Jordan Events Company Management Skills and Entrepreneurship

Jordan Events Company Management Skills and Entrepreneurship Exectuive summary Jordan Events is an events management company that manages corporate, professional and personal events. The company will be located in Jordan and will organize, design, plan and manage events for companies, corporate organizations and weddings among others. It will offer high quality services at affordable prices and services will be structured to meet specific client needs.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Jordan Events Company: Management Skills and Entrepreneurship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The goals of the company will be to achieve customer satisfaction and exceptional quality of services, so as to lead in the events management market (ADAMS MALLEN 2008, p.137). Staff at the company will be highly trained individuals in various fields including interior designers, artists and florists. The company will focus on recruiting highly trained individuals to enable it attain the set goals an d objectives. The services of Jordan Events will be advertised through print media, television and social network sites. In addition, the company will develop an interactive website to market itself and the services it offers. Objectives The general objectives of Jordan Events include the following: To capture the Jordan market and be the leading events management company in the Middle East region. To provide exceptional event management services to clients and exceed their expectations by offering superior services. To be the preferred events management company in Jordan. To offer different products that suits all types of meetings. Keys to success Jordan Events will design mechanisms that will enable it succeed in attaining the objectives it has. The keys to success include: High training of individuals, capable of delivering high quality services. All the permanent staff the company will employ on permanent basis will have college degrees. Efficiency in service delivery so as to ensure that the operating costs are minimized. The company will offer affordable prices and different banquets to ensure that it attracts and retains clients. Mission Jordan Events has the mission of being the preferred events management company in Jordan and Middle East region, with the best quality services that meet the local and international standards. Business Description Background and history of the business Jordan Events is an events management company that is a fresh entrant in the market and manages events for corporate clients, individuals and businesses. The company is in the final stages of registration and documentation. It plans to begin operations in early 2013 by opening three branches in Jordan. In the next three years, the company will expand operations in Middle East region by opening more branches in principle cities.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company has a vision of being the leading events management company in the region. It will ensure that it does this by offering high quality services in the region. There will be flexibility in the products offered by the company and will be tailor made to suit specifications of the clients (FISK, GROVE JOHN 2008, p. 129). The company is owned jointly by three brothers, all of whom have worked in the hotel, tourism and hospitality industries. The three brothers have held managerial positions in their previous jobs and thus have a wealth of experience in management. Business goals The main goal of the company is to be the preferred events management company in Jordan and Middle East region. The company will have to offer the best services in the region so that it becomes the preferred events management company. It will, therefore, create a strong brand by first operating few branches in Jordan then expand later. The other goal of Jordan Events is to acquire a large market share within a short time. The company will aim at acquiring at least 10% market share annually over the next 5 years. The company noticed that the already existing event management companies in the region have not developed strong brands, and thus will not put up much competition (ROLL 2006, p. 147). Acquiring 10% market share annually for a period of 5 years will enable the company earn high revenues and profits. The company projects that the number of clients who need events management services will increase over the 5 year period as more people recognize the service. Products The products and services that Jordan Events will offer vary. The company will offer the following services: Destination and location sourcing services Hotel and venue management Arrangement and stage management Exhibition services Guest management services Event designing and communication services The company will handle different types of functions when offering these services. It will manage c eremonies, weddings, business meetings, product launches and festivals. It will also manage occasions such as workshops, company inaugurations and graduation ceremonies.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Jordan Events Company: Management Skills and Entrepreneurship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The clients will be engaged in the organization of the events to enable building of suitable concepts that will satisfy them. In addition to these services, the company will offer consultancy services to clients on how to organize their functions. The company will also offer training to individuals on how to successfully organize and manage events. Supplier information The company will develop contact with different companies in different industries to be suppliers of services and products it will need. The company will develop contacts with organizations that will be able to offer high quality services and products at af fordable prices. The main suppliers will be the following: Public address and communication services limited: This company will provide communication equipment that the company will use in clients’ events. The company has vast experience in the line of business it is involved in. It offers high quality service and is affordable. The equipment this company has such as speakers are of high quality and of latest models. Jebel Amman Hotel: This company will offer catering services in the events Jordan Events will manage. It is a five star hotel located in Jordan and is affordable. Jordan Tents and Stands Limited:Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This company is located in Jordan and offers tents and chairs for hiring. The quality of the tents and chairs that this company has are new and in good conditions. The price it charges per tent is affordable. Jordan Events will hire tents from this company for outdoor functions that it will manage. The company will sign contracts with these suppliers for a period of 5 years. The contracts will, however, be renewable based on the quality of service they provide and satisfaction of Jordan Events. Agreement and ownership structure Jordan Events is owned by three brothers who are the executive directors. The three brothers contributed capital equally and formed a partnership. Under the agreement, all profits and losses that Jordan Events makes will be shared in equal proportions among the three. The three will have equal rights in decision making and no major decision will be made without consultation. Legal considerations The company must be first registered and obtain certificate from the registrar of companies before it begins operations. The name ‘Jordan Events’ will undergo search in government records to ensure that no other company exists with such a name. In addition, the company will employ the services of a lawyer to scrutinize all contracts the company will sign. The legal officer will also scrutinize the partnership agreement to ensure that there are no gaps. Business opportunities Potential customers The target market for Jordan Events is wide and includes organizations, businesses and individuals. The company will target organizations, both local and international, that have meetings such as conferences. It will mainly target conferences that have 200 participants and above. It will target meetings that are either one day or are for a long period. The company has identified that the number of companies that require event management services has increased in Jordan and Middle East region. In a study the company undertook, the numbers of companies that need the services increase by 5% annually. These companies need these services when making product launches, during their annual general meetings (AGM) and when making major news and new developments. The rapid growth of the region has led to increase in the number of organizations in different sectors. The company will target all these companies to be clients. The company will offer events management services to individuals. The company found that there are many people who want well planned weddings and ceremonies that take place in scenic places. The company will target readers of business and wedding magazines in Jordan and Middle East region. It will place adverts showcasing the services it offers in these magazines. The adverts will give details that aim at enticing these readers to seek event management services from Jordan Events. Additionally, it will target individuals who use social network sites such as Twitter. Geographical area The company will be locate d in Jordan, a region experiencing tremendous growth in recent years. The population of Jordan has increased and this means the number of potential clients of the company is high (WALKER FIRESTONE 2009, p. 53). The geographical features in the region provide scenic and appropriate places the company will hire to provide outdoor event management services. The already existing event management organizations in the region are not yet well established and thus Jordan Events will be able to gain market share easily (FLOOR 2006, p. 98). Surveys by hospitality department in the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality project that the events management subsector will grow at a rate of 15% annually. This provides Jordan Events a good opportunity to be a leading events management company in the region since it has resources and adequate capital. The numbers of companies that are likely suppliers to Jordan Events are numerous. This will enable the company to get lower prices for the services that they will offer. In case the suppliers were not locally available, Jordan Events would have been forced to seek suppliers from either China or India. However, these countries are located far from Jordan and thus the services would have been expensive for Jordan Events. The central location of Jordan in Middle East region is strategic and can enable the company to expand with ease. Bussiness competitors The company will face competition from both local and international events management companies. The main local competitors will include Events Unlimited, Shahin and Shahin, Jordan EcoTuors, Dilloona and Gala Events and Classic Flowers Jordan. Others will be Al Ramz Group Jordan, OrangeRed Jordan and True Vision Conferences Company among others. The international event management competitors of Jordan Events will include Pinkmoon Corporation, Global Vision Jordan, International Fairs and Promotions Jordan, Petra Events Management and Events Unlimited Jordan. The only a few of these e vent management companies have managed to develop strong brands in the region. The market share that each of the companies have is less than 10% and there is no market leader. The likely strong competitors in the market are Shahin and Shahin, Talal Convention Center, Global Vision Jordan and International Fairs and Promotions. These companies have vast resources and facilities and will thus challenge Jordan Events. Marketing strategy Pricing strategy The company will offer low prices for events management services that it will offer. The idea is to offer the most affordable prices while offering high quality service (KIMBALL 2011, p. 127). This means that the general strategy will be to have high number of clients and be efficient in operations. The goal of the management will thus be to operate optimally at very low costs. Overhead costs and wastage of resources will be minimized at Jordan Events so that it can be a low cost service provider. The products will also be structured in a way that allows flexibility in price. Therefore, price will be set depending on the budget clients want to maintain (ALLEN 2009, p. 41). The company will use different information technology system in managing different activities of the company. This will assist the company in reducing costs on material such as stationary and thus reduce the overall operating costs. The result is that the company will offer lower prices (SMITH 2012, p. 171). Additionally, the company will contract suppliers with low prices with the aim of saving and reducing operation costs. However, the suppliers will offer high quality services so as to satisfy Jordan Events’ expectations. The quality of service that the company will offer will always be high. This will attract many clients and will assist the company in retaining the customers. Once the number of clients increases, the company will be able to offer cheaper prices due to high numbers (MILLS 2002, p.129). Sales projections The company ha s made projections of the sales it expects in the next three years. After a period of 8 months, Jordan Events expects that the value of sales will increase. The company will engage in an intensive marketing campaign once it begins operations. In addition, executive sales persons will be employed to market the products and increase sales. The first table shows the sales projections that the company expects in the first three years. It can be seen that the value of sales projected increases from year 1 through to year 3. The company projects that sales will increase by 38.4% between year 1 and year 2. The projections indicate that sales will increase by 45.78% between year 2 and year 3. The company expects that the environment in the region to continue being stable and conducive for business. The company noted that political, economic and social events in the region can adversely affect the sales of the company. Notably, the social unrest in Syria and confrontation between Iran and I srael are among the events that can adversely affect the sales of the company. The second table shows the projected costs of sales. These include the costs of hiring venues, salaries and wages and advertisement fees. It can be seen from the table that the costs increase from year 1 to year 3 indicating increase in business. The increase in projected cost of sales from year 1 and Year 2 is 47.6%. The increase in the projected cost of sales from Year 2 to Year 3 is 24.76%. This is likely because the company will be highly efficient in operations after Year 2. Marketing plan The Middle East region and Jordan has a vibrant market that enables rapid growth of businesses. The region is