Unequal and Unethical Treatment of Women in the Middle East

History shows numerous occasions of separation and inconsistent rights for ladies. Ladies have been looked downward on and been mishandled by men in a wide range of nations and societies. There is a history for imbalance of ladies, particularly abusive behavior at home and misuse. These predicaments have been continuing for the numerous years before, are as yet going on today, particularly in Middle Eastern nations. One significant part of the circumstance of maltreatment towards ladies is engaged with marriage. In many Middle Eastern nations, it is regular for guardians to orchestrate or even power a marriage, and for the kids to have nothing to do with it (Child Brides). I accept this is an enormous piece of the reason for hostility and maltreatment against the ladies. In an article from Gaza City called Abuse of Women Still Rife in Palestinian Life, Says Studyâ ¬, a young lady named Saana portrayed how she needed to suffer beating from her dad and afterward her significant other also. Saana’s father organized a marriage for her, and in the second seven day stretch of marriage her significant other began beating her. He had no obvious purpose behind beating her. Additionally, in the wake of wedding this man, Saana discovered that he had been leading another relationship with a 15-year-old young lady. Her better half in the long run dumped her back at her parents’ house. In this culture, separated from ladies have extremely awful notorieties, regardless of what the circumstance is. Along these lines, Saana got back from her genuinely harsh spouse to boisterous attack from her dad. Studies in Gaza show that â€Å"†¦more than one out of five ladies state they endure physical abusive behavior at home yet there is certainly not a solitary ladies' sanctuary. † (Abuse of Women). Albeit numerous ladies are being manhandled, the administration is doing practically nothing, on the off chance that anything to support them. Indeed, even law authorization officials are one-sided. There is essentially nothing shielding men from mishandling ladies. Punishments for men who murder or hurt their spouses are immaterial. Likewise, just male family members are permitted to record interbreeding charges for kids. Police routinely ‘mediate’ reasons for sexual and physical maltreatment by restoring the casualties to the ‘care’ of the culprits, which clearly doesn’t help the casualty by any stretch of the imagination. Not very many ladies have submitted grumblings, however there is so much maltreatment going on. This might be on the grounds that they fear their spouses discovering that they whined, and therefore beating them considerably more. An article written in 2006 referenced that of 85 instances of assault in 2003, just in one single case brought about conviction. (Maltreatment of Women). As indicated by other online articles, a few families mastermind relationships for their little girls as youthful as 7 years of age (Child Brides). For instance, there was one legal dispute in Saudi Arabia in which a dad needed to permit his 8-year-old girl to get hitched to a 47-year-elderly person. The mother of the girl was separated from the dad. A relative expressed that the mother was resolved on getting the marriage toppled. (Eight-year-old girl’s Marriage) There are additionally some different issues going to privileges of ladies, disconnected to marriage. One such model is that ladies in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive vehicles. A notable Islamic Scholar named Sheik Ayed Al-Qarni expressed that this standard depends on strict reasons. Al-Qarni set out four explaining articulations: â€Å"One: I don't see ladies driving vehicles in our nation due to the results that would spring from it, for example, the spread of defilement, ladies revealing their hair and faces, blending between the genders, men being distant from everyone else with ladies and the obliteration of the family and society in entirety. Two: Sadd Al-Dharaie guideline (the end of entryways which could prompt debasement or corrupt activities) is one of the qualities in our religion. Ladies driving vehicles is an evil thing. It is utilized by the individuals who need to wage a war against immaculateness and hijab. Three: One of the standards of our religion is secur ing honor and virtues. Ladies driving vehicles would compromise these standards in light of the desperate outcomes coming about because of it. Four: Such open issues must be raised with the ensured strict establishment who have the state in such issues as I have said ordinarily previously. (Ladies Driving Cars Is a Sinful Thing: Al-Qarni). In spite of the fact that it might be that a religion incorporates a standard forbidding ladies to drive, the ladies ought to reserve a privilege to pick whether to observe this strict guideline or not, and not need to persevere through any lawful discipline in the event that they decide not to. In spite of the fact that it appears that equivalent rights for ladies in the Middle East is an outlandish thought, there are really individuals who care and are attempting to understand this issue. In Gaza, there have been non-legislative associations that have been devoting exertion to lessen aggressive behavior at home n the territory. One such associat ion included on BBC News presumed that a significant job in abusive behavior at home is the dissatisfaction in men after the pressure of political and social issues in Gaza. Abu Fahdi, a previous abuser, stated, â€Å"For us, the war truly starts after the military war is finished. Here in Gaza men should be suppliers. The attack, the strikes, somehow they influence all family units in Gaza †destitution, hunger, vagrancy. Men are truly