How to Get a Perfect 12 on the ACT Writing Essay

How to Get a Perfect 12 on the ACT Writing Essay SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There is no part of the ACT more mysterious to students than the essay, and very few people seem to know what exactly the ACT is looking for in a "perfect" essay (particularly since September 2015 was the new ACT Writing test's debut). Luckily, we've got the expertise to give you some insight into how the essay works and what you can do to push your score those extra few points up the scale. Whether you're trying to impress your dream school or just want to boost your ACT score, the essay is a great thing to work on. Some of the tips below stand alone, while others are part of larger categories that have been assembled based our ACT expertise. Important: If you haven't read these two other ACT Writing guides before, take a minute and read them now: The ACT Writing Rubric: Analysis, Explanation, and Strategies How to Write an ACT Essay, Step by Step This will make the rest of the article make more sense. Part I: What a 12 on the ACT Essay Means If you're already scoring an 8 or above in every domain on practice (or real) ACT essays, you have a shot at completely nailing what the graders want, represented by a score of 12, with a little practice. But there's something important to remember in your quest for perfection: on the ACT essay, a 12 is not always achievable. We've got good news and bad news for those of you who are determined to know how to get a 12 on the ACT essay. The Big Secret You'll have to practice this specific essay. The perfect ACT essay is like a puzzle that happens to be in writing form- it can be mastered, but to do it well and completely every time requires a few month's practice. Knowing how to write other kinds of essays will only help you a limited amount. The Bad News Because the whole essay must be written in 40 minutes, getting a 12 requires some luck. You have to pick a thesis and think of relevant and convincing evidence to support it before you can even start writing, so a lot depends on how quickly you can decided on a point of view and relevant support for whatever the prompt happens to be. And because perfect-scoring essays are almost always at least two pages long, you won't have any time to spare. The Good News Because the essay is so formulaic, it's always possible to get at least a 10 in each domain. And, on top of this, no college worth its salt is going to base your college admission on getting those last two points on an essay you had to write in 40 minutes. The goal, really, is to show that you can write a decent essay in that time, and a 10 in each domain shows that just as well as a 12 does. Part II: The Difference Between a 10 and a 12 If we asked the ACT what the difference is between a 10 and a 12 ACT essay, they would direct us to their scoring criteria (replicated in the table below) that describes the difference between the 5 and 6 essay scores in each domain. As you may already know, a total domain score of 12 comes from two readers separately giving your essay a 6; the four domain scores are then averaged to calculate your total essay score of 12. We've marked the differences between the 5 and 6 criteria in bold. Later, we'll look at these differences in the context of a sample essay. Score of 5 (10) Score of 6 (12) Major Differences Responses at this scorepoint demonstrate well-developed skill in writing an argumentative essay. Responses at this scorepoint demonstrate effective skill in writing an argumentative essay. Ideas and Analysis The writer generates an argument that productively engages with multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument’s thesis reflects precision in thought and purpose. The argument establishes and employs a thoughtful context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. The analysis addresses implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions. The writer generates an argument that critically engages with multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument’s thesis reflects nuance and precision in thought and purpose. The argument establishes and employs an insightful context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. The analysis examines implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions. The 6 essay gives a more specific and logically precise context. The thesis and argument show a deep understanding of the issue, while the analysis not only mentions, but also inspects the complexities and implications of the issue. Development and Support Development of ideas and support for claims deepen understanding. A mostly integrated line of purposeful reasoning and illustration capably conveys the significance of the argument. Qualifications and complications enrich ideas and analysis. Development of ideas and support for claims deepen insight and broaden context. An integrated line of skillful reasoning and illustration effectively conveys the significance of the argument. Qualifications and complications enrich and bolster ideas and analysis. The 6 essays develops its ideas and support for those ideas more thoroughly and examines the implications of the ideas and support in a larger context. In addition, the complexity of the discussion for each examples strengthens the essay's argument and the analysis of the issue at hand. Organization The response exhibits a productive organizational strategy. The response is mostly unified by a controlling idea or purpose, and a logical sequencing of ideas contributes to the effectiveness of the argument. Transitions between and within paragraphs consistently clarify the relationships among ideas. The response exhibits a skillful organizational strategy. The response is unified by a controlling idea or purpose, and a logical progression of ideas increases the effectiveness of the writer’s argument. Transitions between and within paragraphs strengthen the relationships among ideas. The 6 essay is organized to enhance the logic and strength of the writer's argument, whereas the 5 essay is only organized clearly. Language Use The use of language works in service of the argument. Word choice is precise. Sentence structures are clear and varied often. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are purposeful and productive. While minor errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics may be present, they do not impede understanding. The use of language enhances the argument. Word choice is skillful and precise. Sentence structures are consistently varied and clear. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are strategic and effective. While a few minor errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics may be present, they do not impede understanding. The 6 essay is written extremely well, whereas the 5 essay is written pretty well. This means getting creative and using advanced vocabulary appropriately if you want a 6. Part III: Applying the Criteria in a Real ACT Essay Example Now we'll look at a sample essay and how it demonstrates the characteristics of the 6 essay above. First, let's look at the prompt: Intelligent Machines Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives. Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people. Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities. Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines. Now, read the ACT essay example below, and try to notice how it meets the criteria in the table above. From the simplest system of pulleys and ropes to the most complex supercomputer in the world today, machines have had (and continue to have) a profound influence on the development of humanity. Whether it is taking over monotonous, low-skill tasks or removing that messy â€Å"human† element from our day-to-day interactions, machines have answered the call to duty. The increasing prevalence of intelligent machines challenges us to change long held beliefs about our limitations and to continue forward to new and even more advanced possibilities. One common argument against the increased presence of machines in our day to day lives is that machines leach from us our basic humanity. Indeed, certain people whose only social interactions are anonymous text-based conversations with other anonymous Internet forum dwellers over computers may begin to lose basic human courtesy and empathy. This is crystal clear with a glance at the comments section of any popular news article. Yet mach ines are also capable of enhancing people’s abilities to communicate. An example of this can be found in Tod Machover’s lab at MIT, where breakthroughs in neurotechnology have made it possible for quadripalegics to manipulate text on computers with their minds. Such interactions would be impossible without the existence of intelligent machines. Therefore, I must disagree with Perspective one. Rather than losing part of our own humanity to machines, we instead make that most-essential-to-humanity of acts, communication, possible. Another school of thought (Perspective Two) argues that machines are good at how and high skill repetitive jobs, which leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. This can be seen in the human work hours that are saved daily with automated phone menus. Before intelligent machines made automatic telephone menus possible, every customer service call ate up valuable employee time. Now, menus allow callers to choose the number th at best suits their needs, routing calls to appropriate destinations without the need for human employees to waste time explaining for the hundredth time that â€Å"our business hours are 10am-6pm.† On the other hand, no mechanized system of this kind is perfect, because it can’t predict all future outcomes. In terms of automated telephone menus, this means that sometimes, no menu options are correct. While automated systems may take the burden off of human workers, it is a mistake to think that they can replace humans entirely. Why else would the last line of resort for most automated phone menus be â€Å"Dial â€Å"0† to speak to an operator/customer service representative?† Perspective Two is true, but it only goes so far. A final example will demonstrate how intelligent machines challenge longstanding ideas and push us towards new, unimagined possibilities (perspective three). At my high school, all students had to take diagnostic tests in every main subject to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, and we were then sorted into class by skill level. A truly remarkable pattern emerged as a result of this sorting: it turned out that every kid in my medium-level physics class was also a talented musician. The system that sorted us allowed us to find this underlying pattern, which changed the way our teachers taught us; we learned about mechanics through examples that were more relevant to our lives (answering questions like â€Å"how many pulleys are needed to lift a piano?†), which in turn made our classes both more enjoyable and also more effective. When before I had struggled with physics and simply assumed it was a subject I â€Å"wasn’t good at,† the intelligent, automated sorting system allowed me to discover that I could in fact understand mechanics if taught in the right way. This discovery pushed me toward previously unimagined academic possibilities. In conclusion, intelligent machines help us to mo ve forward as a species to greater heights. While machines can cause problems and may in some cases need human input to function optimally, it is how we react and adapt to the machines that is the real takeaway. This was a real essay written by me within the time limit.What do you think? Now let's look at an annotated version of this ACT essay example that points out the essay's features. What Makes This ACT Essay a 12, Rather Than an 8 or 10? Major Differences between a 5 and a 6 Essay (from table above) Sample Essay Ideas and Analysis The 6 essay gives a more specific and logically precise context. The thesis and argument show a deep understanding of the issue, while the analysis not only mentions, but also inspects the complexities and implications of the issue. The author clearly states her perspective and compares it to two other given perspectives, presenting both positive and negative aspects of the two perspectives she does not entirely agree with: "One common argument against the increased presence of machines in our day to day lives is that machines leach from us our basic humanity...Yet machines are also capable of enhancing people’s abilities to communicate." Development and Support The 6 essays develops its ideas and support for those ideas more thoroughly and examines the implications of the ideas and support in a larger context. In addition, the complexity of the discussion for each examples strengthens the essay's argument and the analysis of the issue at hand. The author gives both general statements... "Rather than losing part of our own humanity to machines, we instead make that most-essential-to-humanity of acts, communication, possible." ...and specific examples that discuss both sides of the perspectives: "...certain people whose only social interactions are anonymous text-based conversations with other anonymous Internet forum dwellers over computers may begin to lose basic human courtesy and empathy...[on the other hand,] breakthroughs in neurotechnology have made it possible for quadripalegics to manipulate text on computers with their minds." Organization The 6 essay is organized to enhance the logic and strength of the writer's argument, whereas the 5 essay is only organized clearly. The essay begins (after the introduction paragraph) by addressing opposing views and discussing their strengths and their limits. Then it goes on in paragraphs 4 to explain a final reason why intelligent machines challenge ideas about humanity and push us towards new possibilities. Language Use The 6 essay is written extremely well, whereas the 5 essay is written pretty well. This means getting creative and using advanced vocabulary appropriately if you want a 6. The "advanced" vocabulary is highlighted in blue. Sentence structure is varied, like here: "On the other hand, no mechanized system of this kind is perfect, because it can’t predict all future outcomes. In terms of automated telephone menus, this means that sometimes, no menu options are correct. While automated systems may take the burden off of human workers, it is a mistake to think that they can replace humans entirely. Why else would the last line of resort for most automated phone menus be â€Å"Dial â€Å"0† to speak to an operator/customer service representative?