centrally placed in Middle East with highly developed infrastructural facilities. The residents of the region embrace technological developments especially the rapid growth in information technology. This will make it easier for Jordan Events to market the products and services that it offers in the market. The company will hire an advertising agency to design broadcast adverts. Initially, these will aim at introducing the company in the market. The adverts will emphasize the existence of the company, â€Å"Jordan Events†, in Jordan. Once the company starts receiving clients, the adverts will shift focus to promoting the company as the leading events manager in the region. Much of the introductory adverts will be done through television since it is considered â€Å"hot media† and has high influence in shaping peoples opinions (BERGER 2007, p. 32). The company will also place adverts in different magazines, especially wedding and business magazines. These will target businesses, both local and international, and individuals who want to do weddings. A few billboards will be strategically placed in major cities in Jordan to promote the company. The general aim of the adverts will be to create brand awareness (FERRELL HARTLINE 2011, p. 682). In addition to these methods, th e company will develop an interactive website that will enable clients find information about the products (TOKORO 2010, p. 96). The website will be made colorful and with attractive features to entice clients. It will include a gallery section through which clients can see the various arrangement and decoration styles the company can manage to make. The other marketing strategy that the company will employ is the establishment of contacts with various hotels, magazines, and tours and travel agencies. These organizations can refer clients to Jordan Events to manage their functions. The owners of the company have worked in the hotel and hospitality industry and thus have already established a few contacts. It will also employ qualified and highly experienced sales persons to market the company, the product and the services. Finally, the company will use social network sites to market the products and services that it offers. Business operations Operational function The company will b egin business operations in early 2013 once it finalizes registration and satisfies all official requirements. The company will ensure that it obtains all necessary documents and satisfies government requirements before it begins actual operations. The company will have three executive directors, who are the owners of the company. One director will be the Chief Executive Officer, another one will be the Chief Financial Officer and the last one will be the Chief Operations Officer. The company will hire a consultant to assist the company define the roles of each one of them. There will be other directors employed be the company. These will include Human Resources Director, Business Sourcing Director, Sales Director and Strategy and Organizational Development Director. The company will develop an interactive system of operation and all employees will have e-mail addresses (PERRET 2007, p. 443). The aim of this is to increase the flow of information within the company and to enable fir st implementation of decisions (ZHANG 2006, p. 256). The company will also employ line managers to increase efficiency in operations, and enable connection between the management and the staff (BOHLANDER 2010, p. 39). The offices of the company will be located within the Central Business Districts (CBD) of cities to enable accessibility. Services offered The services that Jordan Events will offer are numerous and of high quality. The company will offer the following services: Destination and location sourcing services The company will develop contacts with hotels and acquire extensive knowledge about hotels in the region. It will develop a bargaining ability with the hotels so as to use hotel facilities at affordable prices (STIVING 2011, p. 5). It will negotiate on the behalf of clients and sign contracts to enable clients use hotel facilities. Hotel and venue management The company will manage the venue of meetings before and during the meetings. It will ensure all guests have acc ommodation and that all facilities such as bathrooms are functioning appropriately. Jordan Events will also ensure that the venue is secure and that catering services are available. Arrangement and stage management The company will provide high quality presentation services to all clients it offers services to. It will develop contact with companies offering public address services and will employ individuals with high experiences in setting meeting venues. The company will also be able to coordinate all speakers used in events and will ensure all guests have good site to the stage. Exhibition services Jordan Events will manage exhibitions at conferences for clients. It will be capable of managing conferences with over 150 exhibition sites. The company will manage booking of space, setting of exhibition sites and the venue. To ensure success in managing exhibitions, the company will contract stand designers to erect stands of different sizes for the clients (ABRAHAM, GALE KRELL 200 5, p. 180). Guest management services The company will manage the guests that clients have in a professional and satisfying manner. The company will include a registration portal in the website it will design to assist in registration and management of guests. The company will manage guests’ accommodation, meeting agenda and discussion sessions (FORD, STURMAN HEATON 2012, p. 127). Event designing and communication services The company will assist clients in designing their functions (WOLF, WOLF, WOLF LEVINE 2005, p.79). It will assist clients in developing theme, in designing seating arrangements and in decorating event venues. In addition, it will make arrangement for communication facilities and in advertising the event through the media. The company will handle different types of functions when offering these services. It will manage ceremonies, weddings, business meetings, product launches and festivals. It will also manage occasions such as workshops, company inaugurat ions and graduation ceremonies. The clients will be engaged in the organization of the events to enable building of suitable concepts that will satisfy them. In addition to these services, the company will offer consultancy services to clients on how to organize their functions. The company will also offer training to individuals on how to successfully organize and manage events. Personnel The company will employ highly qualified personnel to undertake the functions in various departments. The company will employ most of the staff on permanent and pensionable basis. The employees must, however, work for a period of one year on contract after which performance will be reviewed. If the employee’s performance satisfies the board, the employee’s contract is renewed on permanent terms of employment. The employees will have college degrees in various fields. The only employees who are not required to have college degrees are grounds men and seat fillers. They will also be em ployed on temporary basis depending on need (CARTER 2007, p. 37). The managerial level staff, including directors, will be expected to hold Masters Degrees in areas related to business. The staff will be handsomely rewarded for their services and will be provided with medical cover by the company. They will be taken through various trainings and team building sessions annually to increase their competence and motivation (LELAND BAILEY 2006, p. 78). Technology The company will used Information Communication Technology (ICT) Systems in operating the company (TASSIOPOULOS DAMSTER 2004, p. 425). It will adopt a Customer Relation Management System (CRM) to maintain contact with clients. The system will enable customers make inquires and give feedback to the company (SHARP, 2002, p. 7). In addition, clients will be able to make bookings for Jordan Events services online. This is because the system will be linked to the company website and will be available online. The company will also make it possible for the clients to make payments for services via the internet (GRÜNEWÄLDER 2008, p. 5). The company will also use a Warehouse Management System (WMS) to manage inventory. The staff will be able to know the location of all property of the company through this warehouse management system. The system will ensure the safety of all company property and will ease operations in the company. Additionally, it will use an internet based Human Resources Management System (HRMS) in managing the employees (BARBEITO 2004, p. 30). The system will enable the human resources manager contact staff through their e-mails. The employees can also request and manage leave days through the human resources management system. The offices will be fitted with computers, printers and other appliances that enable easy operations. The company recognizes that these are likely to reduce the operation costs in the long run. The company will also use development of internet technology in mar keting the services it offers (DAMM 2011, p. 38). It will post adverts in the internet through the company website and through social network sites such as Twitter and Face Book (BAIRD 2009, p. 10). These will ensure rapid popularity of the company and the brand â€Å"Jordan Events†. It will acquire latest electronic equipment such as cameras, speakers and microphones to supplement those that it will hire from suppliers. The company will acquire these equipments from top suppliers. It will acquire high quality equipments that will ensure customer satisfaction is achieved (BOWDIN 2006, p. 408). Managerial staff will be provided with iPods or Smart Phones so as to increase the speed of communication in the company. The iPods and Smart Phones will also enable them know changes and trends in the market. This will enable them make informed decisions and keep the company ahead of competitors (ALLEN 2002, p. 131). The company will be technology driven. The directors will be ready to adopt any technology that will lead to improvement in operations and increase in efficiency (MEEGAN 2009, p. 9). Finances Projected profit and loss The statement above gives the projected profit and loss account of Jordan Events for the first three years of operation. In the first year, it is projected that the company will make a loss of JD 21,406. The sales for the first year are projected to be JD 650,750 while the costs of sales for the same year are projected to be JD 301,662. The projected gross margin the company will attain in the first year is JD 349,098. However, the operating expenses for the company during the first year are projected to be high. This is why the company is likely to make a loss in the first year. In the second year, it is projected that the company will make a profit of JD 50,507 after tax. The likely reason for this is that the company will be operating efficiently and will have acquired a considerable market share. In the third year, the projected pr ofit after tax is JD 247,454 which represents a 79.59% increase from year 2. During the third year, the management expects that the company will be operating optimally, efficiently and will have acquired a large market share. After the third year, the company’s management is likely to begin the expansion process as indicated in their objectives. Projected cash flow Projected balance sheet Capital was obtained through equal contribution by the owners. List of References ABRAHAM, D., GALE, J KRELL, T 2005, Organizational transformation and e-business implementation, Emerald Group Pub., Bradford, UK. ADAMS, L MALLEN, C 2008, Sport, recreation and tourism event management: theoretical and practical dimensions, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. ALLEN, J 2002, The business of event planning behind-the-scenes secrets of successful special events, Willey Sons, Toronto. ALLEN, J 2009, Event planning: the ultimate guide to successful meetings, corporate events, fund-raising galas, co nferences, conventions, incentives and other special events. Mississauga, Wiley Sons, Ontario, Canada. BAIRD, T 2009, The truth about facebook: how to use facebook for marketing and advertisting, and much more the facts you should know, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. BARBEITO, C 2004, Human Resource Policies and Procedures for Nonprofit Organizations, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, MA. BERGER, A 2007, Media and society: a critical perspective, Rowman Littlefield, Lanham. BOHLANDER, G 2010, Managing human resources [Hauptbd.], South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. BOWDIN, G 2006, Events management, Elsevier, Amsterdam. CARTER, L 2007, Event planning, Ind, AuthorHouse, Bloomington. DAMM, S 2011, Event management: how to apply best practices to small scale events, Diplomica-Verl, Hamburg. FERRELL, O HARTLINE, M 2011, Marketing strategy, South-Western Cengage Learning, Sidney. FISK, R., GROVE, S JOHN, J 2008, Interactive services marketing, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA . FLOOR, K 2006, Branding a store: how to build successful retail brands in a changing marketplace, Kogan Page, London, UK. FORD, R., STURMAN, M HEATON, C 2012, Managing quality service in hospitality: how organizations achieve excellence in the guest experience, Cengage Learning, Clifton Park, N.Y. GRÜNEWÄLDER, A 2008, Implementing CRM systems Approaches and potential problems, GRIN Verlag GmbH, München. KIMBALL, C 2011, Start your own event planning business, Jere L. Calmes, Irvine. LELAND, K BAILEY, K 2006, Customer service for dummies, Wiley, Hoboken, MA. MEEGAN J 2009, Sustainable Event Management, Earthscan, London, UK. MILLS, G 2002, Retail pricing strategies and market power, University Press, Melbourne. PERRET, F 2007, Essentials of logistics and management, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. ROLL, M 2006, Asian brand strategy: how Asia builds strong brands, Palgrave/Macmillan, Basingstoke. SHARP, D 2002, Customer relationship management systems handbook, Auerbach, Bo ca Raton, FL. SMITH, T 2012, Pricing strategy: setting price levels, managing price discounts, establishing price structures, South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia. STIVING, M 2011, Impact pricing your blueprint for driving profits, Entrepreneur Press, Irvine, CA. TASSIOPOULOS, D DAMSTER, G 2004, Event management: a professional and developmental approach, Juta Academic, Landsdowne. TOKORO, M 2010, Open systems science: from understanding principles to solving problems, IOS Press, Amsterdam. WALKER, J FIRESTONE, M 2009, Jordan, Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray. WOLF, P., WOLF, J., WOLF, P LEVINE, D 2005, Event planning made easy: 7 simple steps to making your business or private event a huge success: from the industrys top event planners, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. ZHANG, P 2006, Human-computer interaction and management information systems: foundations, Sharpe, Armonk, NY.

