have the chance to see your score before you send it. (In the vast majority of cases, you will not have enough time to take the December test, view your score three weeks later, and then send your score to colleges – the score will arrive too far after the deadline to be considered.) Because of this, I highly recommend sending the ACT score you do have, and then also sending along your December ACT as soon as it’s available. Since you need an ACT score in your file for it to be considered at all, it’s not worth risking the December score arriving too late to be considered and your whole file being thrown out. Plus, there is no way to know your December ACT score will be higher than your current one. If your December ACT ended up being lower, not only will your application look worse, you were risking not completing it on time for nothing. If your December ACT score ends up being higher, it will help out your application, since colleges will receive and note the higher score. But in the meantime, it’s safest to make sure there is a score in your file by the time the application is due. If you’re reading this as a younger student, this is why we highly recommend taking the ACT the first time in your junior fall, so you have plenty of time to retake the exam if needed and so you won’t run into stressful application deadlines. Further Reading: The Last ACT Dates for Early Decision Deadlines, The Last ACT Dates for Regular Decision Deadlines, Did You Know You Can Delete ACT Scores? Have a Question That Isn't Answered Here? Post it in the comments or check out ExpertHub, where experienced tutors and counselors answer student questions. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

British imperialism and Kipling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

British imperialism and Kipling - Essay Example Dravot being singled out as "neither God nor Devil but a man!" (p, 67). The result of their action was hostility from the natives. In a similar way, the ambitions and fantasy of the British was similar to that of Peachy and Danny. Danny and Peachy through their ill ambitions, sets off for to a foreign land of Kafiristan, â€Å"where no white man has ever been since Alexander the Great† (p, 18), in pursuit of power and wealth. This explains various British Imperialist in many parts of the world such a in Africa and India where they acquired colonies. Similarly the tendencies of the British Imperialist ended as altruism surface faded under the need to conquer and exploit natives. This was the case of Carnehan and Dravot in their fantasy. Nonetheless, the Britain strategy differs in strategy to achieve the common goal. As exemplified in the paper and looking at the events that unfolded in the book Kipling had a contradicting opinion to the subject of imperialism. More specifically, the work of Kipling explores the power tied to imagination. In other words, he dislocates or deviates from reality and concentrates on fantasy. The very attribute and structure of his work explores the coinciding binary that exist between reality and fantasy. Kipling is rather negative concerning to the imperialist mission and its detrimental impact. In Kipling view, Imperialist actions had various negative consequences. This explains his attitude towards "the