Myth or No Our Family Name Was Changed at Ellis Island

Themes in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Essay - 1123 Words

John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character. Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, â€Å"Because†¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me†¦show more content†¦George Milton is a hard- working man who travels beside Lennie, yet he would rather travel by himself. He would not have to worry about anyone but himself. He travels with Lennie, and we often find him telling Lennie how much better off he could be without him. One simple reaction to Lennie sets George off on a rant enough to say, God amighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an work, an no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool†¦ An whatta I got †¦ I got you! You cant keep a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus keep me shovin all over the country all the time. (Steinbeck 12) This is important because it shows that George wants to be alone but does not truly want to be lonely. Lennie is George’s responsibility. George views Lennie as a brother, friend, and partner in crime. Without Lennie, George is lonely but he knows that he saves Lennie from his own personal misery in the end. George knows he needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs him. He needs his friendship and is lonely after he takes that friendship away from himself. After killing Lennie, there is a shift in George’s attitude. KillingShow MoreRelatedThemes In John Steinbecks Of Mice And Men1118 Words   |  5 PagesThe sun climbed up the sky, shining the fields a brilliant golden. The barley stalks waved majestically in the wind. A lush valley filled with green willows and shrubs lied past the fields. On the other side of the field, the ranch was overshadowed by the large and strong Gabilans. A herd of rabbits bounded through the valley, and sat on the fluffy grass, watching a la rge grey hulk stand lifelessly in the center of the field. A large cloud meandered over the Gabilans, changing the well-defined brownRead MoreThe Theme of Loneliness in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay870 Words   |  4 PagesThe Theme of Loneliness in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is set in the farmlands of Salinas Valley in California during the 1930’s. At this time there was a world wide depression caused by the Wall Street crash in America. John Steinbeck was born and brought up in Salinas California, he had lived and experienced a life of a migrant worker and that is what inspired him to write this novel (novella?). This meant he could paint a lot Read MoreEssay on Theme of Loneliness in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men1136 Words   |  5 PagesThe Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennies relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isnt too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. RatherRead MoreThe Theme of Friendship in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men659 Words   |  3 Pagesgoing through life without having any friends. The story Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a realistic fiction about two traveling friends named Lennie and George. George promises Aunt Clara that he will watch over Lennie because of his mental disability. Their friendship is tested many times as Lennie is constantly finding himself in trouble. John Steinbeck uses feelings of happiness, obligation, and love to establish the theme of friendship is the most important thing in life. First,Read MoreJohn Steinbecks Presentation of the Themes of Isolation and in Of Mice and Men1518 Words   |  6 Pages. George and Lennie Steinbeck’s uses of language and setting to highlight the isolation of experienced ranch workers like George Milton and Lennie Small. â€Å"On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey sculptured stones.† â€Å"And then from that direction of the state highway came the sound of sycamore leaves. The rabbits hurried noiselessly to cover.† Above I have quoted a portion of what I think is isolation, George Milton and Lennie Small are in an isolated area here, when he saysRead MoreJohn Steinbeck: An American Writer During the Great Depression1315 Words   |  6 Pagescommon people, especially those at the very bottom of the society. (Wang, 2012) John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California, is one of the most significant and representative American writers in that era. He is the winner of the Noble Prize for Literature in 1962. John Steinbeck’s living experience in California had a great influence on his writing. He grew up in one of the richest agricultural place. Steinbeck’s lifelong interest in the beauty of nature started with his childhood experienceRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men1319 Words   |  6 PagesBryann Cervantes AP English IV Mrs. Batey Of Mice and Men To most, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a revered novel on racial segregation in the United States. This text has been remarkably controversial because of the way it deals with difficult issues regarding race and the American dream; however, despite its disputable history, it is an incredibly important book that is used to study many aspects of race relations in the United States in the early to mid twentieth century, more specificallyRead MoreForeshadowing In Of Mice And Men Analysis1257 Words   |  6 PagesHow does Steinbeck Use Foreshadowing in his Text? Foreshadowing is the way an author uses clues to show the reader what happens later in the book. In 1937 John Steinbeck published the American classic, â€Å"Of Mice and Men,† a short story that tells the tale of George and Lennie, two migrant workers during the Great Depression. George, a small quick man, and his companion, Lennie, an enormous man with the mind of a child. They begin work at a ranch and come across Crooks, Candy, Slim, Curley, Curley’sRead MoreOf Mice and Men2269 Words   |  10 PagesOf Mice and Men John Steinbeck World Literature Mrs. Finke December 7, 2012 Of Mice and Men: A Classic for the Ages Thesis: Despite some impurity Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck should be considered as a classic due to its honesty, truth, loveliness, justice and of good report. I. Introduction II. Impurity A. Swearing B. Violence C. Economic poverty D. Psychological corruption III. Honesty A. Steinbeck’sRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Crucible 1074 Words   |  5 Pages Dylon Morrison Mr. Briggs 5 December 2014 Word Count: 978 John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. John decided to be a writer at the very young age of fourteen. â€Å"John used to lock himself in his bedroom and to be alone and write stories and poem†(John Steinbeck Biography). John was the first in his family to have a striving desire to become a writer, his father did everything he could to keep food on the table and his mother was a former school

The Harbinger of Things to Come free essay sample

To see how similar the cause of collapse of both Laventhol amp; Horwath and Andersen, let’s examine these two cases from two perspectives. a. From the clients’ side The last straw which led to the demise of these two CPA firm were PTL club to Lamp;H and Enron to Anderson. PTL Club had a very weak internal control. As it is pointed out in the case, whenever Jim Bakker needed money, he could just simply make a board member introduce a resolution for a bonus. Auditors could not find necessary documents to support expenses and revenue. Compensation was excessive far beyond the regulation of IRS. (Louwers, 867-872) Enron was engaged in aggressive accounting practices. It took advantage of the deregulation to inflate energy price. It utilized off-balance sheet financing vehicle to make its financial statement look far better than it was supposed to be. Both PTL Club and Enron were very risky clients. (Shirur, 4) b) From the CPA firms’ side Lamp;H and Anderson knew that they were walking on the tightrope. However, for profit’s sake, they chose to close their eyes and took the risk. Lamp;H was surrounded by allegations due to their aggressive approaches on their audit work. As for Anderson, it took in 17 out of 58 Lamp;H’s clients after Lamp;H’s fall, which was close to double of all the clients being taken in by any other Big Six (Read, 6). This behavior was a strong indication that Lamp;H and Anderson shared the same philosophy which was to earn the most out of the hole of regulation and law. 2) No. According to the Analysis of Lamp;H’s Clients by Subsequent Auditor, Anderson took in the most numbers off clients of Lamp;H, which is 17 out of 107 among 33 CPA firms. Lamp;H and Anderson had very similar management philosophy. They pushed to get the most. It is the result of market economics. Hence, government should play a significant role in putting regulation and law in place to prevent such things from happening. 3) The problem lies not on how audit reports should be used but on what quality audit reports should possess. In the PTL Club case, red flags were obvious which included but not limited to hazards internal control, far-beyond-reasonable lavish lifestyle of Jim and Tammy, and secret account. These red flags were enough to trigger an in-depth investigation or extensive auditing procedures. However, nothing was done until Mr. Baker’s extramarital tryst. In this case, the only way to prevent such behavior is to keep to the 10 basic Auditing Standards and improve the ethical awareness of the profession. ) AU Section 560 defines Subsequent Events as â€Å"events or transactions occur subsequent to the balance-sheet date, but prior to the issuance of the financial statements, that has a material effect on the financial statements and therefore require adjustment or disclosure in the statements. †(AU Section 560) The time line of Hamp;L’s audit of PTL Club is: End of fiscal year (May 31, 1984), Audit Completion Date (Dual dated as August 31, 1984 and October 24, 1984). Based on the timeline and the above definition of subsequent events, I believe that it is a subsequent event. But whether Deloitte needed to evaluate the sales occurring after the balance sheet date of May 31, 1984 depends on the materiality of the over sales occurring during May 31, 1984 and October 24, 1984. It was said that over sales occurred shortly after May 31, 1984. Then how big was the over sales between May 31, 1984 and October 24, 1984? Was the number material enough to subject to disclosure? It was an issue required judgment. Between 1984 and 1987, $158 million was contributed as the (74,000+66,000=140,000) partnerships though the limit of the sale of memberships was only (25,000+30,000=55,000). The actual sales were almost triple of the limit. However, how was the over sales allocated. Was the over sales occurred between May 31, 1984 and October 24, 1984 significant enough to subject to disclosure? We have no clues from the information provided. But given that Jim Bakker was all the time utilized the good reputation of PTL Club’s audit, Deloitte had reasons to exercise reasonable professional skepticism and did an in-depth investigation, not to mention that Deloitte expressed a going- concern on the draft of 1984 audit report concerning current assets of only $8. million against $28. 5 million current liabilities and all the other red flags signaling possible fraud. As for Lamp;H, since limited number of partnerships was widely published, it had no excuse for not being acknowledged this issue. As a CPA firm, it just exercises due professional care in the performance of the audit and the preparation of the audit report. 5) High risk, high return. Companies willing to accept high-risk clients are striving to provide the so-called value-added service to its clients. They choose to push the edge of law and regulation to earn high return. This is the nature of market economy. 6) Bonus-approval procedure in PTL Club was a joke. Documentations for large amount of expenditure were lost. Careful inspection of records and documents alone would be able to reveal PTL’s financial problems or at least put them in a position to confess to some of the fraud. Analytical procedure would also help to uncover the â€Å"Ponzi† scheme of the lifetime partnerships. Contribution of partnership between 1984 and 1987 was $158 million.