Tips to Give Your Texts a Perfect Polishing!

Tips to Give Your Texts a Perfect Polishing! Fifteen Great Tips for Proofreading When it comes to proofreading, the fifteen tips below have proven effective in all sorts of discipline from arts subjects through to medicine and science papers. As well as devising your own techniques, why not try these and choose the ones that work well for you? NB:If a tutor or publisher gives specific instructions on proofreading, adhere to them.Be mentally prepared: Proofreading is an art that requires you to be patient, focused, and willing to give a sufficient amount of your time. Make sure, therefore, that you are not distracted, in a hurry, or over-tired. Gather up all the tools you will need: Firstly, this means printing out proofs. Even if you have chosen to or are required to electronically mark a document, work first with a printed version. Mistakes that are sometimes not obvious on screen can often be evident on a paper version. As well as an original or edited copy of the document and their publishers or tutors instructions (e.g. a guide to editing marks), proofreaders usually need spare paper, a ruler, and some colored pens. Look at the bigger picture: Begin by comparing your printed proof to the first or original text, or to an edited copy where applicable. Make sure every element is present. Think about every detail: The next step is proofreading every part of the text, including any illustrations, tables and reference lists. Look for any spelling and/or punctuation errors, as well as any errors in illustrations and tables. Additionally, depending on your instructions, check for errors in notations, symbols, numbers and generally any type of error. Leave nothing to trust or chance: Every word, sentence and paragraph should be read thoroughly and slowly. Nothing should be assumed. Put your ruler beneath each line as you read or cover all text except the sentence you are reading with a piece of paper. Concentrate on small details: Highlight or mark symbols and punctuation marks so that you can concentrate on them. Look for mistakes in smaller words e.g. in articles, conjunctions, and so on. Look hard at illustrations and tables: Are these in the right place and right order? Are there any errors in captions and titles? Is all cross-referenced text accurate? All numbers, scientific symbols and notations should be double-checked: Be extra careful when examining notations and numbers, in both text and tables. Is everything numbered in sequential order and shown correctly on printed proofs? Corrections should be noted with two proofreading marks: Use in-text marks (e.g. carets, lines, and so on) as well as the associated margin marks (e.g., notations or symbols). Thoroughly check that all marks are in the correct place. NB: Refer to a guide or manual on Proofreading Marks if necessary. Margin marks should be separated: A slash mark / should be used for separating marginal marks on the one line. For example, to note similar corrections on one line, a slash should be added for each individual correction (e.g., the word caps and three slashes (/ / /) indicates three instances where capital letters are needed). Instructions should be circled: Place a circle around any margin mark that is an instruction, even short forms e.g. caps for capital letters, ital for italics, and lc for lower case letters. Distinguishing instructions from words that should be entered into a text eliminates confusion. Make sure margin marks correspond correctly: It is essential to work from the left margin to the right, making sure that all margin marks are an exact match with the in-text marks. One proofreading is not sufficient: A lot of mistakes are often found in the second or even third reading. Be clear about what you are looking for each time. For instance, look for spelling mistakes first time, then mistakes in symbols and numbers and next something else. Use different techniques: Use a variety of tips, techniques and methods when proofreading. Read aloud, get another person to read your text aloud, or swap proofreading projects with other people. Look for a method that works well for you. Have frequent rests/breaks: Work out break times in advance, but take a break earlier if you feel tired or start rushing. After one full proofreading, break for longer one day if you can before embarking on the next round.

E-crime investigation. Security breach on a Linux Operation System Assignment

E-crime investigation. Security breach on a Linux Operation System - Assignment Example If we elaborate these further, the first time stamp named as ‘modify’ or the ‘mtime’ is updated when there is some change or modification. Likewise, in case of a directory, the time stamp is updated when there are changes / modifications or deletion occurs within the file in that particular directory. The second time stamp known as the ‘atime’ is updated for a file when it is executed or accessed. The third time stamp Change that is called as ‘ctime’ is updated when the data structure enclosing metadata of a file is accessed by the file system to define information of a file including owner, group name, access rights etc. are modified. However, during a forensic investigation, MAC times can provide a comprehensive clues if remains unchanged. Likewise, it illustrates the changes that occurred on the file system. Andy will use the TCT mactime program that is a part of the TCT tool kit for printing the MACtimes for a series of files to get an in depth view of what actually happened and how the hacker has compromised the system. Likewise, the mactime program develops a database of time stamps linked with the files of the system (Nemeth, Snyder et al. 2007). It was detected that on September 20 i.e. few days after the initial compromise of the system, the hacker entered in the system via a telnet command and started manipulating file system and server. The command below demonstrates evidence: Sep 20 00 15:46:05 31376 .a. -rwxr-xr-x root root/mount/usr/sbin/in.telnetd Sep 20 00 15:46:39 20452 .c -rwxr-xr-x root root/mount/bin/login ... -rwxr-xr-x root root/mount/usr/sbin/in.telnetd Sep 20 00 15:46:39 20452 .c -rwxr-xr-x root root/mount/bin/login After one hour of the system being compromised, a directory was established named as /dev/ttypq/ on the file system and soon a distrustful and unknown file starts appearing and modified on the file system. The most suspicious files were named as ipv6.0, rpc.status and rc.local. Sep 20 00 16:49:47 949 ..c -rwxr-xr-x root root /mount/etc/rc.d/rc.local 209 ..c -rwx------ root root /mount/usr/sbin/initd Sep 20 00 16:50:11 4096 .a. drwxr-xr-x operator 11 /mount/dev/ttypq/... Sep 20 00 16:52:12 7704 .a. -rw-r--r-- root root /mount/lib/modules/2.2.16-3/net/ipv6.o 209 .a. -rwx------ root root /mount/usr/sbin/initd 222068 .a. -rwxr-xr-x root root /mount/usr/sbin/rpc.status Andy’s investigation addressed the ipv6.0 file that was a modular visible string related to the suspected sockets of the network i.e. TCP port 32411 and TCP port 3457, more than one user account names, ille gitimate use of the Ethernet interface to relay all the traffic visible on the network. prover# strings ipv6.o check_logfilter kernel_version=2.2.16-3 my_atoi :32411 my_find_task :3457 is_invisible :6667 is_secret :6664 iget :6663 iput :6662 hide_process :6661 hide_file :irc __mark_inode_dirty :6660 unhide_file :6668 n_getdents nobody o_getdents telnet n_fork operator o_fork Proxy n_clone proxy o_clone undernet.org n_kill Undernet.org o_kill netstat n_ioctl syslogd dev_get klogd boot_cpu_data promiscuous mode __verify_write . . . o_ioctl adore.c n_write gcc2_compiled. o_write __module_kernel_version n_setuid we_did_promisc cleanup_module netfilter_table o_setuid check_netfilter init_module strstr __this_module logfilter_table sys_call_table In the above strings, a string named as adore.c

