Inference Questions on SAT Reading 6 Strategies

Inference Questions on SAT Reading 6 Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Inference questions make up nearly 15% of all SAT Reading questions (based on analysis of four publicly available new SATs). Answering inference questions correctly requires the ability to take information given in the text and then draw logical, supported conclusions from it. What are the different kinds of inference questions asked on the SAT Reading Section, and how should you go about answering them? I've got the answers for you in this article. feature image credit: Fellow citizens of Massachusetts! by Boston Public Library, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. What Are Inference Questions? Inference questions ask about the meaning of a line, paragraph, or even an entire passage. The ideas being asked about are not directly stated in the text, which mean that inference questions often include the phrases â€Å"could be interpreted to mean† or â€Å"suggests that." Since there can only be one correct answer to any SAT question, however, the answers to these questions cannot be subjective or ambiguous. Via funnyworld.info. Inference questions often also require big picture skills, since you must be able to get meaning from entire passages to answer questions about paired passage relationships, or from entire paragraphs for other inference questions. In contrast to function questions, which ask "what does [this word, phrase, or line] DO," inference questions ask "what does [this word, phrase, or line] MEAN?" There are three main kinds of inference questions: deduction, speculation, and examination. Type 1: Deduction Inference questions that fall into this subcategory ask you to fill in missing information. The gist of most of the questions is "If something is said in the passage, what is the logical extension?" Deduction questions are very close to detail questions, except that you must make a logical deduction, rather than relying only on information in the passage. For example: According to the passage, Woolf chooses the setting of the bridge because it A) is conducive to a mood of fanciful reflection. B) provides a good view of the procession of the sons of educated men. C) is within sight of historic episodes to which she alludes. D) is symbolic of the legacy of past and present sons of educated men. The relevant lines: Close at hand is a bridge over the River Thames, an admirable vantage ground for us to make a survey. The river flows beneath; barges pass, laden with timber, bursting with corn; there on one side are the domes and spires of the city; on the other, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. It is a place to stand on by the hour, dreaming. But not now. Now we are pressed for time. Now we are here to consider facts; now we must fix our eyes upon the procession - the procession of the sons of educated men. To get the correct answer, (B), you must deduce from the info given. My thoughts: Normally we'd be on the bridge to dream and have fanciful reflection, but that's not the case now. Instead, now we have to do something else while standing on the bridge. What is that something else? Fixing our eyes on the procession of the sons of educated men. There will be a more full walkthrough of an inference question later on in this article – the point of that was to show the eensy, teensy step you have to take beyond what is written to answer inference questions. It's not like high school English literature classes, where you’re encouraged to make any interpretation you can, as long as you can back it up with enough words/rambling. In fact, I know that some people just think of these kinds of inference questions as paraphrasing, becaus so little interpretation is involved. Some examples of how these questions have been asked on the SAT (with some modifications to keep them on the same theme): Based on the passage, the authors’ statement â€Å"If a pair consisted of two piccolos, for example, there would not be room for it† (lines 29-30) implies that a pair The narrator implies that Ms. Boulanger favors a form of education that emphasizes In Passage 1, Bach contends that breaking the laws of counterpoint has which consequence? La Orquestra Filharmà ³nica Nacional entonà ³ el Himno Nacional y la cancià ³n Patria Querida by Luigino Bracci, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. From my constant comments about musicians, you may be able to DEDUCE that I, too, am a musician. Type 2: Speculation These inference questions ask you to speculate about the meaning (or "suggested" meaning) of a statement, description, or something else in the passage. In some ways, these are similar to function questions, but the answers the SAT is looking for are very different. Take this question: In the passage, Akira addresses Chie with If this were a function question, the answer choices would be generic, like â€Å"a continuation of an extended comparison† or â€Å"an unexpected answer to a question.† Since this is an inference question, the answer choices are more specific, along the lines of â€Å"affection but not genuine love† or â€Å"amusement but not mocking disparagement.† Some examples of how this sort of inference question is asked: It can reasonably be inferred that â€Å"the strong-minded† (line 32) was a term generally intended to In line 42, the authors state that a certain hypothesis â€Å"can best be tested by a trial.† Based on the passage, which of the following is a hypothesis the authors suggest be tested in a trial? The phrase â€Å"liquid gold† (line 71) most directly suggests that What does the author suggest about the transgenic studies done in the 1980s and 1990s? Type 3: Examination Inference questions which fall into the examination subcategory question you about the internal life (thoughts, feelings, motivations) of the narrator, author, or someone mentioned in the passage. They can mostly be summed up as asking "What would [this person] think about [that thing]?" Examination questions are the most complicated type of inference questions, because they ask you to get into the head of the author/narrator/character/other person mentioned in the text. You will often see these sorts of questions on paired passages. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to identify examination inference questions, since they do tend to fall into "what does X think about Y" format. See below for some examples: The â€Å"social psychologists† mentioned in paragraph 2 (lines 17-34) would likely describe the â€Å"deadweight loss† phenomenon as The passage indicates that when the narrator began working for Edward Crimsworth, he viewed Crimsworth as a It can be inferred that the authors of Passage 1 believe that running a household and raising children It can most reasonably be inferred from Passage 2 that Paine views historical precedents as Beecher would most likely have reacted to lines 65-68 (â€Å"Now . . . woman†) of Passage 2 with Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! 6 Superior Strategies for Attacking Inference Questions So how do you attack inference questions? Is there any way other than just reading the entire passage? (Answer to the first question: hold on one moment. Answer to that second question: yes, for sure) I've compiled for you a bunch of different strategies for attacking inference questions. Some of these strategies work better if you read the passage a certain way (for instance, looking for context may not be as necessary for students who read the passage all the way through), but much of the advice is useful no matter what your method of reading the passage. Strategy 1: Understand What The Question Is Really Asking Understanding what an inference question is actually asking can be hard to wrap your head around, particularly when they ask about multiple passages. Questions are often wordy and seem to require a lot of information before you can even begin to answer them. For instance: The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the discussion of the future of space mining in lines 18-28, Passage 1, by claiming that such a future A) is inconsistent with the sustainable use of space resources.B) will be difficult to bring about in the absence of regulations.C) cannot be attained without technologies that do not yet exist.D) seems certain to affect Earth’s economy in a negative way. This question requires you to find information about the future of space mining in Passage 1 and then put yourself in the shoes of the author of Passage 2 and figure out what that author would think about the topic †¦ugh. Aches and pains by Quinn Dombrowski, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. How do you answer this kind of question without causing your brain to hurt too much? You break it down, piece by piece, into a question that is answerable. For the example above, you have to start by figuring out what the future of spacing mining says in Passage 1. How? Look at the sentence(s) referenced in the question (sometimes the quoted word may actually refer to something in another sentence, but I’ll go into that later). In this case, the author of Passage 1 claims that not only will space miners might "[meet] earthly demands for precious metals...and the rare earth elements," "enrich themselves," but they will also "build an off-planet economy free of any bonds with Earth." Now all you have to do find specific places in Passage 2 where the author talks about the implications of space miners meeting demand for elements rare or valuable on earth (vaguely referenced in lines 48 and 51), getting rich themselves (specifically mentioned in lines 57-66), or creating an off-world economy (mentioned in lines 73-78). As you can see, figuring out what an inference question is asking can get you most of the way to figuring out what the answer is. Let's look at the example from above again, keeping the three topics discussed in lines 18-28 in mind. The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the discussion of the future of space mining in lines 18-28, Passage 1, by claiming that such a future A) is inconsistent with the sustainable use of space resources.B) will be difficult to bring about in the absence of regulations.C) cannot be attained without technologies that do not yet exist.D) seems certain to affect Earth’s economy in a negative way. To find the answer to this question, use the process of elimination on the answer choices. Do any of the parts of Passage 2 that address the claims in lines 18-28 of Passage 1 support the choices? Choices C) and D) can be eliminated immediately because Passage 2 does not make either of these claims at all, which leaves you with a choice between choices A) and B). While the authors of Passage 2 posit that "Others will suggest glutting ourselves on space’s riches is not an acceptable alternative to developing more sustainable ways of earthly life," they do not make any claims about the sustainable use of space resources, which means that choice A) is wrong. By contrast, after mentioning that "the relevant legal and regulatory framework" for space mining "is fragmentary, to put it mildly" in lines 73-78, the author of passage 2 concludes that â€Å"†¦miners have much to gain from a broad agreement on the for-profit exploitation of space. Without consensus, claims will be disputed, investments risky, and the gains made insecure.† This directly discusses regulation of space mining and how it would be difficult to move forward with space mining in the absence of regulation, making the correct answer to this question choice B). Strategy 2: Look For Context SAT Reading may lull you into a sense of false security, because line numbers are given in a question (so you clearly don't have to look elsewhere). WRONG! The lines present in the question (particularly when it is an inference question) are not necessarily the only lines you’ll need to answer the question - often, more context is needed. If you're having trouble with an inference question because the lines cited aren't enough, the best strategy is to look at the sentences before and after the phrase/sentence/lines you’re given in the question. Sometimes even that isn't enough, and you'll need to know the main point of the passage or the perspective of the author in order to properly answer an inference question. Don't panic if this is the case - if you're struggling to answer the question, mark it in your test booklet and come back to it after you’ve answered other relevant questions (like questions about the paragraph/section the lines in question are in, or even questions about the whole passage). Strategy 3: Answer In Your Own Words For me, this strategy is the key to answering inference questions correctly. If I don't come up with the answer in my own words before I look at the answer choices, I get tripped up by answer choices that include irrelevant information (because I search for ways to prove that they are true) - this is a waste of time and an easy way to get confused. Your answer for "Based on the passages, Lincoln would most likely describe the behavior that Thoreau recommends in lines 64-66 (â€Å"if it . . . law†) as" will probably not be as prettily worded as the actual answer choices, but because your answer should include only relevant and accurate information, matching it to the correct answer should be easier. The College Board knows that you've been trained (via high school English classes) to see as many different points of view as possible and is banking on you getting bogged down in wrong answers that are interpretations that â€Å"seem like they could be true.