Politics And Religion Essays - Anti-Catholicism,

Politics And Religion (This is about the Protestant Reformation, i believed that it has always existed strictly as a political event) Politics and Religion Political and social struggles causes many religious uprising. Even though Religious Reformations are major breakthroughs in the Catholic Church, its premises remained strictly as a political event. Protestantism was a technique used by noble princes as well as emperors to break away from the control of the Catholic Church and also a reason to gain dominancy over other nations. However, the foremost reason that Reformations remains primarily as a political event is because it served as a reason for conflict between church and state. The first reason that the Reformation was a political event was the alliance between religious group and the state. Protestant groups, especially Lutherans and Calvinists, sided with national authorities to create international political upheaval. One mentionable historical event was the Hapsburg-Valois War. To gain control of Italy and the Burgundian realms, Francis I of France, being a Catholic, did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Protestants in his objective to crush Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the fall heir of the Burgundian territories. On the other hand, the Protestant card was also played by Charles when he repressed Francis with the help of the Henry VIII, head of the Church of England. Thus, this showed that Protestants during the Reformation was created ideally to and was manipulated by strong political powers in their conquest to gain dominancy over other states. Another reason for the governmental event was its usage by the noble princes to gain political freedom for their states by breaking away from the control of the supreme governer. What was a religious struggles between the Protestants and the Church became a movement towards a politically freed state. One example would be the internal conflict between Charles V and his German princes and their states. During the disorder of the Reformation, princes were emboldened to seek autonomy for their states, thus, creating a civil war between them and the Emperor. The Peace of Ausburg was signed by Charles by which gave the princes the right to determined the core religion in his territories. However, the political side to it was the Peace of Westphalia, a reinstatement of the Asburg's. Signed some years later by the empire, the Peace of Westphalia gave the princes the right to supreme authority over their territories. This showed that in the essence of most religious struggles, the main objective is to gain political advantage among other dominant powers. But the foremost cause that led to the belief that the Protestant Reformation was a political event was the private issues between the king and the pope. Supremacy of state, judicial authoratives, and noble marital problems were raised to the level of national predicament. These issues were presented with the conflict between Henry VIII and the Church. During Henry's reign, many of his marriages went down the drain because he was cursed without a healthy, male heir to the English thrown. But years later, having fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, a noble woman who promised him a son, Henry tried to get his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. But when the Church rejected his order, Henry broke away and formed The Church of England. In his documents. The Act of Restraint of Appeal and the Supremacy Act, Henry declared himself the supreme ruler and judicial authority of England and noted that there are absolutely no political interference from the Church allowed. This showed that the biggest contribution to the Protestant Reformation are the selfish desires of kings and the Church. Behind most religious disorder, the roots of conflict was always political struggles between church and state. These ideas were expressed by many rulers who were tangled in the web of international religious struggles. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VIII of England, German Protestant princes, rulers of all background manipulated Protestant Reformations and had used it to their own advantage such as to gain political powers and their other personal needs. Thus, the roots of existence of most Protestant Reformation has always been, a political event.

In this report I will be speaking about how managing the resources of an organisation and effective budgetary control can lead to improved performance of a business Essays

In this report I will be speaking about how managing the resources of an organisation and effective budgetary control can lead to improved performance of a business Essays In this report I will be speaking about how managing the resources of an organisation and effective budgetary control can lead to improved performance of a business Essay In this report I will be speaking about how managing the resources of an organisation and effective budgetary control can lead to improved performance of a business Essay Essay Topic: Public Speaking Subject: How managing the resources of the organisation and effective budgetary control can improve the performance of a business. Introduction: In this report I will be speaking about how managing the resources of an organisation and effective budgetary control can lead to improved performance of a business. Findings/ Main Body: As I have talked about with you before, managing the resources of an organisation and looking closely at its budgetary control is absolutely vital in business. It improves performance over every department and gives the business management team a clear view on where they can expand and develop in the future. Every public limited company that allows people to buy shares within their business must publish their accounts so that investors can see how well they are doing and judge whether or not to buy their shares on the stock exchange. All the top dog companies have a clear view on their resources and budgets; this is evident from Tesco who have lists of all their resources and a clear cash flow all on one financial statement. They made profits of over  £2 billion in 2005 and this tells us that managing budgets and resources well really does improve businesses performance. Managing resources of an organisation improves performance as it gives more cash flow, providing you cut back on unnecessary resources; this gives more to re-invest or to pay off liabilities. E.g. If John Lewis had  £4600 of current assets and  £3600 of current liabilities then they would have a working capital of  £1000. By managing the resources and cutting back on waste products, such as recycling paper, they can decrease the liabilities figure from  £3600 to  £3200. This gives them  £400 more working capital and add that to the previous amount of  £1000 you get  £1400 working capital. Working capital is essential to keep businesses active and trading, they need it to pay bills and avoid debt. Managing your resources and budgets well will increase your work capital and therefore increase the stability of your business. Managing the budgetary control effectively helps improve the performance of an organisation as, if you can mark up the break even point on a chart of business, you can identify the point where your business has sold enough products or service in order to cover your expenses. This is crucial information for any business trying to avoid losses, knowing the point that you break even is a good target to reach and keeps everyone in your organisation focused and therefore improves performance. Furthermore, the margin of safety can also be found in order to allow the business to work out the amount of units by which sales can fall before the business starts to make a loss. This improves the businesses performance in hard times such as the current recession as the management team know how much security they have until they start making a loss. An example of the margin of safety could be when John Lewis has 65 units and a break even point of 50 units. This gives them 15 units of lee way until they start making a loss. If you was to look at the break even point in more detail you could increase the point where your business breaks even by increasing the price of products. You would also have to, in return, consider how this will effect the sales figures and whether your business will still be selling. A wise option is to increase the price when the demand is high and the supply is low, this way you are virtually guaranteed on increasing the break even point and widening the margin of safety with the high level of sales. Another example of how managing the budgetary control and resources within a business helps improve performance is the effect of changes in fixed costs. When running a business there is fixed costs that are always the same, these include costs such as rent, insurance and road tax. Knowing the changes of your ‘fixed’ costs could save a lot of time and keep a more clear financial statement and management decisions. Say for example the government orders all insurance on cars to increase by 15%, this used to be a fixed cost however on the odd occasion it can change. Applying close attention to changes within ‘fixed’ costs can be crucial and will improve the performance of management decisions in the future as you have valid data to hand. The pricing in times like the recession for rent could always be changing and product prices can go up or down according to competitors within the marketing environment, using invalid information for predictions on what will hap pen with the business is suicidal and managing resources and budgets can cover this problem and in turn improve the companies performance by making accurate marketing decisions that will benefit the company. Also, in any recession businesses need to insure their safety by keeping reserves from the cash flow cycle for emergencies. An emergency could render anything from a downturn in the market to an offensive attack on your business premises, keeping reservations will help soften the effects of these situations. Business analysts recommend that reserves should be maintained which will allow the business to continue for at least three months in the event of an emergency. Also having a high liquidity figure helps, this is the ability to turn assets or stock into cash to be able to pay bills. Making reservations and emergency funds will improve performance in the long run in poor economic times and help see your business through, giving each department a limited budget to handle and giving limits on resources. The importance of costs and budgets is extremely high within any organisation that wants to do well. The advantages of managing your costs and budgets are that it is easier to have a constant cash flow, cash flow is vitally important within all businesses as it helps pay the bills whilst you await debtors to pay for your services. Another advantage of managing your costs and budgets is that it helps you avoid getting into debt as you always know how much you have to spend and whether you can afford certain assets or advertisements. If the costs and budgets are not monitored the company could be working at a loss, with the information in hand that you are losing money and not even making enough profit to cover costs you could, as a result, start dropping staff and maybe selling assets such as computers and vehicles that are, not necessarily not needed, but aren’t useful without the staff operating them. The business value will eventually decrease significantly as a result of an unmonitored financial system not checking the costs and budgets effectively. A good real life example of a company that manages its costs well is John Lewis. They manage their costs and budgets effectively by having a whole department of finance and numerous staff working under their command. Their job is to look at all the costs and budgets of the store that they are allocated to and to see whether an investment of new advertising or a new product is financially viable with their budget. This way they can avoid spending large amounts of money that the company doesn’t have. Also, it is clear that they manage their costs well as their financial statement for the half year leading up to August 2009 saw a profit of  £57 million profit. Another real life example of a company that doesn’t manage their costs well is the Lehman Brothers. I’m sure you have heard all about them on the news back in 2008 when they declared bankruptcy from investment banking. Their filing of being bankrupt was the biggest in U.S. history. They didn’t manage their costs well as they invested huge amounts of money in business that didn’t get a good return and also lost money by giving out loans to customers with poor credit ratings in order to bring in more money overall. They received little return on their loans as people couldn’t afford to pay them back, this in turn left a huge gap in their finance and is evidence that they should have managed their costs better by only lending to people with decent credit ratings. Conclusions: To sum up this and all the previous reports, the management of costs, budgets and resources all work co-ordinately to improve overall business performance. This is done in many ways but mainly in that it increases the break even point, the margin of safety and can reduce overheads significantly, this all results to greater profits which is the core of all non-charitable organisations therefore making the management of resources and budgets vitally important. Recommendation: My recommendation to anyone who starts up a business is to make sure that right from the start you have an effective budgetary control and a well managed resource department. Make sure that you stay up to date with your marketing environment that is relevant to your niche market to ensure you gather correct information in order to make accurate marketing decisions. Any business that doesn’t have a good budgetary and resource control system is deemed to fail sooner or later and, if this is relevant to you, then I would re-design your business before it starts making a gaping loss and you’re left wondering why, without any accurate information to go by.