Financial Institutions Lending Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Institutions Lending - Essay Example It is calculated by dividing total debts by total assets. A debt ratio of greater than1 indicates that a company has more debt than assets -a debt ratio of less than 1 indicates thata company has more assets than debt. Used in conjunction with other measures of financial health, the debt ratio can help investors determine a company's level of risk. A lending risk assessment ratio that financial institutions and others lenders examine before approving a mortgage.Typically,assessments with high LTV ratios are generally seen as higher risk and, therefore, if themortgage is accepted,the loanwill generally cost the borrower more to borrow or he or she will need to purchase mortgage insurance. A debt service measure that financial lenders use asa rule of thumbtogivea preliminaryassessment about whether a potentialborrower is already in too muchdebt.Receiving aratio ofless than30%means that the potential borrowerhas an acceptable level of debt. A general termdescribinga financialratio that compares some form of owner's equity (or capital) to borrowed funds. Gearing is a measure of financial leverage, demonstrating the degree to which a firm's activities are funded by owner's funds versus creditor's funds. The higher a company'sdegree of leverage, the more thecompany is considered risky. As for most ratios, an acceptable levelis determined by its comparisonto ratios ofcompanies in the same industry.The best known examples of gearing ratios include the debt-to-equity ratio (total debt / total equity), times interest earned (EBIT / total interest), equity ratio (equity / assets), and debt ratio (total debt / total assets). 5. Solvency Ratio One of many ratios used tomeasure a company's ability to meet long-term obligations. The solvency ratio measuresthe size ofa company's after-tax income, excluding non-cash depreciation expenses, as compared to the firm's total debt obligations. It provides a measurement of how likely a company will be to continue meeting its debt obligations. Thus, credit quality can best be evaluated by analyzing the probability of a company running out of both cash and profits at any given moment. To evaluate the possibility of a company running out of cash, lenders generally look at a cash budget for the firm. They evaluate various scenarios and try to determine how likely the ending cash balance will be negative, implying a need for outside funds that may not be forthcoming if the company is not profitable. The extent of the credit losses that then arise if a firm does run out of cash is a function of the collateral or seniority status of each debt, as well as the value of the total assets of the company in bankruptcy. Essentially, credit analysis can be simply conducted by comparing the company's average Times Interest Earned (TIE) ratio over the past few years to that of the cross-sectional average TIE of groups of firms with the same public credit rating, such as the same Moody's or S&P letter rating for which public data are available. Then set the company's starting credit rating equal to that which most closely matches the TIE of the firms with a given letter credit rating. Next, the trend in