† Don't be fooled: there is only one right answer on the SAT, and if you start with the right answer in your own words, it’s a lot easier to choose the right answer in THEIR words. But how do you figure out what a phrase, line, or sentence means/suggests/indicates, or what its implications are? Strategy 4:Nail Down Other SAT Reading Skills The skills you need to answer inference questions build on other SAT Reading skills. Take this question: The author's attitude toward pharming is best described as one of A) apprehension. B) ambivalence. C) appreciation. D) astonishment In order to answer this question sucessfully, you need all of the following skills: Vocab in Context – you need to be able to sum up an attitude in a single word Little Picture – you need to figure out what pharming is and when it's discussed in the passage Big Picture – you need to be able to scan the passage to get a sense of the attitude of the author If all else fails, you can use author technique skills to figure out the general tone of the passage (is it positive or negative towards pharming? Which answers are positive and which are negative?) Pulling all of these skills together allows you to successfully answer an examination inference question that asks you "How does the author of the passage feel about pharming?" Nail by Craig Dugas, used under CC BY-SA 2.0. Nail down those SAT Reading skills better than some person nailed down that...nail. Strategy 5:Answer Questions In The Order That Works For You What order this is will depend on the way you read the passage. If you read the passage all the way through, then look at the questions, I'd recommend starting with big picture questions and then going to inference (and function) questions. That way, you can answer questions about larger amount of text while it's still fresh in your mind, and you might get some useful information that'll help you with inference questions. It's also possible that just answering questions in order of appearance might work best if you read quickly enough to get through the passage and have plenty of time to answer the questions, because you'll be less likely to accidentally skip a question or fill in the wrong answer bubble. If you start by reading through all the questions, then jumping back to the passage(s), start with little picture and vocab in context questions (which themselves can require some degree of inference, if you don't know the word being asked about and need to rely on context clues) to get more information about the author and topic being covered, then move on to inference questions. If it turns out you need big picture information to answer a particular inference question, mark it on your test booklet and come back to it later. If you skim the passage and then tackle questions, it's better to answer both big and little picture questions before you start in on the inference questions. Even if the phrases/sentences/lines mentioned in an inference question are in introduction or conclusion sentences (or paragraphs), chances are that more context will be needed than you picked up on your initial skim. Leave inference questions until after you've answered the questions that are easiest to answer after skimming a passage - big picture questions (because they ask about a large amount of text) and little picture questions (because you will have a good idea of where in the passage details might be located). Strategy 6:Eliminate Answers As you may or may not already know, the fundamental rule for SAT Reading is that you must eliminate 3 wrong answers. For inference questions, this can be difficult, because even if you answer the question in your own words correctly, the inference you make may not what they’re looking for. How do you figure out if an answer can be eliminated? After all, you have to go through the text and then match it with these weird answers that have all these different components. That last part, however, actually makes going throught the answer choices to inference questions easier, because if any part of the answer choice does not match with the passage, then you can eliminate that answer choice. Take this examination question, for instance: Based on the passages, both authors would agree with which of the following claims? A) Women have moral duties and responsibilities. B) Men often work selflessly for political change. C) The ethical obligations of women are often undervalued. D) Political activism is as important for women as it is for men. The correct answer must be completely correct. So even the author of Passage 2 would agree that political activism is just as important for women as it is for men, as per answer choice (D), if the author of Passage 1 would not also agree with it then you must eliminate it. For this question, the correct answer, (A), passes this test: the author of both passages would agree that women have moral duties and responsibilities. Inference Questions: A Walkthrough To finish up (and before you get to practice inference questions), I’ll do an in-depth walkthrough with you of a particularly nasty inference question. On the actual SAT, you won't need nearly as much explanation to justify the correct answer - I just wanted to make sure my reasoning was clear. Which reaction does Akira most fear from Chie? A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate. B) She will mistake his earnestness for immaturity. C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. D) She will underestimate the sincerity of his emotions. Because the question is asking what reaction Akira most fears from Chie, I’ll need to focus on the parts of the passage that are from Akira’s point of view or talk about what he is concerned about only. The question isn’t asking what any other character thinks Akira fears, just what Akira fears, so the evidence should come from him. Here’s the two sections of the passage that are from Akira's point of view or involve him expressing things he cares about: â€Å"Madame,† said Akira, â€Å"forgive my disruption, but I come with a matter of urgency.