†" Considerations That Aren't Included in the ACT's Published Guidelines Length The essay is long enough to analyze and compare the author's perspective to other perspectives in a nuanced way (one positive example for each perspective with an addition negative example comparing the two perspectives the author disagreed to her own perspective) and include an introductory paragraph and a conclusion. While ACT, Inc. doesn't acknowledge that length is a factor in scoring ACT essays, most experts agree that it is. But length means nothing if there isn't valuable information filling the space, so long ACT essays also need to be detailed- this author uses the space to give lots of analysis of and context for her examples. Paragraph Breaks You may have noticed that the essay is broken up into multiple paragraphs (into the standard five-paragraph format, in fact). This makes the essay easier to read, especially for the ACT readers who have about two to three minutes to read (and score!) each essay. If your points can easily be split up into small parts, then it makes sense to split it up into even more paragraphs, as long as your essay's organization and logical progression remains clear. Content and Examples This essay uses a personal example, which may or may not be made up (spoiler alert: it is). But the point is that it could be made up, as can anything you use in your essay. Being able to think of examples (that are not too obviously made up) can give you a huge advantage on the ACT essay. Do's and Don'ts for a 12 ACT Essay The key to a perfect score on the ACT essay is to use every second of your time wisely. To this end, here are a few tips to avoid common time-wasters and put your energy where it will get you the most points. Do spend time: #1: Writing as much as you can without including repetitive or irrelevant information. #2: Revising the first and last paragraphs (they stand out in readers' minds). #3: Making sure you have transitions. Don't spend time: #1: Thinking of 'smart' sounding evidence- examples from your own life (or made up about your own life) are just as viable as current events, as long as you keep your example focused and concise. #2: Trying to correct every error- the grammar and spelling do not have to be perfect to score a 12 in the Language Use domain. #3: Adding as many vocabulary words as you can- you only need enough to avoid repeating the same basic words or phrases multiple times; you'll max out fancy vocab's potential at two words per paragraph. How To Practice Your Writing To Get A Perfect 12 In Each Domain Start with our list of ACT essay prompts. Create a list of evidence examples- from literature, history, or personal experience- that you can use for many or most prompt arguments. Practice first with extended time- 50 minutes- so you can get an idea of what it takes to get a top-scoring essay. Find a way to grade your essay, using the ACT Writing Rubric. If you can be objective about your writing, you can notice weak spots, especially if you ran out of time but know what to do. Otherwise, try to get help from an English teacher or a friend who's a better writer than you are. Start narrowing the time down to 40 minutes to mirror the actual test. Stay confident! The ACT essay is just like a puzzle- every time you do one, you get better at doing it. What's Next? Find out more about how to write an ACT essay with this step-by-step example. Use our analysis of the ACT Writing Rubric to learn about how your essay will be scored- and discover strategies you can use to get the score you want. Want to aim for perfection on the ACT with a 36? Read our guide on how to score a perfect ACT score, written by our resident 36 scorer. Make sure your ACT score is high enough for the schools you want to apply to. Find out how to find your ACT target score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Class Consciousness and False Consciousness as Defined by Marx

Class Consciousness and False Consciousness as Defined by Marx Class consciousness and false consciousness are concepts introduced by Karl Marx that were later expanded by social theorists who came after him. Marx wrote about the theory in his book Capital, Volume 1, and again with his frequent collaborator, Friedrich Engels, in the impassioned treatise, Manifesto of the Communist Party. Class consciousness refers to the awareness by a social or economic class of their position and interests within the structure of the economic order and social system in which they live. In contrast, false consciousness is a perception of ones relationships to social and economic systems of an individual nature, and a failure to see oneself as a part of a class with particular class interests relative to the economic order and social system. Marxs Theory of Class Consciousness According to Marxist theory, class consciousness is an awareness of ones social and/or economic class relative to others, as well as an understanding of the economic rank of the class to which you belong in the context of the larger society. In addition, class consciousness involves an understanding of the defining social and economic characteristics and collective interests of your own class within the constructs of the given socio-economic and political order. Class consciousness is a core facet of Marxs theory of class conflict, which focuses on the social, economic, and political relationships between workers and owners within a capitalist economy. The precept was developed in conjunction with his theory on how workers might overthrow the system of capitalism and then go on to create a new economic, social, and political system based on equality rather than inequality and exploitation. The Proletariat vs. the Bourgeoisie Marx believed that the capitalist system was rooted in class conflict- specifically, the economic exploitation of the proletariat (workers) by the bourgeoisie (those who owned and controlled production). He reasoned that the system only functioned as long as the workers did not recognize their unity as a class of laborers, their shared economic and political interests, and the power inherent in their numbers. Marx argued that when workers came to understand the totality of these factors, they would achieve class consciousness, and this, in turn, would lead to a workers revolution that would overthrow the exploitative system of capitalism. Hungarian social theorist Georg Lukcs, who followed in the tradition of Marxist theory, expanded the concept by saying that class consciousness is an achievement that opposes individual consciousness and results from the group struggle to see the totality of social and economic systems. The Problem of False Consciousness According to Marx, before workers developed a class consciousness they were actually living with a false consciousness. (Though Marx never used the actual term, he did develop the ideas that it encompasses.) In essence, false consciousness is the opposite of class consciousness. Individualistic rather than collective in nature, it produces a view of oneself as a single entity engaged in competition with others of ones social and economic standing, rather than as part of a group with unified experiences, struggles, and interests. According to Marx and other social theorists who followed, false consciousness was dangerous because it encouraged people to think and act in ways that were counterintuitive to their economic, social, and political self-interests. Marx saw false consciousness as a product of an unequal social system controlled by a powerful minority of elites. The false consciousness among workers, which prevented them from seeing their collective interests and power, was created by the material relations and conditions of the capitalist system, by the ideology (the dominant worldview and values) of those who control the system, and by social institutions and how they function in society. Marx cited the phenomenon of commodity fetishism- the way capitalist production frames relationships between people (workers and owners) as relationships between things (money and products)- with playing a key role in producing false consciousness among workers. He believed that commodity fetishism served to obscure the fact that relations with regard to production within a capitalist system are actually relationships between people, and that as such, they are changeable. Building on Marxs theory, Italian scholar, writer, and