baffled. They in some cases take it out on their spouses. In Gaza, in any case, there are not many spots for a lady to run. â€Å"There are no sanctuaries here. Just facilities where ladies can get solace, exhortation or antidepressants †as a rule, without their spouses knowing. † (Gazan Women). Specialist Suha Mousa works with ladies that have confronted harsh spouses. She says it’s hard to work with these ladies since it can get muddled to mediate in their family lives. She clarifies that if a spouse separates from his bette r half or on the off chance that she leaves him and gets back to her dad's home, she could lose all entrance to her youngsters. It is thought by numerous that the Islam religion incorporates inconsistent rights for ladies. This is on the grounds that the Islam religion expects ladies to be ‘modest’ and wear headscarves to shroud their hair and skin. These limitations cause individuals to accept that ladies are lower than men. Female individual from parliament Jamila al-Shanti differs incredibly with this thought. She accepts that an explanation behind aggressive behavior at home is not exactly sufficient measure of regard for ladies. â€Å"From the snapshot of birth, an infant kid is praised. An infant young lady is accepted,† she says. Jamila al-Shanti accepts that when individuals state that â€Å"Islam directs that ladies ought to be at the base of the pile,† it isn't Islam; it is awful customs and propensities that cause this brutal judgment of ladies. It is the assessment of human rights bunches that laws in Gaza manage instances of savagery far too indulgently. They normally consider issues like aggressive behavior at home or even instances of spouses killing their wives family issues. (Gazan Women) These issues in Gaza, Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern nations cause torment and enduring to be a piece of consistently life for ladies. Over the long haul, individuals make a solid effort to stop such issues that debase ladies. They may never be totally cleared out, however they can be extraordinarily decreased if enough individuals devote themselves towards helping this reason. Ladies merit equivalent rights as much as men do, and this is communicated in the Declaration of Human Rights. Works Cited â€Å"8-year-old Girl's Marriage Ruled Legal †UPI. com. † Latest News, Latest News Headlines, News Articles, News Video, News Photos †UPI. com. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. . Adler, Katya. â€Å"BBC NEWS | Middle East | Gazan Women Face Rise in Abuse. BBC News †Home. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. . Macintyre, Donald. â€Å"Abuse of Women Still Rife in Palestinian Life, Says Study †Middle East, World †The Independent. † The Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. . Qusti, Raid. â€Å"Women Driving Cars Is a Sinful Thing: Al-Qarni. † Arab News Newspaper. Web. 12 F eb. 2011. . Stritof, Sheri, and Bob Stritof. â€Å"Child Brides †Forced Marriage of Children †The Problem of Early Marriages. † Marriage †THE Starting Place for Exploring Marriage and Marriage Issues. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

Susan Brownell Anthony Essays - First-wave Feminism

Susan Brownell Anthony I. Susan B. Anthony : A Biographical Introduction Susan Brownell Anthony was conceived on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts to Daniel and Lucy Anthony. Susan was the second conceived of eight youngsters in an exacting Quaker family. Her father, Daniel Anthony, was said to have been a harsh man, a Quaker Abolitionist also, a cotton maker brought into the world close to the finish of the eighteenth century. From what I read, he had confidence in controlling his kids, not in 'guiding' them. Daniel Anthony didn't permit his posterity to encounter the adolescent beguilements of toys, games, and music, which were viewed as interruptions from the inward light. Instead he implemented self-restraint, principled feelings, and the confidence in one's own self-esteem. Each of my sources demonstrates that Susan was an intelligent kid and she figured out how to peruse and compose at three years old. In 1826, the Anthonys moved from Massachusetts to Battensville, New York where Susan went to an area school. At the point when the instructor wouldn't educate Susan long division, Susan was removed from school and instructed in a self-teach set up by her dad. The school was controlled by a lady educator, Mary Perkins. Perkins offered another picture of womanhood to Susan and her sisters. She was free and instructed and held a place that had generally been held to youngsters. At last, Susan was sent to boarding school close to Philadelphia. She educated at a female institute and Quaker boarding school, in upstate New York from 1846-49. A short time later, she settled in her family home in Rochester, New York. It was here that she started her first open campaign in the interest of restraint (Anthony, 1975). II. The Struggle for Women's Rights Susan B. Anthony's first contribution in the realm of change was in the restraint development. This was one of the principal articulations of unique women's liberation in the United States and it managed the maltreatment of ladies and kids who experienced alcoholic spouses. The principal ladies' privileges show had taken place in Seneca Falls, New York, in July of 1848. The statement that developed was designed according to the Declaration of Independence. Composed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, it asserted that all people are made equivalent and that the historical backdrop of humankind is a background marked by rehashed wounds and usurpations with respect to man toward lady (Harper, 1993, vol. 1). Following an extensive rundown of complaints were goals