†His voice was soft, refined. He straightened and stole a deferential peek at her face.In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity. Chie felt herself starting to like him.â€Å"Come inside, get out of this nasty night. Surely your business can wait for a moment or two.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I don’t want to trouble you. Normally I would approach you more properly but I’ve received word of a position. I’ve an opportunity to go to America, as dentist for Seattle’s Japanese community.†(Lines 31-42)Akira blushed.â€Å"Depending on your response, I may stay in Japan. I’ve come to ask for Naomi’s hand.†Suddenly Chie felt the dampness of the night.â€Å"Does Naomi know anything of your . . .ambitions?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"We have an understanding. Please don’t judge my candidacy by the unseemliness of this proposal. I ask directly because the use of a go-between takes much time. Either method comes down to the same thing: a matter of parental approval. If you give your consent, I become Naomi’s yoshi.* We’ll live in the House of Fuji. Without your consent, I must go to America, to secure a new home for my bride.†Eager to make his point, he’d been looking her full in the face. Abruptly, his voice turned gentle. â€Å"I see I’ve startled you. My humble apologies. I’ll take no more of your evening. My address is on my card. If you don’t wish to contact me, I’ll reapproach you in two weeks’ time. Until then, good night.†He bowed and left. Taking her ease, with effortless grace, like a cat making off with a fish.*a man who marries a woman of higher status and takes her family’s name(Lines 57-78) My thinking: At first glance, Akira appears to be afraid of a few things (in order of appearance in the passage): worried he’s interrupting (line 31, â€Å"forgive my disruption†) doesn’t want to trouble because of his improper method of approaching (lines 39-40, â€Å"I don't want to trouble you. Normally I would approach you more properly†) concerned he might be turned down because of the way he approached (lines 63-64, â€Å"Please don’t judge my candidacy by the unseemliness of this approval†) On the face of it, these are all possible answers (although the question asks what he most fears, so eventually I’ll have to narrow it down a little). But are there any answer choices that can be eliminated right away?A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate.That matches up with the third thing Akira is worried about, so we definitely can’t eliminate that.B) She will mistake his earnestness for immaturity.That doesn’t match with any of the three things Akira is worried about, so it seems unlikely. This is a sneaky answer choice, though, because in a section of the passage we learn that Chie does think he’s immature (â€Å"That’s how she viewed him, as a child†). But there’s no evidence that Akira is worried about this, so it can’t be the correct answer and thus can be eliminated.C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition.This matches up with the second thing on the list above, so it shouldn’t be elimi nated yet.D) She will underestimate the sincerity of his emotions.That doesn’t match with any of the reasons Akira is worried. It does seem like a logical thing for Akira to worry about, but to make that inference is too big a leap, particularly when there are two other choices that are supported by the passage. Plus, the only thing the passage does state about Akira’s sincerity is â€Å"In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity. Chie felt herself starting to like him.†, which if anything would imply that Chie knows Akira is sincere. Eliminate it!So now I’m down to two answer choices:A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate.andC) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. Since the remaining answer choices are both things that Akira fears from Chie, the next step is to figure out which one Akira most fears. There can only be one right answer to an SAT question, so the correct answer has to be clearly more fear-inducing. One of the reasons this question is so tricky is that figuring out which scenario Akira fears the most requires other SAT Reading skills like finding the detail and understanding the big picture. Here's more of my thinking as I reasoned through the rest of this question: The whole reason Akira approaches Chie in the first place is about the proposal, and the first words out of his mouth have to do with it (â€Å"forgive my disruption, but I come with a matter of urgency†). This detail isn’t the only evidence that suggests Akira is more worried about his proposal than about his visit being an imposition, which would suggest answer choiceA). The bulk of the supporting evidence for the answer to this question, though, requires big picture skills. The main reason Akira visits the house is to tell Chie he wants to marry her daughter. While C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. is something that Akira fears, it is only a smaller subset of Akira’s fear about the inappropriate nature of his proposal. In fact, the only reason Akira worries about his visit being seen as an imposition is because he worries it might make Chie see his proposal as inappropriate. So in this case, the thing that Akira most fears (and the corr ect answer) is A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate. Can we go for a walk? by Kathleen Tyler Conklin, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Your reward for completing that arduous question is this picture of an adorable dog. Enjoy! Inference Questions: Practice Time! I've included three medium-level official practice questions for you to...practice...with. Unfortunately, the most complicated inference questions required too much text to copy and paste, so you will just have to hunt those down on your own (perhaps via our complete list of official SAT practice tests?). This passage is adapted from MacDonald Harris, The Balloonist.  ©2011 by The Estate of Donald Heiney. During the summer of 1897, the narrator of this story, a fictional Swedish scientist, has set out for the North Pole in a hydrogen-powered balloon. 1. Over the course of the passage, the narrator’s attitude shifts from A) fear about the expedition to excitement about it. B) doubt about his abilities to confidence in them. C) uncertainty of his motives to recognition of them. D) disdain for the North Pole to appreciation of it. 2. Which choice best describes the narrator’s view of his expedition to the North Pole? A) Immoral but inevitable B) Absurd but necessary C) Socially beneficial but misunderstood D) Scientifically important but hazardous 3. The question the narrator asks in lines 30-31 (â€Å"Will it . . . railway†) most nearly implies that A) balloons will never replace other modes of transportation. B) the North Pole is farther away than the cities usually reached by train. C) people often travel from one city to another without considering the implications. D) reaching the North Pole has no foreseeable benefit to humanity. Answer key (scroll down when ready): 1. C 2. B 3. D In Conclusion Inference questions ask you to deduce, speculate, and examine based on evidence directly stated in the text. In order to successfully answer inference questions, you must make sure you understand the question Look for context to help if the lines/words mentioned in the question aren't enough Answer the question in your own words before looking at the SAT’s answer choices Nail down other SAT Reading skills to help you with inference questions Answer questions in an order that makes sense and is not confusing/disorienting Eliminate three wrong answers What’s Next? Did you find this SAT Reading skill-focused article useful? You're in luck - we have a whole series of SAT Reading skills articles! You can find them all collected here in our ultimate guide to SAT Reading, or you can jump to specific articles on main point, little picture, function, vocab in context, author technique, analogy, and paired passage questions Feeling overwhelmed and not sure what the best way to practice SAT Reading is? Find out how to read the passage and how to attack paired passages. Worried about running out of time on SAT Reading? You’re not alone. Read more about how to avoid getting caught in a Reading time crunch here. Do you find that breaking down questions by skill type and drilling them really works for you? Consider the PrepScholar platform to help you with your SAT test prep! 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 what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Profile and Biography of Socrates

Profile and Biography of Socrates The Greek philosopher Socrates was born c. 470/469 B.C., in Athens, and died in 399 B.C. To put this in the context of the other great men of his time, the sculptor Pheidias died c. 430; Sophocles and Euripides died c. 406; Pericles died in 429; Thucydides died c. 399; and the architect Ictinus completed the Parthenon in c. 438. Athens was producing the extraordinary art and monuments for which she would be remembered. Beauty, including personal, was vital. It was linked with being good. However, Socrates was ugly, according to all accounts, a fact that made him a good target for Aristophanes in his comedies. Who Was Socrates? Socrates was a great Greek philosopher, possibly the wisest sage of all time. He is famous for contributing to philosophy: Pithy sayingsThe Socratic method of discussion or dialogueSocratic irony A discussion of Greek democracy often focuses on a sadder aspect of his life: his state-mandated execution. Family Although we have many details about his death, we know little about the life of Socrates. Plato provides us the names of some of his family members: Socrates father was Sophroniscus (thought to have been a stonemason), his mother was Phaenarete, and his wife, Xanthippe (a proverbial shrew). Socrates had 3 sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. The oldest, Lamprocles, was about 15 at the time his father died. Death The Council of 500 [see Athenian Officials in the Time of Pericles] condemned Socrates to death for impiety for not believing in the gods of the city and for introducing new gods. He was offered an alternative to death, paying a fine, but refused it. Socrates fulfilled his sentence by drinking a cup of poison hemlock in front of friends. Socrates as Citizen of Athens Socrates is remembered chiefly as a philosopher and the teacher of Plato, but he was also a citizen of Athens, and served the military as a hoplite during the Peloponnesian War, at Potidaea (432–429), where he saved Alcibiades life in a skirmish, Delium (424), where he remained calm while most around him were in a panic, and Amphipolis (422). Socrates also participated in the Athenian democratic political organ, the Council of the 500. As a Sophist The 5th century B.C. sophists, a name based on the Greek word for wisdom, are familiar to us mostly from the writings of Aristophanes, Plato, and Xenophon, who opposed them. Sophists taught valuable skills, especially rhetoric, for a price. Although Plato shows Socrates opposing the sophists, and not charging for his instruction, Aristophanes, in his comedy Clouds, portrays Socrates as a greedy master of the sophists craft. Although Plato is considered the most reliable source on Socrates and he says Socrates was not a sophist, opinions differ on whether Socrates was essentially different from the (other) sophists. Contemporary Sources Socrates is not known to have written anything. He is best known for the dialogues of Plato, but before Plato painted his memorable portrait in his dialogues, Socrates was an object of ridicule, described as a sophist, by Aristophanes. In addition to writing about his life and teaching, Plato and Xenophon wrote about Socrates defense at his trial, in separate works both called Apology. The Socratic Method Socrates is known for the Socratic method (elenchus), Socratic irony, and the pursuit of knowledge. Socrates is famous for saying that he knows nothing and that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Socratic method involves asking a series of questions until a contradiction emerges invalidating the initial assumption. Socratic irony is the position that the inquisitor takes that he knows nothing while leading the questioning.