3 Common Latin Expressions

3 Common Latin Expressions 3 Common Latin Expressions 3 Common Latin Expressions By Maeve Maddox Not too many generations ago, any child privileged enough to attend school beyond the age of seven or so studied Latin. A vestige of what was once a universal educational practice can be found in the use of these three Latin terms used by English speakers: mea culpa in memoriam R.I.P. Ive seen mea culpa misspelled as mia culpa, and in memoriam misspelled as in memorium. As for R.I.P. seen in cartoon drawings of tombstones and on Halloween-related decorations, many speakers are unaware that the initials R.I.P. stand for a Latin phrase. mea culpa [mÄ Ã‰â„¢ koolpÉ™]:my fault. The expression is part of a prayer of repentance, but it is often used in a secular context to mean its my fault. I know a classics professor who likes to translate it as my bad! If you feel really guilty, you can say, Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea MAXima culpa! The misspelling mia probably results from saying /mee-uh/ instead of /may-uh/. The Latin word culpa, crime, fault, blame, is at the root of several English words: culpable, culpability, culprit, exculpate, and exculpatory. in memoriam: in memory of. Tennyson named his long poem to the memory of his friend Hallam In Memoriam. English words from Latin memor, mindful, remembering, include: memory, memorable, immemorable (not worth remembering), immemorial (ancient beyond memory), memorize, commemorate, and commemoration. R.I.P., the initial letters of the Latin phrase Requiescat in pace: may he/she rest in peace. As it happens, the English translation Rest in peace gives the same initial letters of the Latin original. Latin requies, rest, repose, gives us the word requiem, Capitalized, a Requiem is a Mass for the repose of the soul of the dead. A generalized sense of requiem is any formal tribute to a departed soul. English words that derive from the same Latin source as requiem are quiet, quiescent, quiescence, and inquiet. 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:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toes40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†Prepositions to Die With

Analysis of Apple Incorporateds Performance Research Paper

Analysis of Apple Incorporateds Performance - Research Paper Example Apple’s controversial mission statement that captures the format of a presentation that mentions the product portfolio has met criticism due to its unconventional design. The company’s mission is to â€Å"design Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software† (Arthur, 2010, p5). However, the emphasis of the clear areas of focus by the corporation in its business seems logical when the sharp performance on the various production lines generates the kind of results witnessed. In the items highlighted in the mission statement, production and concentration in the core business of the corporation stand out conspicuously as its guiding principles. Performance in terms of hitting production numbers as well as distribution to meet the ever-growing demand leaving an understandable gap of supply enough to generate a rare form of suspense for its products. Apple has built a market presence with a very strong brand name over the years, breaking several records including the most successful and most valuable company of all time. A decade ago, nobody would have imagined that a company would dislodge Microsoft from the top brand in the world, with a unique product attraction among the consumers but Apple is doing that every day (Jiang et al., 2009). Production of the most recognized electronic device backed by its own software system including operating system and other applications defied the odds of the market such as experienced by Microsoft on a strong software front. Through a commitment on bringing the best computing package to specific consumer groups, the company takes care of its vision statement in several ways. The company captures the needs of scholars, professionals, ordinary consumers with innovative solutions to different needs. Perhaps one of the most complete and trendy products in the market that Apple specializes in, computer hardware capable of interacting with internet usage present the company as a pacesetter. Strategic Goals vs Mission and Vision Statements Apparently, Apples mission and vision statements collapse into the presentation of quality technology in the product portfolio dealt in the current operations and into the future. The two strategic statements complement each other in the sense that the highlight of the actual product scope in the mission statement obtains assurances of unquestionable quality in the vision statement. For instance, the mission state

Research summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research summary - Assignment Example The Australian Government makes unprecedented investment in the education sector; particular emphasis is laid on the improvement of the state of undergraduate education in the country and the technical training facilities. It makes investments in universities and other tertiary education channels with the aim of driving an overall comprehensive reform in the training sector in the economy and the post-compulsory education sector (Pritchett 367). This includes a two-fold step; short term injection of fund to the weak areas of the economy on one hand and on the other hand, building up on the strengths of the education sector in the economy. At present the education sector of Australia is strong enough to boost up the economic potential of the economy. The government is making a realistic plan for the next decade in order to ensure that current activities to reform the country’s higher education system makes it sustainable in the future. A description of the relevant economic mod el There is considerable debate regarding the effect of public expenditure on growth (Basu and Bhattarai, â€Å"Does Government Spending on Education Promote Growth and Schooling Returns?†). According to some scholars, there is mixed effect of positive public expenditure on the growth of an economy in the long run (Pritchett 371). Sylwester shows that in some countries the effect of government’s financial support on the contemporary higher education (under graduate studies and training) sector casts an impact on the growth of the economy depending on the level of education of the general population of the country (Sylwester 380). According to economic theory, growth is positively correlated to returns to higher education. Simultaneously, research shows that the higher the level of government education on education sector, the lower is the level of growth in the country compared to other countries with lower spending on education sector by government. In other words the countries with higher rates of growth reflect lower public spending on education sector. Regression analysis on time series data shows, government spending on education has positive effect on economic growth for the richer countries, but, for the poorer countries it can potentially hurt growth (Blankeau, Simpson and Tomljanovich 396). Studies show that the relationship existing between government spending on education and economic growth is negative for the countries with low share of higher education, while, for countries with high share of education, this relationship is positive (Basu and Bhattarai, â€Å"Does Government Spending on Education Promote Growth and Schooling Returns?†). This phenomenon suggests that a non linear and potentially U shaped relationship might be present between growth and public spending on education (Blankeau, Simpson and Tomljanovich 397). Australia is a developed nation and the per capita GDP in the country is US $ 43,300 (according to 2012 es timates) (â€Å"The World Fact book†). The level of growth in the economy shows a rising trend over the past two decades. Therefore, the level of

Outline and essay of Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

Outline and essay of Thomas Jefferson Essay Thomas Jefferson I. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1836) II. A. Education- Was sent to Dover, Virginia, where he studied Latin with Reverend William Douglas until 1757. He was then sent to the school of the Reverend James Maury at Hanover, Virginia, and spent two years studying Greek and Latin classics, history, literature, geography, and natural science. In March 1760 Jefferson entered the College of William and Mary. B. Occupational Background- 1767- Jefferson admitted to the practice of law and became a successful lawyer. Also supervised the Shadwell Plantation. Was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Took an active part in events that lead to the American Revolution. 1776- Jefferson took his seat in Congress as an elected delegate and wrote the Declaration of Independence. Served as Secretary of State under Washington and Vice president under Madison. III. Served two terms (1800-1808) IV. Key issues prominent in Election- federal government vs. states rights, westward expansion of the nation, Native Americans, the freedom of lower class white men. V. Opponents A. First Election (1800)- Aaron Burr (Democratic-Republican), John Adams (Federalist), Charles C. Pinckney (Federalist), John Jay (Federalist) B. Second Election (1804)- Charles C. Pinckney (Federalist) VI. Vice President A. 1st term vice- Aaron Burr B. 2nd term vice- George Clinton VII. Political Party of Jefferson- Democratic-Republican VIII. Domestic Happenings A. Louisiana Purchase (1803)- The Louisiana Territory was purchased for 15 million dollars from France. Doubled the size of U.S. secured navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Authorized purchase without making amendment, exercised the presidents implied powers to protect the nation. B. 12th Amendment (1804)- Citizens are to vote for President and Vice President separately. Prevented future electoral crises. C. Non-Importation Act (1807)- prohibited importation from Great Britain of cloth and metal articles. D. Embargo Act (1807)- Stopped shipments of food and other American products to foreign ports. Many were thrown out of work because of it. Was created to maintain U.S. neutrality. Created as a short-term measure to prevent confrontation between American merchant vessels and British and French warships and to put pressure on France and England. E. Non- Intercourse Act (1809)- passed by Jefferson in his last days of office. Reopened trade with all nations except Britain and France, and authorized the president to resume trade with Britain or France if either of them ceased to violate neutral rights. IX. Foreign Policy Decisions- Stated under domestic happenings. X. Major Conflict of Administration- A. Tripoli War (1801-05)- A conflict between the United States and Tripoli, incited by American refusal to continue payment of tribute to the piratical rulers of the North African Barbary States of Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, and Tripoli. Involved North Africa, was extension of fight about protection from pirates in Barbary States. B. Marbury v. Madison (1803)- Supreme Court of the United States established its authority to review and invalidate government actions that conflict with the Constitution of the United States. First time that the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional. Established Judicial Review. C. Burr Hamilton Duel (1804)- Hamilton publicly criticized Burr, Burr demanded for an apology and a duel resulted. Hamilton was fatally wounded. D. Republicans attack the federalist judiciary (1804)- Republicans were making every effort to remove federalist judges from power. The house was unable to impeach Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. Preserved the Courts independence and established the precedent that criminal actions were the only grounds for impeachment. E. The Chesapeake Incident (1807)- British ship fired upon American ship that refused to be searched for deserters. Three Americans were killed, and eighteen wounded British seized four deserters, three were American citizens. Exposed American military weakness and increased the impact of impressments on the public. Would be the cause of Embargo Act. XI. Major Social Changes- A. Peoples involvement in Politics increased. 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots between 1804 and 1816. Political barbeques states, and new style of campaigning evolved. B. Slave revolutionist ideas began. C. American Art began to take shape. 1. Rembrandt Peale was one of most famous of first American artists. Was famous for his portraits of American presidents. XII. Major Inventions and Technological Advancements A. Robert Fultons invention the Steamboat, Clermont(1807) makes its debut XIII. Thomas Jefferson was a fairly good president and receives an overall rating of 6.5. His decisions and ideas were sometimes wise and sometimes foolish. Jeffersons main goals were to restore government to its limited role, to extend the Republicans power in the federal government, to establish republican virtues such as independence, self-reliance, and equality, and to reduce the National debt as much as possible. He also wanted to expand the nation and make it as powerful as possible. Like the presidents before him, he also wanted to maintain neutrality, undisturbed commerce, and no entangling alliances. Adams accomplished some of these goals. Initially, the national debt was decreased. Congress repealed all internal taxes, including the Whiskey Tax. Jefferson also declined to use the Alien and Sedition Acts against his opponents, and congress allowed both acts to expire. The Naturalization Act was also replaced with a much less severe one. He refused to recognize any of the appointments Adams made in the last days of his presidency, and awarded vacant treasury and judicial offices to republicans. He succeeded in his goal and got rid of the old Federalist programs he didnt like. As for expansion, the purchase of the Louisiana Territory allowed Jefferson to achieve exactly what he had dreamed of. It also prevented war with France, over the Mississippi River. Accomplishing this goal however, contradicted his goal of eliminating the National debt and strictly abiding by the Constitution. Jeffersons cabinet included Aaron Burr (1801) and George Clinton (1805-1809) as Vice president, James Madison as Secretary of State (1801-1809), Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Dexter (1801) and Albert Gallatin (1801-1809), Secretary of War Henry Dearborn (1801-1809), and Secretary of Navy Robert Smith(1801-1809). Albert Gallatin was one of Jeffersons best  appointments. Gallatin worked to help achieve Jeffersons goals in National budget. He cut the army budget in half and reduced the 1802 Navy budget by two-thirds. Gallatin moved to reduce the national debt from 83 million to 57 million. Robert Smith also had a significant influence. He oversaw the Navy that blockaded Tripoli to win the Tripoli war and also forced the Algiers and Tunis to renounce attacks against Americans. The president chose his cabinet because he believed they were the most qualified and wanted to achieve the same things he did. This was true for the most part, and his cabinet was on his side. The president and congress got along very well. The Republicans were in majority throughout his presidency so Jefferson had no problems with congress. When Jefferson declined using the Alien and Sedition Acts congress let them expire. Congress repealed the Naturalization Act, and created a new one that required less for citizenship. Congress also repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, so Jefferson could appoint a Supreme Court member. Jefferson controlled congress through his leadership of the Republican Party. It was firmly on Jeffersons side and did everything it could to further the republican interest. Jefferson had to deal with domestic and foreign crises. The nations had built up a large debt, which could be called a crisis. Jefferson wanted to reduce the debt as much as possible. At first, he did do this by cutting funding. But with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory the debt only increased. In the seas, Jefferson was faced with a number of problems. Britain was practicing impressments. Senate passed the non-importation act but he suspended it in hopes of a negotiation settlement. Negotiations were unsuccessful so nothing changed. At the time the impressments of sailors wasnt considered a crisis, but the Chesapeake affair made everyone aware. In reaction, Jefferson did not declare war, because he knew Britain had a superior Navy. Instead, he closed American waters to the British, and issued the Non-importation and Embargo Act. War may have been avoided, but by closing all American ports Jefferson created his own new crises. Smuggling resulted and the American economy plumme ted. By issuing the Embargo Act, he hurt his own nation more then his intended targets, Great Britain and  France. Resentment was also created throughout New England, and talk of succession started. To deal with this crisis he created, Jefferson issued the Non-Intercourse Act. The new Act solved the problems created by the embargo, but didnt prevent any of the same problems that prompted it. The issuing of these acts was by far the presidents greatest failure. Although it was a failure, some good did come out of it. Americas industries grew. Forbidden to trade, Americans had to make their own products. The Embargo precipitated the Industrial Revolution. For Jefferson, the crises he dealt with are ones hed rather forget. A minor crisis which Jefferson had to deal with was Aaron Burrs conspiracy, the details of which are still unknown, either to establish an independent republic in the Louisiana Territory or to launch an invasion of Spanish-held Mexico. Jefferson acted swiftly to arrest Burr early in 1807 and brought him to trial for treason. Jefferson is not known as a good president for how he dealt with crises, it is the opposite. As for his accomplishments, the Louisiana Purchase was his greatest success. The territory was vast and benefited the nation in many ways. Not only was war avoided, but a mass amount of land was acquired. Navigation on the Mississippi River was also gained, which was extremely important for trade. This accomplishment was perhaps one of the greatest of any president and administration in American History. Thomas Jefferson was greatly respected by the people of his day. He was well known as a revolutionary leader and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. He was also known and respected as the governor of Virginia. He truly served the people, and was the first president to lead a political party. Jefferson was a leader, and everyone who knew of him saw him as one. Jefferson was frugal, simple, and fickle. From the beginning, Jefferson made it clear that he wanted to represent the average American, unlike the other presidents before him, he dressed plainly, even at his inauguration. He was frugal in that he cut spending as much as possible, internal taxes were reduced and the military budget was cut, with the exception of the Louisiana Purchase. He was fickle in that he did not hesitate in buying the Louisiana Territory, using Federal power. Jefferson was known to believe in strict interpretation of the Constitution and it did not state that the president  had the authority to acquire new territory and integrate it into the nation. The president and his administration influenced decisions made by future administrations. Jeffersons decision to exercise the implied powers the president has to protect the nation set a precedent for future presidents. Many things Jefferson and his administration did also affected the lives of future generations. The purchase of the Louisiana territory would create a whole new group of people, called frontiersman. People would settle into the area and live new lives. Purchasing the territory, although causing further debt, was the best thing for the country. It would end up being an excellent investment. Jeffersons embargo act, also had a dramatic affect on the future. He did not know at the time, but the embargo Act would enhance Americas industries, and start a whole new trend. When the president made his decisions they were thought through, although not always good ones. The decisions Jefferson made in foreign affairs were mostly correct, because the nation was not ready for war and to stay neutral was the best thing. But Jefferson should have avoided war by using methods other than economic pressure. Jefferson was fairly-open minded and would listen to others. Its hard to say precisely how open-minded he was, because his cabinet and congress agreed with him on just about everything. Overall, Thomas Jefferson was a good president. Although his results were far from perfect at times, his intentions were good.