for evenhanded laws, equivalent instructive and openings for work, and the option to cast a ballot. After one year in 1849, Susan B. Anthony gave her first open discourse for the Daugters of Balance and afterward served to establish the Woman's State Temperance Society of New York, one of the primary such associations of now is the ideal time. In 1851, she went to Syracuse to go to a progression of abolitionist bondage gatherings. During this time Susan met Elizabeth Stanton face to face, turned out to be quick companions, and along these lines joined her and another lady named Amelia Bloomer in battles for ladies' privileges. In 1854, she committed herself to the abolitionist subjection development serving from 1856 to the flare-up of the common war in 1861. Here, Susan B. Anthony filled in as an operator for the American Anti-bondage Society. A short time later, she worked together with Stanton and distributed the New York liberal week by week, The Revolution. (from 1868-70) which called for equivalent compensation for ladies (Harper, 1993, vols. 1 and 2). In 1872, Susan requested that ladies be given the equivalent common and political rights that had been reached out to dark guys under the fourteenth and fifteenth corrections. Consequently, she drove a gathering of ladies to the surveys in Rochester to test the privilege of ladies to vote. She was captured fourteen days after the fact and keeping in mind that anticipating preliminary, occupied with exceptionally advanced talk visits and in March 1873, she attempted to cast a ballot again in city decisions. In the wake of being attempted and sentenced for abusing the democratic laws, Susan prevailing in her refusal to pay the fine of one hundred dollars. From that point on-she crusaded perpetually for a government lady testimonial revision through the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) (from 1869-90) and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (from 1890-1906) and by addressing all through the nation too (Barry, 1988). III. After Anthony : The Struggle Continues The battle to in the long run success the vote was a moderate and disappointing one. Wyoming Domain in 1869, Utah Territory in 1870, and the conditions of Colorado in 1893 what's more, Idaho in 1896 conceded ladies the vote yet the Eastern states despite everything stood up to it. The lady testimonial change to the Federal Constitution, introduced to each Congress since 1878,

Job Rotation: Advantages and Disadvantages

1. Assists Managers With investigating the Hidden Talent: Job Rotation is intended to open workers to a more extensive scope of tasks so as to help directors in investigating their shrouded ability. All the while, they are traveled through an assortment of assignments with the goal that they can pick up mindfulness about the genuine working style of the association and comprehend the issues that harvest up at each stage. Through this procedure, chiefs recognize what a specific worker is acceptable at and as needs be the person in question is relegated a particular errand. 2. Assists Individuals With investigating Their Interests: Sometimes, representatives don't know about what might want to do until they have their hands on some particular activity. On the off chance that their activity is turned or they are presented to various tasks, they can recognize what they are acceptable at and what they appreciate doing. They get an opportunity to investigate their inclinations and conceale d potential. 3. Distinguishes Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes: Job Rotation helps chiefs just as people recognize their KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes). It very well may be utilized in figuring out who needs to improve or overhaul his or aptitudes so as to perform better. This aides in investigating preparing and improvement needs of representatives with the goal that they can deliver more yield. 4. Rouses Employees to Deal with New Challenges: When representatives are presented to various occupations or allocated new undertakings, they attempt to put forth a strong effort while successfully managing the difficulties coming their direction. It urges them to perform better at each stage and demonstrate that they are no short of what others. This offers ascend to a solid rivalry inside the association where everybody needs to perform superior to other people. . Expands Satisfaction and Decreases Attrition Rate: Exposing workers to various assignments and capacities increment their fulfillment level. Employment variety diminishes the fatigue of doing same undertaking regular. Additionally, it diminishes whittling down pace of the association. Representatives build up a feeling of belongingness towards the association and stick to it till long. 6. Adjusts Competencies to Requirements: Alignment of skills with necessities implies coordinating the assets when and where they are required. It surveys the representatives and spots them at a spot where their abilities, skills and gauge are utilized to the most elevated conceivable degree. Advantages(http://smallbusiness. chron. com/favorable circumstances disservices representative r otation-18994. html) 1. Profundity In its â€Å"Job Rotation Makes You a More Valuable Employee† article, impermanent staffing industry author Kelly Services calls attention to that activity turn gives the business more prominent profundity at positions over the organization. By moving representatives around, the organization grows more specialists with abilities in every territory. On the off chance that a worker requires a time away, takes some time off or needs a vacation day, it's acceptable to have a few fit substitutions to step in and take on the work. 2. Worker Development With work turn set up, representatives can move around and abstain from falling into a trench in one position. After some time, representatives grow more abilities in a more extensive exhibit of positions. This gives work soundness and prepares them for better chances to gain advancements. These focal points, and better in general turn of events, makes workers progressively significant to their bosses. 