Principles of Corporate Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Principles of Corporate Finance - Essay Example For example, the year 2008 witnessed a global financial crisis, which had a significant impact on the cash flows of firms that depend on banks for funding. Even if Timbercorp may not have been directly affected, it may have indirectly been affected by a reduction in demand for its products on a global scale as consumers find it difficult meeting up with payments. Secondly, the economic environment is constantly changing. Interest rates and exchange rates continue to change and this has an effect on Timbercorp’s financing and investment decisions. As earlier mentioned, the company is a leading participant in the agribusiness sector through the food and fiber industries and the land and water rights and infrastructure associated with these industries. The sector provides a lot of opportunities and threats. As far as opportunities are concerned, the agribusiness sector remains a crucial part of the global economy and it is estimated to be worth approximately US$5trillion. In addi tion to its importance for delivering food security, it also encompasses half of the world’s labor force and assets as well as 40% of consumer purchases. Global population is expected to grow to approximately 8.3billion by the year 2030. These developments will help boost demand for Timbercorp’s products. The company anticipates a 60% rise in the demand for food and fiber products by 2030. However, there are also challenges for the company. For example, the amount of arable land is declining and these may adversely affect the company’s ability to meet rising demand for its products. Other challenges facing the company include rising operational costs, limitations on the access of water resources, as well as rising oil and gas prices.  The company reports that high oil and gas prices had a material adverse impact on harvesting and transportation costs as well as on the costs of fertilizers.  

Able Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Able Corporation - Essay Example Strategy choice and implementation are the primary determinants of strategy success. The analysis of strategy performance over time provides important diagnostic inputs into the development of strategy choice concepts. The early discussion highlights the importance of matching the strategy choice with the conditions of the environment and the organization's skills and resources. The long-term importance of selecting a sound initial strategy has research support. In order to define the identity of Able Corporation, it is important to take into account the nature of business and market strategies. Research suggests marketing strategy should be conceptualized and investigated within the context of the organizational mission. Most marketing strategy frameworks address the role of organizational mission but few empirical investigations actually take mission into account. Perception of market needs does not mean that an opportunity exists for any particular company (Fill, 1999). Available opportunities must be related to the particular company's resources, including its personnel, financial, and physical resources. Profitable courses of action vary with individual corporate postures and goals. The overwhelming majority of innovative opportunities will be rejected. But it is necessary to screen the many to find the few that do relate to the resources and the mission of the company (Johnson and Scholes, 1998). This function of innovation relates to specifying the company's innovative opportunity by identifying the various practical alternatives that exist to remedy the discovered dysfunctioning. This is a job in which the technician can assume a major responsibility. An analysis of total company operations and methods in the light of market opportunities is helpful in sifting the opportunities to arrive at the few that are most relevant and profitable for the company's current situation (Doyle and Stern, 2006). Because of different organizational goals and missions, each organizational type defines a unique strategic situation. The first group was labeled "mom and pop shops." These firms are extremely small and possess little marketing expertise or resources. The second group are stable, high-payoff companies. These enterprises have achieved some success and may have acquired substantial marketing expertise within a limited market. Such firms have no aspirations for future growth. A third group is composed of growth-oriented small firms. These are new ventures with a mission defined by aggressive growth (Johnson and Scholes, 1998). In order to prioritize the implementation steps, it is important to analyze a current market situation and take into account possible changes and market fluctuations. The extent to which a marketing strategy should be modified over time is an important strategy choice issue. Successful enterprises select and retain a strategy on a continuing basis. This issue has critical implications for the new enterprise, particularly when entering a new product-market where the lack of experience in the market provides little or no direction concerning strategy choice. Entrepreneurship research also provides insight into two important marketing strategy options: strategic alliances and product diversification. Small firms are also utilizing collaborative marketing strategies. In an empirical study of entrepreneurial high-technology firms, small firms at a competitive disadvantage with rivals in their industry were likely to utilize joint ventures or other cooperative strategies to launch new prod ucts (Doyle and Stern,

Properties, plant, and equipment in accounting theory Essay

Properties, plant, and equipment in accounting theory - Essay Example 2) Group costing (recording the cost as 800,000 for all the equipment together) affects the costing of the equipment in two ways. First, it is challenging to depreciate the items because they have different depreciation rates (Liapis & Christodoulopoulou, 2011). However, this risk may be eliminated in case their depreciation rate is the same. Second, it creates a reporting and cost allocation challenge, as the cost accountant cannot allocate costs effectively with group costing. Operational costs on the assets become hard to allocate. However, costing the items independently (single costing) will facilitate reporting because some of the equipment should be capitalized (fixed assets) while some would be expensed (inventory). 3) Group costing reduces the profit of the business. First, it increases the depreciation expense, which has a negative effect on the profit of the business. Group costing also eliminates gain on sale of the expenses assets (Herrmann, Thomas & Saudagaran, 2011). Introduction of unwarranted depreciation also affects the value of the assets as it lowers the item values in the end. However, single costing does not affect the value of the assets and maintains the profit of the business high, as the gains on sale are included in sales while the depreciation expense is removed. 4) The first problem imminent from the transaction is the possibility of double costing. In case the items are recorded as lump sum amount means that in case some of them are sold, they may be recorded again in sales without expensing them creating a double accounting problem (Weiss, 2012). Depreciation problem may also arise from the transactions. An accountant will find challenges in treatment of depreciation for the difference between the market value and purchase price. From the transaction, taxation challenges can also arise. When the transaction is taxed, the amount to be taxed may challenge the accountant. The

Heroin Essay Example for Free

Heroin Essay Heroin is a highly addictive analgesic drug. Heroin, which is a popular choice of drug in America, is not a new drug that magically popped up in the late 1960’s. In the mid 1800’s opium was a popular drug. Opium was brought to the country by Chinese immigrants who came here to work on railroads. In the old west alcoholism as a big problem and opium was promoted as a cure for alcoholism. Before it was illegal opium was developed as a pain killer in 1810. â€Å"It was considered a wonder drug because it eliminated severe pain associated with medical operations or traumatic injuries†. Heroin became popular in 1930’s and 1940s and then through the Beatnik subculture of the 1950s. During this period the major supply of heroin entering the U. S. Heinrichr Drese, a German physician, discovered heroin in 1895. He mixed acetyls with morphine, and thus, heroin was created. â€Å"Heroine is made in several different ways but they all come back to a single base- Morphine. Morphine comes from Opium, the resinous substance found inside the fruit of the opium poppy. Once the opium is harvested, its three main alkaloids (alkaloids are basically a biochemical found in plants) are separated into:Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine. Morphine and Codeine are the only two alkaloids which can be converted into Heroin. Thebaine is the base for bupenephrine which is a very strong narcotic pharmacologically and is mostly used in the treatment of opiate/opiod addiction. † Heroin has several different kinds of appearances. The purest heroin is a white powder but unlike cocaine it does not have a crystalline structure visible to the human eye; it looks more like powdered milk. The most commonly heroin in the U. S. is brown heroin. The lowest grade of heroin is Tar. It’s called Tar heroin because it looks like black tar. Usually a powder containing heroin (diacetylmorphine) hydrochloride and some kind of filler. This can be snorted or injected, sometimes it is heated on foil to create vapors to inhale, rarely it is eaten. Black tar or tar heroin is a less refined form of heroin hydrochloride that is sticky like opium. You can smoke heroin or inject it subcutanously (under the skin) or intravenously (into a vein). r ingest it (sniff it) or go out on a limb simply eat it (lessened effects). Heroin effects the central nervous system by depressing it. Heroin depresses nerve transmission in sensory pathways of the spinal cord and brain that signal pain. This explains why heroin is such an effective pain killer. Heroin also inhibits brain centers controlling coughing, and breathing. â€Å"First-time or infrequent users often experience nausea and vomiting after injecting heroin intravenously. † a heroin addict experiences a physical addiction to the drug. The addict needs to continue taking it to ward off withdrawal symptoms, including dysphoria (a combination of anxiety, depression and feeling restless), insomnia, muscle aches and diarrhea . Heroin affects our society because It causes first time users to become addicts, also it troubles/interfere with the nervous system. The Gender that uses heroin the most are males and the race that uses it the most are Hispanics. Heroin affects the central nervous system by depressing it. Heroin depresses nerve transmission in sensory pathways of the spinal cord and brain that signal pain. This explains why heroin is such an effective pain killer. Heroin also inhibits brain centers controlling coughing, and breathing. Shortly after using, a feeling of euphoria will come over users, in which they have a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth and the feeling of having heavy arms and legs. After the initial rush, users will go into an alternately wakeful and drowsy state sometimes called on the nod. Because heroin suppresses the central nervous system, the user experiences cloudy mental function. Users will begin to breathe at a slower rate and their breathing can reach a point of respiratory failure. Physical ways heroin can affect you: It slows down your heart beat breathing rate. The depth of your breathing becomes shallower. It slows down the movement in the Gastro-intestinal tract causing, Nausea vomiting, Constipation, Dry sticky mouth, Heroin decreases muscle tone strength resulting in, Slurred speech Sluggish movements, Delayed reactions response, a heavy sensation in arms legs, Lack of energy coordination. Heroin can affect you mentally by: Heroin causes confusion clouds your thought processes, You make irrational decisions. It alters your perception of reality, Emotional growth becomes arrested, It suppresses emotions, Heroin causes depression and lack of motivation, It gives you a false sense of detachment from reality the pain it may cause, You have a false sense of ‘normality’  Heroin can cause permanent brain damage involving: Learning short term memory, Emotional growth maturity, Decision making problem solving, Speech. The affects if heroin is used regularly: You develop a greater tolerance to all opiates , You become physically mentally dependent on heroin (or addicted) , Chemical imbalances in the brain affect your moods emotions, A depletion in the production of brain endorphin levels makes you depressed,Your body stops producing its own naturally occurring endorphins

Contracts :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Contracts Lump Sum Contract A defined lump sum plan expresses employees' pension benefits as a lump sum amount, which makes it easy for them to understand and appreciate the benefits. In many cases, the plans also allow employees to accrue larger benefits at younger ages than they would under a traditional pension plan. And, increasingly, defined lump sum plans provide "portable" benefits that employees can take with them if they leave the company before retirement age. Cost plus percentage contract: Cost-plus construction contracts are often used for projects in which an owner or developer wishes to retain flexibility in selecting construction materials or modifying the design during construction. Unless specifically described in the contract, the contractor and the owner/developer may have a different perception of what types of costs are reimbursable to the contractor. The cost-plus contract should include a section defining all of the types of costs that are reimbursable by the owner/developer, and most standard form contracts include such provisions. Cost plus fixed fee contract: A cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is a cost-reimbursement contract that provides for payment to the contractor of a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract. The fixed fee does not vary with actual cost, but may be adjusted as a result of changes in the work to be performed under the contract. This contract type permits contracting for efforts that might otherwise present too great a risk to contractors, but it provides the contractor only a minimum incentive to control costs. Design and build contract, also known as "package deal" and 'turnkey" contracts Turnkey drilling services offer a viable method for operators to better man age drilling risks and reduce costs. In the future, they may be able to utilize drilling management contractor services for complete field development programs. The offshore turnkey drilling industry remained a high-margin, low-volume business until about 1993 when turnkey drillers began to realize bidding prices were not competitive with most operators' internal cost estimates. Increasing market share could only be achieved by reducing margins to match the real competition, which is the operator's AFE (authority for expenditure). Since then, the number of offshore turnkey wells has increased almost every year. However, the future of the offshore drilling management services industry involves moving beyond merely providing a well or a completion for a fixed price.