Ophelia as a Foil to Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Litera

Ophelia as a Foil to Hamlet  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚      In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the audience finds a docile, manipulated, scolded, victimized young lady named Ophelia. Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet. Plays have foils to help the audience better understand the more important characters in the play.   The character of Ophelia is necessary so that the audience will give Hamlet a chance to get over his madness and follow his heart.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Similarities are an important part of being a foil. One similarity that Hamlet and Ophelia share are that they both are children of controlling parents. [SV - 1] Hamlet's father, who is murdered, comes back as a ghost to tell him who his murderer is. This news is his father's way of controlling him from the grave. Hamlet's mother and stepfather are also controlling him by persuading Hamlet not to go to Wittenburg. Ophelia is also controlled by her father. She tells him how Hamlet has tried many times to express his affections for her. Ophelia's father does not believe Hamlet is sincere and orders her to stay away from him. Ophelia obeys her father's wishes. Women were expected to do as they were told and believed what they were told to be true.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another similarity between Hamlet and Ophelia is the feelings they have for each other. In the beginning of the play, we are led to believe that Hamlet loves Ophelia. This frightens Ophelia, but that does not mean she does not have feelings for him also. It is her father who encourages her to suppress any feelings she may have then. Later in the play Ophelia confesses her love for Hamlet, and he then hides his feelings and denies that he loved her. He suggests that she go to a nunnery. This makes Ophelia feel worthless and not wanted. .. ... when Ophelia takes her life, Hamlet does just that. [SS-1] He again admits to his love for her and apologizes to her brother Laertes for the death of their father. At the end of the play Hamlet's madness is also brought to an end, and he joins Ophelia again.    Works Cited and Consulted: Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.      