activist Antonio Gramsci expanded the ideological component of false consciousness by arguing that a process of cultural hegemony guided by those holding economic, social, and cultural power in society produced a common sense way of thinking that embued the status quo with legitimacy. Gramsci noted that by believing in the common sense of ones age, a person actually consents to the conditions of exploitation and domination that one experiences. This common sense- the ideology that produces false consciousness- is actually a misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the social relationships that define the economic, social, and political systems. False Consciousness in a Stratified Society An example of how cultural hegemony works to produce false consciousness- that is true both historically and today- is the belief that upward mobility is possible for all people, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, as long as they choose to dedicate themselves to education, training, and hard work. In the U.S. this belief is encapsulated in the ideal of the American Dream. Viewing society and ones place within it based on the set of assumptions derived from common sense thinking results in a perception of being an individual rather than part of a collective. Economic success and failure rest squarely on the shoulders of the individual and do not take into account the totality of the social, economic, and political systems that shape our lives. At the time Marx was writing about class consciousness, he perceived class as the relationship of people to the means of production- the owners versus the workers. While the model is still useful, we can also think about the economic stratification of our society into different classes based on income, occupation, and social status. Decades worth of demographic data reveals that the American Dream and its promise of upward mobility is largely a myth. In truth, the economic class a person is born into is the primary determinant of how he or she will fair economically as an adult. However, as long as a person believes the myth, he or she will continue to live and operate with a false consciousness. Without a class consciousness, they will fail to recognize that the stratified economic system in which theyre operating was designed to afford only the bare minimum of money to workers while funneling huge profits to the owners, executives, and financiers at the top.

Composing american Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Composing american - Essay Example The United States had recently entered into world political theater and literally revolutionized the outcome of WWI. America was no longer a small colonial settlement that once broke away from its European control; it was a nation in its own right that was now as powerful, if not more so, than the traditional Western powers. As a result, the distinct attributes of the nation spilled over into the arts and the American composers of the ‘roaring’ 1920’s ushered in an era that revolutionized the existing pattern to a more modern phase. One of the manifestations of this phenomenon was George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in 1924 which revealed the break away from the traditional composition and demonstrated the influence of a new era. Alternating between the traditional and the Modern, Gershwin introduced himself as a peer amongst the American composers of his time (Oja 646). As a self-proclaimed â€Å"man without traditions,† a statement on which Copland later agreed, Gershwin’s work established a symphonic jazz masterpiece that endures far beyond the mixed perspective of critics of the time (649). The creation of a distinct profile while still connected to Western Europe expansion was a deviation from the norm that was too much for standard critical acclaim (648). Though not entirely negative, the response was one that spawned much debate and elevated Gershwin to a level of prolific discussion, both good and bad, amongst the composing communities of the world. Contrary to what some of the critics thought, Rhapsody in Blue became an instant success and enjoyed a degree of fame that eluded other aspiring modernists. Rhapsody in Blue became so popular that it was performed with the Whiteman’s Orchestra eighty four times in the first year â€Å"and sales of the disc totaled some one million copies.† (Deena Rosenberg, 1991) It was the most opportune time or period when Rhapsody in Blue was

Blowfish Encryption Algorithm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Blowfish Encryption Algorithm - Essay Example Customers pay via credit cards for the purchased books that are delivered to them. In this scenario, any sort of security breach may inject an SQL injection or cross site scripting attack on the website can affect the business as well as customer confidence. Therefore, securing the systems as well as data communication on the web is essential to protect. This also implies to personal or customer data that is maintained and managed by the organization. For instance, E- commerce based organizations stores information of their customer related to credit card numbers, passwords, telephone numbers, address, bank details etc. It is the responsibility of the organization to protect and secure data privacy. However, there is not a single law that states how to handle customer information. For this reason, organizations sell or trade customer information with business partners and even to third parties. Likewise, sometimes the sole purpose of this personal data exchange is funds. Although, ev ery online organization has a privacy policy which states how they will handle and secure customer data but at the same time there is no verification criteria. In the following sections, we will discuss the protection of highly sensitive data by the best possible control i.e. encryption algorithms. Likewise, we will precisely discuss blowfish encryption algorithm and its integration with applications that are involved in handling customer highly sensitive data. Blowfish Encryption Algorithm As per computer desktop encyclopedia Blowfish encryption algorithm is defined as â€Å"A secret key cryptography method that uses a variable length key from 32 to 448 bits long. It uses the block cipher method, which breaks the text into 64-bit blocks before encrypting them. Written by Bruce Schneier, as a free replacement for DES or IDEA, it is considered very fast and secure† and as per network dictionary, it is defined as â€Å"Blow?sh is an encryption algorithm that can be used as a r eplacement for the DES or IDEA algorithms. It is a symmetric (that is, a secret or private key) block cipher that uses a variable-length key, from 32 bits to 448 bits, making it useful for both domestic and exportable use†. Blowfish is an encryption algorithm that was invented by Bruce Schneier in 1993 (Pachghare, n.d). It is constructed on a variable length key ranging from 32 buts to 448 bits that is considered to be perfect for both local and international use along with a solid encryption algorithm. After its recognition to be relatively solid encryption algorithm, it is gradually gaining acceptance. Some of the core features of blowfish algorithm include (Pachghare, n.d): Blowfish has a block cipher of block consisted of 64 bit The length of the key can be up to 448 bits On 32 bit microprocessor architecture, data encryption is supported at a rate of 18 clock cycles on every byte that is much quicker than DES and IDEA encryption. It is still free to use and is not patente d Memory requirements for blowfish are less than 5 kilobytes of memory. The semantics are simplified and is relatively easy to deploy. The design requirements for a blowfish encryption algorithm incorporates robust, simple to code, compact, easily modifiable and flat key space features (Anderson. n.d ). Likewise, flat key space facilitates random strings to be considered as a possible key from a required length. Moreover, it deploys data in massive byte