3. Representative Resistance. Occupation pivot is here and there met with opposition from representatives in specific circumstances. Experienced workers who are agreeable in their positions are regularly hesitant to turn into different spots. Dan MacLeod and Eric Kennedy additionally noted in their distribution, â€Å"Job Rotation System Report to XYZ Co. ,† that representatives who use hardware and materials in their day by day work make some hard memories surrendering their materials to others turning in. 4. Preparing a vocation turn procedure accompanies costs. At the point when you move representatives into numerous positions, you should put time and cash into preparing the laborers in every one of those positions. This not just incorporates costs for the representatives who are turning, yet additionally the hour of the administrators and other people who must train the workers in every zone. A related concern is that a few workers aren't acceptable fits in specific situations inside the organization, paying little mind to the preparation program's viability. Drawbacks Frequent interference Job revolution brings about successive interference of work. An individual who is making a specific showing and get it agreeable abruptly ends up moved to another activity or office. This intrudes on the work in both the divisions Reduces consistency in quality. Nature of work done by a prepared laborer is not the same as that of another specialist . at the point when another specialist I moved or pivoted in the office, he sets aside some effort to get familiar with the new position, commits errors all the while and influences the nature of the activity. Misconception with the patron Sometimes work revolution may prompt misconception with individuals from the association. The association may imagine that representatives are being bugged and more work is being taken from them. In all actuality this isn't the situation. Experienced laborers not having any desire to learn new kinds of work.

Summary Of Wind In The Willows English Literature Essay Essay Example

Rundown Of Wind In The Willows English Literature Essay Paper The Wind in the Willows is a book composed by Kenneth Grahame, and was distributed in 1908. The tale is moderate voyaging and quick paced, it is around four humanized invigorate being characters viz. Badger, Rat, Mole, and Toad inside a peaceful version of England. The book is important for its blend of adventure, supernatural quality, ethical quality, and neighborly relationship. The Wind in the Willows is about the adventures of a lot of four licentious companions that show human conduct: Badger, Rat, Mole, and Toad. The Wind in the Willows comprises of three portrayals set up: the account of the organization of Rat and Mole, the adventures of Toad, and the two enthusiastic sections on nature called Wayfarers All and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ( Grahame 2 ) . The story Begins when Mole abandons the spring purifying of his subterranean house to go for a stroll down the riverside. Mole meets Rat, and the two ended up being companions. Mole as great becomes pals with Toad, the rich proprietor of Toad Hall. Frog convinces Rat and Mole to take an excursion on his nomad train, by and by during the outing they are constrained off the way by a rushing vehicle. After profound idea, Toad abandons the train to trail the auto. Rodent and Mole return place. We will compose a custom article test on Summary Of Wind In The Willows English Literature Essay explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom exposition test on Summary Of Wind In The Willows English Literature Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom paper test on Summary Of Wind In The Willows English Literature Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer In this way on, Mole gets lost evaluating the nation over the waterway called the Wild Wood. Fortunately, Rat salvages him ; besides the two get shelter in the protected and warm dwelling place of the Badger. In the meantime, Toad has gotten exuberant about automobiles and has slammed army cars. Badger being so stressed over his juvenile companion, he requests that Rat and Mole help him to change over Toad to be progressively careful. Their request to him disregard, and Toad is caught taking an auto and is imprisoned for 20 mature ages. Amphibian breaks from jail and has numerous ventures on his excursion place. At the point when he in end shows up back at Toad Hall, he gets it invade with stoats, weasels, and Mustela nigripess from the Wild Wood. His companions help him to force the homesteaders to leave the place and loll a gay blowout. The account terminals with Toad choosing to adjust ( Grahame 39 ) . One of the significant subjects of The Wind of Willows is the excursion ; in the account, various characters feel the craving to go and the interest to examine unending outside of their place nation. However the vast majority of these outings bring about achiness to visit the family and risk. Rodent takes Mole out for a drive in his paddling transport. The two companions get along great in addition both of them go through a greater amount of their clasp on the waterway, with Rat creating Mole the methods of the stream. Among the odyssey of Rat and Mole on one summer twenty-four hours, they visited Toad. Amphibian is neighborly, gay