Teaching, planning and learning Essay Example for Free

Teaching, planning and learning Essay The school first opened its doors in 1958 with only 10 teachers who looked after a total of 222 pupils at that time. The new school was created from  several all-age schools from around the area of the small agricultural village. In 1976, the school was extended and now has over 800 mixed gender pupils age 11-16, mostly from working class backgrounds. Please refer to Appendix 1 on page 14, for a table that shows the attainment of pupils between 2011 and 2012. The Head Teacher states that the school will continually seek opportunities to develop personal, social, moral codes and independent thinking and learning skills that the pupils can apply to any given situation. The Ofsted Inspection Report (October 2012), regards this as a good school and that the recently appointed Head Teacher has given a vision for the future and has implemented considerable change in a short time. This has resulted in rapid, all round improvement within the school. The teaching group in which I will be discussing and evaluating in this paper is Year 8 Set 3 at KS3 level, in this class there are 30 pupils and two teaching assistants as well as the teacher. There is a strong gender balance and behaviour is okay overall. Pupils were previously ranging from level 5A to 5C and they were all expected to hit their target grades which tend to increase by 3 sublevels leaving them at a level 6A to 6C respectively by the end of the academic year. In this class, there is one SEN pupil with hearing difficulties and two vulnerable pupils who require extra support from the special support staff. Rationale Over a sequence of four lessons teaching fractions, percentages and decimals, a wide range of methods were used in relation to the particular group of pupils and the learning objectives. The structure of the lessons was taught generally in three parts, which consisted of a through the door starter, a main teaching and learning section and a plenary. At the beginning of each lesson, I settle the pupils down by telling them a mathematical joke related to the topic I am about to teach or by doing a  maths magic trick, which might include mental maths or using a calculator. Please refer to Appendix 2, for an example of a joke/magic trick and why this can be useful. I would then explain how to complete the starter if they had not already started to do so or if it was not self-explanatory. After the starter, I implement a literacy element into the lesson by selecting a few pupils to read the learning objectives out loud then they also have to write it into their books underlined with the date and level. I also display to them how I expect them to progress throughout the lesson using good, better and excellent as targets but I do not get them to copy this into their books as that has proven be time consuming. Bellamy (1999) supports the idea of learning objectives to be appropriately differentiated. Teacher praise is one tool that can be a powerful motivator for pupils. Surprisingly, research suggests that praise is underused in both general and special-education classrooms (Brophy, 1981; Hawkins Heflin, 2011; Kern, 2007), therefore I try to use praise as often as I can to reinforce good behaviour and build strong relationships with the pupils. I use an interesting method for questioning pupils whereby I have a jar of different coloured lollypop sticks with the pupils’ names on, so when I wish to ask a question it appears to be fair, random and it keeps the pupils engaged because I sometimes place the lollypop sticks back in the jar so the same person may get asked a question more than once. Sometimes, I might ask an open-ended question and aim it at the whole of the class, then ask the pupils to think about it independently or discuss it with the person sitting next to them, these questions usually involve problem solving. As well as questioning, there are several other methods, which can be incorporated into the planning of progress throughout a lesson for example, the use of mini white boards and traffic light cards, also getting the pupils to write a response in their books about how they feel about a certain topic. During this sequence of four lessons, there would usually be around 10-15  minutes of me teaching and the pupils listening, whereby the pupils may take notes and copy examples then the pupils would work quietly and independently to illustrate understanding. For those pupils who require a little more explaining, this would be a chance for them to receive some individual teaching from a member of staff in the class. I communicate to the teaching assistants when I would like them to walk around the class or hand out worksheets. Tracking pupils’ progress over time to inform the planning of teaching and planning teaching that is matched to pupils needs is key. Please refer to Appendix 3, for further guidance from LGfL – Learning Grid for Lancashire (2014) for Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) in Mathematics. Whilst the pupils are working independently, I would walk around the class systematically checking for progress making sure the pupils are setting their work out correctly and achieving the correct answers and also checking what speed they are working at, as some pupils work a lot quicker than others in this class. Therefore, I always have an extension worksheet or an additional task available of a slightly more challenging level. Rooney (2008) supports the need to provide extension work for the more able that will engage and challenge them, whereas Kompany (2005) believes pupils should be accelerated to the appropriate level earlier. I have used self-assessment and peer-assessment in these lessons whereby the pupils mark their own work or they swap books with the person sat next to them. I believe paired work for tasks and games is beneficial as the pupils can learn from each other. According to Ofsted, good assessment practice in mathematics includes: day-to-day assessment, marking and feedback, and the use of assessment to set targets. BECTA (2004) suggests that, using interactive whiteboards to enrich the teaching of mathematics and assist in managing the learning environment can be achieved by; the display and review of learning objectives and key vocabulary, save screens and move between them, remind pupils of materials covered in previous lessons, set up group work and discussion tasks, use the ‘hide and reveal’ features of the IWB software to work through the steps of a solution, provide a ‘count down’ for timed activities. I make use of ICT regularly in my lessons, whether it is a basic PowerPoint; one slide with the learning objectives on to save time; and interactive games on the white board. I always try to include a real life example into every topic I teach and this particular topic definitely has a functionality element to it as fractions, percentages and decimals are used in every day life even at the age of 12, the topic also links to other subjects such as science, food technology and business studies. As a plenary, I have used several methods, which I have found to be successful with this class for example exit cards or a GCSE exam question from previous papers. I believe that they get a real sense of achievement when they manage to complete a GCSE exam question because they are only in Year 8 and they are able to answer an exam question that they might get asked to complete in Year 11. I follow the schools marking policy using; WWW – what went well, EBI – even better if and MRI – my response is. This gives the pupils an opportunity to respond to feedback. Please refer to Appendix 4, to view an example of my marking and feedback. Pupils’ are expected to respond in the MRI section demonstrating communication between the teacher and the pupil. Evaluation Lessons in this school have sixty-minute duration; therefore I believe the three-part lesson structure to be substantial. Because of the age of the pupils, I found the mathematical jokes and maths magic tricks highly effective in the sense that it settled the pupils down at the beginning of the lesson, it helped to build a good relationship with the pupils also creating a little bit of fun and something to look forward to within the lesson, which in turn lead to better behavior and attitudes towards mathematics as a subject. It is also useful for practicing mental maths for improving skills like using a calculator. This approach may not be as  successful with a Year 11 class. In my experience, I have found it to be more effective to have the starter readily available for the pupils, either on their desks or on the board so that they are engaged as soon as they walk through the door and they are not waiting for pupils that are late. Please refer to Appendix 5, for an example of a st arter that is related to the topic in question and I usually display on the smart-board. Of course, starters do not have to be related to the topic all the time but in this case I used my starters to recap what we had covered in the previous lesson. Getting the pupils to read, listen and write the learning objectives is important for improving literacy which is important across the whole curriculum (old and new) and I do this at the beginning of every lesson for consistency, the pupils know what to expect and they enjoy being aware of what level or sublevel they are working at. I have developed my praising strategy by rationalising how and when I use praise because using praise excessively can lead to negative reactions from pupils not receiving praise even when they had ‘done their best’. Effective teacher praise consists of two elements: a description of noteworthy student academic performance or general behaviour and a signal of teacher approval (Brophy, 1981; Burnett, 2001). I have found the different coloured lollipop sticks method of questioning to be very successful as the pupils think it is a fair system but it isn’t entirely random, as I have actually coded the different sublevels of the pupils to th e different colours. For example, if I wanted to ask a hard question I would select a red stick which indicates the pupil is strong and confident but if I wanted to give a weaker pupil a confidence boost then I would select a green stick and ask a relatively easy question. This demonstrates an element of differentiation. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) believes effective questions are an integral part of a successful mathematics classroom. Some research suggests that as much as 50 percent of classroom time is spent asking questions and eliciting responses. Instruction that includes questions during lessons is more effective in producing achievement gains than instruction carried out without putting questions to students. Please refer to Appendix 6 on page 18, for some reasons as to why we ask questions particularly in mathematics. I have made use of mini white boards, traffic lights cards and pupil feedback within these lessons. I prefer the use of mini white boards  compared with the traffic light cards because the cards can be very vague and some pupils tend to follow the trend rather than being entirely truthful, whereas the mini white boards are excellent for AFL because the answers are independent and more detailed so its easier to identify errors and areas for improvement. The Guardian (2014) describes how teaching assistants are a vital source of support for teachers and knowing how to manage them can be tricky. I have found that giving the teaching assistants ownership within the classroom has made it easier to get them onboard with my ideas. It is important to communicate with them; show class interaction; share decision-making; building on the TAs strengths and share feedback with each other. I have found support staff to be very useful in lessons, as they can provide individual teaching for pupils’ that may be struggling, they support SEN and vulnerable pupils, they are also more than willing to assist in handing out worksheets or collecting homework. The Department for Education states that, all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) should be able to reach their full potential in school. They should also be supported to make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training. Please refer to Appendix 7, for further information of how I have deployed support staff within lessons. According to Ofsted, good assessment practice in mathematics includes: day-to-day assessment, marking and feedback, and the use of assessment to set targets. Please refer to Appendix 8, for a summary of how Ofsted outline formative and summative assessment. I have adopted a number of effective methods outlined by Black and William (1998), that have developed approaches to self and peer-assessment with the aim of enabling pupils to: share the learning intentions so that they understand where they are heading; develop confidence and skills in judging their own performance and reflect on their work and that of others to learn how to improve it. I particularly like some of the additional uses of ICT that BECTA (2004) highlighted above and although I haven’t adopted some of the methods yet, I believe they would be very useful and I will be using them in future. But first, I will have to learn how to use these additional features of an interactive whiteboard and I will develop this during my next placement. Providing real life examples and relating functional skills to mathematics is important for supporting  the transfer of meaningful information at key transitional points and facilitating the setting of meaningful curricular targets that can be shared with pupils. The DfE state that functional skills aim to help people read, write, speak English and use mathematics at the level they need to function and progress both at school and elsewhere. Mathematics in everyday life refers to the way humans use math to complete certain tasks throughout the day, an example I used for this topic was: a person may use math when the y are out shopping and trying to calculate the total cost of the items they are buying after a 15% decrease in the January sale. I have found the use of exit cards or a GCSE exam question, as a plenary to be highly successful with this group due to their age. It appears to me that they actually enjoy writing on the little, colourful exit cards then handing them to me at the door as they leave. They are given a choice as to what they can write on the card, for example, they might write what they have learnt in the lesson or how they feel about the topic or they might write a question down for something they wish for me to address. This process allows me to assess for learning and plan how to progress in future lessons. As well as following the schools’ marking policy, I also provide additional oral feedback rather than relying almost exclusively on marking or written feedback in pupils’ books, and I help pupils develop skills in marking and reviewing their own work and that of their peers in order to involve pupils more in marking and feedback so that they can progress further. Overall, I have found most of my teaching methods to be effective and successful. The pupils’ have met their targets and achieved the learning objectives. I have adapted all the methods mentioned above and tried different approaches to establish this. In the future, I aim to satisfy the targets that I have set myself throughout the analysis to improve my teaching methods further. Review of Assessment Theory Ofsted (2013) outline, how effective assessment practice in mathematics is associated with systematic arrangements for actively promoting, monitoring  and recording pupils’ progress; also that it is used as a teaching tool for judging attainment. Teachers should review pupils’ progress closely as part of daily classroom practice, involving pupils in the assessment of their own strengths and weaknesses and provide feedback. According to Black and William (1998), effective formative assessment is a key factor in motivating learning and raising pupil standards of achievement. Formative assessment, is most effective when it: is embedded in the teaching and learning process; sharing learning objectives with pupils; it helps pupils to know and recognise the standards to aim for; it provides feedback for pupils to identify what they should do to improve; it involves teachers and pupils reviewing their performance and progress and it can involve pupils in self-assessment. For example, pupils’ marking and reviewing their own work. The provision of effective marking and feedback on work can raise pupil achievement; this use of assessment information is beginning to promote effective practice in mathematics. It is suggested that some teachers feel that they are spending a large amount of time marking but it seemed to have little impact on pupils’ subsequent work and that they would prefer to provide more oral feedback rather than relying on written feedback in pupils’ books. Teachers can overcome this challenge by helping pupils’ to develop skills in marking and reviewing their own work and that of their peers in order to involve pupils more in marking and feedback. (Ofsted reports, 2013) For pupils to learn effectively, they need to identify any gaps between their actual and optimal performance. Many approaches to self and peer-assessment have the aim of enabling pupils to: share the learning intentions so that they understand where they are heading; to develop confidence and skills in judging their own performance; and reflect on their work and that of others to learn how they can improve. (Hawkins Heflin, 2011) Kern, L. Clemens, N. H. (2007), highlight that due to recent changes to strategies, many good mathematics teachers make effective use of assessment data to set targets for individual pupils. This process is particularly effective when two targets are set with the higher one being more ambitious  than the prediction based on the data. The aim is for pupils to have an idea as to where they are in the process and where they are heading and what is possible if they are ambitious. In mathematics, Bellamy (1999) states that the most effective targets set for pupils are often curriculum-specific. These are: associated with a significant but manageable learning objective (e.g. simplify fractions by cancelling all common factors); discussed with pupils and expressed in a form that they can understand; relatively short-term and subject to regular revision and retained where they are accessible to pupils. To summarise, formative assessment is that undertaking the assessment constitutes a learning experience in its own right, for example; writing an essay or undertaking a class presentation, can be valuable formative activities as a means of enhancing knowledge as well as for developing research into mathematics, communication, intellectual and organisational skills. Formative assessment is not often included in the formal grading of work, and indeed many believe that it should not be. In contrast, summative assessment is not traditionally regarded as having any intrinsic learning value. It is usually undertaken at the end of a period of learning in order to generate a grade that reflects the student’s performance. The traditional unseen end of module examination is often presented as a typical form of summative assessment. But Black and William (1998) recommend: Frequent short tests are better than infrequent long ones. We have highlighted two important points from this differe ntiation. Firstly, there is no reason why only summative assessment should be included in any formal grading of pupil progress and performance, it is perfectly appropriate to have elements of formative assessment as part of the final grade as well. The second point is that the distinction between formative and summative assessment may be a false one. Whilst some elements of assessment may generate a greater formative learning experience than others, it