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 5

Jerome was waiting for me in my apartment as soon as I stepped through the door. â€Å"You have some nerve,† he growled. I set my suitcase down. Normally that tone of voice would have set me hiding, but I was in no mood to listen to him now after my long drive-or rather, lack of a drive. There'd been an accident that had put traffic at a standstill, and I'd sat in my car for a very long and very annoying time. â€Å"Look, Cedric told me to,† I said, crossing my arms as though they might actually shield me from him. â€Å"I didn't do anything wrong.† â€Å"You're not supposed to do what he says.† Jerome sat on the arm of my couch and flicked his cigarette over a nearby ashtray, which I took as a great courtesy on his part. â€Å"You're supposed to do what I say.† â€Å"He told me to go home. He didn't have anything for me to do until the Satanists had their breakfast meeting.† Jerome's glare momentarily faltered. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"What are you talking about? I'm talking about Cedric sending me home early.† â€Å"And I'm talking about your failure to notify me of his little stunt last night.† Last night? I racked my brain. Last night I'd been killing time shopping and destroying a man's self-esteem. To my knowledge, Cedric had done nothing after I left except continue his quest to destroy Wikipedia's informative empire. â€Å"What'd he do?† I asked. â€Å"I didn't even see him.† Jerome didn't answer right away, his face thoughtful. I realized then he was reassessing his initial anger. It wasn't my early return that had upset him. â€Å"There was a vampire brawl last night,† he said finally. â€Å"Somehow, a few of them thought their hunting ground lines had been rearranged. So they started roaming into others' areas†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦and bad things ensued.† Vampires were as territorial as demons in some ways. Vampires had specific areas that they guarded to stalk victims and were very touchy about other vampires using them. The archdemon of a region usually drew up vampiric lines and enforced them through force and will. â€Å"Unfortunately, yes. Grace and Mei are still sorting it out.† A panicked thought suddenly struck me. â€Å"Are Cody and Hugh okay?† He shrugged. â€Å"A little bruised and battered, but nothing that won't heal on its own.† My fear was unfounded, of course. Lesser immortals, like vampires and succubi, couldn't kill each other, and we healed extremely quickly. Still, the instinct to worry about my friends was one that would never leave me. â€Å"Why were you yelling at me over this? I certainly didn't have anything to do with it.† â€Å"Because the vampires who thought they'd been reassigned got official notification that said they had: a stamped and sealed demonic missive. They thought it was from me.† â€Å"But it wasn't,† I guessed, seeing where he was going with this. Jerome had the area comfortably parceled out and would have no desire to change the status quo. He was too lazy. â€Å"There was no name?† â€Å"No, clearly. But they don't need it-not if the seal is good. It was, and only another demon could have drawn something like that up.† â€Å"And so you assumed Cedric did it,† I finished. Jerome nodded. â€Å"Yes, and I'm going to let him know exactly what I think of this. I'm not happy over that-or you slacking off in reporting his activities to me.† â€Å"You're giving my spying ability more credit than I deserve here,† I warned. â€Å"It's kind of limited. He's not really sharing his inner secrets with me, and anyway, he already knows that's what you want me to do.† â€Å"Of course he does.† I sighed. â€Å"Look, if you want my opinion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The look Jerome gave me suggested he really didn't put a lot of stock in my opinion. â€Å"†¦I don't think Cedric's the type to do anything like that. He's more interested in Web surfing.† â€Å"After all this time with demons, you really should know better than that, Georgie.† Jerome smashed his cigarette into the ashtray and stood up. â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know, you sound just like Nan-† I frowned. His wording had tickled a memory. â€Å"Oh, I do have some info for you. Cedric was meeting with Nanette.† Jerome had been straightening his sleeve, but his head jerked toward me at the mention of the archdemoness's name. â€Å"Nanette?† The word was carefully enunciated, icy in its tone. I relayed what I knew. Jerome's face grew dark as I spoke. Whatever his thoughts on the new development were, however, he didn't share them with me. â€Å"Looks like you might be doing your job after all.† He paused. â€Å"But why are you back?† â€Å"There's nothing to do until Saturday. Cedric sent me home.† I held my breath, waiting for him to blow up, but it didn't come. â€Å"Well, seeing as you aren't being too much of a bitch for a change, I suppose that's okay.† By that wording, I was apparently still being kind of a bitch. Jerome vanished. Aubrey immediately came out from behind the couch, giving me the censuring look cats always give owners who have been away for a while. I knelt down and scratched her chin. She was solid white with a few black specks on her forehead, often giving the impression that she couldn't keep her head clean. â€Å"Yeah, I know,† I told her. â€Å"Believe me, I don't want to go back there either.† Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was dinnertime. Too early to see the vampires quite yet, particularly since the days were getting longer. I'd have to wait until after sunset to get their version of the bloodsucking showdown. I gave Aubrey a few more conciliatory pats and then straightened up to call Dante. He didn't answer, and I wondered if he actually had a customer for a change. When not concocting vile spells, he made his living giving fake Tarot and palm readings. I left a message, telling him I was back. With time on my hands, I started fretting about Emerald City. I knew the bookstore really could function without me, but the motherly instinct kicked in nonetheless. And since I did have the time, I decided to go over and check on things. As expected, all was well. It was almost seven, and people on their way home from work were stopping in to pick up things. Business was steady but not crazy. â€Å"Georgina! You're back.† I'd been watching the registers from a distance and turned to see Maddie standing behind me, lugging a cardboard display for a new book coming out tomorrow. I smiled. No matter how hard things had been for me with her and Seth, there was something about her bright, open personality that could lighten dark moods. â€Å"For a while. I just wanted to check on things.† She grinned back. â€Å"That's just like you. Get time off, and come back to work. How are things? Still crazy?† I shrugged. â€Å"Yeah, a little. But it's nothing I can't manage. I'm hoping it'll improve soon.† â€Å"Is it something that might improve with a drink?† She wore a mischievous look, and I couldn't help but laugh. â€Å"Only if I'm drinking alone. You're still here for a couple more hours.† â€Å"Nope. I had to come in early to cover someone, so Janice is going to close.† It was always nice if a manager could close, but Janice was certainly competent enough. I hesitated. I'd been avoiding Maddie since Christmas, but before Seth, I'd always really liked her a lot. We'd had a lot of good times together, and our personalities clicked well. Seth wasn't here now, and a drink suddenly seemed like an even better way to pass the time than doing managerial things when I wasn't actually required to do them. â€Å"Okay.† She finished up, and about fifteen minutes later, we stepped outside. I got a cigarette out automatically, then paused. â€Å"Do you mind?† â€Å"Nah. I don't like them, but it's okay. Where do you want to go?† â€Å"I don't know.† I reached for my lighter, remembered it was out, and pulled out the matches instead. I ran my fingers over its cover and frowned. â€Å"You want to go to Mark's Mad Martini Bar?† Mark's was at the top of Queen Anne Hill, making for a rather steep hike. Living around here, I did it fairly regularly, but Maddie was breathing hard when we reached the bar. â€Å"Man,† she said. â€Å"I need to go to the gym more.† I held the door open for her. â€Å"Do this every day, and you won't need to.† â€Å"I think I need a little more than that.† Her weight was a continual source of worry for her. â€Å"I think I need to pick up some weird sport. You want to start playing squash with me?† â€Å"Why squash?† â€Å"I don't know. Never tried it. Figured I should.† Along with the other changes in her life, Maddie had recently adopted an attitude of getting out there and trying new things. Before my recent funk, I'd had kind of a similar view. Faced with centuries of existence, I'd found experimenting with new activities was a great distraction. There was always something new to learn in the world. Mark's was dimly lit, done in matte black d? ¦cor. I flipped through the expansive drink menu, which upheld the restaurant's name. When the waiter came around, I ordered a martini called First Blush: white chocolate liqueur, Chambord, and vodka. The menu called for Stoli, but I asked for Grey Goose. â€Å"You ever considered dancing?† I asked Maddie. â€Å"It can be a good workout. You're less likely to get hit in the head too.† Maddie had ordered Sing the Blues: Blue Curacao, pineapple juice, and Ketel One. Her face lit up. â€Å"I've always wanted to. Doug said you used to teach swing at the bookstore.† â€Å"Yeah, I did some group lessons last fall. My friend Cody helped me.† A pleasant wave of nostalgia swept me as I recalled those days. Things had been simpler, and I'd had a lot of fun teaching my friends and co-workers while doing one of my favorite activities. â€Å"I wish I'd been there,† she said wistfully. â€Å"I'm kind of uncoordinated, but you know†¦if I don't try, how will I learn?† â€Å"Maddie, you should be doing motivational speaking.† She laughed. â€Å"I don't know about that. But I'd do dance lessons if you ever taught again. Hint, hint.† The waiter returned with our drinks. I nearly died when I tasted mine. It was an 80 proof, raspberry dream. â€Å"I don't know. The staff pretty much learned all they could with swing.† â€Å"Then teach something else. Doug says you know every kind of dance in the world. I'd help you organize it.† â€Å"Maybe I'll do salsa or something,† I told her, not sure if I meant it. â€Å"When all this drama's over.† â€Å"Is there anything I can do to help? You know that I'm here if you need something.† The earnestness and compassion on her face made a lump form in my throat. I'd spent the last few months hating her, but her friendship and faith in me had never faltered. Suddenly feeling guilty, I glanced away from her eyes. â€Å"Nah, don't worry. I'll deal with it.† Silence fell, silence that bothered me immensely. I felt a need to give something back to her for her kindness. My thoughts from a few nights ago about moving flashed into my head. I glanced back up. â€Å"Maybe you can help me find a new place, though.† As I'd hoped, her face grew eager at the proposal. â€Å"Really? You're going to move?† â€Å"I don't know for sure. Just thought it might be time for a change.† Maddie became even more excited. â€Å"What are you looking for?† â€Å"Not sure about that either,† I admitted. â€Å"The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to try something outside of Queen Anne.† â€Å"Okay, that's a good start. How big? New construction or historic? Do you want to keep renting? The condo market's flooded, you know. Great time to buy.† I tried to keep a straight face but couldn't. â€Å"Were you a real estate agent in another life?† â€Å"No! I just think it's exciting, that's all. I want to help.† â€Å"Okay. I could rent or buy. It would depend on the place.† â€Å"What's your price range? If you don't mind me asking?† I hesitated, wondering if I should let on to the truth about my finances. I decided it didn't matter. â€Å"Well†¦let's put it this way. I've got a lot of savings.† â€Å"Fair enough.† Despite the rapid rate she was drinking, there was a sharp, businesslike air to her. â€Å"You want a similar kind of neighborhood? Shops? Restaurants?† â€Å"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that.† â€Å"Anything else?† â€Å"I told you, I haven't thought much about it.† She sighed in frustration. â€Å"You've gotta help me out here. Anything you've been wanting for a long time? Something you've missed?† Unbidden, a memory of my childhood came to me. The Cyprian town I'd lived in returned to me in startling clarity, its colors, smells, and airs. â€Å"I grew up around beaches,† I said softly. â€Å"Sun and surf.† I shook myself out of the wistful memory, feeling a bit embarrassed at my dreamy state. â€Å"But I'm in the wrong place for that.† â€Å"Yeah,† she agreed. â€Å"You'd have to move to California for that.† We had another round of drinks and talked about other things, and to my surprise, I had a really great time. I remembered now why I liked Maddie so much. She was so easy to talk to, so funny and smart. I didn't have a lot of female friends, and there was a big difference between her and the guys I normally hung out with. Women needed other women sometimes. I was signing my credit card bill when Seth walked over to our table. Maddie looked up, beaming. â€Å"Hey, sweetie.† She stood up and kissed him, something that unnerved both Seth and me. All of a sudden, the warm and pleasant feeling that had been building within me shattered. Maddie glanced at me explanatorily. â€Å"I called Seth to get a ride while you were in the bathroom.† I smiled tightly. â€Å"Ah.† Maddie turned back to him. â€Å"You're missing out. This place has great drinks. You sure you don't want to break the rules? We could stay another round.† â€Å"Actually, I need to go,† I said, thinking of few things more agonizing than drinking with the two of them. â€Å"And I'm not ready to break the rules,† said Seth, avoiding my eyes. â€Å"Besides, I've got work to do.† Maddie looked only moderately disappointed. â€Å"Oh, well. No problem. Let me run to the bathroom, and we'll go. We'll give you a ride, Georgina.† I should have run away then and there, but Maddie dashed off quickly, and I felt it would be rude to leave without saying good-bye to her. Seth sat down in her chair and clasped his hands in front of him. Our usual wall of awkwardness slammed down between us. â€Å"I don't need a ride,† I said abruptly. Seth glanced up at me. â€Å"It's a long walk.† â€Å"Not really. It's only six blocks.† â€Å"Yeah, but you've been drinking.† I scoffed. â€Å"I had two drinks. I'm hardly going to walk into traffic, if that's what you're worried about.† â€Å"No, but it's no problem for me. I just want to make sure you get home okay.† It was one of those rare times when his mild mood had been replaced by something more adamant. For whatever reason, that ratcheted up the anger within me. â€Å"I'll be fine,† I snapped. â€Å"It's not your job to look after me anymore.† â€Å"Georgina, please.† â€Å"Please what? You know I'm right.† â€Å"You're making this into a bigger deal than it is. It doesn't always have to be about us.† â€Å"Of course it does†¦I mean, inasmuch as there is an us. You got out. I'm not your concern.† â€Å"I can still worry about you. Still care.† I leaned forward, possibly emboldened by my martinis. â€Å"You made it perfectly clear how much you care, and that's fine. I've got a whole new life now.† His look turned wry. â€Å"Yeah, your new life seems great.† That incensed me further, largely because I wasn't really convinced my new life was all that great either. â€Å"It is. I can do whatever I want now. I don't have to worry about hurting your delicate sensibilities when I sleep with someone or having to modify our dates to boring things that don't take you out of your comfort zone or interfere with your writing schedule.† It was horrible of me. Mean, mean, mean. I would have expected him to flinch, to look hurt. Instead, he fought back. â€Å"And I don't have to worry about being hypocritically judged for being both too boring and too risky. I also don't have to wonder anymore if everything I'm being told is a half-truth or an outright lie.† That made me flinch. It was also when Maddie showed back up. She tried to cajole me into a ride, but I firmly refused-a bit more harshly than I needed to with her. She looked a little abashed, but I was too upset over Seth's words to care too much. I left, storming down the hill so hard, it was a wonder my footsteps didn't make the ground shake.