and rich yet proud, thus spooky about things and excuses them along these lines. Frog s these days trend is his pony drawn escort. Mole needs to run into up Badger, who lives inside the Wild Wood, by the by Rat realizes that Badger does non welcome visits, thus decreases to take him, implying that if Mole will show restraint, Badger himself will see. In an y case, on a winter s twenty-four hours, Mole visits the Wild Wood to stroll around, trusting to run into with Badger. He lost in the woodlands, capitulates to frenzy and fear and fells in the main part of the foundations of a protecting tree. Mole is an unassuming, home-cherishing creature, and the main character to be propelled. Discouraged with spring purging in his wanderer place, he wanders into the outside universe and builds up an increasingly originative life. From the outset overawed by the unsettling influence of the riverside, he in the end adjusts. Ratty is so loose and inviting H2O field mouse, he is so loving of the waterway and takes Mole underneath his wing. He is depicted to be once in a while blue, and can be obstinate with regards to making things which are non in his riverbank way of life ( Grahame 2 ) . In the Wind in the Willows the majority of the characters are passed on by powers they do non comprehend, and ca non help. For case Mole just leaves his place since something up high was naming him tyrannically. The winged creatures take off south, they state, for the ground that they feel inside them a sweet disturbance. At the point when Ratty and Mole travel towards the weir in chase of Portly, Otter s losing newbie, they state the Moon did what she could, albeit so distant, it helped them in their excursion ( Grahame 5 ) . In an extremely different idea of an excursion, Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham talks about the normal and enthusiastic contemplations before traveling, non via train or boat, yet in a vagrant caravan. The concentrate starts with a realistic portrayal of the train A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s visual perspective, which features the significances of a splendid mean of travel romanticizes the outing. Inside the story, Toad, who was mentally determined, envisions the affectations that can be accomplished through an excursion that is filled of positive guarantees. In the class of his expressions of invigoration, he focuses on that the excursion will empower them to see existent life through going on the detached course to a new life wealthy in conceivable outcomes. Ratty then again was balanced driven as he passes on disappointment and apprehension ( Grahame 3 ) . Disinterested by Toad A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s expanded ravings, he grunts in impoliteness. Kenneth Graham quickly clarifi es that in any event, when a fabulous organization of an excursion is introduced, it relies upon the person who is going to discover whether to take on the excursion or non. All the way through the content, he each piece great communicated the expectations and worries that a single takes before set abouting an excursion. Mole believed that he would be fulfilled and upbeat as he left on an excursion moving erratically ; out of nowhere he remained by the limit line of a full-took care of waterway. He had neer seen a waterway before in his life. The author depicts the waterway as smooth, suggestive energize being, sinuate, trailing and chuckling, captivating things with a sputter besides go forthing them with a laugh, to excursion itself on new playfellows that shook themselves loosened, and were caught and held again. That is the first to mole that the waterway life will be Life Adventurous ( Grahame 2 ) . Mole A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s entire universe changed when he originated from his home and met the genial, Water Rat who adores vessel, the persnickety Frog of Toad Hall, the humankind which detests Badger who lives in the chilling Wild Wood, and incalculable other overall pleasant creatures. In the beginning periods of this story, the vivacious and cagey Water Rat is addressing his best companion, the passionate yet simple to satisfy Mole, sing his most adored action. He says that nil appears to check, that is its alluring power. He says that whether one gets off, or whether they do non ; whether one shows up at their completion or whether they neer get wherever by any organizations, they are ever occupied ( Grahame 4 ) . When Kenneth Grahame composed novel he finely communicated that equivalent purpose of position that the Water Rat had. Therefore on occasion we start to estimate whether the procedures are taking to anything, by the by one that realizes that that is its intrigue. Despite the fact that the caring Mr. Badger investigates his colossal obstruction spot, Rat and Mole coast down the stream in paddling pontoons ; the Otter prepares his kid Portly how to swim besides Toad finds another furor. So by partner the calm, made way of life out of the riverside inhabit ants alongside the quick paced demonstration of common life, the essayist keeps the perusers excited. Mole and Ratty learn on their odyssey through the wide open that one is non ever fulfilled by forsaking their place and venturing out to bet simply like Mole did. They other than discover that the intrigue of it the solitary idea behind an adventure. As Ratty says that nil appears to check, that is its alluring power. He says that whether one gets off, or whether they do non ; whether one shows up at their completion or whether they neer get wherever by any offices, they are ever occupied. Through their adventures I have discovered that companions with existent virtuousnesss can loan to the developing of one good conduct ( Grahame 239 ) .