Business Law (David adamson Case) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law (David adamson ) - Case Study Example The defendant’s website offered sufficient quantity of contact which implies that it was interested in conducting business in Idaho. The defendant willingly participated in a business deal which culminated into a purchase of its product by minors. Thus, it is reasonable to argue that the â€Å"Makers Mark, Kentucky Bourbon† had sufficient contact to create a business relationship. The second aspect is whether the transfer of the case would uphold the notions of fair play and substantial justice as laid forth in the Intl Shoe Co. v. Wash case. Incidentally, â€Å"Makers Mark, Kentucky Bourbon† engaged in a business relationship that had potential legal implications. It is therefore fair play for the case to be conducted in Idaho since it is the location where the dispute occurred. The delivery of justice in this case would not be compromised since the defendant was already doing business in Idaho and it is therefore reasonable for them to settle a legal dispute in Idaho. In determining the case law to be applied, the court should take account of the place where the alleged dispute occurred. The dispute occurred in Idaho and this implies that the case should be heard in Idaho. The second aspect in choosing the case law is the evaluation of the relevant policies underlying the field of law and justified expectations. According to Bertram v. Norden, it is necessary for the state to have the necessary legal framework to handle the case and the expectations of the aggrieved parties must be addressed. Idaho as the legal framework to handle the case and both parties should reasonably expect the dispute to be resolved at the place of business. The domicile and the place of business relationship of the parties are also important in determining the case law to be applied. In this case, the domicile of the aggrieved parties is different and the place of business relationship is

'Estimating Project Costs' Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

'Estimating Project Costs' - Assignment Example Cost is also the most important parameter of exclusive concern for higher level management, accountant, customer and other stakeholders of project and cost estimation is also performed during project planning phase. Appropriate cost estimation is very crucial for the successful development and delivery of project. It shall not only facilitate all resources allocated to the project but also an important factor for the client concern. That’s why this is Project Managers core responsibility to come up with realistic cost estimation for project considering all factors and dependencies in mind so that client can be provided with exact cost requirement of project and further allocations of resources can be made possible with cost requirement. Now the question arise how is it possible to define good initial estimates of cost for any nature of project. Cost is the factor that has link with every entity of project like for any construction project it might be aggregate of cost related to construction material, machineries used for construction, cost of human resources(engineers, architects, labors, technician, plumber etc) and other costs. Another example is of software development project, costs associated with such nature of project shall be of infrastructure used for development, cost of human resources(business analyst, software developers, design architect, testers etc),critical computer resources, memory requirements and any other costs even cost of pizza or refreshments for team members. Let’s discuss three estimation types that can be relied upon by Project Managers for defining initial estimates of cost for their project. At the initial level of project when requirements are not vivid it is difficult to come up with accurate initial estimates of cost and time. There is always possibility of uncertainty in

The Move :: Personal Narrative Moving Essays

The Move Summer of 2000, my parents decided we should move to California. From Georgia to California, East Coast to West Coast. I do not think my mom really wanted to move. It was my Daji’s (Dad’s eldest brother) fault. He and his son bought a motel in Morro Bay, California. Daji wanted my dad to help him run it(the motel). So in order for that to happen, we would all have to move. My mom was not coming with my dad, sister and me, just yet. We still had our house and my mom still had her job. We needed the income. We were going to drive to California in our white Nissan Previa. As we traveled through the southern states, my mom got news from Zambia, where her family lives, saying that my grandfather had a heart attack. So now my mom was not going to be coming to California when she was suppose to. I was going to be mom-less for longer than I was willing to be. I cried and cried (in despair). I know my dad felt bad(horrible about what he was doing) but he could not tell his older brother no. All those dumb respect rules. In our culture, that is the Indian culture, we must respect our elders, even if that means doing things we do not want to do, but(I believe) sometimes you can say no. We drove the rest of the way to California. We stayed at the motel, the one my Daji bought. It had an apartment attached to it. The apartment had two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining room, and a full bath. My sister and I shared one of the rooms, my cousin and his wife had the other room, my dad slept in the living room and my aunt and uncle slept in one of the motel rooms. We hated it. Back home we had our own rooms, our own space. My sister and I were not very close at this time, so it was difficult to share and talk about what was happening. We did not like it(the idea of moving) mostly because we were away from our friends, our world and most importantly our mom. (when we got to California we had to be enrolled in school. So we went to the closest school My dad took us to the school, which was thirty minutes away from where we lived, in a completely different town.