Research Methods Aims And Objectives In Business Business Essay

Research Methods Aims And Objectives In Business Business Essay The purpose of this Chapter is to discuss and justify the methodology used to effectively investigate the phenomenon informing the research title which is; The Impact of a company managed online community on purchase decision and brand loyalty Firstly, this chapter explains the conceptual structure of the research which will describe how the author is going to carry out the research. Then, explains research method types and methods use to retrieve the collected data by primary research. Research methodology explains the overall structure of the study. According to Croswell J (2010) methodology is the analysis of principle methods, rules and evaluation employed by a researcher. The discussion is focused on matters regarding the purpose of research, research philosophy, research approach, research strategy, data collection, data analysis, and quality standards. 3.2 Research aims and objectives The study aims seek the dimensions of an online community hosted by a company and how it affects consumers purchase decision. In addition, this study investigates how an online community can attribute to generate their brand loyalty through its own brand community. These are the objectives: To investigate a company managed online community and characteristics To identify key influencer in online purchase decision To investigate the relationship a company managed online community and consumer purchase decision To find out the relationship between a company managed online community and brand loyalty 3.3. Research Process The research process used to define the approach of the research in the study in exhaustive. In figure 3.1 research process onion describes the issue underlying the choice of data collection methods (Saunders et al. 2009). Below figure shows the overview of the researchers methodology towards this research. Figure 3.1 Research Process Onion. Source: Created by the Author, adopted from Saunders et al (2009:108) Also, figure 3.2 shows the outline of process for this research. Figure 3.2 Process of the authors research Source: Created by the Author(2010) 3.4. Purpose of research There are three different types of research, and Yin (2009) writes that these are exploratory, explanatory, and descriptive. The purpose of the research determined which one of these to use in order to be able to fulfil this purpose. Saunders et al (2009) describe exploratory research as a way to find or look for new insight or to see what is going on. They further state that it is especially good to use if the purpose of research is to increase the understanding of a problem. Gliner et al(2009) complement the characteristics of exploratory research by adding that this type of research calls for flexibility, since new information can change the direction of the research. Gliner et al(2009) conclude that descriptive research is characterized by that the problem is clear and well structured. Saunders et al (2009) writes that it is necessary to have a good picture of the problem before the data collection. The focus of an explanatory study is to find interrelations between the variables in the studied situation or problem (Saunders et al, 2009). Saunders et al (2009) also states that analysis of quantitative data can show correlations between factors which gives the researcher a picture of the relationships involved. The overall purpose of this research was to investigate the area of online communities and its influence on purchase decision and brand loyalty. The goal was to seek out if marketing in these specific media channels are more accepted among consumers, and why this is the case, in order to gain a better understanding of their effectiveness and influence. This led us to use a both exploratory and explanatory approach. In the data collection and in the analysis we explore, and in the findings and conclusions we begin to explain. 3.5 Research Philosophy The research philosophy is determined by the philosophical points of views, as there are different approaches about the way in which the knowledge is urbanized and judged as suitable. Thus, the research philosophy relates to the development of knowledge and the knowledges nature (Saunders et al, 2009). The literature suggests three main approaches in which to conduct a research process and all of them have an important part and role in business and management. These are Positivism, Realism and Phenomenology. 3.5.1 Positivism Positivism is described as the conventional way of research and it acquires a clear quantitative approach to find out phenomena as an alternative of qualitative approach (Croswell, 2009). That is also said that positivism is very important approach in natural science (Remenyi, 2002). The understanding of this idea may not be proven but the philosophy based on positivism is far more powerful than the ideas for reaching targets and achieving goals. Positivism is very important research philosophies for creating new ideas. Thus, positivistic research tries to identify the non-financial motivation techniques provided by Tesco-express. The researcher uses the idealistic approach of positivism while using a questionnaire with a group of people. 3.5.2 Realism Another approach which relates to the positivism is realism (Saunders et al, 2007). According to Kothari, (2005) Realism is the source of many ideas, belief and opinions of human. 3.5.3 Interpretive Interpretive studies presume that people produce and correlate their own subjective and inter subjective meanings as they interact with the world around them. Interpretive researchers thus attempt to understand phenomena through accessing the meanings participants assign to them (Orlikowski and Baroudi 1991). Here researcher has decided to choose a Positivism philosophy, based on the aim of the research. The reason behind choosing this approach is responses does not influence the researchers belief and the knowledge (Proctor 2006). Also Positivism is one of the strongest research philosophies for creating new ideas. In addition to this, according to Gill (2002), the importance of a highly controlled methodology facilitates replication and experimental explanation to statistical analysis. 3.6 Research Approach There are two different types of approach for research. These are deductive and inductive theories(Bryman, 08). Deductive theory represents the commonest view of the nature of the relationship between theory and social research(Bryman, 08). First, theory and the hypothesis come and drive the process of gathering data. On the other hand, inductive process involves observations first and generalise the theory after the observations. This study is a business problem, more specifically how online community hosted by a company influence its consumers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand of the consumers who use online communities as a tool of interaction. Therefore, this study needs deductive approach. 