Organizing Agatha Essay

The Enduring Appeal of Agatha Christie is an enthralling essay written precisely and effectively about the powerful author. The introduction to the essay is brief, yet very informative, giving the reader a bit of background information. It refers to popular literature abounds such as Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. I personally have never heard of Agatha Christie, therefore the information contained regarding other legends aided in my understanding of how popular and legendary she truly is. In addition to this, the thesis statement is succinct and presents the author’s opinion regarding Agatha Christie’s brilliance clearly. This was very helpful, as I was informed almost immediately as to what I was going to read about. Overall, the introductory paragraph gave me a great ordeal of background information, as well as three concise topics concerning the writing legacy, Agatha Christie, and her writing intelligence. This essay is effectively written as it has a rational flow of ideas and is very cohesive. Each paragraph begins with an enthralling topic sentence, giving myself, the reader, an appealing fact followed by the main idea of the writing. A great example of this can be viewed in the opening sentence of the first body paragraph which reads, â€Å"[n]ext to Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poiret and Miss Jane Marple are two of the most recognizable detectives in fiction because of their distinctive attributes.† Although this is an engaging topic sentence, the author did not include all of the points he/she wished to include in the actually body paragraph as Ariadne Oliver was excluded. On an opposing note, however, I do feel that points of each body paragraph are not strong enough to fully support the thesis statement. For example, in paragraph one the reader is suddenly bombarded with names of Christie’s characters without an explanation of who they are, or what novels they come f rom. It was slightly confusing for myself as I needed to do a bit of research in order to figure out who Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, Ariadne Oliver were. Therefore, it would have been more effective if the author had included a bit of brief, background information as this would make for a greater understanding of the body paragraphs and thesis. Similarly, I feel that the arguments of the essay are not in appropriate  order in terms of strength. I believe that the second paragraph should lead the essay as it provides more background knowledge of Agatha’s characters, novels and is an overall stronger argument. Moreover, the second body paragraph needs to be introduced with a more refined topic sentence that reflects upon the thesis of the essay. The thesis states that Agatha Christie engages the audience with her interesting settings, but the topic sentence of this paragraph is, once again, talking about various characters. Also, the supporting arguments in this paragraph are not written in the same order as the introductory sentence, which is an issue that ultimately leads to perplexity. On the contrary, the passage uses connective words which aided in signalling changes and movement in the text.. Aside from the minor glitches, the three body paragraphs work as a unified whole; for example, they contain links between and within all sentences and paragraphs. Basically, it is easy to follow and uses appropriate language to maintain the argument’s focus and to direct the reader. All three of the paragraphs are detailed and legitimate- clearly referring back to each idea throughout the text. For example, in paragraph two of the essay Agatha writes, â€Å"†¦[d]espite their varied locales, the common element that runs through Christie’s novels is the â€Å"closed† society. These worlds are cut off culturally, economically, or physically, as in the case of Ten Little Indians, which is set on an island off the Devon coast.† The author clearly states his/her point and follows this by a strong example of Margaret Christie’s work. Overall, the body paragraphs follow a structural pattern and present ideas in an efficient manner which actually enhance the reading material. Finally, the conclusion does a great job summing up all of the information contained throughout the entire essay. The author begins by restating the thesis and summarizing the three argumentative topics (Christie’s morality, her settings and characters) .The application of Christie’s opinions and morality in comparison today’s society really makes one think about what life would be like if her ‘world of moral certainty’ truly existed. Aside from the structural accuracy, the content and comparison to the present day is what truly captivated myself as a reader and made the essay effective.

Following Her Heart †Creative Writing Story

Following Her Heart – Creative Writing Story Free Online Research Papers Following Her Heart Creative Writing Story Once upon a time, in the early 19th century a girl from a low class society lost her parents. She was left alone at the age of 14 and was looked after by her Aunty Rose. Aunty Rose, herself, had a family so she couldn’t spend a lot of time with Geneva. Geneva was a tall, slim girl with very blonde hair, so blonde, that it looked almost white. Her sparkling blue eyes showed her naà ¯ve behaviour towards life. Already for a month she was being raped by a neighbour who was supposed to take care of her, while Aunty Rose was away. Geneva was told not to tell anyone about this or she would be killed. It began gradually from making comments that the neighbour shouldn’t say to the whole sexual abuse. Then it was happening almost every time when Aunty Rose was not here. â€Å"Ok Geneva, I have to go, see you in a week.† Said Aunty Rose and as usual turned to Paul. â€Å"Paul will not look after you dear.† She said, smiling at Paul and leaving him with Geneva. In the evening Paul as usual went to play cards and after he cam back, he asked Geneva to undress. Geneva couldn’t bare it anymore and with a scream ran outside. She was running †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. and it was difficult for her to find a way because the pine forest crept in on all sides and †¦.. the trees were thickly grown. She came to an old house and fearing that she was chased, got inside. The air was hot and foul. Spider webs covered the whole place. It was dark and only on the second floor light was seen. She approached the stairs and began moving to the second floor. When she approached the room, it was deserted. She looked inside the window and saw an image. Geneva jumped backwards to the wall and recognized her mother. She could see her mother’s tears running down her cheeks. Geneva saw the sorrow on her mother’s face. The Geneva heard a voice. â€Å"I came here to warn you not to go back, follow your heart and you will find a peaceful place to live.† After these words her mother vanished. Geneva came out of the house and confused went to the direction she was looking at, following her heart. Research Papers on Following Her Heart - Creative Writing StoryThe Spring and AutumnThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind TravelThe Hockey Game19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHip-Hop is ArtUnreasonable Searches and Seizures

