ACT Exam Time Management Handing in the Test Early

SAT / ACT Exam Time Management Handing in the Test Early SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips I recently received a question from one of my students that I believe highlights a very common mistake: "I find that on some sections I finish early and close the section ahead of time – does this mean I'm doing well on those sections?" Here, I'll break down why this sometimes happens, and what it means for you. Isn't Getting Done First a Great Thing? Many students are used to high school exams where the genius in the class finishes ahead of time and hands in the test early. These students then get the idea that handing in the test early is a sign of genius, and strive for the same on the ACT / SAT. But it turns out that closing a section early is almost always a huge mistake on the ACT / SAT due to time management. Read on to find out why. Why Finishing Early is a Huge Mistake The SAT / ACT are time-pressure tests. This means the creators of the tests on purpose give you much less time than you need to feel no time pressure on the tests. Few, if any, students are smart enough to really finish early. I personally received perfect scores on the SAT and know dozens of classmates who got perfect ACT / SAT scores, some of who are genius mathematicians, and none of these people ever finished early. Time is gold on the test, and you canalwaysconvert time to a higher expected score on these tests (I'll show you how). If you accept this, then it's obvious you shouldn't be handing in the test early: are you getting a perfect score in that section you're handing in early? If not, why aren't you using the techniques below to convert that extra time to a higher score? How to Convert Time To Score Okay, you're handing in your math section early, yet you're far from getting a 800. How do you convert that extra time into a higher score? Strategy #1: Have pacing checkpoints. Finishing early should never take you by surprise. You should be glancing at your watch every 5 minutes, and seeing whether you're "too ahead" or "too behind" in your section. Finishing early means you're "too ahead" – you'll realize this halfway through the section. In this case, slow down on the problems. Employ strategies that trade off time for points: read each question twice, write more neatly, think more about each question, double check your answer. This class of strategies "burns" your free time and harnesses it into extra points! Strategy #2: Double check each problem. Okay, say you employed the strategy above, and still have a few minutes left at the end. What do you do? Go back and check your problems. I don't mean glancing at them and mechanically saying to yourself "okay, yeah, that was right," but actually redoing the problem a different way. A very helpful trick is to actually mark "questionable problems" with a star while you're doing the test the first time around. Questionable problems are those you aren't sure about but don't want to waste time on the first time through. When you have time the second time around, go to the starred problems first. Oh, and what do you do if you finish a second check? Hand it in early? Nope, check it a third time. Take it from me – there are countless times I've found one serious mistake on a second or third check-through. That's 20-40 points right there, on a single section! To conclude, never hand in your test early. Manage your time during the first run-through so you never have too much time in the end. If you still end with too much time, check it over again! If you liked this article, you might enjoy: Why you need to prepare for the SAT / ACT How to get a perfect ACT / SAT score Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

How to Write a Short Story 9 Steps from a Best Selling Author

How to Write a Short Story 9 Steps from a Best Selling Author How to Write a Short Story That Captivates Your Reader Why? Because it reveals many of the obstacles, dilemmas, and questions you’ll face when creating fiction of any length. If you find these things knotty in a short story, imagine how profound they would be in a book-length tale. Most writers need to get a quarter million clichà ©s out of their systems before they hope to sell something. And they need to learn the difference between imitating their favorite writers and emulating their best techniques. Mastering even a few of the elements of fiction while learning the craft will prove to be quick wins for you as you gain momentum as a writer. I don’t mean to imply that learning how to write a short story is easier than learning how to write a novel- only that as a neophyte you might find the process more manageable in smaller bites. So let’s start at the beginning. Need help fine-tuning your writing?Click here to download my free self-editing checklist. What Is a Short Story? Don’t make the mistake of referring to short nonfiction articles as short stories. In the publishing world, short story always refers to fiction. And short stories come varying shapes and sizes: Traditional: 1,500-5000 words Flash Fiction: 500-1,000 words Micro Fiction: 5 to 350 words Is there really a market for a short story of 5,000 words (roughly 20 double-spaced manuscript pages)? Some publications and contests accept entries that long, but it’s easier and more common to sell a short story in the 1,500- to 3,000-word range. And on the other end of the spectrum, you may wonder if I’m serious about short stories of fewer than 10 words (Micro Fiction). Well, sort of. They are really more gimmicks, but they exist. The most famous was Ernest Hemingway’s response to a bet that he couldn’t write fiction that short. He wrote: For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. That implied a vast backstory and deep emotion. Writing a compelling short story is an art, despite that they are so much more concise than novels. Which is why I created this complete