can be argued that all forms of assessment have some formative element. For example, students undertaking a degree course where assessment consists of written assignments and end of module examinations will over the period of the course improve their examination technique, this is a formative learning experience. Perhaps  instead of becoming overly concerned with whether an assessment is formative or summative in nature it may be better to see various types of assessment as a continuum of the formative learning experience. In conclusion, research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends on five simple factors: the provision of effective feedback to students; the active involvement of students in their own learning; adjusting teaching to take into account res ults of assessment; a recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self esteem of students; and lastly the need for students to be able to self assess themselves and understand how to improve. But at the same time, there are several other inhibiting factors, these include: the tendency for teachers to assess quantity of work and presentation rather than quality of learning; giving greater attention to marking and grading (much of it tending to lower the self esteem of students rather than provide advice for improvement); some teachers feedback to students often serves social and managerial purposes rather than to help them learn more effectively; and teachers not knowing enough about their students’ learning needs. The characteristics of assessment that promote learning, are highlighted by Ofsted as follows: it is imbedded in a view of teaching and learning of which it is an essential part; it involves sharing learning goals with students; it helps students know and recognise the standards they are aiming for; it involves students in self-assessment; it provides feedback which helps students recognise their next steps and how to take them; it is underpinned by confidence that every student can improve; and it involves both the teachers and students reviewing and reflecting on assessment data. If a teacher can adopt all or most of these characteristics into their assessment techniques then they are sure to be outstanding. The ways in which a teacher can achieve this in the classroom, when assessment is being used to help learning is through observation – this includes listening to how students describe their work and their reasoning. Questioning – using open-ended questions, phrased to invite students to  explore their ideas and their reasoning. Setting tasks in a way that requires students to use certain skills and apply ideas. Asking students to communicate their learning through drawings, actions, role-play, brainstorming key concepts, as well as writing. Discussing words and how they are used. Please refer to Appendix 3, for guidance from LGfL – Learning Grid for Lancashire (2014) for Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) in Mathematics. Analysis of Summative Assessment Task According to Glickman et al (2009), summative assessment refers to the assessment of the learning and summarises the development of learners at a particular time. After a period of work, e.g. a unit for two weeks, the learner sits for a test and then the teacher marks the test and assigns a score. The test aims to summarise learning up to that point. The test may also be used for diagnostic assessment to identify any weaknesses and then build on that using formative assessment. Black and William (1998) agree that, frequent short tests are better than infrequent long ones. This is the approach I have adopted for this summative assessment task. The summative assessment task that I have designed is aimed to check for knowledge, understanding and learning of the topic mentioned in the rationale. The medium term plan I set myself for this topic was to teach fractions, percentages and decimals, over a sequence of four lessons. Year 8 – Set 3 have mathematics on their timetable twice per week, therefore I was able to cover the content in two weeks. I informed them at the end of the fourth lesson that was on a Thursday, that they would be getting tested on Tuesday so they were aware that they were having a test to cover the content from the last four lessons. Hence, giving them a chance to revise over the weekend rather than overwhelming them on Tuesday. The areas covered in the four lessons and also included in the test are: simple percentages that can be calculated mentally, using a calculator to  work out percentages (including percentage increase and decrease), and to be able to convert between fractions and decimals. Please refer to Appendix 9, for a copy of the Summative Assessment and Answers. The instructions given on the day of the task were: use a calculator where appropriate for example, to calculate fractions/percentages of quantities/measurements, calculate percentages and find the outcome of a given percentage increase or decrease and please work silently and independently. There are 30 pupils in this class including one SEN pupil with hearing difficulties and two pupils’ that have recently been moved up from Set 4. Pupils were previously ranging from level 5A to 5C and they were all expected to hit their target grades which tend to increase by 3 sublevels leaving them at a level 6A to 6C respectively by the end of the academic year. At the end of the task, I was able to mark the test and give them a grade at the end. Please refer to Appendix 10, for a copy of my anonymous class list with the grades awarded included. In these anonymous pupil records, we can see that the SEN pupil is highlighted in yellow because they were absent on the day of the test and the target level is below average; the gifted and talented pupils’ are highlighted in green and by analysing the target grades we can establish that they may not necessarily be gifted and talented in mathematics, but rather in other subjects like Art, Dance and Physical Education. Althoug h, a few of them have met their targets grades which are above average. The majority of the class met their target grades and a lot of them improved upon their target grade as I expected. All the questions in the test relate to real life and the only question that they all made errors on was finding 17.5% and then adding it back on because it was VAT, even though I’d given them a little clue by typing cost in capital letters. As well as marking and awarding a grade, I also make use of target stickers at the end of any assessment so that pupils’ know and recognise the standards they are aiming for and it provides feedback which helps students recognise their next steps and how to take them. Please refer to Appendix 11, for an example of a target sticker that I might use at KS3 level. I tend to provide oral feedback as well rather than relying exclusively on marking  and written feedback. I found it difficult to decide on the assessment criteria for the marking and feedback on this given piece of work (for example, whether or not presentation is to be judged). So I decided to use the target grades as a guide to developing a mark scheme, which related to the test and the results as a percentage e.g. if they achieved 70% in the test then they would be awarded a grade 6A. It was difficult to determine these boundaries because the test was quite short and partly biased because it was only testing one topic in mathematics and they had all weekend to revise. There was potential for them to score over 90% and this wouldn’t be the case in an end of term test where many topics are combined into a longer test. This is one point that could be amended to improve the quality of this assessment in the future. Ofsted outline the characteristics of assessment that promote learning, to be imbedded in a view of teaching and learning of which it is an essential part and involves sharing learning objectives and goals with pupils. I have found the task to be successful in helping me determine the level of the pupils’ attainment and progress in mathematics. I believe that frequent short tests will over a period of time improve their examination technique, which is a formative learning experience. Black and William (1998) agree that, constantly assessing demonstrates confidence that every pupil can improve; and it involves both the teachers and pupils’ reviewing and reflecting on the assessment data. Assessing Pupils Progress at Key Stage 3 is vital to tracking pupils progress over time to inform the planning of teaching matched to pupils needs and gathering diagnostic information about the strengths and areas of development of individual pupils’ and groups of pupils. Appendices APPENDIX 1 The school are determined to close the achievement gap by ensuring that any pupils at risk of underachieving are identified early and support and intervention is provided for these pupils. In particular those pupils that are on FSM or classified as LAC. The following table shows the attainment of all pupils in Year 11 including those who were ‘looked after’ or on free school meals. The brackets show the number or percentage of students on free school meals and or who are looked after. (FSM and or LAC)/ All Pupils 2011 2012 No. of pupils in Year 11 (GCSE) (7)/126 (4)/140 % gaining 5+ A*-C in both English and Maths (57)/67 (25)/68.5 % gaining 5+ A*-C English (57)/69 (50)/75 % gaining 5+ A*-C Maths (100)/83 (50)/76 APPENDIX 2 Mathematical jokes relating to the topic: Who invented fractions? Henry the 1/8th! I believe five out of four people have trouble with fractions. There are three kinds of mathematicians those who can count and those who cant. Math Magic / Number fun / Maths Tricks: Trick 1: 2s trick Step1: Think of a number. Step2: Multiply it by 3. Step3: Add 6 with the getting result. Step4: divide it by 3. Step5: Subtract it from the first number used. Answer: 2 Trick 2: Any Number Step1: Think of any number. Step2: Double the number. Step3: Add 9 with result. Step4: sub 3 with the result. Step5: Divide the result by 2. Step6: Subtract the number with the number with first number started with. Answer: 3 Trick 3: Any three digit Number Step1: Add 7 to it. Step2: Multiply the number with 2. Step3: Subtract 4 with the result. Step4: Divide the result by 2. Step5: Subtract it from the number started with. Answer: 5 I found the mathematical jokes and maths magic tricks highly effective in the sense that it settled the pupils down at the beginning of the lesson, it helped to build a good relationship with the pupils, it created a little bit of fun and something to look forward to within the lesson, which in turn lead to better behaviour and attitudes towards maths as a subject. It is also useful for practising mental maths or for improving skills like using a calculator. APPENDIX 3 Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) in Mathematics Assessing Pupils Progress is a structured approach to pupil assessment in Key Stage 3 to support teachers with: making judgements about their pupils attainment, keyed into national standards developing and refining their understanding of progression in science gathering diagnostic information about the strengths and areas of development of individual pupils and groups of pupils tracking pupils progress over time to inform the planning of teaching planning teaching that is matched to pupils needs supporting the transfer of meaningful information at key transitional points facilitating the setting of meaningful curricular targets that can be shared with pupils and parents APPENDIX 4 Marking example WWW:You understand and can write a percentage/fraction/decimal in either form in order to compare values. You can also calculate a percentage of a quantity and use this to increase or decrease a value. EBI:When calculating a percentage increase/decrease of a quantity you use the multiplier method. Your work is excellent/good/satisfactory. MRI: (response to feedback from the pupil) APPENDIX 5 Starter related to percentages Find 10% of the following: a)  £300b) $200 c) 50gd) 30p e) 45pf)  £64 g) $32h) 12g APPENDIX 6 Why Ask Questions? The following is a partial list of the questions that teacher Peggy Lynn asked during her two lessons on direct and inverse variation. As you read each question below, think about Peggys purpose in asking it. Ask yourself, Why did she ask that question? How did you come up with your estimation? When you say pattern, what kind of pattern are you referring to? And what does that + 1 on the end mean? Any questions so far? Why did you do 100 ï ¿ ½ 100? You seem pretty certain of that. Why do you think its not [a direct proportion]? So how many gallons would there be in 920,000 barrels? Could a direct variation have a negative slope? If you have zero drops, how much area should you have? What just happened there, when you doubled your volume? What about if you made the area of the base get smaller and smaller, your diameter got smaller and smaller. Whats going to happen to the height of your water? Questions in the math classroom serve a variety of purposes, from increasing student comprehension and clarifying student thinking, to aiding in social development. The following list gives many of the reasons teachers ask questions. To involve students in the lesson by letting them share ideas that provide clarification and a deeper analysis of problems Example: You seem pretty certain of that. Why do you think its not [a direct proportion]? To provide assessment of what students know to help guide  instruction Example: Why did you do 100   100? To enhance retention of important information and to provide increased understanding of the major mathematical skills and concepts. †¨Example: If you have zero drops, how much area should you have? To aid in classroom management by redirecting discussions, making sure that students comprehend directions, and checking for understanding. (Many questions in this category are not prepared in advance teachers ask them as the need arises .) †¨Example: Any questions so far? APPENDIX 7 Deploying support staff Communication Be clear and specific: dont assume that your TA knows what you want them to do. Think about how you would feel walking into a lesson and trying to decipher what to support the pupils with while listening to the teaching segment. Its hard to manage all of this at once, especially because you were on break duty and missed the first seven minutes. Not all teachers have dedicated time to share and discuss lessons with their TA. But its essential to discuss your lessons plans, expectations, focus children and so on; this will help you build a relationship with your TA and enable them to anticipate what you and the pupils will need throughout the year. Class interaction Empowering your TA to be active in lessons not only enables them to raise their profile in the classroom, but also allows you to develop an engaging environment. Involve them in lessons and build a rapport where you can bounce off each other during sessions. The teachers and teaching assistants roles are different but both are important and your TA might have more experience in the school or with children. Be sure to acknowledge this, always speak in a professional way and when there is conflict, clear the air  and address the issue. Decision-making Allowing your TA to make independent decisions that are in line with your classroom rules and behavioural strategies is very empowering. Facilitating this will help keep the class running smoothly and promotes a team approach to teaching. As well as the benefit of building a good working environment, in the event that you are out of class for NQT time, off sick or on a course, you know that your classroom systems are being sustained, giving your pupils consistency, which is particularly vital in a primary classroom. Build on your TAs strengths Ask your TA about their hobbies, experiences and what they would like to do in the classroom. This will give you a great insight into their strengths, skills and interests. Over time you will find that building on your TAs skills and strengths will enable you to get the best out of them, to the benefit of you and your pupils. Also be aware that an increasing number of TAs are graduates and have very valuable transferable skills. Feedback Everyone benefits from feedback and your TA is no different. Give them details about what works well, remain positive and give clear requests. Make sure the feedback is constructive and help your TA to see the bigger picture of what you are trying to achieve in your setting. If you would like to find out more, Maximising the impact of teaching assistants by Anthony Russell, Rob Webster and Peter Blatchford is well worth a read. Fundamentally, be conscious of planning for your support staff, it will empower them and allow you to have a greater impact on your pupils. APPENDIX 8 According to Ofsted, good assessment practice in mathematics includes: day-to-day assessment, marking and feedback, and the use of assessment to set targets. Formative assessment, or ‘assessment for learning’ is most effective when it: is embedded in the teaching and learning process   shares learning goals with pupils helps pupils to know and to recognise the standards to aim for provides feedback for pupils to identify what they should do to improve has a commitment that every pupil can improve  involves teachers and pupils reviewing pupils’ performance and progress involves pupils in self-assessment. Five key changes to marking and feedback:  decrease the use of extrinsic rewards (house credits) as a number of pupils reported negative reactions to not receiving rewards even when they had ‘done their best’ provide more oral feedback rather than relying almost exclusively on marking and/or written feedback in pupils’ books help pupils develop skills in marking and reviewing their own work and that of their peers in order to involve pupils more in marking and feedback decide on the assessment criteria for the marking and feedback on a given piece of work (for example, whether or not presentation is to be judged) be clear about whether to get pupils to correct their own work based on what purpose it will serve for a given piece of work. The most effective targets set by or for pupils are often curriculum-specific. These are: associated with a significant but manageable learning objective (e.g. simplify fractions by cancelling all common factors) discussed with p upils and expressed in a form that they can understand relatively short-term and subject to regular revision Bibliography Akin-Little, K. A., Eckert, T. L., Lovett, B. J., Little, S. G. (2004). Extrinsic reinforcement in the classroom: Bribery or best practice. School Psychology Review, 33, 344-362. Sources: Black, P., Wiliam, D. Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment, www.kcl.zc.uk/depsta/education/publications/blackbox.html Black, P., William, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 7–74. Brophy, J. (1981). Teacher praise: A functional analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51, 5-32. Burnett, P. C. (2001). Elementary students preferences for teacher praise. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 36(1), 16-23. Daly, E. J., Martens, B. K., Barnett, D., Witt, J. C., Olson, S. C. (2007). Varying intervention delivery in response to intervention: Confronting and resolving challenges with measurement, instruction, and intensity. School Psychology Review, 36, 562-581. Glickman, C.D., Gordon, S.P., Ross-Gordon, J.M. (2009).Supervisi on and instructional leadership: a developmental approach Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co. Hawkins, S. M., Heflin, L. J. (2011). Increasing secondary teachers’ behavior-specific praise using a video self-modeling and visual performance feedback intervention. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions,13(2) 97–108. Kern, L. Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 65-75. http://www.learner.org/workshops/algebra/workshop7/teaching.html#4