Consequences of Bullying

It is a common thought that bullying is a normal stage of childhood, but more than a part of growth is a violent act that nowadays has taken place in many schools around the world. However, studies show that this issue would bring big consequences to all the factors involved on it; bullying can cause more than negative academic, physical, social, emotional, and psychological consequences on victims and bullies. These consequences can be short-term or long-term. Bullying can also greatly affect the overall climate of a school. On the first place, as a result of being bullied, victims may experience different and immediate mental and physical health related consequences. They may present a higher level of anxiety, and longer spaces of sadness, also some sleeping difficulties, head and stomach ache, and above all these, victims may present a very low self-esteem. Researchers from Finland discovered that victims are more likely than bullies to suffer from anxiety disorders, such as depression, separation anxiety, panic disorder, among others. Also, this psychological stress can cause victims' bodies to be less resistant to disease and infection, and therefore they may get sick more often. In the social area, is hard to victims to have friends in general because of their high anxiety level and low self-esteem, for this reason they have just a few friends or none at all. This may lead to feelings of isolation and believing that they are not even worthy of having friends. Also, other kids often do not want to become friends with the victims, because they are afraid that they will be bullied as well. Another reason that other kids do not hang around with victims is because they worry that peers will not like them if they associate with the victims; those feelings of loneliness and sadness presented on victims can also lead to consequences related to their learning and school success, the victim might present poor school attendance because in many case they may become afraid of going to school and many activities at school, for this reason students often receive lower grades due to attendance problems, and also due to their stress and concern. The victims in general become obsessed with the bullying and how to try to avoid it. This leaves them no time, energy, or concern for schoolwork and learning. A vicious cycle can occur because the victim's poor school performance can lead to embarrassment and anxiety, which can in turn cause them to be picked on even more. Another possible result of being bullied is that the victims may become violent, either at the time of the bullying or in their futures. This violent behavior may be focused toward themselves, toward their school in general, or may even be directed as revenge toward the bullies themselves. Sometimes that violent behavior can lead to a higher level of bullying towards the victim, as the bullies would want revenge on the victim for bullying them. It is believed by experts and researchers on Finland that some of the school shootings are related to bullying. Students who committed school shootings were over two times as likely to have reported that they were victims of bullying. In some cases the bullying may become brutal on extreme and last for so long time that the victims may present thoughts of suicide, or in some cases the victim actually commits suicide on secret, because not even their families believe the issues that the child was living. On the other hand we have the bullies; children who bully others also experience several short term and long term consequences of their bullying behavior. They are more likely to get involved in harmful activities, both as a child and as an adult. While they are still young, they may steal or vandalize property, start or join in on physical fights, become injured in a fight, skip school, carry a weapon in order to scare others, or use alcohol and other drugs. They are also five times more likely to be taken to criminal court and to be found guilty of a crime than are their peers who do not participate in bullying behavior. Most of bullies do not overcome that violent behavior when they get older. Instead, the aggressiveness continues through adulthood. Also, the bullies may be four or more times as likely as non-bullies to be involved in numerous convictions of crimes. The bullies in general develop a necessity for power that is carried into their adult years. As adults, these bullies abuse of this power by being involved in sexual and racial harassment, child abuse, domestic violence, etc. Their need for power can also show up in how they parent their own children. In turn, their children may even bully other children in the future. In some cases bullies tend to have an antisocial personality disorder as opposed to anxiety disorders. An antisocial personality disorder involves a long-term disregard for others, delinquent behavior, violence, aggression, and violation of the rights of others. In other words, since bullies do not learn appropriate social skills when they are young, they grow up to be antisocial adults. They will have poor relationships with others, including family members, friends, and co-workers, among others. Finally victims aren't the only ones who may become depressed, think about suicide, or carry out suicide; in some cases, the same can be true for bullies. To conclude, it is important to notice that all these signs, which may not be present in the moment, would cause awful consequences to every part of this issue in the future and is not something that may be taken easily, on the contrary, must be treated carefully to help as much students as can be taken out of that, for those results presented before, we must stay alert at the sight of them and not blinding ourselves, in order to avoid the involvement of more students in the future.