guide: 9 Steps to Writing a Great Short Story Read as Many Great Short Stories as You Can Find Aim for the Heart Narrow Your Scope Make Your Title Sing Use the Classic Story Structure Suggest Backstory, Dont Elaborate When in Doubt, Leave it Out Ensure a Satisfying Ending Cut Like Your Storys Life Depends on It Step 1. Read as Many Great Short Stories as You Can Find Read hundreds of them- especially the classics. You learn this genre by familiarizing yourself with the best. See yourself as an apprentice. Watch, evaluate, analyze the experts, then try to emulate their work. Soon you’ll learn enough about how to write a short story that you can start developing your own style. A lot of the skills you need can be learned through osmosis. Where to start? Read Bret Lott, a modern-day master. (He chose one of my short stories for one of his collections.) Reading two or three dozen short stories should give you an idea of their structure and style. That should spur you to try one of your own while continuing to read dozens more. Remember, you won’t likely start with something sensational, but what you’ve learned through your reading- as well as what you’ll learn from your own writing- should give you confidence. You’ll be on your way. Step 2. Aim for the Heart The most effective short stories evoke deep emotions in the reader. What will move them? The same things that probably move you: Love Redemption Justice Freedom Heroic sacrifice What else? Step 3. Narrow Your Scope It should go without saying that there’s a drastic difference between a 450-page, 100,000-word novel and a 10-page, 2000-word short story. One can accommodate an epic sweep of a story and cover decades with an extensive cast of characters. The other must pack an emotional wallop and tell a compelling story with a beginning, a middle, and an end- with about 2% of the number of words. Naturally, that dramatically restricts your number of characters, scenes, and even plot points. The best short stories usually encompass only a short slice of the main character’s life- often only one scene or incident that must also bear the weight of your Deeper Question, your theme or what it is you’re really trying to say. Tightening Tips If your main character needs a cohort or a sounding board, don’t give her two. Combine characters where you can. Avoid long blocks of description; rather, write just enough to trigger the theater of your reader’s mind. Eliminate scenes that merely get your characters from one place to another. The reader doesn’t care how they got there, so you can simply write: Late that afternoon, Jim met Sharon at a coffee shop†¦ Your goal is to get to a resounding ending by portraying a poignant incident that tell a story in itself and represents a bigger picture. Step 4. Make Your Title Sing Work hard on what to call your short story. Yes, it might get changed by editors, but it must grab their attention first. They’ll want it to stand out to readers among a wide range of competing stories, and so do you. Step 5. Use the Classic Story Structure Once your title has pulled the reader in, how do you hold his interest? As you might imagine, this is as crucial in a short story as it is in a novel. So use the same basic approach: Plunge your character into terrible trouble from the get-go. Of course, terrible trouble means something different for different genres. In a thriller, your character might find himself in physical danger, a life or death situation. In a love story, the trouble might be emotional, a heroine torn between two lovers. In a mystery, your main character might witness a crime, and then be accused of it. Don’t waste time setting up the story. Get on with it. Tell your reader just enough to make her care about your main character, then get to the the problem, the quest, the challenge, the danger- whatever it is that drives your story. Step 6. Suggest Backstory, Don’t Elaborate You don’t have the space or time to flash back or cover a character’s entire backstory. Rather than recite how a Frenchman got to America, merely mention the accent he had hoped to leave behind when he emigrated to the U.S. from Paris. Don’t spend a paragraph describing a winter morning. Layer that bit of sensory detail into the narrativeby showing your character covering her face with her scarf against the frigid wind. Step 7. When in Doubt, Leave it Out Short stories are, by definition, short. Every sentence must count. If even one word seems extraneous, it has to go. Step 8. Ensure a Satisfying Ending This is a must. Bring down the curtain with a satisfying thud. In a short story this can often be accomplished quickly, as long as it resounds with the reader and makes her nod. It can’t seem forced or contrived or feel as if the story has ended too soon. In a modern day version of the Prodigal Son, a character calls from a taxi and leaves a message that if he’s allowed to come home, his father should leave the front porch light on. Otherwise, he’ll understand and just move on. The rest of the story is him telling the cabbie how deeply his life choices have hurt his family. The story ends with the taxi pulling into view of his childhood home, only to find not only the porch light on, but also every light in the house and more out in the yard. That ending needed no elaboration. We don’t even need to be shown the reunion, the embrace, the tears, the talk. The lights say it all. Step 9. Cut Like Your Story’s Life Depends on It Because it does. When you’ve finished your story, the real work has just begun. It’s time for you to become a ferocious self-editor. Once you’re happy with the flow of the story, every other element should be examined for perfection: spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence construction, word choice, elimination of clichà ©s, redundancies, you name it. Also, pour over the manuscript looking for ways to engage your reader’s senses and emotions. All writing is rewriting. And remember, tightening nearly always adds power. Omit needless words. Examples: She shrugged her shoulders. He blinked his eyes. Jim walked in through the open door and sat down in a chair. The crowd clapped their hands and stomped their feet. Learn to tighten and give yourself the best chance to write short stories that captivate your reader. Where to Sell Your Short Stories Need help fine-tuning your writing?Click here to download my free self-editing checklist. 