Comparison of Roman and American slavery Essay

Slavery is one of the most common entities between the Roman’s society and the Western society in the late 1800’s. Both civilizations have many differences and similarities between their views on slavery, treatments of the slaves, and economics of slavery. Such similarities include the imprisonment of slaves, the cruel treatments towards slaves, and the legal status of slaves as their owner’s property. However, despite the many differences, slavery between polar societies always has its differences. These differences include the rights of the slaves, the slave’s origins, and the payment of the slaves. Through the comparison of slavery present in Western society of the later 1800’s and Roman society, several astonishing similarities and differences become apparent, especially when considering the movie, â€Å"Sparticus†. The astonishing amount of similarities between the slavery in Roman society and the slavery in Western society show the great importance of slavery to one’s populace. In both society’s, the slave was the basic unit of society, for all of the agricultural market rested upon their shoulders. Just as cotton was the staple crop of the United States, wheat was the fundamental crop in Roman society, both of which are cultivated by slaves. In both societies, owning a multitude of slaves showed one’s social status, for if one owned numerous slaves, then they were considered wealthy. Additionally, the lower class looked down upon the slaves as lower individuals than themselves, treating them like animals through their constant beatings and tiresome work. This work that the slaves had to endure was similar in both societies, for they similarly had to work in the fields for long hours. A child born of a slave woman was a slave (the legal status of his father being irrelevant) and the property of the slave woman’s owner. Ultimately, the Roman and Western society’s views and actions upon slaves were the same in several ways, yet there will always be differences between the two. The differences between the Roman and Western treatment and thoughts about slavery seem to be even more immense than the similarities, but you must keep in mind that the two society’s thrived in completely different ages  with different circumstances. In Roman society, the slaves were all prisoners of war from various countries and races not just one race like the Western slavery. In United States, the slavery consisted of almost all Africa-American captives who didn’t have any interference with their society before they were beginning to be imprisoned. Another difference is the ability for the Roman slaves to rebel with a large force, while the American slaves only tried to run away. The Roman slaves created large slave armies, while the American slaves only created the secret underground railroad. Just as the Romans gather together large quantities of slaves to create an army, Sparticus similarly was one of Rome’s great heroes who shows the similarities and d ifferences between Roman and Western slavery. In the movie, â€Å"Sparticus†, there are several events which allow the viewer to compare Roman slavery to that of Western slavery. In the movie, the slaves were paid small sums of money for their efforts, as seen when they are able to buy the several fleets of ships. However, in Western slavery, the slaves were seldom paid, because they were considered property of their owner. Furthermore, Roman slaves were trained in specific arts and crafts, such as the slave who Sparticus met that was a singer and magician. In Western society, on the other hand, the slaves mostly just cooked the meals and worked in the fields. However, the similarity between the two society’s includes the abuse felt by the slaves. In the movie, Sparticus was constantly hit with the wooden paddle and made to fight as a gladiator, just as the American slaves were whipped and hung by their white masters. The movie, â€Å"Sparticus†, is an excellent example of the treatment and views of slavery in Roman society, all of which can be compared and contrasted to American slavery. There are several similarities and differences between the slavery present in Roman society and Western society. Just some of the similarities include the society’s views on slavery, the treatments of the slaves, and economics of slavery. Several more differences arise, on the other hand, because of the vast time and cultural differences between these two civilizations. These differences include the rights of the slaves, the slave’s origins, and the payment of the slaves. Through the comparison of slavery present in Roman  society and American society, several intriguing similarities and differences become apparent, especially when considering the movie, â€Å"Sparticus†.