Can China Rise Peacefully Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Would china be able to Rise Peacefully - Term Paper Example ry, when it needed to turn into the provincial authoritative intensity of the Western Hemisphere will give the foundation of the contentions introduced thus as needs be. In particular, the center of this examination is set in the contentions of two adversarial hypotheses of worldwide relations, Neo-authenticity and Liberalism, which will give the hypothetical establishments to the contentions that will follow. With the end goal of clearness and objectivity, this examination will consider the disparate hypothetical viewpoints in reference to the potential outcomes of China’s expanding decisiveness and purpose for local authority of Asia Pacific to the predominant US-drove worldwide force balance. At last, this examination will finish up by coordinating the two contentions to introduce an exhaustive and all around educated point of view regarding the current matter without sounding excessively one-sided in conclusion. Throughout the years, from late twentieth century through mid 21st century, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has encountered a stead and amazing monetary development record that has seen it rise as a critical player in worldwide undertakings, persuading the west of its expectation to be a superpower (Ming, 2014). The discussion encompassing the fast development of China’s economy, just as its expanding worldwide impact in world governmental issues for as far back as two decades has rotated around the conceivable effect of the ascent on worldwide force relations (Yue, J. 2008 p.439). China’s expanding emphaticness in the Asia-Pacific locale has created scene in the worldwide political fields with supposed feelings of trepidation over its procedures of development and the danger it stances to the worldwide force balance (Guo 2007, p.228). Put in context, the declining worldwide financial circumstance from the beginning of 2008 has additionally irritated feeling s of dread over the probability of a destabilization in the worldwide force framework, even with the developing China risk. A few procedures have just been started to contain China’s expanding impact in the Asia-pacific

Let It Bleed

Let It Bleed DID YOU KNOW? Bonsai Kittens were a hoax started by MIT students. Yesterday I overcame yet another longtime fear and gave blood. I couldnt help but think of the time in high school that my friend Allison was giving blood to get extra credit in AP Bio (no, really) and she passed out in the middle of it, in the process missing the first hour of our ultra-important fail-if-you-miss-it concert band rehearsal that night. Luckily, her dad was the drivers ed teacher and bailed her out. It was like Boy Meets World, or what I imagine Boy Meets World would have been like if I had ever watched it. Anyway, no. What I really couldnt help thinking of was the slipstream flow of my blood through the needle, and how the blood was being collected into a lower than my arm in order to establish a pressure head on the fluid, and how the cuff she had tightened on my arm was helping to dilate my blood vessels, and how this all related to the pressure taps in the pipe that we were using in 10.26: Chemical Engineering Project Lab to do fluid mechanics research, which I had to go to 5 minutes after giving blood. MIT is really like that. Anyway, somebody had a questions about AP tests, and since theyre kind of like some relentless vampire designed to suck money out of unsuspecting high-achieving high school students, I decided that this anecdote would pair well with an answer to this question. AP tests are mostly good for getting you out of GIRs. This is usually a good thing. If you dont have so many GIRs to take your freshman year, you can take more classes in your major and figure out if you really like it or not. My second term at MIT, 18.100B taught me 101 reasons not to be a math major, while Sarah Tabacco and 5.12 showed me that I really could do organic chemistry, if I just believed in myself. Had I not taken the advanced standing exam for 18.03, I might be studying for the actuarial exams these days instead of turning turkey carcasses into a usable fuel. On the other hand, sometimes GIRs are there for a reason. Im not particularly good at thermodynamics, but last spring I totally rocked 5.60: Thermodynamics and Kinetics by taking it two terms late, with a bunch of Chemical Engineering freshmen. I didnt study harder than anybody else, but after three terms of MIT I had developed the ability to study smarter than your average freshman. No doubt that any of them would now be able to go into any freshman class and get the same results. Its really great if you can come into MIT and take sophomore physics right off the bat, especially if youre a physics majorhowever, remember that youre going to be taking it with mostly sophomores (and nuclear engineers) who arent coming right out of high school. That being said, I would still personally use all the AP credits I could possibly get if I were you. As I have discovered too late, there are too many awesome classes here