3.7 Research Method There are mainly two types of research strategies which we can choose: quantitative and qualitative. These approaches are depending upon the structure and the purpose of the study(Bryman, 2010). Quantitative research can be constructed as a research strategy which collect and analyse quantitative data. Quantitative research requires a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research, also it has incorporated the practice the natural scientific model and norms of natural scientific model and positivism approach(Bryman, 2010). A quantitative research approach used numbers ask base for the analysis instead of words like a qualitative would do. Blaxter et al(2010) adds to this explanation by describing that quantitative research uses a large-scale set of data. Qualitative research is more exploratory and focuses on smaller numbers and depth data. Qualitative data is mostly collected using conversation, and unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data, the corresponding are; structured observations, interviews and surveys, and attitude scaling. By contrast, qualitative research emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data(Bryman, 2010). Qualitative research data is collected from focus groups, in-depth interviews and observations. Qualitative research can be used to understand more deeply consumers attitudes towards purchase decision. But qualitative research is hard to analyse, and evaluate. Also, small number of target audiences cannot be represented whole population. For this research, a quantitative study is better because of the need for several different views on the questions and to decrease the factor of that different people think differently. 3.8 Research Strategy The decision of which strategy to use can be guided by the form of research question, the degree of control needed of behavioural events and if the focus is on current or historical events (Yin, 2003). The different choices of strategies available are; experiment, survey, case-study, grounded theory, ethnography and action research (Saunders et al, 2000). Experiments are commonly used in natural sciences and psychology, and are characterized by for example the introduction of planned changes on the variables in the experiment, and control of the other variables (Saunders et al, 2000). Surveys allow for the gathering of large quantities of data from a population in an economically efficient way (Saunders et al, 2000). Saunders et al (2000) also describe this method as having the advantage of that the analysis of the data will allow for easy comparison between the respondents. A case study is especially useful for gaining rich and detailed data (Saunders et al, 2000). They also state that case-studies are particularly good to use when asking how, what and why questions (ibid). Grounded theory is based on that a data collection is performed without the previous construction of a theoretical framework (Saunders et al, 2000). The initially gathered data is then used to make predictions that then are tested in the later stages of the data collection (Saunders et al, 2000). Moreover, the purpose of ethnography is defined by Saunders et al (2000) in the following way; The purpose is to interpret the social world the research subjects inhabit in the same way in which they interpret it (Saunders et al, 2000, p.95). They also state that ethnography is not commonly used in business research (ibid). Action research is however dedicated to researching the management of change, and the researcher often must participate in the setting where the change occurs. (Saunders et al, 2000). At first, action research, grounded theory, ethnography and experiments were discarded from the planning because of the mismatch between these methods and the purpose of research. After this, the search for a method with a match between the purpose of research and the characteristics of the method started. In table 2 below, these different criterions for the use of a survey are presented. 3.9 Data Collection Methods Bradley stated that the term primary data can describe information which is collected for a special purpose. On the other hand, secondary data has already collected by someone else for their purposes(Bradley, 2007). 3.9.1 Primary data When executing a quantitative method of data collection, the most common way of collecting data is through the use of questionnaires as it gives greater opportunity to gather information from a large number of respondents without a great amount of resources (Johannessen Tufte, 2007; Saunders, Lewis Thornhill, 2000). For the empirical research a self-completion questionnaire was deemed appropriate. This is because the research was conceptualised around obtaining information from, or about, a defined set of people or population; namely online community users (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe Lowe, 2002). There are generally two ways of conducting a questionnaire: through a self-completion questionnaire or a type of structured interview assisted by the interviewer. A self-completion questionnaire is, as the name suggests, a questionnaire where the respondent answers the questions themselves unassisted. This is in contrast to an interviewer assisting the questionnaire process by, for example reading the questions and marking up the responses as conducted in structured interviews (Christensen et al, 2001). As the research aims to understand online users, the internet was the natural medium in order to reach the desired target group. Therefore it was clear that the questionnaire would be designed as a self-completion questionnaire given that assisting the questionnaire process through structured interviews would be difficult to execute via the internet. 3.9.2 Secondary data Secondary data is formed of paper documents such as books, special reports, government produced records, and internet sources. Secondary data can help to combine it with other facts. Therefore, secondary data it good for enhance understanding of results and to confirm results(Bradley, 2007). Secondary data called as desk research, these can be searched from various sources any time. Therefore, this research can give time and cost beneficial to researchers. On the other hand, secondary research has limitations such as irrelevant to the research. But secondary research can gives general ideas of the research theories and can help save the time. In this research, following secondary data can be used to understand and enhance research. 3.9.1. Books My research is involved consumer behaviour, brand loyalty and online communities. Therefore, theories from literatures those books will be relevant to my study. Also those theories can gives general ideas about this research. Moreover, theories about culture also can be used to understand Korean culture. Books have many advantages, for example, books are easy to access, and easy to get information which is relevant to my study. Meanwhile, printed books are heavy and sometimes only can access old ones. But, nowadays, online books are widely disseminated. Internet technology helped to access those resources without any restriction of place. Internet books are very useful to get information easily. For my research books are important to understand the theories. Books can be found in the libraries and internet. 3.9.2. Journals Previous researches such as online communities, consumer behaviour, cosmetics, and decision making processes can be used as a literature review and as a guideline for my research. These previous researches can be found in the internet journal web sites such as ebsco host. Also, written journals can be found from the libraries. Journals have many advantages; journals include recent researches and recent information. Therefore, journals can give new ideas and new information for my research. On the other hand, some journals are not be accessed easily. Thus, there is a limitation for access. But, journals are useful for research to get recent research finding and applied theories to wide my research. 