Graduation Speech: What is Next? -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Ad

What is graduation? Some people would say that it's proof of the freedom we will soon experience. Some say that it's the end of the best years of our lives. Some would say that it's when we're forced to grow up and become adults. Some would say that it's just another day, no different than any other day, other than the scrolls, the funny outfits and the clapping. Some go into it silent, awaiting their chance to be recognized for their victory dance. Some use stupid comparisons to describe it by saying that it's like the opening of a new door or that it's like taking another step on the never-ending ladder of life. Some praise it, some dread it. Everyone has a different opinion, but there's one thing that we all agree on. There's one question on the back of all our minds that we worry about every time we think about this night. And that question is: What's next? There are a thousand things that can be compared to graduation, and some of them may be pretty accurate, but none of them can come close to the reality of what graduation really is. Graduation can't be described in words, other than it's an event 12 years in the making. We've waited 12 years, move than half our lives, to stand on a stage with a funny hat and robe, which if I'd see someone walking down the street wearing I'd throw something at them. But it's just really hard to think about. Twelve of our 18 years on this planet have been spend working towards this single night. From the building blocks in kindergarten, to kick and wallball in fourth and fifth grade. From standing in circles putting your arm around your girlfriend's waist in seventh and eighth grades, to pulling an all-nighter in Abbot's class in eleventh grade. It all prepares us. Now, the people I k... ...e questions that's on all of our minds: What is next? Well, what's next is up to us. It's up to us to accomplish those goals we set for ourselves. It's up to us to decide whether we'll choose stagnation or generativity. It's up to us to accept the reality of seriousness and the beauty that can be derived from it. And it's up to us to remember these past 12 years and move on to bigger and better things while at the same time remembering the experiences we've had with our friends and family, because these times are the best years of our lives. Everything else is just a remix. These times are the foundation of our lives, and just like a house is built up from the foundation, our lives will be built up from these past 12 years. I just made a corny graduation analogy, but I don't care. The feelings in this room tonight can't be put into words, but they can be remembered.

Writting tips

Your response papers are, as the phrase suggests, Individual affairs. What I want, above all, Is your personal response to the readings, and to the questions Vive posed in the accompanying guidelines. In evaluating your papers, above all we consider their content: how well you address the thoughts and arguments presented by these documents, and the quality of ideas you express. That said, please consider these papers exercises in formal writing. That means you deed to adhere to the principles and rules of American English grammar and spelling.Yes, we will hold your feet to the fire on these matters. A few tips follow, addressing problems that arose In the first batch of papers: 1) Keep your tenses straight. Few trials In life are so agonizing as working through a paragraph In which tenses shift, like a wayward eye, from present to past and back again. When you are writing about the past, stay in past tense. The exception to this comes when you find yourself interpreting historical te xts (as you will do in these papers); in this case it is perfectly fine, indeed desirable, to write in the present.Think of it this way: use present tense when dealing with text, past tense when dealing with historical context. For example: â€Å"In this passage, Discusses argues that history is not simply the stories people tell. His approach contrasted sharply with that of Herodotus, who in his account of the Persian Wars mainly collected and retold stories already In circulation. † 2) Avoid unnecessary capitalization. High-flying concepts, such as State, Religion, or Monarchy, need not – should not! – be capitalized.They did that sort of thing back In the seventeenth century, but nowadays we use lower case for just about everything save proper nouns and titles. By the way, â€Å"Bible† should be capitalized, as it is the title of a work; â€Å"God† is likewise capitalized when used in a monotheistic context, as it is considered a proper noun. Bu t more generic usage, as when referring to the gods of polytheistic systems, for example, takes lower case – e. G. , â€Å"Thro was the Norse god of thunder. † 3) Do not use inverted commas (‘†¦ ‘) with quotations, except when you have to place a quote inside a quote († ‘†¦Do learn the difference between American and British usage In respect to quoted passages (Including the placement of periods and commas). In short: American usage requires that periods and commas be placed Inside the quotation marks (though semi-colons are placed outside). Use a pronoun, double-check to make sure you have established a clear precedent. Too often, pronouns show up unannounced in your papers, and it's only polite to have first made introductions. Whenever you use â€Å"it† or â€Å"they' or even â€Å"this,† make sure you've already provided a solid point of reference.The second issue concerns he use of â€Å"they,† â€Å"theirâ €  etc. As the pronoun for words such as â€Å"anyone,† â€Å"everyone,† and â€Å"somebody' – words that otherwise are treated as singular (e. G. â€Å"everyone in this class is crazy,† not â€Å"everyone are crazy. â€Å") Presumably this is because the old default option, â€Å"he,† is nowadays seen as disagreeably male-oriented. I agree that we shouldn't use â€Å"he,† â€Å"him,† â€Å"his† when the reference is not gender-specific. But this problem can usually be finessed with a little rewriting. For example, try using a plural antecedent – â€Å"persons,† â€Å"people† etc. – when you foresee using â€Å"they,† â€Å"their† etc. s he pronoun to follow. 5) Semi-colons can be very useful, but only when properly employed. As a rule, there are two permissible uses. One occurs when you have two grammatically self-standing phrases, but one leans on the other insofar in meaning (t hat is, one statement is derivative of or supplementary to the other). If the phrase is not-self sufficient, if it is grammatically dependent upon the other, then use a simple comma. The second use for semi-colons arises when you string together a long and complex list of things, and need help in keeping your sequencing clear.In this situation, the mi-colon serves as a kind of super-comma. 6) Finally, pay attention to paragraph organization. Introduce your paragraphs with a strong lead sentence – something that indicates the content of what will follow. When, three, four or more sentences down the page, you've finished with that particular point, make way for a paragraph break (and a new, helpful lead sentence). Your readers will thank for making your train of thought more clear. Even more, your writing will benefit from the ways in which paragraph organization forces you to collect your thoughts and organize them more clearly.