1. Contests Writing contests are great because the winners usually get published in either a magazine or online- which means instant visibility for your name. Many pay cash prizes up to $5,000. But even those that don’t offer cash give you awards that lend credibility to your next short story pitch. 2. Genre-Specific Periodicals Such publications cater to audiences who love stories written in their particular literary category. If you can score with one of these, the editor will likely come back to you for more. Any time you can work with an editor, you’re developing a skill that will well serve your writing. 3. Popular Magazines Plenty of print and online magazines still buy and publish short stories. A few examples: The Atlantic Harper’s Magazine Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine The New Yorker Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Woman’s World 4. Literary Magazines While, admittedly, this market calls for a more intellectual than mass market approach to writing, getting published in one is still a win. Here’s a list of literary magazine short story markets. 5. Short Story Books Yes, some publishers still publish these. They might consist entirely of short stories from one author, or they might contain the work of several, but usually tied together by theme. Regardless which style you’re interested in, remember that while each story should fit the whole, it must also work on its own, complete and satisfying in itself. What’s Your Short Story Idea? You’ll know yours has potential when you can distill its idea to a single sentence. You’ll find that this will keep you on track during the writing stage. Here’s mine for a piece I titled Midnight Clear(which became a movie starring Stephen Baldwin): An estranged son visits his lonely mother on Christmas Eve before his planned suicide, unaware she is planning the same, and the encounter gives them each reasons to go on. Need help fine-tuning your writing?Click here to download my free self-editing checklist. In the comments below, write the one-sentence essence of your short story.

Autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Autism - Essay Example It is because of these reasons that autism has been deemed as one of the most complex and difficult developmental disorders with which families might have to deal with and family members of such children are often perceived to experience negative psychological effects (Gupta & Singhal, 2005). Dealing with traumatic events that are outside one’s control is one of the biggest challenges of life. With no possibility of lessening or eradicating the causes of stress, such circumstances require tactics where one transforms the self to fit the situation. It is important to understand the ways in which families deal with such circumstances as these are essential to cognitive paradigms of stress and coping frequently applied to families of children with disorders. Interventions concentrating on parents’ coping mechanisms have revealed encouraging results. These treatments utilize concepts from stress and coping paradigms to enhance parent education in problem solving and decisio n-making, communicative abilities, ability to contact and make use of social networks, and coping mechanisms such as encouraging self-statements, self-praise and relaxation (Gupta & Singhal 2005). A number of factors effect families’ experience of having a young individual with certain mental, emotional or physical disability and it is significant to keep in mind the distinctive requirements of each family, when deciding on the type of support being provided. Various factors such as cultural values of the family, socio-economic status, level of the disability, and amount of social support, type of family structure, and geographic location are significant when formulating and applying effective treatment programmes. All or any of these factors can improve or restrict the success of a treatment and emphasize the need for individualization. Thus the amount and kind of programs should be according to the needs of the individual family unit (Gupta & Singhal 2005). Research suggest s that the number of children being red-flagged with autism is increasing. This increase might be to some extent due to enhanced assessment techniques or better knowledge of autism and other developmental disorders and of behaviours of autistic children. This disturbing increase in the number of children evidently requires for added facilities to fulfil the needs of these children and their families (Barnard, et al. 2002). From the developmental systems perspective, children are members of numerous social networks. These networks are created and are implemented by socio-cultural beliefs. Vygotsky, in relation to people with developmental disorders, suggested that the various aspects of development are quite similar in people with mental retardation and other disorders. He deemed working together as vital for the growth of improved psychological processes, and highlighted the significance of children working together in different groups (Vygotsky, 1993). Active participation of paren ts in the treatment programmes is increasing in the contemporary world. This involvement of parents has proven to be successful in educating parents to teach a number of skills to their children, especially play and communication skills. Increasing participation of parents during this stage, by giving extra information and incorporating them in