History of nonprofit organizations Essay

The history of the nonprofit organizations in the US is dated back to the mid of 19th century. They came as important tools to look after the effects of the slavery activity. Generally, a non-profit organization is an organization with a legal constitution whose creation is by private people/persons or elsewhere organizations without any fundamental representation within the government activity. At the epochs of globalization effect in early 20th century, the subject matter of nonprofit organization became yet a more featured activity. This was at the realization that the central government could not serve to solve most of the people’s problems. Even the existing national and international organizations had their roots to serve the interest of capitalists more than the general human population. To strike a counterbalance to this irrationality, development of these organizations was biased in fostering development, providing humanitarian support and aiding in development sustainability. Their development came inform of various types with interest in different areas of humanity. Depending on the purpose and role to serve and play in the society, development of these organizations is fundamentally made to provide an environment for support into different spheres of humanity. At one view, they engage in designing and implementing projects which are related on development. This provides the conventional understanding of them in providing development support to the community. Their classification within US is in terms of development oriented, international, community based or even national organizations. Their purposes are different and mainly depend on the kind of service they provide to the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nonprofit organizations in the US can as a refuge to the long suffering of human beings at different levels. They came to bridge the gap of inefficiency which was provided by the political and governmental structures within the US governance system. Their basic aim is to provide various conditions which are solemn to providing various support structure to improve the human population. Their method of activity is also diverse coming in form of lobby groups, initiative programs above community-based activities for service to the people. The basic rule with all non-profit organization in US and the general world is that they are strictly not made to make profit benefits in their foundations. They should service the interest of the community in line with their activity to ensure high standards of service output. The nonprofit and non-benefit nature of these organizations is provided by the legal structure of the Federal Legal system which recognizes their presence and roles before instituting various legal parameters. At the individual/internal capacity, they are guided by various legal autonomies within  Ã‚   constitutional framework that embody their activity. They are free from the authorities of international laws. (Hall, 22)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, their role and purpose is diverse and depends on the basic purpose for their formation. However, the basic purpose is to provide service to humanity by confronting various issues that affect the human population. Either, their development is only made to serve the interest of a specific population of the people in which they are instituted. In the US, nonprofit organizations come in a huge number making more than 600, 000. In regard to their functional outlay, they are instituted for environmental conservation, human rights encouragement and observance, taking care and improving the inequalities within the disadvantaged societal population, or even having an agenda on corporate representation to the society. They rise as corporations to provide refuge to the human population by acting on provision of the basic inequalities allied to the society. They aim at providing structures that provide support in the well-being of the society. It seeks to provide autonomy in the observation of well-founded societal image before driving the society to attainment of its mission. Key guiding principles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to the diversity of culture and operations by these organizations, some principles help as guide for their activity. At one point, the principles provide rationality in the support of equality in the basic corporate governances which help to ensure observation of the conventional purpose allied to their formation. Firstly, all non profit organizations are to be guided by the principle of optimal costing. This is in the realization of their nonprofit nature which provides support for the most adequate costing system. Costing is observable in the budgeting systems which help to provide a support for the best cost parameter.   Budgeting involve the control of funds to ensure the most adequate use of their financial authorities. Costing principle is guided by their non-profit/benefit nature which prevents any financial advantage in terms of profit or benefits to any party. The Federal Law recognizes the importance of costing principle in these organizations before instituting various laws and regulations to guide them in their support for the most optimal interest to the community in service.   This principle is fundamentally obliged in internalizing the cost parameters in the organizations financial outlay in terms of their grants, cost of contracts, financial utilization and allocation and any other fundamental activity allied to the costing system. The aim of the principle is to provide a concrete share of the cost liberation by federal government in the administration process of the non-profit organizations within its framework. Either, the principles help to define in the standards of approach and use in providing structures for adequacy in the financial management and quotations of their costs in activities and processes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Either, all non-governmental organizations are to be guided by adequate public relations standards. With their role and activity outlay within the society, these organizations should always provide structures for standard relationships with the general public population. This is a basic factor if their role of meeting the societal goals is not to be compromised. Public relations are the basic tools with which various organizations such as charity organizations and foundations use to capture the relative interest of the general public. Through sophistication in the public relations activities, many organizations are able to raise their funds. They use various lobbying techniques to seek financing from the government and other statutory sources. Either, high public relations to interest groups help to provide importance of benefits with their fundamental influences to the social systems and political standards. Either, their public relations support helps to campaign adequately among the human population to achieve their basic missions and goals. (Dimagio, Anheir, 152)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the diversity in the activities and mission statement, all non-profit organizations are provided with support by high standards of monitoring process and control of activities. Controlling and monitoring is a basic principle which helps to ensure a coordinated approach in all their activities. All activities and processes are controlled and monitored in order to ensure a support of the basic activity and fulfillment of their service to the general public. This principle provides an oversight into the basic fundamentals that help to ensure a logical collaboration between the various structures of the organization. At one point, controlling and also monitoring seeks to provide accountability for the character and effect of the process and activities. It seems to provide a sanction of coordinated approach with which activities are done according to their optimal requirement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non profit organization are free from jurisdiction and control by the federal government unless of very explicit legal controls. As a basic and conventional principle, these organizations are supposed to be out of the federal legal system. The guiding force and regulations should be based on the specific standards and requirements of specific organization. This is by conventional due to the role played by the organizations as a bridge towards the rigidities found in the federal legal system. Either, they should not be allied to the international legal process. The principle of free government control should therefore prevail. Otherwise, any interaction and control by he federal government would betray their mission since majority are founded as lobby groups to act against the federal system legal inequalities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As an ethical parameter, the funding process and activities should fundamentally be authentic. This should seek to provide an atmosphere for the most adequate income flow. The funding principle is a subject of the costing principle with which the size and scale of funding is to be determined and evaluated in a conventional costing system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Democracy should always prevail in all activities of these organizations. There foundations are aimed at providing support for the general interest of the public population. They are interest groups which serve stop the basic loopholes and rigidities of the federal legal system. Democracy helps to provide equity and equality in service provision to the public. It seeks to ensure that the interest of the public is seldom at par with the good of the society. This is a preferential requirement which gives the community an optimal opportunity of enjoying basic interest in the community development process. They should invite for free contribution, comment and exercise of the members allied to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Either, the performance of their work should be at peaceful and harmonious grounds where no external harassment, intimidation, reprisal and discrimination is to support their basic activities. This helps to formulate standards of activity where they are to act and perform at their most discretional and willing capacity without any external effect. Either, there should be no external influence by the federal governmental which is to provide support for the well being of the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elsewhere, they should be provided with conditions for seeking, managing, receiving and administering their activities in the support of international, domestic and foreign activities and entities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Equally, individual joining, formations and participation in such organizations should be at the discretion guided by their freedom and rights of expressions, associations and peaceful assembly. This helps to provide standards with which the governmental regulations are not to shape the interest and nature of the organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the principles are to provide support for the authenticity and the well being of the society, the governments of democratic countries are to act adequately in the effect of the strong withstanding of these organizations from the inadequate influence of the national systems. The violations of their basic principles should therefore call for a close action by the national government in their effective defense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of ethics is fundamentally critical in analyzing the management system of the non profit organizations. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management Standards (ANMS) is the movement allied to setting and establishing ethical standards for use and applications by the organizations. Ethical management is closely allied and synonymous to adequate management. Ethical management is a subject of nonprofit organizations leadership which help to ensure a conduct within the gross corporate requirement. It’s a basic support that provides harmony in the institutional framework of these organizations. They help to provide a peaceful coordination in implicit formality to ensure ways and means to safeguard the interests of the stakeholders. At one edge, it helps to provide responsibility and either set the respective ideals in the professional outlay of the organization. On the extreme end, unethical management is what violates the basic principles of nonprofit organizations. Its operations are to provide for a continued inequality in the role they play in the society. Such unethical management is a way of administration and organizational leadership which provokes the legal authenticity of the nonprofit mission statement. Generally, every ethical management is to provide solid protection for the organizations clientele and professional system. Either, such management does not compromise structure for acceptance into adequate system of administration and also the will of guidance to the people. It does not compromise on improving the consistency and also the quality of the life of the individual human population with which it provides service to. Ethical management provides a standard collaboration in the activities of the organizations. Every ethical management is aimed at rationalizing the quality, support and formulating high integrity for capacity building within the organization’s activities. Due to the fragility and the developing nature of the capacity building within these organizations, every epoch of the legitimate leadership standards to provide support for the mission statement of these organizations. Ethical behaviors in the leadership autonomy, helps to provide effectiveness and promotion of capacity building in the functional outlay of these organizations. Ethical management equals ethical standards which ensure a support for standardized capacity building.   Ethical managing is a tool for promoting a better clientele service and activity within the organizational framework. It is an approach which seeks to ensure control of the interest conflict within the organizational function. (Waden, 715)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, unethical management is subject to providing inadequacy in the standards of the organizations activity. This is the leadership activity which destabilizes the functional capacity of the organization. It is a leadership activity (management appraisal) which brings conflict to the organization. Elsewhere, unethical management does not focus on maintaining the basic principle allied to nonprofit organizations. This is the management system which down looks major rules and processes within the organizations which ensure a collaborated approach in service delivery and promotion of efficiency in the organization’s activities. Legal framework   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, non-profit organizations have a lot to do with its legal status. At one level, many states have well provided laws which govern the activity of the organizations. Either, these laws help to regulate the management system and formulate the various requirements for their establishment. The nature of these laws is to provide standards of support for management process which does not overlook the systems of corporate governance. Above the state laws, their internal systems is driven and monitored by authorities which provide support for basic organizational coordination. Above the many legal requirements, these organizations should provide well detailed support of their financial activities. This should have a clear picture in the level of expenditure and also income flow within their transactions. The legal system requires them to have a full support for the governance and management system by providing a layout of their organizational management staff. The legal structure under the federal system also provides the level of structural formulation. It pronounces the legal terms with which these organizations are made to follow in the pursuit of their administration from the legal status portfolio as the tax exemption clause. This provides that the organizations are to enjoy income tax free activities. Tax exemption in US is through Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, this exemption is only enjoyed by organizations which meet specific statutory requirements which includes, limited spending, safeguard for charity interest in its internal affairs above specifity in its purpose. Tax exemption is required a full commission to the requirement of the nonprofit organization’s activities. (Walden, 719) Deviations from this standard requirement will lead to the withdrawal of the tax exemption requirement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the Federal Law has a weak force in providing for charity and non-governmental operations. It fails to substantially provide the basic requirements for what should be done by the organizations. However, lack of strong legal concern does not mean that the state government should run these organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the basic legal authority of the non profit organizations is bound to be self regulatory without operational influence of both the state and the international laws. The organizations are made to provide their own management system which should not go by the standard of approach and regulation by the state law. However, private control by these organizations is the foremost influence of inadequacies in the fundamental activities. Due to their solidary private control and governance, these organizations will at many a time endure inefficiencies in the administrative prospects. Their private nature is the basic initiative for