List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults

List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults By Ali Hale If you want to improve your writing, maybe its time to ditch all the writing books and podcasts and play some word games instead. Yes, seriously! Word games and writing games are great ways to develop your vocabulary, to help you think more deeply about words, to have fun with story and structure, and to get a lot of fun out of writing. But games can be a great way to: Develop your vocabulary Help you think more deeply about words Become more fluent in English (if it’s a foreign language for you) Invent and develop characters and much more. After the list of 50 writing games, I’ve given you a top ten that I think are particularly great for kids who want to practice their writing skills. Many of the other games are suitable for children, too, so by all means try out other games as a family if you want to. Of course, there are loads of online games (and quizzes and tools) that you can use to improve your writing skills, and I will be talking about some of the best of those. But there are also lots of tried-and-tested classic games that you can play with pen and paper, or using cards and dice and we’ll be taking a look at those first. 5 Pen and Paper Word Games I’ll start with the simplest games: pen and paper ones that you can play pretty much anywhere, so long as you have a pen. All of these are suitable for children, and some (like crosswords) are enjoyed by many adults too. #1: Hangman (2+ players) Hangman is a classic word game for two players. One player thinks of a word and writes down dashes to represent the number of letters. The other guesses letters of the alphabet. Correct letters are inserted into the word; incorrect letters result in another segment of the â€Å"hangman† being drawn. This is a great game for developing spelling and vocabulary. If you’re playing it with small children, you can do it without the perhaps rather unpleasant â€Å"hangman† element, and just count how many guesses each player takes! #2: Crosswords (1 player) A crossword is a grid of white and black squares, where each white square is one letter of a word. The words intersect. You can find crosswords in many newspapers and magazines (on all sorts of subjects), and you can buy booklets and books full of them. Some crosswords are â€Å"cryptic†: great if you like brainteasers. Others have more straightforward clues. Crosswords are great if you want to learn new words and definitions, or (at the cryptic end of the scale) if you enjoy playing with words and language. Simple ones are suitable for fairly young children, with a little help. #3: Word searches (1 player) A word search has a grid (often 1010 or more) filled with letters, and a number of words written alongside or beneath the grid. The person completing the word search needs to find those words within the grid. Most word searches are easy enough for children, though younger children will struggle with backward and diagonal words. They’re a good way to get used to letter patterns and to improve spelling – and because word searches rely on matching letters, even children who can’t read well will be able to complete simple ones. #4: Consequences (2+ players, ideally 4+) This is a fun game with a group of people, as you get a wild and wacky mix of ideas. Each player writes down one line of a story and folds the paper over before passing it around the table to the next player. The very simple version we play has five lines: (1) A male name, (2) The word â€Å"met† then a female name, (3) â€Å"He said † (4) â€Å"She said † (5) â€Å"And then † Once all five stages are complete, the players open out the papers and read out the results. This can be great for sparking ideas, or as a way to encourage reluctant writers to have a go. #5: Bulls and Cows (2 players) This game, which can also be called â€Å"Mastermind† or â€Å"Jotto† involves one player thinking up a secret word of a set number of letters. The second player guesses a word; the first player tells them how many letters match in the right position (bulls) and how many letters are correct but in the wrong position (cows). Our five year old loves this game, and it’s been a great way to develop her spelling and handwriting as well as logical thinking about which letters can or can’t be the correct ones after a few guesses. 10 Board and Dice Games These are all games you can buy from Amazon (or quite probably your local toyshop). They’re fun ways to foster a love of writing within your family, or to share your enjoyment of words with your friends. #1: Scrabble (2+ players) A classic of word games, Scrabble is a game played with letter tiles on a board that’s marked with different squares. (Some squares provide extra points.) Letters have different points values depending on how common they are. The end result of scrabble looks like a crossword: a number of words overlapping with one another. If you want to develop your vocabulary (particularly of obscure two-letter words) then Scrabble is a great game to play. It’s suitable for children too, particularly in â€Å"Junior† versions. #2: Boggle (2+ players) This is less well known than Scrabble, but it was one I enjoyed as a child. To play Boggle, you shake a box full of dice with a letter on each side, and the dice land in the 44 grid at the bottom of the box. You then make as many words as you can from the resulting face-up letters. Again, this is a good one for developing vocabulary – and it can be played by children as well as by adults. You need to write down the words you come up with, which can also be good for developing handwriting. #3: Pass the Bomb (2+ players) It’s very simple to play: you deal a card for the round pass a â€Å"bomb† around the table and when it goes off, the person holding it loses. Before you can pass the bomb on during your turn, you need to come up with a word that contains the letters on the card. It’s a fun family or party game, and can work well with a wide range of ages. It’s a great way to help children think about letter patterns, too, and to develop vocabulary and spelling. #4: Story Cubes (1+ players) There are lots of different versions of these available, and they all work in a similar way. The open-ended game has a set of cubes that you roll to create ideas for a story that you can tell along with the other players. If you prefer, you can use them to come up with stories that you’re going to write on your own. There are lots of different ways you can use them: as writing prompts for a school class or group, to make up a bedtime story together with your children, for getting past your own writers’ block, or almost anything you can think of. #5: Apples to Apples (2+ players) Apples to Apples has red cards (with the name of a person, place, thing, etc) and green cards (with two different descriptions): the player with a green card selects one of the descriptions, and others have to choose a card from their hand of red cards. The judge for that game decides which red card best matches the description. If you want to develop your vocabulary (or your kids’), this could be a fun game to play. There are lots of expansions available, plus a â€Å"junior† version with simpler words. (If you’re playing with adults, you might also want to consider Cards Against Humanity, a decidedly not-kid-friendly game that works in a very similar way.) #6: Letter Tycoon (2+ players) In this game, you have a hand of 7 cards which you can use in conjunction with the 3 â€Å"community cards† to create a valuable word. It’s a more strategic game than some others, with aspects of finance (like patents and royalties) involved too – if you’re a budding tycoon, you might really enjoy it. Because not all the game strategy depends on simply being good with words, it doesn’t matter if some players have a larger vocabulary than others. It’s suitable for children, too, so you can play it as a family game. #7: Dabble (2+ players) Dabble is a family-friendly game where you compete with other players to be the first to create five words (of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 letters) using your 20 tiles. It’s very simple to get the hang of but coming up with the words might be more challenging than you expect! If you enjoy Boggle or Scrabble, you’ll probably have fun with Dabble. It’s a great way to develop both spelling and vocabulary, and to have fun with words. #8: Upwords (2+ players) Upwords is like 3D Scrabble: you can stack tiles on top of other tiles to create new words. The board is smaller than a Scrabble board (and doesn’t have double and triple word score squares) so it’s not as complex as it might initially sound. Like similar games, it’s a great one for building vocabulary and for developing your spelling. It’s suitable for kids, too, so it could be a great game for the whole family. #9: Tapple (2+ players) Tapple has a wheel, with most of the letters of the alphabet on it, and lots of different â€Å"topic cards† that cover 144 different categories. There are lots of different ways you can play it – the basic rules are that each player has to think of a word that fits the topic within 10 seconds, but that word can’t start with a starting letter that’s been used previously. While small children might find it a bit too challenging or frustrating, due to the short time limit, this could be a great game for older children looking to extend their vocabulary. All the categories are suitable for kids. #10: Last Word (2+ players) In Last Word, players have to come up with answers to â€Å"Subject† and â€Å"Letter† combinations, racing to get the last word before the buzzer. It works a bit like a combination of â€Å"Tapple† and â€Å"Pass the Bomb†. You can easily play it with a large group (there are tokens for up to 8 players, but you could add more without affecting the gameplay). It’s a great way to develop vocabulary and, to some extent, spelling. 5 Roleplaying Games While my geeky tendencies have been reined in a bit since I had kids, I’ll admit I have a great fondness for roleplaying games: ones where you come up with a character (often, but by no means always in a magic-medieval setting) and play as them. These are some great ones that you might like to try. #1: Dungeons and Dragons (3+ players) Although you might never have played Dungeons and Dragons, I’m sure you’ve heard of this classic roleplaying game that’s been around since 1974 and is now onto is 5th edition. It takes rather longer to get to grips with than a board or card game: to play, you need a â€Å"Dungeon Master† (essentially the storyteller of the game) and at least two players (who each control a character), plus rulebooks and a lot of different dice. It’s a great game for developing the â€Å"big picture† aspects of writing, like the ability to construct a plot and a story (if you’re the Dungeon Master) and the skills involved with creating a character, giving them a backstory, and acting â€Å"in character† as them (if you’re one of the players). #2: Amazing Tales (1 parent, plus 1 or 2 children) This is a kid-friendly RPG aimed at parents who want to create a story with their child(ren). It’s like a very simple version of Dungeons and Dragons, and has straightforward but flexible rules. You can play it with a single six-sided dice – though it’s better if you have four dice (with six, eight, ten and twelve sides). If you want to encourage your child’s creativity and have fun creating stories together, this is a wonderful game to play. The rulebook contains lots of ideas and sample settings, with suggested characters and skills but you can come up with pretty much any scenario you like. #3: LARP (Live Action Roleplay) (lots of players) Over the past decade or so, LARP has become a bit more mainstream than it once was. It’s short for â€Å"Live Action Roleplay† which basically means dressing up as your character and pretending to be them. It’s a bit like Dungeons and Dragons crossed with improv drama. The nature of LARP is that it needs quite a lot of people, so unless you have loads of friends to rope in, you’ll want to join an organised LARP – there are lots out there, covering all sorts of different themes, from traditional fantasy ones to futuristic sci-fi ones. Some are suitable for children, but do ask event organisers about this. They won’t necessarily involve any sort of writing, but can be a great way to explore characters and dialogue. #4: MUDs (lots of players) MUDs, or â€Å"multi-user dungeons† have been around since the early days of networked computing in the ‘70s, and are the forerunners of games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft. They’re now distinctly retro-looking text-based online games, where players create a character and interact with other characters and the world. Like other types of roleplaying game, they’re a great way to practice storytelling and character-development skills. They also involve a lot of writing – so they can be useful for things like vocabulary and spelling. Some are suitable for children, but as with anything online, do ensure your children know how to be safe (e.g. by not giving out their full name, address, etc). #5: Online Forum Games / Forum Roleplaying (2+ players) Some fan communities write collaborative fanfiction through forums (here’s an example), with different people posting little pieces as different â€Å"characters† to continue a story. These can be quite involved and complex, and they can be a great way to learn the skills of telling a long, detailed story (e.g. if you’re thinking of writing a novel). They’ll probably appeal most to writers who are already producing fanfiction on their own, and who have a fair amount of time for the back-and-forth required for forum roleplaying. Again, if your child wants to get involved with this type of roleplaying, do make sure you monitor what they’re doing and who they’re interacting with. 10 Word Games You Can Play on Your Phone These days, many writers are more likely to have their phone to hand than a pen and paper and to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can easily make notes on a phone, whether by tapping them in or by recording them. If you find yourself with a bit of time on your hands, why not try one of these writing-related games? Note: all of these are free to download, but most allow in-app purchases, and you may find you need to make a purchase to get the most out of them. #1: Bonza Word Puzzle This game is a bit like a deconstructed crossword: you get bits of the puzzle and you drag them together to form words that will all match with the clue. If you’re a fan of crosswords and want something a bit different, you might just love it. It’s a great way to think hard about letter patterns and how words are put together, so it might be a good game for older children who’re looking to develop their spelling and vocabulary, too. #2: Dropwords 2 Dropwords 2 (a rewrite of the original Dropwords) is a word-finding puzzle where letters drop from the top of the screen: if you remember Tetris, you’ll get the idea. It’s a bit like Scrabble or Boggle, and you have to race the clock to make letters out of the words on the screen. With six different modes (â€Å"normall†, â€Å"lightning†, â€Å"relax†, etc), it’s suitable for children and for people who are learning English, as well as for those wanting to really challenge their vocabulary skills. #3: Spellspire Spellspire is a fantasy-style game where you select letters from a grid to create words: the longer the word, the bigger the blast from your magic wand! You can kill monsters, buy better equipment, and make your way to the top of the Spellspire. If your kids aren’t very motivated to practice their spelling, this could be a great game for them. (Or, let’s face it, for you!) You can also choose to play it against your Facebook friends, adding a competitive element. #4: TypeShift This is a relatively simple game that lets you create words from letters arranged on different dials. There are a couple of different ways you can play: by trying to use all the letters on the dials at least once to create words, or by tackling the â€Å"Clue Puzzles†, which are a bit like crossword clues. Again, if you want to develop your spelling and vocabulary, this is a straightforward game that you can use to do so. You can buy extra puzzle packs at a fairly reasonable price, if you find that you want to play it a lot. #5: Wordalot This crossword app uses pictures rather than written clues, which is a fun