My School Experience Reading And Writing - 905 Words

Throughout my school experience reading and writing was always a struggle for me. I did not like to read because I could not remember anything I read, and I did not like to write because what I wrote was unorganized. Reading also can help improve writing, but when I was younger, I was stubborn and not aware of that. I had no confidence and thought I was never going to achieve good grades in an English class. So I let my grades slip and with that I decided to not go to college after high school. A few years out of high school, I took courses and a course in English. In the course I learned a great deal and realized, finally, that it was my low confidence level that was affecting me negatively. Then, starting this class, years later, going through all the modules, it was interesting to see how wrong I have been writing in the past and that there are easy outlines that can help with organizing a paper. The writing process is there to help guide people along so the writing will flow easi er throughout an essay. With an abundance of hard work, reading essays and novels, going through the e-learning modules, and the help of my teacher and classmates, I have gained the self-assurance I needed to write well and understand the writing process. In the narrative essay I had assigned I really struggled finding an appropriate thesis, as well as, figuring out the difference between a narrative essay and reflective essay. I was getting the two types of essays mixed up. My narrative essayShow MoreRelatedThe Struggle Of Reading And Writing875 Words   |  4 PagesStruggle of Reading and Writing Throughout my years of schooling, I have become ambivalent about reading and writing. I have struggled in school to make myself enjoy writing. I didn’t mind reading as much, as long as it was to my interest. It has differed throughout the years I have been in school. Some years I have enjoyed both, reading and writing, and other years I have not liked either. Getting myself to enjoy reading and writing has been quite the adventure. In elementary school, I loved toRead MoreWriting : The Development Of Writing1329 Words   |  6 PagesThe development of writing begins as early as we learn how to write letters in preschool or kindergarten. Writing grows as we learn to read and write throughout our school days and beyond. Everyone has a unique story of his or her writing experiences; some have horrible experience, while others may have mentors that inspired them. One’s history, experiences, issues and the process of writing, all plays into how I, myself progress in writing. Many years have passed sense learning to write, thatRead MoreMy Life Of The Elementary School I Went Up A Whole New World849 Words   |  4 PagesAll throughout my life, I have had an interesting relationship with writing. As a child, my interests were more focused on reading than writing. In elementary school I fell in love with books. Initially I read simple children’s books, much like everybody else in my class, but it did not take long for my passion to drive me to read more difficult writings. Fiction books quickly became a replacement for any childhood toys. Instead of blocks or stuffed animals I would ask my parents for books. SinceRead MoreThe Importance Of Writing858 Words   |  4 PagesWriting to me has changed over the years as I experience more as I grow up. From thinking that writing is dull to believing writing is expressive and vibrant. From the learning toddler to the naive twelve year-old to the seventeen year-old scholar. I have many great and horrible experiences in writing which led to the writer I am today. Growing up as a second generation vietnamese-american was not as bad as people think. I learned English and Vietnamese at the same time as a child. I grew up speakingRead MoreMy Personal Literacy Journey895 Words   |  4 PagesRustyn Ristoff My Personal Literacy Journey Everything that we do requires words. Even when we think we create our memories out of words. One reason why we do not remember stuff when we are young is because we don’t have the words to put the information into to store it. Writing is very important because writing means everything, and if we didn t have writing, we wouldn t be able to spread ideas. The local and world news are in writing also so we need to be able to read the information. Also directionsRead MoreTaking Advanced Placement English Class880 Words   |  4 Pagesstraight A’s in their high school years. They take advanced placement classes, honors classes, or international baccalaureate classes to receive college credit during high school. However, most students have encountered an ordeal experience in advanced classes that change their academic life. They did not expect advanced class to be challenging that exceeds their knowledge. From writing free responses to memorizing complex concepts for multipl e choices, some students experience these hardships such asRead MoreLiteracy Is The Common Understanding Of Literacy988 Words   |  4 Pagesa certain chapter book, writing a story as a kid, or learning the basics of reading and writing as kid if you remember that far back. As good as I can remember literacy began with me understanding the first bigger book I read (a chapter book), moving on to writing stories in elementary school, then finally understanding and retaining the information from more complicated reading and writing throughout my school career. In elementary school I remember pretty vividly of my thoughts retaining to booksRead MoreLearning From A Foreign Language991 Words   |  4 Pagesfuture. I started reading and writing when I was 4, it was in Arabic and writing in Arabic doesn’t have many rules. So by the age of eight, I was done with learning how to read and write, and started my science studies. I gained some of my skills through writing in Arabic like meditation and the way of thinking, but this part of life is barely related to the kind of writer I am now, because writing in English is completely different. My first experience with reading and writing in English startedRead MoreAnalysis Of Shannon Nichols Proficiency Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Proficiency†, she bout her dislikes writing due to her experiences. While I was growing up, I never knew I would not like writing. People remind me of how I had great handwriting and loved to write stories. In college, I continue to struggle in wri ting essays and it is a challenge for me. Although Shannon Nichols and I despise writing growing up, we both have grown to become successful writers. My experience with literature started when I was in the first grade. My first-grade teacher was named MsRead MoreReading Reflection Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesThe transition from high school writing to college level reading and writing can be scary. The thought of having to write a paper at a higher level than what is used to can be intimidating, especially if the student feels unprepared. I know this was the case for me. I felt extremely unprepared for a college writing class. I did not have really any experience in writing papers, and no experience at all with having to read a complicated article, and then write a paper based on the information from