mismanagement and rebel over many interests at the expense of the federal system laws and regulations. (Til, 54) Governance and board development strategies. With the fragility allied to the activities of the non-profit organizations, governance and board development posits an important factor. Consideration for the most optimal governance and development within such organization should not be compromised. However, essential of board development should provide strategies which helps to ensure the most adequate board system. Firstly, the choice in strategy should not overlook the role of the board. However, the achievement of the goals and missions of the organization should be promoted. This helps to ensure high standards of achieving the standards of the organization. Either, adequate support by the board helps to facilitate a comprehensive support for the roles of the organization. However, supported training to board members should seek to ensure the most adequate governance structure within the organizations. (Axelrod, 142)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nonprofit organizations come as fundamental bodies that seek to refuge the problems allied to the current regime where such organizations have risen falsely with even non-functional activity and performances. The board should therefore reclaim the specific roles they are made to play within the organizations. This is to ensure a richly state of practices. Either, the board has a sublime role to play in the governance of the organization. Unless the society is provided with clarity of the authenticity in the activities within the organization, various stakeholders may not have the will to participate fully in the organization’s activities. The board is allied to a functional capacity which helps to provide strength of the weaknesses born in the institutional and also management capacities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The boards’ development should therefore provide various strategies which help to give a comparative impression for adequate activities within the organization. This should seek to give directions on strategies and goals for facilitating control on organizational issues. Every governance structure will therefore help to provide a strong coordination of the internal outlay of the organization. The rules of many boards reduce shortly after the registration of the organization where such boards disintegrate out. There functional layout is mostly seen at the growth stage and emergent stage of these organizations. However, they normally posses unclear or even poor definition in the goals of the organization. There is lack of understanding of the governance requirements. The next aspect is the modality of conflict among them and the organizations management.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, every strategy in board development should perpetuate a board which ensures effective board’s activity. Adequacy in such board should not compromise training of the board members. Training is therefore an important strategy which should be used to overcome the inequality born by the weak board systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The board development process helps to ensure a board which helps to coordinate adequately the activity of the organization. For adequacy in the leadership and governance styles within the organization, the board provides an authentic support for the organizational activity. The development process of the organization’s board should use various developmental initiates as strategies with which it will be able to adjust its board development process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Either, the mission of the organization should be a basic fundamental aspect when defining the nature of the board development. The organizations mission should be the basic tool which helps to shape the nature of the board. Through the mission statement, the characters and the nature of the board will thus be shaped. Elsewhere, the organization program should a basic guiding strategy towards a better coordinated approach for the governance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A coherent plan of its strategies should guide the organization in developing its board. Since organizational strategies vary with its mission and activity, the package of strategies should seldom be the guiding factor towards the nature of its board.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Governance structure system of the organization plays an important role in defining the nature of activities it plays within the community. Sound governance is very important in defining the scale of attainment of the mission statement. Either, the governance system borrows its authority from the management and the board outlay. Adequacy in the governance plays a predominant role in defining the level with which the organization is able to achieve its goals. Either, the structure of the board defines the standards with which the governance of the organization is to be. (Silk, 76)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By their nature, non profit organizations are formed on private grounds to overseer the interest of the people. Every good relationship between such organizations and the community /public should fundamentally be provided for. Generally, the relationship between these organizations and the community is ideally rationally close. It seeks to create an incentive of participation between the community and such organizations. Elsewhere, lack of adequate relationship between the two would definitely mean standards of high activity and a reasonable state of coordination and surveillance for the community. The interest of the organizations is in the provision of service to the general public. Adequate attempt of coordination between them and the community should be provided as the best initiative which provides grounds for service to the human population. Financial and human resource management A package of basic principles in the financial management, human resource management and fund development act as the guiding rule for these organizations. Financial management is an approach of administration in which the financial inflow and outflow is monitored considerably .This is to ensure that the financial transactions are at the most optimal discretion to provide support for the community. Either, this is aimed at providing the closest relationship between the community and the organization . However, the basic principle is the optimal costing principle which is applied to provide the most adequate system of financial use in the financial system .Optimal costing implies that the financial inflow and outflows is at the greatest capacity to provide support for the use of the finances. Generally poor financial use has been the benchmark in lack of trust to many of the organizations by the community, government and private financiers .Therefore every optimal costing should seek to serve the interest of the stakeholders in the organization. Either, like any other organization, these organizations should provide financial management systems which ensure the right perception by both the internal and external environments. Accountability provides a support for financial management .The internal financial position, standards and figures are used by the internal management to make decisions about the organization .Through adequate disclosures of the financial documents, and the management is able to make the relevant decisions (Linnel, Radoserich, Spack, 48) Generally, these organizations are to maintain their financial accounting in the principle provided by the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Such provide that financial accounting follow the international standards in support of the financial documents Either all non profit organizations ought to have a system of internal control. This is to ensure that the financial transactions abide by the conventional system of management Elsewhere non profit organizations are supposed to have full provision of reports to the finance management and to be provided to the relevant stakeholders such as financiers. Adequate financial reports are important to every activity of management within the organizations Generally the management should use systems of adequate control on their budgets which ensures adequate control in their budgetary system .Budgeting is very important for every activity allied to the organizations. Financial management also provide a requirement in which the governance structure has clarity in its role play to the organization,s financial management . Adequacy in the role play by individual members provides accountability support for it’s   individual persons. Elsewhere, financial management seeks to provide the basic requirements which may be required by the different donors in the use and the allocation process of the funds .Above all, financial records are to be submitted to any stakeholder in use and control of the organization if need be for effective management. Due to the importance attached to the human capital in these organizations various principles are applied to provide a support for the most functional human capital. Many of the organizations are involved in the provision of service to the human population. To many organizations, the human workforce is large with professionalism and competence provided for all. Therefore, the organizations should not look down to the nature in which the human capital support can be provided to the service output. However, depending on the organization, various principles embody there activities. (Hall, 26) Firstly training and human force development is never compromised. This is in the realization of role played by every upright and experienced work force. They ensure various training programs for their workforce. Within the scope of the workforce management, aspect of planning and design of work for them is highly vigilant. Proper planning and design of work is important in every attempt to reduce conflict between them. Planning is made according to some preferential attributes. Time and again, the organizations provide an adequate support in the employee recruitment process and the selection for new staff. This is via the use of modalities of high competence and management. In all the activities, the rights of employees are never overlooked. This is a principle which applies to all employees of these organizations. It ensures providing support for the workers in enjoying and exercising their contribution to the organization. This is an attempt to provide support for ensuring that workers are not exploited of their resource capital. (Jeavons, 218) Workers exploitation is the main cause of conflict at the working environment. Also, the principle of performance management holds true in these organizations. Performance management involves monitoring of the role played by the workers through surveys and study activities. Performance management provides support for adequacy and optimal performance by these workers to ensure the most optimal output by the workers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fund development is an important tool in the non profit organizations. Such organizations are allied to formulating various fund development strategies. Fund development implies the system of approach in creating funds and using supporting tools for creating their donation. This helps to provide support for fund raising and using methods to attract funds from the donors and finances. Fund development uses the tool of public relations to create fundamental environment with which such financiers can be motivated to run the organization. Fund development is a management attribute which seeks to investigate the financial support system so that adequacy in the organizations funds can be ensured. Since this is a management process, it uses basic tools and approaches which provide support for the highest funding. Fund development will help to provide the organization with a relieved workload and hence avoid not meeting financing deadlines. This is an important aspect in the management structure since it is the driving force of the organization towards its goals achievement is the level of funds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Financial and human resource management, and also fund development are closely interrelated. Firstly, these are system of management and governance of the organization which provide the most adequate corporation in the organizational structure to provide an authentic goal and mission achievement. The success of each implies and promotes the success of the other. At one level, good fund development is allied to financial management where the tools of financial management are used to adequately apportion and budget for the collected funds. Either, all the activities that include financial management and fund development are provided by an adequate structure of human resource. This provides a support for the adequacy into the activities of the organization. Human resource package is fundamental in defining the nature of performance of all the organizations activities. Emerging practice in non profit organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, the non profit organizations’ activities have had a diverse state of practices that are emerging out from the conventional outlay of the organizations in the US and the world in general. These practices have been key pillars in providing a support for the most authentic system of support for the future of the organizations. The sector is perhaps having a brighter future when its activities and processes are under a good system of practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Firstly, policy and framework on the legal parameter guiding the organizations have been developed on fountain grounds. Adequacy in the legal policies is a fundamental subject in providing adequate support for their performance. Policies ensure a coordinated approach in the standards of the organization legal framework which ensures that conflict is reduced between the organizations activities in terms of its structures and stakeholders. Through a support for strong legal modalities that act as pillars of the organization, the management process of the organizations is highly strengthened with little or no conflict in their governance process. Strong legal framework has ensured that the organizations act within the basic legal requirements that promote the best relation with the community. Either, adequate structures above programs as well as services ensure a coordinated link between the organization. Every organization is accompanied by a structure of specific programs, and structure which help to ensure a strong personal activity.   Adequate programs and high maintained and supported structural authenticity has ensured a continued high activity and dominance of the organizations in the society. Program system is the nature of the activity support for the organization. Strong program and services outlay provide a support for a continued rationality of organizations within the society. (Til, 53) Generally, the organizations act within the human capacity.   This is synonymous to capacity-building by the human populations.   Human capacity has been a basic tool for leading to changes in the social structures and hence provides conditions for the most adequate human life potential in the global portfolio. Their nature is in service to humanity. Within the changing nature of the social structures, capacity building remains an important aspect in rationalizing the societal activities. Providing adequate outcomes in their performance and the measures in their activity is also an emerging practice. There has been an increased activity in the analysis of their activities.   Performance outcome seeks to study the scale with which the activities described to the organizations provide the most adequate and profitable benefits. Summarily therefore, the aspects of nonprofit organizations is fundamentally critical and capturing an enormous scale of activities within its jurisdiction.   They does a lot in support the human population.   Their adequacy depends on the manner with which management is done in due course. Work cited Axelrod, Nancy R. (2005). Board leadership and development. In. R.D. Herman, Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, pp. 142, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications. Dimaggio, Paul J. and Anheier, Helmut K. (1990). The sociology of nonprofit organizations and sectors. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 6, pp152. Hall, P. H (2005). Historical perspectives on nonprofit organizations in the United States, In. R.D. Herman, Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, pp. 22, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications. Jeavons, T. H. (2005). Ethical Nonprofit Management. In R.D. Herman, Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, pp. 218. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications. Linnell, D, Radosevich, Z, Spack, J, ( 2001). Executive Director’s Guide: A Guide for successful Nonprofit Management. Pp.48. Boston: United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Silk, T. (2005). The legal framework of the nonprofit sector in the United States. In. R.D. Herman, Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, pp.76, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications. Til, V. (2005). Nonprofit Organizations and Social Institutions, In. R.D. Herman, Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, pp.53, San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications. Walden, G. (2007). Who’s watching us now? The nonprofit sector and the new government by surveillance. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 35, 719