to spend time taking GIRs and introductory classes that you dont need to take. So, heres how it goes. Physics: The GIRs are 8.01: Mechanics and 8.02: EM. Most people take them in their first two terms here. If you get a 5 on both parts of Physics C, you get credit for 8.01. Nobody knows why you need a 5 on the EM portion of Physics C just to get out of Mechanics. There are also advanced standing exams for both classes offered during orientation. Physics B gets you NOTHING! However, I got a 5 on Physics B and was kind of bored in 8.01. I would suggest trying to take the advanced standing exam in that case. Alternatively, you can take 8.012 and 8.022, which are physics for masochists. Having taken 8.022, I can tell you that these classes will NOT NOT NOT be boring for you after the AP test. Biology: There is one GIR, 7.01x, offered in three different-flavored classes in the spring and fall. Most people dont take it their freshman year, put it off as long as possible, then take it with a bunch of grade-hungry freshman pre-meds, get mad because theyre getting a B in an easy GIR, and end up hating bio forever. Which is kind of unfair, because one of the guys who teaches it identified the first oncogene. A 5 on AP Bio gets you credit for it, and theres really no reason not to take advantage of that whether you want to major in biology or not. I took both 5.07: Biochemistry and 7.06: Cell Biology over 2 years after taking AP Bio, and didnt feel unprepared for them at all. Chemistry: There is one GIR in chemistry. You can satisfy it with 3.091 (easy), 5.111 (hard), or 5.112 (masochism), which most people take in their first term at MIT. There is an advanced standing exam, but dont even bother unless you did, like, the international chemistry olympiad or something. I know somebody who got an 800 on 8 different SATII subject tests and still did not pass it. Even if you were a stellar AP Chem student, 5.112 will cover everything you learned in two weeks, then derive the Schrodinger Equation from first principles and plunge you headfirst into a bathtub full of quantum and inorganic chemistry from which there is no escape. Seriously, 5.112 is a fantastic class to take if youre interested in chemistry at all. And if youre not, you can always take 3.091, which is chemistry for people who dont want to take chemistry anymore. Math: This is a challenging one. My first semester I qualified for entrance into seven separate calculus classes. I think they have since trimmed out a few of those. Awww, here goes. A 4 or a 5 on Calc BC gets you credit for 18.01: Single-Variable. From here, you could take one of three flavors of 18.02x: Multivariable, or you could take the ultra-rigorous 18.014 for math majors. YOU DONT NEED TO TAKE IT IF YOU ARE NOT A MATH MAJOR. A 4 or a 5 on Calc AB, or on the AB subscore of BC, gets you into 18.01A/18.02A. You spend half a term reviewing Single-Variable, half a term learning Multivariable, and get the remainder of multivariable in IAP. Basically, no matter which of the above five classes you take your first term, you will probably end up in 18.03: Differential Equations your second term at MIT with 700 other people. You can even pull a Laura and take 18.01 your first term, then 18.02 and 18.03 together your second term. The only limit is yourself. Also, if you happened to go to one of those crazy people schools with 18.03: Differential Equations or 18.06: Linear Algebra in the curriculum, you can get credit for that, too. I believe that if you do it before entering your first semester, you just have to take an advanced standing exam when you get to MIT. However, if you wait until IAP to test out of it, you have to do all the problem sets for the class on your own time and then take the advanced standing exam. Yep, its as much fun as it sounds. As for AP Statistics, yeah, that was a nice waste of $76 on my part. Computer Science: Nope. Sorry, Chester. Communications Requirement: Okay, the humanities program and communication requirements here are more complicated than quantum mechanics. So, there are certain introductory classes designated as CI-HW that you have to take in order to prove that youre good at writing. However, you dont have to take one if you get a passing score on the Freshman Essay Evaluation, given over the summer, or if you got a 5 on AP English Literature or AP English Language. Theres more communications requirement stuff, but you will figure that out once you get here. And then you can tell me, because I still only have a cursory grasp of it after three years. Humanities: If you get a 5 on basically any humanities-oriented test except for Studio Art, you get 9 units of general elective credit, which are pretty much only useful for hitting that magic 270-unit mark necessary for the double major that you no doubt want to pursue coming in to MIT. However, dont forget that Mollie took 18.01 her first term and came in with 27 units of AP credit, and she is now a published researcher and illustrious MITblogger who completed two majors in four years and is now going into Harvards PhD program next year. So you could be like her if you want to. I know I do. Whew, that was a workout!