3.9.3. Online database Internet sources can be categorised as online database. Information search engines such as google, yahoo, or blogs and company web sites will be used for gathering secondary data. These secondary data will help guide my study and enhance understand the research areas. 3.9.4. Statistical database Published government database, government web sites, and the companies figures will be used for secondary data. These data will give a real figures about the industry which I will study and support my research as an evidence. 3.10 Sampling and Questionnaire design 3.10.1 Sampling Sampling is the process of taking parts form a defined population in order to examine these parts, usually with the aim of making judgements about the parts of the population that have not been investigated(Bradley, 2010). Also, it has a major advantages compare with other methods which is that it usually cost saving and time saving because, it investigate small portion of the whole population. On the other hand, the major disadvantage is that the process cannot summarise every characteristic in that given population(Bradley, 2010). This study identifies the target group of respondent which are Beautynet users. Data collected from the designed questionnaires and these questionnaires is sent to the online community users through the internet. However, the sample size of this study is limited 300 users from the online community, because of limited research time and limited analysis time. Returned questionnaire is analysed using statistical methods. Statistical methods are useful to understand the relationship and the users behaviour patterns. Therefore, this method can explain the relationship between the online community and its influence purchase decision, and the relationship between the online community and brand loyalty. 3.10.2 Questionnaire design The questionnaire was designed to collect the demographic information of the respondents covering age. Social class information includes education, occupation and income, (questions number 1, 2, 3, and 4) using multiple choice questions. According to Fisher (2007) this type of questions provides respondents with a choice of three to five options and asks them to choose one. This type of questions giving unambiguous options that is mutually exclusive. Authors also applied multiple choice questions to study the respondents purchasing behavior in questions number 5 to see the frequency of purchasing makeup products, question number 6 to see how much money they spend on buying makeup and question number 7 asking respondents about type of makeup product they buy mostly of. Lastly, Likert scales was applied to ask respondents about their opinions and attitudes and to ask them to choose a position on a five-point scale between strongly agree and strongly disagree (Fisher, 2007, pp.195-196). A Likert scale was applied to question number 8-26 to study the respondents attitude toward brands and their purchase decision. 3.11 Analysis of Data In order to analyze the data collected through the survey, the numbers were first statistically sorted to facilitate the surveys different ways of thinking, and then further analyzed to find possible significant patterns. This process of making sense of the raw data was made with the help of the statistical computer software Excel, from which we could generate different tables and diagrams. The raw data, together with an overview of the results can be found in chapter four. The analysis found in this chapter had two purposes; initially t to help the readers to understand, and secondly help us as researchers. In order to make the gathered data more clear, it was coded with the help of Excel and made fit in a spreadsheet, as suggested by Saunders et al (2009). 3.12 Quality Standards Validity and reliability are the two most important quality standards in research studies which this research aims to uphold a high standard of. Validity is concerned with how accurately a variable fits a concept, that is, through determining how accurately the instrument chosen measures the features intended to be measured (Bouma Atkinson, 1999). According to Easterby-Smith, Thorpe Lowe (2002) there are three ways of estimating validity namely (1) face validity: whether the instrument or its items are plausible; (2) convergent validity: the confirmation from comparing the instrument with other independent measurement procedures; and (3) validation by known groups: which is as suggested, comparing groups otherwise known to differ on the factor in question. The questionnaire was carefully constructed based on the models used in the research in order to achieve, as certain as possible, the intended results from the questions probed. Easterby-Smith, Thorpe Lowe (2002) recommend that tests for validity and reliability should be made at the pilot stage of an investigation, before the main phase of data collection. As such a pilot study has been conducted to ensure that the web-questionnaire is constructed to examine, as closely as possible, what it should examine. This was also initiated in order to secure that the questions would be interpreted correctly by the respondents thereby testing the validity of the questionnaire. In reality, it is not known whether all the questions were interpreted as intended, although a pilot study provides useful indications of problems in advance so that miss-interpretation can be minimised. Reliability is concerned with the stability of the research (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe Lowe, 2002). As stated by Christensen et al (2001) a study should be able to be conducted a second time by other researchers and yield the same results if it has a high reliability. Since this research had been conducted with a social constructionist approach reliability is not particularly relevant to the quality standards. This is because a social constructionist approach is interpreted by the researchers knowledge during the analysis process of the research. The personality of the researcher is also an influencing factor within the results. Therefore the research is limited in its ability to yield the same results if conducted a second time. 3.11 Research Limitations The study is conducted within the limited time. Thus, the population of the target audience is limited to a certain number. Therefore there is a limitation to understand all online community members and their attitudes. Also, this study aims to find out the online community and its impact on purchase decision and brand loyalty. Therefore, this study only focused small parts of consumer behaviour. Thus, future research should be considers include some other areas of consumer behaviour and large numbers of target audience to get more reliable data. 3.12 Conclusion The researcher has chosen the positivism philosophy for the research after given explanation of different kind of philosophy. While this research is about business problem, therefore, deductive theory has chosen to explain previous theories about business matter. Researcher has used quantitative method for the analysis of the data and the reason behind choosing is the population of Beautynet is too big to do qualitative method and quantitative method can be used to understand the target audiences behaviour patterns. Primary data has collected by survey from Beautynet users, and secondary data was collected by using the relevant books, journals, Most appropriate option for conducting the research is the descriptive type of research approach. The data collected for this research is using both questionnaire and the secondary data from the books, journals, online database, and statistical database.