Complete Guide on How to Write a Compelling Biology Term Paper

Complete Guide on How to Write a Compelling Biology Term Paper A biology term paper is a type of research paper that is traditionally completed by students and based on the material they studied during the term. As a matter of fact, a mark for this particular paper defines the grade for the whole semester and, for that reason, this assignment is considered to be the most important among the others. Typically, the Biology term paper describes some events, significant concepts, or presents and evaluates some arguments related to natural sciences that study various living organisms, the similarities and differences in their physical structures, numerous chemical, biological, and physiological processes, stages of their development, and the history of evolution in general. The chosen topic should be discussed by the author of the paper in general, have three or more pages in length, and be submitted by students at the end of every semester. It happens that the term paper is misinterpreted as a research paper. Nonetheless, there is a significant diff erence between these two types of academic writing. Thus, the term paper discusses the information related to the course and provides its evaluation by the student while a research paper includes well-developed academic research and may include new arguments that have not been studied throughout the term. Because the grade for the Biology term paper influences a semester mark considerably, it is highly advisable for students to follow the instructions strictly. In addition, it is necessary for students to do their best to make a precise examination of the chosen topic and add some personal evaluation of it showing the deep knowledge of the discussed issue to the professor. Thus, biology term paper writing may discuss the process of cloning, analyze its development through world history, evaluate its types, and characterize future tendencies of creating genetically identical creatures. If you have studied hormones, it is possible for you to include the evaluation of their different kinds in your academic writing, discuss their main functions, and define their role in the development and functioning of the whole living organism. Besides, there is a great number of other interesting topics to be chosen like the immune system of humans and its sophisticated structure or plant pathology th at discovers diseases in trees and plants. Furthermore, it is important for you to provide personal thoughts on the issue and add some considerations on it, both summarizing the information and giving a new, fresh look at the topic in general. With the help of the Biology term paper, the professors traditionally evaluate your proficiency in this science and expect you to perform your best. Besides, it is a great opportunity to add some additional scores to your final grade and prepare a significant ground for the academic activity in the future as the term paper may be developed into a thesis or a dissertation and support you for a degree or even a professional qualification. In order to develop a well-constructed Biology term paper, it is essential to follow some steps that will help you to choose a topic, create a thesis statement, and proofread the text. The Aspects of Picking the Mind-Blowing Topics The first step to complete the assignment is to choose the topic. If there is a list of topics provided by your professor, pick up the most captivating of them. Thus, you should be interested in discussing the topic; otherwise, it would be difficult to write this assignment and express valuable thoughts and considerations to the point. In the majority of cases, students should choose the topic by themselves, and it is a chance to develop the paper on the unusual and captivating issue that motivates you to read a significant amount of related material and think of new approaches to the discussed issue. Thus, choosing a topic is considered to be the most important step for your academic writing as it sets the tone for the whole Biology term paper and defines its academic value. You should take into account that not every topic is easy to evaluate. Some of them are too complicated or include too much information to examine. Besides, it happens that the chosen topic is not covered in books and articles. As a result, it would be difficult for you to complete the assignment on such a topic as there would be no particular information for you to evaluate. Here are easy and useful tips you can use to choose the most appropriate biology term paper topic: Take a sheet of paper and put down as many keywords as you can and brainstorm them. This way, you will be able to think of a topic of the paper, its title, and the thesis statement, the three most important parts of the academic work. The keywords may be related to various kinds of diseases, life cycles of different creatures, the effect of global warming and different natural environment on this life cycle, types of genes, allergies, and many other topics you have covered during your term at the educational establishment. Look through the notes you have made during the term. It happens that you will be interested in the topic you have covered at the beginning of the semester or the issue you have forgotten about. Besides, lecture notes usually include a significant amount of relevant information and may help you to develop the topic or provide some supportive facts and pieces of evidence. Thus, you will have a guideline to follow and several arguments to be evaluated thoroughly. Find related material and look through it. The general background information that is usually presented in dictionaries, books, newspapers, and specialized journals may help you to think of a good topic for your Biology term paper and to consider related issues. This approach also helps to find some valuable sources and create a well-developed work. Develop the topic for your paper from the thesis statement. Your thesis should be a lengthy and comprehensive sentence that provides the answer to the main questions. Besides, it is necessary for the thesis statement to introduce to the audience the purpose of the paper and give the general idea about the discussed material. Besides, you can choose one of the topics mentioned below: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning and Its Development in the Nearest Future; Stem Cells as the Main Possible Cure for Cancer; The Immune System and Its Main Functions; Causes of the Downs Syndrome and Its Impact on the Development of the Person; Types of Genetic Disorders, Their Major Characteristics, and Evaluation; Causes, Effects, and Treatments of Anemia; Genetic Modification of the Products and Their Impact on the Living Organisms; Genetic Engineering as the Key to the Treatment of Deadly Diseases in the Future; The Algorithm of Work for Disease-Causing Organisms and the Major Mechanisms of Their Elimination. Before You Start Writing the Paper: Pre-Writing Tips Read the instructions provided by the professor thoroughly as, here, the main demands for your assignment regarding the format of the paper, the number of sources and pages are indicated. Thus, the next step after choosing a topic is to conduct thorough research. First of all, look through the lecture notes, recommended books and articles because they may include the most valuable information. While searching for the material, you should also visit the student library and search for reliable sources such as books, peer-reviewed articles, journals, magazines, and official reports. Besides, you can surf the Internet to find relevant facts and pieces of evidence to support your topic as, nowadays, there is a significant number of online resources that can help you to create the basis for your term paper and develop it properly. Next, look through the material with a sheet of paper and put down the titles of the books and articles, their authors, and dates of publishing because you will need this information while creating the reference list. To save interesting Internet resources, you can bookmark them and store the information on your computer. Do not forget to use sources that have been published recently as they contain up-to-date information on the topic, when the resources published many years ago can provide irrelevant data that may spoil your paper. Another pre-writing tip is to create an outline. Define the main paragraphs of the paper and put down the man issues you are about to discuss. As a result, this approach will save a significant amount of your time and will prevent you from making structural errors. Finally, you should take into consideration that your term paper is required to have a particular formatting style. If you are not acquainted with APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other formatting styles, check their samples on the Internet and bookmark the one you need. The Basic Structure of the Biology Term Paper Each term paper, as well as any other academic paper, has a particular structure: A cover page. Traditionally, a cover page includes the title, the name of the student, the professor’s name, the course number, the name of the educational institution, and the date of submission; An abstract page. Sometimes, the instructions require the paper to have an abstract page. This part of the term paper presents a short description of the discussed topic to the audience. Besides, this part usually explains the scientific value of the chosen topic and mentions its main issues; Introduction. This section of the term paper introduces the topic to the audience and grasps the attention with the thesis statement. Traditionally, the introduction is only one paragraph long and provides a comprehensive evaluation of the topic; Body paragraphs. You should think of three or more well-developed body paragraphs with citations, examples, and your thoughts on the point. In these parts, your main purpose is to convince the audience and prove your arguments. Conclusion. As well as the introduction, the conclusion usually consists of one comprehensive paragraph that includes the restatement of the thesis, the summary of the provided arguments, and some possible solutions. Reference list. Here, you should mention all the used sources, format them correspondingly, and arrange in the alphabetic order. Additional information (if necessary). After the reference list, it is possible to include tables, graphs, and relevant pictures. Tips from Our Experts on How to Proofread Your Biology Term Paper Wisely The final block of biology term paper writing tips is related to proofreading. Detecting and correcting errors is considered to be one of the most important steps as it defines the quality of the final paper. These are the tips you should follow in order to proofread your term paper properly: Read the whole paper aloud. This approach allows detecting minor and major grammar mistakes and various spelling errors. Besides, it helps to recognize repetitious words and phrases, unnecessary articles and strange word combinations. To save time, you can use one of the free online checkers that highlight errors and provide possible substitutions to the repetitious words; Check the structure of your term paper. Thus, it should include all the necessary parts: the title page, the abstract page, the introduction part, the body paragraphs, the conclusion, the reference page, and additional materials (if required); Check all the facts and evidence included in the paper which are taken from the reliable sources; Check the format of the paper. The paper should be arranged in correspondence to the format mentioned in the professor’s instructions. Find the sample on the Internet and set the same margins, line spacing, font, and font size for your term paper. Do not forget about the reference list and in-text citations as they should correspond to the chosen format as well; Check the paper for plagiarism. Nowadays, it is possible to do it with a great variety of online plagiarism checkers available for free. Follow these easy and useful biology term paper writing prompts, and you are expected to get a high grade for your term paper and improve your final semester grade significantly. References A Biology Term Paper: Coming Up With Excellent Topics. (2018). Retrieved from http://openscrolls.org/a-biology-term-paper-coming-up-with-excellent-topics.html Haq, M. (2017). Biological Research Paper Topics. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/biological-research-paper-topics-4149.html How to Select a Research Topic. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.umflint.edu/library/how-select-research-topic How to Write Guide: Sections of the Paper. (2011). Retrieved from http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html Writing Scientific Papers. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.colby.edu/biology/BI17x/writing_papers.html

Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar

Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar By Maeve Maddox To begin with, Caesar was a family name. Now, in various forms, it is a generic term for ruler or emperor. In Roman naming practice, a newborn child was given three names (tria nomina). The praenomen was a name like Lucius or Marcus. The second name was the name of the tribe, clan, or gens, such as the Julii or Cornelii. The third name was the cognomen, a nickname that distinguished one branch of a gens from another. Sometimes an adult would adopt a fourth name called an agnomen. This was a nickname he had earned himself. Caesar was the cognomen of the family to which the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar was born. Its origin has been explained in various ways: The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarian section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedo, caedere, cecidi, caesum).[5] The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin oculis caesiis); or that he killed an elephant (caesai in Moorish) in battle.[6] Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name.[7] (Wikipeda) Julius Caesar himself had a receding hairline so another possible explanation is that his family may have carried the gene of male pattern baldness and the nickname Caesar (hairy) was ironic. When Julius Caesar was killed, his nephew, whom he adopted as his heir, took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. The Octavianus was his birth name so he kept it. Later on the Senate gave him the agnomen Augustus. Thats the name by which he is known as the first Emperor of Rome. Augustus and his first four successors were related by blood so they all more or less had the right to the name Caesar. After the death of Nero, however, the Empire was up for grabs. In the chaotic year of the four emperors that followed Neros death, the name Caesar became a synonym for ruler. Galba was the first to assume it as a title. (He got to use it for about seven months.) So famous was the title Caesar that it found its way into all the European languages. It was probably the first Latin word adopted by the Germanic languages to which English belongs. The Romans pronounced the word with a hard c and thats how it came into the Germanic languages. If it hadnt been for the immense influence of Norse and French on English during the Middle Ages, the modern English word for caesar would have developed into something like coser. During the time of the close relationship between the English and the Danes, however, the English replaced their own word with the Norse keiser (cayser, kaiser). Then, after the Norman Conquest, when French became the language of the ruling classes in Engand, the French word, with its soft c pronunciation, became the preferred form. Later on, the word Kaiser came into English again, this time as the title of the German rulers. The word Czar, which English speakers use to refer to the Russian emperors, entered the Russian language as Tsar, the Old Slavic version of Caesar: tsesari. The spelling Czar is a respelling of the Russian word with the letters of the Latin alphabet. The spelling with cz was common in European languages because that was how it was spelled the first time it appeared in a European book in 1549, but the French adopted the spelling tsar in the 19th century and the London Times prefers it. In German it is spelled Zar. In the U.S. the word czar is now used to refer to anyone who is in a position of some kind of control. Ex. Drug Czar (either a powerful drug dealer OR a government official supposed to combat drug trafficking); Education Czar. Little Caesar (1931) is the title of an historically significant film in which Edward G. Robinson played a gangster and defined the cinematic crime genre. Such is the continuing charisma of the word that it continues to be used to suggest power and grandeur. The words association with food is probably owing to its Italian origin. (Ex. Little Caesars Pizza.) A Caesars Salad, however, has nothing to do with the late dictator. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the salad is named for Cesar Cardini, a restaurant owner in Tijuana, Mexico who is said to have served the first one in about 1924. 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"50 Idioms About Roads and PathsApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