twist. You can use coins to get hints (you can earn these through the game, or purchase them with real money). If you enjoy doing crosswords but want something a bit different, give this one a try. You might find that as well as helping you develop your spelling and vocabulary, it’s a great way to develop your lateral thinking as you puzzle out the clues. #6: WordBrain This game is another one where you have to find hidden, scrambled words within a grid. There are loads of different levels (1180!) and so this could keep you busy for a long time. You can purchase hints – this could potentially see you clocking up quite a spend, though. All the words are appropriate for children (though some are tricky to spell), so your kids might well enjoy this game too, as a way to develop their spelling and vocabulary. #7: Ruzzle Ruzzle works like Boggle, with a 44 grid of letters that you use to make words (the letters must be adjacent to one another). You can play it against friends, or simply against random players. Like the other apps we’ve looked at, it’s a good one for developing your vocabulary and spelling. Some players said it included too many ads, so this is something to be aware of if you plan to use the free version rather than upgrading. #8: WordWhizzle Search This is a word search type game with loads of different levels to play. If you enjoy word searches, it’s a great way to carry lots around in your pocket! You can play it alone or with Facebook friends. It’s easy to get to grips with, but the levels get increasingly tricky, so you’re unlikely to get bored quickly. As with other apps, this is a great one for developing your spelling and vocabulary. Each level has a particular description (words should match with this), so you have to avoid any â€Å"decoy† words that don’t match. #9: 7 Little Words This game works a bit like a crossword: each puzzle has seven clues, seven mystery words, and 20 tiles that include groups of letters. You need to solve the clues and rearrange the letter types so you can create the answers to the mystery words – so it’s also a bit like an anagram. There are five different difficulty levels (â€Å"easy† to â€Å"impossible†) and each game is quick to play, so this could be a good one for kids too. Again, it’s a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling. #10: Words With Friends This classic word-building game is hugely popular, and you can play against your Facebook or Twitter friends, or against a random opponent. It works just like Scrabble, where you have seven letter tiles and add them to a board. You can chat with the opponent in a chat window, so do be aware of this if you’re allowing your kids to play. The game is a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling, and you can play it fairly casually because there’s no time limit on your moves. 10 Word Games You Can Play in Your Browser What if you want a writing-related game you can play while taking a break at your computer? All of these are games that you can play in your browser: some involve a lot of writing and are essentially story-telling apps, whereas others are essentially digital versions of traditional pen and paper games. Unless otherwise noted, these games are free. With some free browser games, you’ll see a lot of ads. If this annoys you, or if you’re concerned that the ads may be unsuitable for your children, you may want to opt for premium games instead. #1: Wild West Hangman This is a digital version of Hangman, which we covered above. You choose a category for words (e.g. â€Å"Countries† or â€Å"Fruits And Vegetables†) and then you play it just like regular Hangman. It’s simple enough for children – but it only takes six wrong guesses for your cowboy to be hanged, too, so it could get frustrating for younger children. #2: Word Wipe In Word Wipe, you swipe adjacent tiles (including diagonals) to create words, a bit like in Boggle. The tiles fall down a 1010 grid (moving into the blank spaces you’ve created when your word disappears from the grid) – your aim is to clear whole rows of the grid. Since the easiest words to create are short, simple ones, this is a great game for children or for adults who want to get better at spelling. #3: Sheffer Crossword As you might expect, this is a crossword game! There’s a different free puzzle each day, and you can choose from puzzles from the past couple of weeks. It looks very much like a traditional crossword, and you simply click on a clue then type in your answer. The clues are straightforward rather than cryptic, though probably not easy enough to make this a good app for children or for English learners. If you’re a fan of crosswords, this will definitely be a great way to develop your vocabulary, though. #4: Twine Twine is a bit different from some of the other games we’ve looked at: it’s a tool for telling interactive stories (a bit like the old â€Å"Choose Your Own Adventure† books, or a text-based adventure game). You lay out your story as different cards and create connections between them. If you want to experiment with interactive fiction, this is a simple, code-free to get started – as reviewer Kitty Horrorshow puts it, â€Å"if you can type words and occasionally put brackets around some of those words, you can make a Twine game†. It’s a great way to deepen your understanding of story, plot and narrative. #5: Storium Like Twine, Storium is designed to help you tell stories but these stories are written in collaboration with others. (There’s a great review, with screenshots, here on GeekMom.) You can either join a story as a character within it, or you can narrate a story – so this is a great game for building lots of different big-picture fiction-writing skills. It’s suitable for teens, but probably involves a bit too much writing for younger children. If you’d like to write fiction but the idea of creating a whole novel on your own seems a bit overwhelming, or if you enjoy roleplaying-type games (like Dungeons and Dragons), then you might just love Storium. #6: Words for Evil This game combines a fantasy RPG setting (where you fight monsters, get loot, gain levels and so on), with word games to play along the way. It could be a good way to encourage a reluctant young teen writer to have fun playing with words – or you might simply enjoy playing it yourself. The word games work in a very similar way to Word Wipe, so if you found that game frustrating, then Words for Evil probably isn’t for you! #7: First Draft of the Revolution This game is an interactive story, told in the form of letters (epistolary). It comes at writing from a much more literary angle than many of the other games, and if you’ve studied English literature or creative writing, or if you teach writing, then you might find it particularly interesting. The graphics are gorgeous – playing the game is like turning the pages of a book. To play First Draft of the Revolution, you make choices about how to rewrite the main character (Juliette’s) draft letters – helping you gain insight into the process of drafting and redrafting, as well as affecting the ongoing story. #8: Writing Challenge Writing Challenge can be used alone or with friends, creating a collaborative story by racing against the clock. You can use it as an app on your phone, as well as on your computer, so you can add to your stories at any time. If you struggle to stay motivated when you’re writing, then Writing Challenge could be a great way to gamify your writing life – and potentially to create collaborative works of fiction. #9: Plot Generator Plot Generator works a bit like Mad Libs: you select a particular type of story (e.g. short story, movie script, fairytale) then enter a bunch of words as prompted. The website creates the finished piece for you. There are also options for story ideas (essentially writing prompts), character generators, and much more on the site. If you’re stuck for an idea, or just want to play around a bit, Plot Generator could be a lot of fun. Some of the options, like Fairy Tale, are great to use with young children – others may not be so suitable, so do vet the different options first. #10: The Novelist ($9.99) The Novelist follows the life of Dan Kaplan, a struggling novelist who’s also trying to be a good husband and father. You can make choices about what Dan should do to reach his goals in different areas of his life – and the decisions you make affect what happens next in the game. You are a â€Å"ghost† in the house, learning about and influencing the characters. While there’s not any actual writing involved in the game, it could be a thought-provoking way to explore how writing fits into your own life. 10 Games to Help You Learn to Type Typing might seem like an odd thing to include on a list of writing games. But so much of writing involves being able to type – and if you’re a slow typist, you’ll find that your fingers can’t keep up with your brain! While most people find that their typing does naturally improve with practice, these games are all quick ways for you (or your kids) to get that practice in a fun way. Obviously, all of these games should help to improve typing skills: those which involve whole words may also help with spelling and vocabulary. Unless otherwise mentioned, they’re free. #1: Dance Mat Typing This game is designed to teach children touch type (type without looking at the keyboard). It starts off with Level 1, teaching you the â€Å"home row† (middle row) keys on the keyboard. Other letters are gradually added in as the game progresses. It’s very much aimed at kids, so teens and adults may find the animated talking goat a bit annoying or patronising! Unlike many other free games, though, it doesn’t include ads. #2: Spider Typer This typing game took a while to load for me: you too many find it’s a bit slow. In the game, you type the letters that appear on chameleons that are trying to catch a spider (the chameleons disappear when you hit their letter). The spider keeps rising up into a tree, and if it safely gets there, you move on to the next level. It’s suitable for kids, and starts off very easy with just letters: if you set it to a harder difficulty, you need to type whole words. #3: NitroType This is a competitive typing game where you race a car against friends (or total strangers) by typing the text at the bottom of the screen. It’s a good one for practicing typing whole sentences, including punctuation – not just typing letters or words. Older children might enjoy it, and any adults with a strong competitive streak! You can compete as a â€Å"guest racer†, or you can create an account and login so you can level up and gain rewards like a better car. #4: TypeRacer TypeRacer is similar to NitroType: you control a racing car and the faster you type, the faster your car moves. You can practice on your own, enter a typing race, or race against your friends if you prefer. If you create an account and login, other users can see your username, score, average speed and so on – and they can also send you messages. This could potentially open you up to receiving spam or unwanted communications, so do be aware of this, particularly if you’re allowing your child to play. #5: The Typing of the Ghosts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this game, you destroy ghosts by typing the word on them. The graphics are pretty rudimentary, though it is a free game and a good way to practice quickly typing words. It’s suitable for children, and the sound effects (there’s a noise for every letterstroke) may appeal to kids. You don’t need to create an account or login: you can simply start playing straight away. #6: Typing Chef In this game, you type cooking-related words (usually types of equipment). It involves single words and a few double words with a space between at the early levels. There’s nothing particularly unusual about this game compared with others, though it wasn’t so ad-heavy as some and doesn’t require any registration. It’s good for teaching words and phrases, but not for helping you to learn to type whole sentences. #7: TypeTastic This is a fun typing game aimed at young kids, so it starts with the fundamentals. You start by building a keyboard from letter blocks, then learn how to spot letters on the keyboard quickly before learning where those letters are located. Teachers or parents might be interested in reading about why the game starts with mapping the keyboard. The interface and graphics are pretty good, given that it’s a free game, and it’s designed specifically with young children in mind. #8: Typer Shark! Delux This is a free typing game, where you’re a diver exploring the seas. You can choose from different difficulty levels, and – in a mechanic that’s probably by now quite familiar if you’ve played any of the other typing games – you get rid of creatures like sharks by typing the word written on them. Again, this can help you with your typing speed and accuracy. I found it was a bit slow to load, but it’s not full of ads like some other games. #9: Typing Attack In this game, you’re a spaceship, facing enemy spaceships – each with a word written on them. I expect you can guess what you need to do: type the word correctly to destroy the spaceship. Some words are shorter, some longer, and as with other games, there are multiple difficulty settings. You’ll need to watch an ad before the game loads, which can be annoying, and means that it isn’t necessarily suitable for children. #10: The Typing of the Dead: Overkill ($14.99) This game is definitely aimed at adults rather than kids, because it’s a bit gory. It also costs $14.99, so it’s probably one that’ll suit you best if you’re really keen to improve your typing speed – perhaps you do transcription, for instance, or you’re a freelance writer. To play the game, you type the words that appear in front of the enemies and monsters: each type you type a letter correctly, you send a bullet at them. If you like horror games and films, it could be a fun way to learn to type faster – but it won’t necessarily improve your accuracy with whole sentences. 10 Word Games that Are Particularly Suited to Kids While I’ve tried to indicate above whether or not the games are suitable for kids, I wanted to list the ten that I’d particularly recommend if you want to help your children get a great start as budding writers. Several of these are games I play with my five-year-old already; others are games Im really looking forward to using with her and my son as they get older. I won’t repeat the full descriptions: just scroll back up if you want those. #1: Word searches (pen and paper) – you can buy whole books of these, or print off free ones. Older kids might have fun creating their own for their friends or siblings. #2: Bulls and Cows (pen and paper) – you can play this with just a pen and paper (or if you’ve got a really good memory, with nothing at all). #3: Boggle (board game) – this is simple enough for quite young children to get the hang of it: my five-year-old enjoys playing it with her Granny. #4: Story Cubes (dice game) – your child can use these on their own to come up with ideas for a story, or you could use them with a group of children – e.g. in a classroom or as part of a club. #5: Amazing Tales (roleplaying) – this child-friendly RPG is a great way to introduce big-picture storytelling skills, particularly developing a character. #6: Spellspire (phone app) – a fun spelling/word-creation game your child can play on your phone (and probably a bit more educational than yet another game of Angry Birds). #7: Wild West Hangman (browser game) – if your child likes hangman but you don’t always have the time to play it with them, this is a good alternative. #8: First Draft of the Revolution (browser game) – if your teen is interested in writing and/or the French revolution, they might really enjoy this intriguing game based around redrafting letters. #9: Dance Mat Typing (typing game) – this game from the BBC is high-quality, and designed to appeal to young children. It teaches good typing practice from the start, by explaining correct finger placement on the keys. #10: TypeTastic – this is another typing game aimed at young children, and this one starts with putting together a keyboard – a great place to begin. Do you have any favourite writing games – of any type? Share them with us in the comments. 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 Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart"Owing to" vs "Due to"Is Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?