Business Messages Essay

In a traditional workplace, memos are the usual form of business messages that are sent from officers to employees. With the advent of technology, the issuance of memorandums is often limited to topics of general interest, like organizational meetings or policy changes. If I were a lead engineer in Cards4U, I’d maximize the use of faster and more efficient tools to aid me in communicating with other members of the team, as well as company executives and potential customers.   That means e-mails will be the primary source of communication among the team members, since sending and receiving messages take only a few seconds to a few minutes.   E-mail communications are convenient, does not need to be too formal, and can be accessed anytime, anywhere.   The memos will be utilized to inform the CEO or customers regarding product presentations and updates. Since I’m a lead engineer in a creative design group, presentations using PowerPoint or Flash would be very useful in showcasing latest designs and innovations.   Reports are also necessary to document the progress, activities, and changes in the production department.   Face to face meetings with customers are important to establish rapport and get them to buy your designs, or get their feedback. If face-to-face meeting is not possible, conference calls can also be used.   Meeting the CEO for updates and developments would also require face-to-face encounters.   However, if the chief executive initiated conversation using e-mails, then, I should take his lead and reply using the same medium.   But if the message were sent through the more formal memorandum, then the reply would also be of that kind. More importantly, in any type of business communication that I would send, the messages should be concise, direct to the point, and professional. References Business/Professional Writing.(1995-2004). OWL at Purdue University.   Retrieved December 4, 2007, from:   http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html#business Ramsey, L. (2005). Business E-mail Messages & Professionalism.   Retrieved December 4, 2007, from, http://website101.com/email_e-mail/e-mail_business-etiquette.html Kotelnikov, V. Effective Business Communication. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/biz_communication_main.html

Want to Know More About Philosophy Essay Topics?

Want to Know More About Philosophy Essay Topics? You should intend on writing at least three distinct paragraphs for each major point. The essay needs to have a singular idea that's reflected throughout the essay. The introduction as the foremost region of the essay ought to be concise and right to the point. With our custom made essay offer, you can be certain to get any kind of essay help you're looking for. When it has to do with writing the philosophy paper, it is crucial to demonstrate each argument and claim, together with come up with viable supporting information to create the reader believe you. In so doing make certain you experience an interest in the subject and you're well equipped with the appropriate material to source for data. Although as a student, there isn't any need of producing limitation based on what you've learned recently. The structure permits the writer to learn the order where the terms ought to be discussed. Before you begin to compose your paper, you need to be able to state precisely what it is that you're attempting to show. Without the facts, your paper will lose certain elements, and you won't be in a position to find the score you had hoped for. A research paper ought to have a strong thesis that may allow it to be clear to the reader what's the focus point of the paper. In the same way as any other writing assignment, a philosophy paper can be challenging in case you don't understand how to go with this. Philosophy Essay Topics: No Longer a Mystery Philosophy essay writing gives the explanations for why the thesis ought to be accepted. In reality, if you're not finding great Philosophy essay topics to work on, we can recommend you a couple interesting Philosophy essay ideas too. Political essays are vital for the writing of research papers because they are able to give the student with a transparent insight of the area of political science. Philosophy essay writing service gives a vital input to students since they try to compose their papers by supplying essential methods for philosophy essay writing. It is essential for the writer to establish a superior branch of study within philosophy. In the procedure for philosophy essays writing, a writer ought to pay attention to several issues. He should create an essay structure to provide a blueprint of the essay. The first point to consider when selecting the introduction for a philosophy essay is to ascertain how you are going to convince your reader your thesis is accurate. In order to make a great philosophy paper, it's first essential to consider very carefully and clearly about your topic. So as to compose a brilliant academic paper in philosophy, you should earn a deep research and plunge into the subject. The philosophy of life essay examples you will find should help you choose the ideal choice for yourself. Knowledgeable writers can assist you with an assortment of topics in a huge area of studies. Below, you will find a number of the topics our writers can handle for you. Research before you begin writing your paper, you must compose a paper that's well detailed. Writing a Philosophy essay can be hard if you aren't clear concerning the topic. Next, you've got to support your thesis. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about an approaching deadline.