How to Write a Perfect UC Essay for Every Prompt

How to Write a Perfect UC Essay for Every Prompt SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're applying to any University of California campus as an incoming freshman, then you have a special challenge ahead of you. Applicants need to answer four UC personal insight questions, chosen from a pool of eight unique prompts different from those on the Common App. But not to worry! This article is here to help. In this article, I'll dissectthe eight UC essay promptsin detail. What are they asking you for? What do they want to know about you? What do UC admissions officers really care about? How do you avoid boring or repulsing them with your essay? I'll breakdownall of these important questions for each prompt and discuss how to pick the four prompts that are perfect for you. I'll also give you examples of how to make sure your essay fully answers the question. Finally, I'll offer step-by-step instructions on how to come up with the best ideas for your UC personal statements. What Are the UC Personal Insight Questions? If you think about it, your college application is mostly made up of numbers: your GPA, your SAT scores, the number of AP classes you took, how many years you spent playing volleyball. These numbers only reveal so much. The job of admissions officers is to put together a class of interesting, compelling individuals- but a cut and dried achievement list makes it very hard to assess whether someone is interesting or compelling. This is where the personal insight questions come in. The UC application essays are your way to give colleges a sense of your personality, your perspective on the world, and some of the experiences that have made you into who you are. The idea is to share the kinds of things that don’t end up on your transcript. It's helpful to remember that you are not writing this for you. You're writing for an audience of people who do not know you, but are interested to learn about you. The essay is meant to be a revealing look inside your thoughts and feelings. These short essays- with a 350 word limit- are different from the essays you write in school, which tend to focus on analyzing someone else’s work. Really, the application essays are much closer to a short story. They rely heavily on narratives of events from your life, and on your descriptions of people, places, and feelings. If you’d like more background on college essays, check out our explainer for a very detailed breakdown of exactly how personal statements work in an application. Now, let’s dive into the eight University of California essay questions. First I’ll compare and contrast these prompts. Then I’ll dig deep into each UC personal statement question individually, exploring what it’s really trying to find out and how you can give the admissions officers what they’re looking for. Once upon a time, there was a mouse who really, really wanted to get into your college. Comparing the UC Essay Prompts Before we can pull these prompts apart, let's first compare and contrast them with each other. Clearly, UC wants you to write four different essays, and they're asking you eight different questions. But what are the differences? And are there any similarities? The Actual UC Essay Prompts #1: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. #2: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. #3: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? #4: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. #5: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? #6: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. #7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? #8: Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? How to Tell the UC Essay Prompts Apart To help tell the UC personal statement prompts apart, sort them into big-picture categories, so when you’re brainstorming ideas you can see where your event or life experience would fit: Topics 1 and 7 are about your engagement with the people, things, and ideas around you. Consider the impact of the outside world on you and how you handled that impact. Topics 2 and 6 are about your inner self, what defines you, and what makes you the person that you are. Consider your interior makeup, the characteristics of the inner you Topics 3, 4, 5, and 8 are about your achievements. Consider what you’ve accomplished in life and what you are proud of doing These very broad categories will help when you’re brainstorming ideas and life experiences to write about for your essay. Of course, it's true that many of the stories you think of can be shaped to fit each of these prompts. Still, think about what the experience most reveals about you. If it’s an experience that shows how you have handled the people and places around you, it’ll work better for questions in the first group. If it’s a description of how you express yourself, it’s a good match for questions in group two. If it’s an experience that tells how you acted or what you did, it’s probably a better fit for questions in group three. For more help, check out our article on coming up with great ideas for your essay topic. "And that's the last time I went to a psychic." Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: How Is This Guide Organized? We analyze all eight UC prompts in this guide, and for each one we give the following information: The prompt itself and any accompanying instructions What each part of the prompt is asking for Why UC is using this prompt and what they hope to learn from you All the key points you should cover in your response so you answer the complete prompt and give UC insight into who you are Dissecting Personal Insight Question 1 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking a lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities? Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family? What’s the Question Asking? The prompt wants you to describe how you handled a specific kind of relationship with a group of people- a time when you took the reigns and the initiative. Your answer to this prompt will consist of two parts: Part 1: Explain the Dilemma Before you can tell your story of leading, brokering peace, or having a lasting impact on other people, you have to give your reader a frame of reference and a context for your actions. First, describe the group of people you interacted with. Who were and what was their relationship to you? How long were you in each others’ lives? Second, explain the issue you eventually solved. What was going on before you stepped in? What was the immediate problem? Were there potential long-term repercussions? "We couldn't decide between butter and cream cheese frosting in the final round of the baking competition!" Part 2: Describe Your Solution This is where your essay will have to explicitly talk about your own actions. Discuss what thought process led you to your course of action. Was it a last-ditch effort or a long-planned strategy? Did you think about what might happen if you didn’t step in? Did you have to choose between several courses of action? Explain how you took the bull by the horns. Did you step into the lead role willingly or were you pushed despite some doubts? Did you replace or supercede a more obvious leader? Describe your solution to the problem, or your contribution to resolving the ongoing issue. What did you do? How did you do it? Did your plan succeed immediately or did it take some time? Consider how this experience has shaped the person you have now become. Do you think back on this time fondly as being the origin of some personal quality or skill? Did it make you more likely to lead in other situations? What’s UC Hoping to Learn about You? College will be an environment unlike any of the ones you’ve found yourself in up to now. Sure, you will have a framework for your curriculum, and you will have advisers available to help- but for the most part, you will be on your own to deal with the situations that will inevitably arise when you mix with your diverse peers. UC wants to make sure: That you have the maturity to deal with groups of people That you can solve problems with your own ingenuity and resourcefulness That you don’t lose your head and panic at problems "And that's how I saved Christmas with a single crushed can!" How Can You Give Them What They Want? So how can you make sure those qualities come through in your essay? Pick Your Group The prompt very specifically wants you to talk about an interaction with a group of people. Let’s say a group has to be at least three people. Raise the Stakes Think of the way movies ratchet up the tension of the impending catastrophe before the hero swoops in and saves the day. Keeping an audience on tenterhooks is important- and makes the hero look awesome for the inevitable job well done. Similarly, in your essay the reader has to fundamentally understand exactly what you and the group you ended up leading were facing. Why was this an important problem to solve? Balance You vs. Them Personal statements need to showcase you above all things. Because this essay will necessarily have to spend some time on other people, you need to find a good proportion of them-time and me-time. In general, the first, setup, section of the essay should be shorter, since it will not be focused on what you were doing. The second section should take the rest of the space. So, in a 350 word essay, maybe 100-125 words go to setup, while 225-250 words to your leadership and solution. Find Your Arc Not only do you need to show how your leadership met the challenge you faced, but you also have to show how the experience changed you. In other words, the outcome was double-sided: you affected the world, and the world affected you right back. Make your arc as lovely and compelling as a rainbow. Dissecting Personal Insight Question 2 The Prompt and Its Instructions Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem? How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career? What’s the Question Asking? This question is trying to probe the way you express yourself. Its broad description of â€Å"creativity† gives you the opportunity to make almost anything you make that didn’t exist before fit the topic. What this essay question is really asking you to do is to examine the role your brand of creativity plays in your sense of yourself. The essay will have three parts. Part 1: Define Your Creativity What exactly do you produce, make, craft, create, or generate? Of course, the most obvious answer would be a visual art, a performance art, or music. But in reality, there is creativity in all fields. Any time you come up with an idea, thought, concept, or theory that didn’t exist before, you are being creative. So, your job is to explain what you spend time creating. Part 2: Connect Your Creative Drive to Your Overall Self Why do you do what you do? Are you doing it for external reasons- to perform for others, to demonstrate your skill, to fulfill some need in the world? Or is your creativity private and for your own use- to unwind, to distract yourself from other parts of your life, to have personal satisfaction in learning a skill? Are you good at your creative thing or do you struggle with it? If you struggle with it, why is it important to you to keep doing it? Part 3: Connect Your Creative Drive With Your Future The most basic way to do this is if you envision yourself actually doing your creative pursuit professionally. But this doesn’t have to be the only way you draw this link. What have you learned from what you’ve made? How has it changed how you interact with other objects or with people? Does it change your appreciation for the work of others or motivate you to improve upon it? "As the sole living practitioner of the ancient art of rock bodybuilding..." What’s UC Hoping to Learn about You? Nothing characterizes higher education like the need for creative thinking, unorthodox ideas to old topics, and the ability to synthesize something new. That is what you are going to college to learn how to do better. This essay wants to know whether this mindset of out-of-the-box-ness is something you are already comfortable with. They want to see: That you have actually created something in your life or academic career That you consider this an important quality within yourself, and that you have cultivated your skills That you can see and have considered the impact of what you’ve done on yourself or on the world around you Think outside the box- unless there are donuts in the box. How Can You Give Them What They Want? How can you really show that you are committed to being a creative person? Be Specific and Descriptive It’s not enough to vaguely gesture at your creative field. Instead, give a detailed and lively description of a specific thing or idea that you have created. For example, I could describe a Turner painting as â€Å"a seascape† or I could call it â€Å"an attempt to capture the breathtaking power and violence of an ocean storm as it overwhelms a ship.† Which painting would you rather look at? Give a Sense of History The question wants a little narrative of your relationship to your creative outlet. How long have you been doing it? Did someone teach you or mentor you? Have you taught it to others? Where and when do you create? Hit a Snag and Find the Success Anything worth doing is worth doing despite setbacks, this question argues- and it wants you to narrate one such setback. So first, figure out something that interfered with your creative expression. A lack of skill, time, or resources? Too much or not enough ambition in a project? Then, make sure this story has a happy ending that shows you off as the solver of your own problems. What did you do to fix the situation? How did you do it? Show Insight Your essay should include some thoughtful consideration of how this creative pursuit has shaped you, your thoughts, your opinions, your relationships with others, your understanding of creativity in general, or your dreams about your future. (Notice I said â€Å"or† not â€Å"and†- 350 words is not enough to cover all of those things!) "And that's when I knew I was destined to become a master confectioner!" Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Dissecting Personal Insight Question 3 The Prompt and Its Instructions What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you? Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule? What's the Question Asking? Basically, what’s being asked for here is a beaming rave. Whatever you write about, picture yourself talking about it with a glowing smile on your face. Part 1: Narrative The first part of the question really comes down to this: tell us a story about what's amazing about you. Have you done an outstanding thing? Do you have a mindblowing ability? Describe a place, a time, or a situation in which you were a star. A close reading of this first case of the prompt reveals that you don’t need to stress if you don’t have an obvious answer. Sure, if you’re playing first chair violin in the Symphony Orchestra, that qualifies as both a â€Å"talent† and an â€Å"accomplishment.† But the word "quality" really gives you the option of writing about any one of your most meaningful traits. And then, the words â€Å"contribution† and â€Å"experience† open up the range of possibilities that you could write about even further. A contribution could be anything from physically helping put something together, to providing moral or emotional support at a critical moment. But the key to the first part is the phrase â€Å"important to you.† Once again, what you write about is not as important as how you write about it. Being able to demonstrate the importance of the event that you’re describing reveals much more about you than the specific talent or characteristic ever could. Part 2: Insight and Personal Development The second part of the last essay asked you to look to the future. The second part of this essay wants you to look at the present instead. The general task is similar, however. Once again you're being asked to make connections- how do you fit this quality you have or this achievement you accomplished into the story of who you are? A close reading of the second part of this prompt lands on the word â€Å"proud.