The Evil Sides of Esteban Trueba – A commentary on Allendes The House of Spirits pages 65-67

n this particular passage from pages 65-67 of Isabela Allendes book The House of Spirits, Allende presents Esteban Truebas dark sides of his character. She does this by showing the reader what Trueba did but she also presents her views on the society that he lives in, Chile, the early 1900's. In this passage, the author tries to reveal how Esteban Trueba is evil in his actions towards other people. Allende speaks about Trueba as a representative of the whole wealthy male society in that time. She tries to emphasize how the thoughts of the people in that time evolved around politics, family matters and society. In the first part of the passage Allende talks about how the protagonist (Trueba) took care of his family. He did actually support his family financially but, the author emphasizes that he didn't bother too see them and using a flashback she mentions his explanation on why he couldn't visit his dying mother, â€Å"He was so busy in the fields, (†¦ ) that he had no time to waste at the bedside of an invalid†(65). Saying that about his own mother doesn't really make the reader feel sympathy for Trueba. Allende shows Trueba's dark sides by writing about his rapes and that he didn't confess to anyone about that the many children are his, his children. Allende comments on this by using a very negative tone, â€Å"It was better to think that they were not†(66). This wasn't all that the author mentioned about Trueba's sins concerning his rapes, she further mentions how Trueba threw the poor women out, †he would send her flying with his wip†(66). The author shows that Trueba only respected the people in his own class, by using a euphemism, she mentions Truebas opinion that if everyone would be born with the same rights then, â€Å"everybody would go to hell and civilization would be thrown back to the Stone Age†(66). Allende shows Truebas quest to marry a women of high status, â€Å"when he was ready to have children he would find a women of his own class†(66). This actually shows that Trueba would do everything to achieve his goal, to become rich, wealthy and highly ranked in the society, he would even marry a woman just because of her high status in the society and big wealth. Both these quotes show also how Allende presents Trueba full of disgust towards poorer people although he had belonged to the lower part of society for a big part of his life. Allende tries to show the reader how evil and selfish Trueba is by mentioning his comments on Niveas fight for woman rights, â€Å"That woman is sick in the head†. To further get Trueba viewed as a evil man, Allende shows Trueba's bad sides of his character by presenting his sarcastic views on women's rights, â€Å"If women don't know that two and two are four, how are they going to be able to handle a scalpel? (67). This quote shows that Trueba doesn't joke when he puts the woman down, he just is a man with no respect or imagination to the woman suffering during that time. The author uses a hyperbole when she mentions Truebas exaggeration on women's pleads, â€Å"At the rate they're going, the next thing you know they'll be asking to be deputies, judges-even President of the Republic! â€Å"(67). She clearly shows how Trueba is pessimistic to any changes in society and intolerant towards woman. By making comments like, â€Å"It would go against the nature†(67), Allende shows Trueba's hubris which will lead him to a misery later on in the book. She also shows how one-way minded Trueba is by saying that and the reader can clearly see that Allende tries to present Trueba as intolerant as possible. She clearly marks the point that Trueba isn't a happy man, he is rotten from inside and that people with the kind of view on society similar to Trueba's are bad. Allende shows that Trueba isn't a happy man, he does everything to achieve his economical goal, but that he never finds peace in his soul. In this passage, Allende really shows us Trueba's neagaitve views on the society. While the author shows all these dark sides of Trueba's character, she also makes one thing relevant, Trueba's harsh involvement in politics later in his life. She foreshadows this by using the quote, â€Å"What these cases really need is a strong hand†(67). One might wonder how a one-way-minded man like Esteban Trueba is going join the ruling part of society and still be able to stay in power? That does for sure not work in a â€Å"democratic country†. It's up to Trueba to be able to controll his evil sides and bad habits and still live a successful life, both politically and privately. In this passage Allende presented Trueba as not only an evil man but also as an intolerant, ignorant and selfish character. She did this by talking a lot about his bad relations with his family, his many rapes and also his narrow-minded views on the society involving woman rights. The author also expresses Trueba not only in his character but as an representative of the whole upper-class male society of that times.

Hamlet Study Guide, Act III Essays - Characters In Hamlet

Hamlet Study Guide, Act III Essays - Characters In Hamlet Hamlet Study Guide, Act III You do not need to write out any answers to these questions.. However, they may help you to identify information to review for the quiz. III.i 1.What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and queen about their success with Hamlet? 2.What plan do the king and Polonius devise to test whether or not the cause of Hamlets conduct is love for Ophelia? 3.Explain the contents of Polonius lines We are oft to blame in this Tis too much proved, that with devotions visage / and pious action we do sugar oer / The devil himself. 4.What effect does this comment have on the king? 5.In the famous To be or not to be soliloquy what is it that Hamlet concludes? 6.Why does Hamlet assume madness in his interview with Ophelia and speak so harshly to her? 7.What advice does Hamlet give Ophelia? 8.Explain lines beginning I say, we will have no more marriages 9.What is the tone of Ophelias soliloquy? 10. What does the king infer from Hamlets soliloquy and his words to Ophelia? 11. Why does the king fear Hamlet? 12. What suggestion does Polonius make? III.ii 1.What does Hamlet say the mission of the drama is? 2.Why does Hamlet speak to Horatio in the manner in which he does? 3.What is the dramatic purpose of his speech? 4.What does Hamlet say to Horatio about the play and his purpose in presenting it? 5.What change is there in Hamlet after the king, queen, Polonius and Ophelia have entered? 6.What puns does Hamlet make in speaking to Polonius? 7.What is the plot of the play which is presented before the king and queen? 8.What is meant by dumb-show? 9.What effect does the play have upon the king? 10.What point in the play within a play has been reached when Claudius reacts? 11.When all have left except Hamlet and Horatio, how does the former act? 12.Do Hamlet and Horatio now accept entirely without any reservations the message of the ghost? 13.What request from the queen does Rosencrantz bring? 14.What metaphorical comparison does Hamlet make between Guildenstern and a players pipe? 15.Of what does Hamlet charge Guildenstern? 16.What is the emphasis of Hamlets soliloquy at the close of this scene? 17.What has been accomplished dramatically in this scene? III.iii. 1.In his soliloquy, what does the king reveal of the murder; what of his mental, moral condition? 2.What are Hamlets reasons for not killing the king when he finds him alone, praying? Why is this terribly ironic? III.iv. 1. Whom does Hamlet kill? Who did he think it was at first? 2. Why does Shakespeare cause Hamlet to kill at this time? 3.How does Hamlet chide his mother? 4.What description does he give her of her first husband? 5.Why does the ghost come? 6.Why does Gertrude think Hamlets words and conduct indicate insanity? 7.What appeal does Hamlet make to his mother to reform? 8.What does Hamlet say to his mother concerning himself and his words to her? 9.What does Hamlet say about his journey to England? 10. What does he say about his purpose to circumvent the plot of the king?

Rhetorical Questions for English Learners

Rhetorical Questions for English Learners Rhetorical questions can be defined as questions that are not really meant to be answered. Rather, rhetorical questions are asked in order to make a point about a situation or to point out something for consideration. This is a very different usage than yes/no questions or information questions. Lets quickly review these two basic types before moving on to rhetorical questions. Yes/No questions are used to quickly get an answer to a simple question.  They are usually answered with the short response using only the auxiliary verb. For example: Would you like to come with us tonight?Yes, I would. Did you understand the question?No, I didnt. Are they watching TV at the moment?Yes, they are. Information questions are asked using the following question words: WhereWhatWhen / What timeWhichWhyHow many / much / often / far / etc. Information questions are answered in full sentences. For example: Where do you live?I live in Portland, Oregon. What time does the movie start?The movie starts at 7:30. How far is it to the next gas station?The next gas station is in 20 miles. Rhetorical Questions for the Big Questions in Life Rhetorical questions pose a question that is intended to make people think. For example, a conversation might begin with: What do you want to do in life? Thats a question we all need to answer, but its not easy... How much time does it take to become successful? Thats an easy question. It takes a lot of time! Lets take a look at what success requires so that we can get a better understanding.   Where do you want to be in 15 years? Thats a question that everyone should take seriously no matter how old they are. Rhetorical Questions to Draw Attention Rhetorical questions are also used to point to something important and often have an implied meaning. In other words, the person who poses the question is not looking for an answer ​but wants to make a statement. Here are some examples: Do you know what time it is? - MEANING: Its late.Who is my favorite person in the world? - MEANING: You are my favorite person.Wheres my homework? - MEANING: I expected you to turn in the homework today.What does it matter? - MEANING: It doesnt matter. Rhetorical Questions to Point Out a Bad Situation Rhetorical questions are also often used to complain about a bad situation. Once again, the actual meaning of the quite different than the rhetorical question. Here are some examples: What can she do about that teacher? - MEANING: She cant do anything. Unfortunately, the teacher isnt very helpful.Where am I going to find help this late in the day? - MEANING: Im not going to find help this late in the day.Do you think Im rich? - MEANING: Im not rich, dont ask me for money. Rhetorical Questions to Express a Bad Mood Rhetorical questions are often used to express a bad mood, even depression. For example: Why should I try to get that job? - MEANING: Ill never get that job!Whats the point in trying? - MEANING: Im depressed and I dont want to make an effort.Where did I go wrong? - MEANING: I dont understand why Im having so many difficulties lately. Negative Yes/No Rhetorical Questions to Point to a Positive Negative rhetorical questions are used to suggest that a situation is actually positive. Here are some examples: Havent you had enough awards this year? - MEANING: Youve won a lot of awards. Congratulations!Didnt I help you on your last exam?  - MEANING: I helped you on your last exam.Wont he be excited to see you? - MEANING: He will be very excited to see you. Hopefully this short guide to rhetorical questions has answered any questions you may have on how and why we use them. There are other types such as question tags to confirm information and indirect questions to be more polite.