Why a vocab app isnt enough if you want to ace GRE verbal

A couple of times in the past few months, Ive had chance conversations  with people who were either preparing for the GRE or had recently taken it.   Inevitably, the subject turned to preparation for the verbal section, and both times, the GRE-taker in question lit up when they mentioned using an app  to study vocabulary. As one of them enthused, its like a game! You get to compete against other users and everything.   I admit that my familiarity with GRE vocab apps is limited, but when  I had the first of these conversations, my immediate  inclination was to double-check that the student knew  that the GRE had changed a few years back that the vocabulary section was no longer based on  straight-up synonym and antonym questions but was rather focused on testing words in the context of sentences and short passages.   Remarkably, the student who struck me as very bright seemed  entirely unaware of that fact.   Im not sure just how common that situation is, but  Im writing this post regardless. Based on my experience with the old SAT, I suspect that even if GRE students know that vocabulary is tested in a way that  no longer involves just knowing straightforward definitions, theyre not really sure what that means on a practical level, or what they can do to prepare. As a result, they  pore over vocabulary lists (or apps), not fully realizing that being prepared for the GRE is more than just a matter of knowing lots of difficult words.   As a matter of fact, it is possible to know lots of dictionary definitions of words and still find  the GRE vocabulary section very challenging. It is also possible to have difficulty with questions testing relatively straightforward words. ETS excels at writing questions that mess with your mind ever so slightly, questions that make you think:  This should be simple   these are easy words. Why cant I figure  out whats going on here?   This is whats going on: when  the GRE was overhauled in 2012, one of the main goals was to make the test  less about memorization and more  about the type of reading that actually gets done in graduate school. The result was a shift in focus from the sort of à ¼ber-challenging  vocabulary that used to feature prominently on the exam  to the sort of challenging but not overly esoteric words routinely found in mainstream publications such as  The Economist. Now, heres the ironic part. When the SAT was overhauled in 2015/2016, it was changed in part because critics argued that the  so-called obscure vocabulary that exam tested was disconnected from real-life reading. What ETS effectively did, however, was to take the set of words commonly tested on the SAT and move them over to the GRE.  So what was once considered obscure vocabulary on the SAT magically became  relevant vocabulary on the GRE.   Thats another way of saying that the GRE isnt interested in terribly interested in assessing whether youve memorized the dictionary; provided you have a relatively solid vocabulary, you probably dont need to spend hours and hours studying  hundreds  of esoteric  words.  Thats just not what the test is about anymore. So while some  GRE vocabulary questions do require you to know the definitions of relatively sophisticated words, others are almost like miniature logic puzzles. The emphasis is on whether you can figure out what  the sentence or passage is actually saying, and what general type of word makes sense  in context. Whether the answer  would conventionally be considered an easy word or a hard word is effectively irrelevant.  Ã‚  Ã‚   To answer these questions, you must be able to  infer  relationships between sentence and clauses, sometimes with only subtle clues; sift through complex syntax and idiomatic phrasing; work backwards within questions, starting with a more-straightforward second or third blank and then moving back to a less clear first blank; and suppress your initial  assumption about the type of word that belongs in a particular blank until youve obtained a fuller understanding of what a sentence or passage is saying.   In addition, Sentence Equivalences present their own particular form of trickery: determining the correct answer is not simply a matter of knowing whether each individual word makes sense in context. Rather, you must be able to determine which pair of words create the same meaning when plugged in words that may or may not be synonyms.   Even if you know all of the words perfectly, its very easy to get confused and start second-guessing yourself. This can happen just as easily  when the  words are simple as it can when the words are hard. Actually, I would argue that its more likely to happen when the words are simple! To be fair,  if you have a liberal arts degree (or a B.S. from a program with substantial requirements in the social sciences and humanities), and are extremely comfortable navigating complex academic prose, the context-based aspect of GRE vocabulary probably wont  be  too much of an impediment to a high verbal score. But that said, the pitfalls described in the previous paragraphs are very real, and studying vocabulary alone wont prepare you for them. Furthermore,  things that seem a little tricky when youre sitting at home in your living room can be positively mind-bending when youre under pressure in an actual testing situation.   If you dont have a lot of experience reading academic non-fiction, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, then a vocabulary app even a really great one   is unlikely to offer you  comprehensive  preparation for the GRE. It may be necessary, but it will almost certainly be insufficient.   So what can you do? At the very least, you need to get yourself an Official GRE Guide and an Official GRE Verbal Guide. These are the only two books that contain questions written by ETS, and they are therefore indispensable for obtaining an accurate idea of what youll encounter on the real exam. Any additional books,  mine included,  should be  used to supplement those guides.   If you are extremely weak on vocabulary  and need to build some fundamentals, I would even go so far as to recommend that you purchase a copy of the old SAT Official Guide  and work through the sentence completions there first.  Most  of the  questions are considerably easier than GRE questions (although there is some overlap at the high end), but they are also ETS-produced and  draw from a similar pool of words. And if you  have a lot of time to prep for the exam, set aside 15-30 minutes or so a day to read the type of material youll find on the GRE. Explore the many links on Arts Letters Daily  or, if you have access to JSTOR, look through the many journal options, start by picking  a topic youre interested in, and  find some articles related to it. (Try to pick  things written in a relatively straightforward manner, though; GRE writing, while sometimes dense, is not overly laden with academic jargon.)   As you get more comfortable reading, try to branch out into areas you know less about. If most of your classes have been in the humanities, for example, make sure to read scientific articles and vice-versa. Write down and look up every word, phrase, and idiom whose meaning youre not 100% certain of. Anything that isnt exceptionally technical, youre likely to encounter again.