† This is a big clue that the revelation this essay is looking for should be a very positive one. In other words, this is probably not the time to write about getting arrested for vandalism, unless you can spin that experience into a story about how you been on the straight and narrow path ever since. Even if your vandalism was really, really, cool, don't write about it. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Admissions officers have a very straightforward interest in learning about your accomplishments. By the end of high school, many of the experiences that you are most proud of don’t tend to be the kind of things that end up on your resume. They want to know what makes you proud of yourself. It is something that relates to performance, to overcoming a difficult obstacle, to keeping a cool head in a crisis, to your ability to help others in need? At the same time, they are looking for a sense of maturity. In order to be proud of an accomplishment, it’s important to be able to understand your own values and ideals. This is your chance to show that you truly get the qualities and experiences that make you into a responsible and grown-up person, someone who will thrive in the independence of college life. In other words, while you might really be proud that you managed to tag 50 highway overpasses with graffiti, that’s probably not the achievement to brag about here. Unless you were hired to paint the overpasses. Then definitely brag about it. How Can You Give Them What They Want? The trick with this prompt is how to show a lot about yourself without listing accomplishments or devolving into cliche platitudes. Let's take it step by step. Step #1: Explain Your Field Make sure that somewhere in your narrative (preferably closer to the beginning) you let the reader know what makes your achievement an achievement. Not all interests are mainstream, so it helps your reader to understand what you’re facing if you give a quick sketch of, for example, why it’s challenging to build a battle bot that can defeat another fighting robot, or how the difficulties of extemporaneous debate compare with debating about a prepared topic. Keep in mind that for some things the explanation might be obvious. For example, do you really need to explain why finishing a marathon is a hard task? Step #2: Zoom in on a Specific Experience Think about your talent/quality/accomplishment in terms of experiences that showcase it. Conversely, think about your experiences in terms of the talent/quality/accomplishment they demonstrate. Since you're once again going to be limited to 350 words, you won’t be able to fit all the ways in which you exhibit your specific piece of awesomeness into this essay. This means that you’ll need to figure out how your ability can best be shown through one event when you displayed it. Or if you’re writing about an experience you had or a contribution you made, you’ll need to also point out what personality trait or characteristic it reveals. Step #3: Find a Conflict or a Transition The first question asked for a description, but this one wants a story- a narrative of how you do your special talent, or how you accomplished the thing you were so great at. The main thing about stories is that they have to have: A beginning: This is the setup, when you weren’t yet the star you are now. An obstacle or a transition: Sometimes a story has a conflict that needs to be resolved: something that stood in your way, a challenge that you had to figure out a way around, a block that you powered through. Other times, a story is about a change or a transformation: you used to believe/think/be one thing and now you are different/better. A resolution: When your full power/self-knowledge/ability/future goal is revealed. "And that's how I negotiated peace with the aliens of Tarkon V." Dissecting Personal Insight Question 4 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you - just to name a few. If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today? What's the Question Asking? Cue the swelling music, because this essay is going to be all about your inspirational journey. You will either tell your story of overcoming adversity against all (or some) odds, or of pursuing the chance of a lifetime. If you write about triumphing over adversity, your essay will include: A description of the setback that befell you: The prompt wants to know what you consider a challenge in your school life- and definitely note that this challenge should have in some significant way impacted your academics rather than your life overall. The challenge can be a wide-reaching problem in your educational environment or something that happened specifically to you. The word â€Å"barrier† also shows that the challenge should be something that stood in your way: if only that thing weren’t there, then you’d be sure to succeed. An explanation of your success: Here, you’ll talk about what you did when faced with this challenge. Notice that the prompt asks you to describe the â€Å"work† you put in to overcome the problem- so this piece of the essay should focus on your actions, thoughts, ideas, and strategies. Although the essay doesn’t specify it, this section should also at some point turn reflexive. How are you defined by this thing that happened? You could discuss the emotional fallout of having dramatically succeeded, or how your maturity level, concrete skills, or understanding of the situation has increased, now that you have dealt with it personally. Or, you could talk about any beliefs or personal philosophy that you have had to reevaluate as a result of either the challenge itself, or of the way that you had to go about solving it. If you write about an educational opportunity, your essay will include: A short, clear description of exactly what you got the chance to do: In your own words, explain what the opportunity was, and why it’s special. Also explain why you specifically got the chance to do it. Was it the culmination of years of study? An academic contest prize? An unexpected encounter that led to you seizing an unlooked-for opportunity? How you made the best of it: It’s one thing to get the opportunity to do something amazing, but it’s another to really maximize what you get out of this chance for greatness. This is where you show just how much you understand the value of what you did, and how you’ve changed and grown as a result of it. Were you very challenged by this opportunity? Did your skills develop? Did you unearth talents you didn’t know you had? How does this impact your future academic ambitions or interests? Will you study this area further? Does this help you find your academic focus? "When I had a chance to go to Wizarding School..." What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Of course, whatever you write about in this essay is probably already reflected on your resume or in your transcript in some small way. But UC wants to go deeper, to find out how seriously you take your academic career, and how thoughtfully you’ve approached either its ups or its downs. In college, there will be many amazing opportunities, but they aren’t necessarily simply there for the taking. Instead, you will be responsible for seizing whatever chances will further your studies, interests, or skills. Conversely, college will necessarily be more challenging, harder, and potentially much more full of academic obstacles than your academic experiences so far. UC wants to see that you are up to handling whatever setbacks may come your way with aplomb rather than panic. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Define the Problem/Opportunity Not every challenge is automatically obvious. Sure, everyone can understand the drawbacks of having to miss a significant amount of school due to illness, but what if the obstacle you tackled is something a little more obscure? Likewise, winning the chance travel to Italy to paint landscapes with a master is clearly rare and amazing, but some opportunities are more specialized and less obviously impressive. Make sure your essay explains everything the reader will need to know to understand what you were facing. Watch Your Tone An essay describing problems can easily slip into finger-pointing and self-pity. Make sure to avoid this by speaking positively or at least neutrally about what was wrong and what you faced. This goes double if you decide to explain who or what was at fault for creating this problem. Likewise, an essay describing amazing opportunities can quickly become an exercise in unpleasant bragging and self-centeredness. Make sure you stay grounded- rather than dwelling at length on your accomplishments, describe the specifics of what you learned and how. "But learning to be a wizard wasn't easy..." Dissecting Personal Insight Question 5 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone? If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, â€Å"How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends, or with my family?† What's the Question Asking? It’s time to draw back the curtains and expand our field of vision, because this is going to be a two-part story of overcoming adversity against all (or some) odds. Part 1: Facing a Challenge The first part of this essay is about problem-solving. The prompt asks you to point at something that could have derailed you, if not for your strength and skill. Not only will you describe the challenge itself, but you’ll talk about what you did when faced with it. Part 2: Looking in the Mirror The second part of Topic B asks you to consider how this challenge has echoed through your life- and more specifically, how your education has been affected by what happened to you. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? In life, dealing with setbacks, defeats, barriers, and conflicts is not a bug- it’s a feature. And colleges want to make sure that you can handle these upsetting events without losing your overall sense of self, without being totally demoralized, and without getting completely overwhelmed. In other words, they are looking for someone who is mature enough to do well on a college campus, where disappointing results and hard challenges will be par for the course. They are also looking for your creativity and problem-solving skills. Are you good at tackling something that needs to be fixed? Can you keep a cool head in a crisis? Do you look for solutions outside the box? These are all markers of a successful student, so it’s not surprising that admissions people want you to demonstrate these qualities. "I realized that if I wanted to become the Junior Champion Snake Shifter, I would have to do something drastic." How Can You Give Them What They Want? Let's explore the best ways to show off your problem-solving side. Show Your Work It’s one thing to be able to say what's wrong, but it’s another thing entirely to demonstrate how you figured out how to fix it. Even more than knowing that you were able to fix the problem, colleges want to see how you approached the situation. This is why your essay needs to explain your problem-solving methodology. Basically, we need to see you in action. What did you think would work? What did you think would not work? Did you compare this to other problems you have faced and pass? Did you do research? Describe your process. Make Sure That You Are the Hero This essay is supposed to demonstrate your resourcefulness and creativity. The last thing you want is for you to not actually be the person responsible for overcoming the obstacle. Make sure that your story is clear that without you and your special brand of XYZ, people would still be lamenting the issue today. Don't worry if the resource you used to affect a good fix was the knowledge and know-how that somebody else brought to the table. Just focus on explaining what made you think of this person as the one to go to, how you convinced them to participate, and how you explained to them how they would be helpful. This will shift the attention of the story back to you and your doings. Find the Suspenseful Moment The most exciting part of this essay should be watching you struggle to find a solution just in the nick of time. Think every movie clichà © ever about someone defusing a bomb - even if you know 100% that the guy is going to do it, the movie still ratchets up the tension to make it seem like, well, maybe... You want to do the same thing here. Bring excitement and a feeling of uncertainty to your description of your process to really pull the reader in and make them root for you to succeed. You're the superhero! Dissecting Personal Insight Question 6 The Prompt and Its Instructions Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom - such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs - and what you have gained from your involvement. Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that? What's the Question Asking? This question is really asking for a glimpse of your imagined possibilities. For some students, this will be an extremely straightforward question. For example, say you’ve always loved science to the point that you’ve spent every summer taking biology and chemistry classes. You can just pick a few of the most gripping moments from these experiences and discuss the overall trajectory of your interests, and your essay will be a winner. But what if you have many academic interests? Or what if you only discovered your academic passion at the very end of high school? Let’s break down what the question is really asking into two parts. Part 1: Picking a Favorite At first glance, it sounds as if what you should write about is the class where you have gotten the best grades, or the class that easily fits into what you see as your future college major or maybe even your eventual career goal. There is nothing wrong with this kind of pick- especially if you really are someone who tends to excel in those classes that are right up your interest alley. But if we look closer, we see that there is nothing in the prompt that specifically demands that you write either about a particular class or an area of study where you perform well. Instead, you could take the phrase â€Å"academic subject† to mean a wide field of study and explore your fascination with the different types of learning to be found there. For example, if your chosen topic is the field of literature, you could discuss your experiences with different genres or with foreign writers. You could also write about a course or area of study that has significantly challenged you, and where you have not been as stellar a student as you want. This could be a way to focus on your personal growth as a result of struggling through a difficult class, or the way you’ve learned to handle or overcome your limitations. Part 2: Relevance The second part of this prompt, like the first, can also be taken in a literal and direct way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with explaining that because you love engineering and want to be an engineer you have pursued all your school’s STEM courses, are also involved in a robotics club, and have taught yourself to code in order to develop apps. On the other hand, you could focus on the more abstract, values-driven goals we just talked about. Then, the way you explain how your academics will help you can be rooted not in the content of what you studied, but in the life lessons you drew from it. In other words, for example, your theater class may not have created a desire to be an actor, but working on plays with your peers may have shown you how highly you value collaboration. And the experience of designing sets was an exercise in problem-solving and ingenuity. These lessons would be useful in any field you pursue and could easily be said to help you achieve your lifetime goals. My favorite subject is underwater basketweaving. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? If you are on a direct path to a specific field of study or career pursuit, admissions officers definitely want to know that. Having driven, goal oriented, and passionate students is a huge plus for a university. So if this is you, be sure that your essay conveys not just your interest but also your deep and abiding love of the subject, and maybe even includes any related clubs, activities, and hobbies that you’ve done during high school. But of course, more traditionally, college is the place to find yourself and the things that you become passionate about. So if you’re not already committed to a specific course of study, don’t worry. Instead, you have to realize that in this essay, like in all the other essays, the how matters much more than the what. No matter where your eventual academic, career, or other pursuits may lie, every class that you have taken up to now has taught you something. You learned about things like work ethic, mastering a skill, practice, learning from a teacher, interacting with peers, dealing with setbacks, understanding your own learning style, and perseverance. In other words, the admissions office wants to make sure that no matter what you study you will draw meaningful conclusions from your experiences, whether those conclusions are about the content of what you learn or about a deeper understanding of yourself and others. They want to see that you’re not simply floating through life on the surface, but that you are absorbing the qualities, skills, and know-how you will need to succeed in the world- no matter what that success looks like. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Focus on a telling detail. Because personal statements are short, you simply won't have time to explain everything you have loved about a particular subject in enough detail to make it count. Instead, pick one event that crystallized your passion for a subject, or one telling moment that revealed what your working style will be, and go deep into a discussion of what it meant to you in the past and how it will affect your future. Don’t overreach. It’s fine to say that you have loved your German classes so much that you have begun exploring both modern and classic German-language writers, for example, but it’s a little too self-aggrandizing to claim that your 4 years of German have made you basically bilingual and ready to teach the language to others. Make sure that whatever class achievements you describe don’t come off as unnecessary bragging rather than simple pride. Don’t underreach. At the same time, make sure that you have actual accomplishments to describe in whatever subject you pick to write about. If your favorite class turned out to be the one you mostly skipped to hang out in the gym instead, this may not be the place to share that lifetime goal. After all, you always have to remember your audience. In this case, it's college admissions officers who want to find students who are eager to learn and be exposed to new thoughts and ideas. "This is how I realized my passion for horticulture." Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: Dissecting Personal Insight Question 7 The Prompt and Its Instructions What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place - like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community? Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community? What's the Question Asking? This topic is trying to get at how you engage with your environment. It’s looking for several things: #1: Your Sense of Place and Connection Because the term â€Å"community† is so broad and ambiguous, this is a good essay for explaining where you feel a sense of belonging and rootedness. What or who constitutes your community? Is your connection to a place, to a group of people, or to an organization? What makes you identify as part of this community- cultural background, a sense of shared purpose, or some other quality? #2: Your Empathy and Ability to Look at the Big Picture Before you can solve a problem, you have to realize that the problem exists. Before you can make your community a better place, you have to find the things that can be ameliorated. No matter what your contribution ended up being, you first have to show how you saw where your skills, talent, intelligence, or hard work could do the most good. Did you put yourself in the shoes of the other people in your community? Understand some fundamental inner working of a system you could fix? Knowingly put yourself in the right place at the right time? #3: Your Problem Solving Skills How did you make the difference in your community? If you resolved a tangible issue, how did you come up with your solution? Did you examine several options or act from the gut? If you made your community better in a less direct way, how did you know where to apply yourself and how to have the most impact possible? "And that's how I saved the children of MiceTown." What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Community is a very important thing to colleges. You'll be involved with and encounter lots of different communities in college, from the broader student body, to your extracurriculars and classes, to the community outside the University around you. UC wants to make sure that you can engage with the communities around you in a positive and meaningful way. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Make it personal. Before you can explain what you did in your community, you have to define and describe this community itself- and you can necessarily only do that by focusing on what it means to you. Don’t speak in generalities, but instead show the bonds between you and the group you are a part of through colorful, idiosyncratic language. Sure, they might be â€Å"my water polo team,† but maybe they are more specifically â€Å"the twelve people who have seen me at my most exhausted and my most exhilarated.† Feel all the feelings. This is a chance to move your readers. As you delve deep into what makes your community one of your emotional centers, and then as you describe how you were able to improve it in a meaningful and lasting way, you should keep the roller coaster of feelings front and center. Own how you felt at each step of the process: when you found your community, when you saw that you could make a difference, when you realized that your actions have resulted in a change for the better. Did you feel unprepared for the task you undertook? Nervous to potentially let down those around? Thrilled to get a chance to display a hidden or underused talent? "After brokering peace between the two rival cat clans of my neighborhood, I feel like I can do anything!" Dissecting Personal Insight Question 8 The Prompt and Its Instructions Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better? From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little. What's the Question Asking? If your particular experience doesn’t quite fit under the rubrics of the other essay topics, or if there is something the admissions officers need to understand about your background in order to consider your application in the right context, then this is the essay for you. Now, I’m going to say something a little counterintuitive here. The prompt for this essay clarifies that even if you don’t have a â€Å"unique† story to tell, you should still feel free to pick this topic. But, honestly, I think you should only choose this topic if you have an exceptional experience to share, and that any everyday challenges or successes of regular life could easily fit one of the other insight questions instead. What this means is that evaluating whether your experiences qualify for this essay is a matter of degrees. For example, did you manage to thrive academically despite being raised by a hard-working single parent? That’s a hardship that could easily be written about for Questions 1 or 5, depending on how you choose to frame what happened. Did you manage to earn a 3.7 GPA despite living in a succession of foster families only to age out of the system in the middle of your senior year of high school? That’s a narrative of overcoming hardship that easily belongs to Question 8. On the flip side, did you win a state-wide robotics competition? Well done, and feel free to tell your story under Question 4. Were you the youngest person to single-handedly win a season of BattleBots? Then feel free to write about it for Question 8. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? This is pretty straightforward. They are trying to identify students that have unique and amazing stories to tell about who they are and where they come from. If you’re a student like this, then the admissions people want to know: What happened to you When and where it happened How you participated or were involved in the situation How it affected you as a person How it affected your schoolwork How the experience will be reflected in the point of view you bring to campus The reasons that the university wants this information are: It gives context to applications that otherwise might seem mediocre or even subpar It can help explain times in a transcript where grades significantly drop It creates them the opportunity to build a lot of diversity into the incoming class It’s a way of finding unique talents and abilities that otherwise wouldn’t show up on other application materials How Can You Give Them What They Want? Let's run through a few tricks for making sure your essay makes the most of your particular exceptionalism. Double-Check Your Uniqueness There are many experiences in all of our lives that make us feel elated, accomplished, and extremely competent, that are also near-universal. This essay isn’t trying to take the validity of your strong feelings away from you, but I think it would be best served by for stories that are on a different scale. Wondering whether what you went through counts? This might be a good time to run your idea by a parent, school counselor, or trusted teacher. Do they think your experience is widespread? Or do they agree that you truly lived a life less ordinary? Connect Outward The vast majority of your answer to the prompt should be telling your story and its impact on you and your life. But the essay should also point toward how your particular experiences set you apart from your peers. One of the reasons that the admissions office wants to find out which of the applicants has been through something unlike most other people is that they are hoping to increase the number of points of view in the student body. Think about, and include in your essay, how you will impact campus life. This can be very literal- if you are a jazz singer who has released several acclaimed albums, then maybe you will perform on campus. Or it can be much more oblique- if you are disabled, then you will be able to offer a perspective that differs from the able-bodied majority. Be Direct, Specific, and Honest Nothing will make your voice sound more appealing than writing without embellishment or verbal flourishes. This is the one case where what you’re telling is just as- if not more- important than how you’re telling it. So the best strategy is to be as straightforward in your writing as possible. This means using description to situate your reader in a place/time/experience that they would never get to see firsthand. You can do this by picking a specific moment during your accomplishment to narrate as a small short story, and not shying away from explaining your emotions throughout the experience. Your goal is to make the extraordinary into something at least somewhat relatable- and the way you do that is by making your writing down to earth. "Is it accurate to say that I saved the entire world?" "No." Writing Advice for Making Your UC Personal Statements Shine No matter what personal insight questions you end up choosing to write about, here are two tips for making your writing sparkle: #1: Be Detailed and Descriptive Have you ever heard the expression â€Å"show, don’t tell†? It’s usually given as creative writing advice, and it will be your best friend when you're writing college essays. It means that any time you want to describe a person or thing as having a particular quality, it’s better to illustrate with an example than to just use vague adjectives. If you stick to giving examples that paint a picture, your focus will also become narrower and more specific. You’ll end up focusing on details and concrete events, rather than not particularly telling generalizations. Let’s say, for instance, Adnan is writing about the house that he’s been helping his dad fix up. Which of these do you think gives the reader a better sense of place? Version 1 My family bought an old house that was kind of rundown. My dad likes fixing it up on the weekends and I like helping him. Now the house is much nicer than when we bought it and I can see all our hard work when I look at it. Version 2 My dad grinned when he saw my shocked face. Our â€Å"new† house looked like a completely rundown shed: peeling paint, rust-covered railings, shutters that looked like the crooked teeth of a jack-o-lantern. I was still staring at the spider web crack in one broken window when my dad handed me a pair of brand new work gloves and a paint scraper. â€Å"Today, let’s just do what we can with the front wall,† he said, and then I smiled too, knowing that many of my weekends would be spent here with him, working side by side. Both versions of this story focus on the fact that the house was dilapidated and that Adnan enjoyed helping his dad do repairs. But the second does this by: Painting a picture of what the house actually looked like by adding visual details ("peeling paint," "rust-covered railings," "broken window"), and through comparisons ("shutters like a jack-o-lantern," "spider web window crack") Showing emotions by describing facial expressions ("my dad grinned," "my shocked face," "I smiled") Using specific and descriptive action verbs ("grinned," "shocked," "staring," "handed") The essay would probably go on to describe one day of working with his dad, or a time when a repair went horribly awry. Adnan would make sure to keep adding sensory details (what things looked, sounded, smelled, tasted like), using active verbs, and illustrating feelings with spoken speech and facial expressions. If you're having trouble checking whether your description is detailed enough, read your work to someone else. Then, ask that person to describe the scene back to you. Are they able to conjure up a picture from your words? If not, you need to beef up your details. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but it'll make a great college essay! #2: Show Your Feelings All good personal essays deal with emotions. And what marks great personal essays is the author’s willingness to really dig into negative feelings as well as positive ones. As you write your UC application essays, keep asking yourself questions and probing your memory. How did you feel before it happened? How did you expect to feel after, and then how did you actually feel after? How did the world that you are describing feel about what happened? How do you know how your world felt? Then write about your feelings using mostly emotion words ("I was thrilled/disappointed/proud/scared"), some comparisons ("I felt like I'd never run again/like I'd just bitten into a sour apple/like the world's greatest explorer"), and a few bits of direct speech ("'How are we going to get away with this?' my brother asked.") Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. There's "it was exciting." And then there's "I felt at once exhilarated and terrified, as if I had just jumped out of an airplane for the first time." What’s Next? This should give you a great starting point to attack the UC essay prompts and consider how you'll write your own effective UC personal statements. The hard part starts here- work hard, brainstorm broadly, and use all my suggestions above to craft a great UC application essay. 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