Essay on Energy in the United States - 869 Words

Have you ever wondering where your electricity comes from? How your car uses gasoline to run? What about how these things impact our environment or how we are going to keep producing them? As a country, we need to start looking ahead to the future and planning for what is to come. Currently, 86% of America’s energy comes from petroleum, natural gas, and coal. All of these resources will run out eventually. We need renewable energy sources that will keep producing in a clean, more efficient way for a long time. Before committing to an idea and going all the way with it, we need to compare all the different energy sources available to the U.S. and choose the one that is best for everyone. Electricity is the flow of electrons at high†¦show more content†¦The way the wind turbine works is when the wind blows, the blades on the wind mill (or turbine) are spun to run the motor that is attached to the back of the turbine. The motor transfers its energy through wires to a substation where the energy is transferred into electricity that can be useful for residential and commercial areas. The energy is then delivered through wires across the country. Wind energy is clean and renewable. The wind is never going to stop blowing; therefore, there will always be enough to keep the turbines going. While some areas may have more wind than others, there is always wind. Wind turbines do not produce any pollution or waste, making them one of the cleanest energy sources on the planet. However, environmentalists are concerned that with the increase of wind turbines, bird populations with decrease because they are getting hit by the wind turbines and dying. Because of the huge poles in the ground, turbines can cause erosion and disrupt wildlife habitats. Wind turbines are also huge; at 30 meters (100 feet) above the ground, with large spinning blades, they can be a bit of an eyesore. They are also loud and have a deep buffeting sound. But the idea is that the large wind farms will be located in the middle of nowhere so they don’t cause an issue in suburban areas. Small wind turbines may be located in backyards to feed houses directly, but these would be so small that they wouldn’t bother anyShow MoreRelatedThe United States Is An Energy Crisis1532 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States is in an energy crisis. We rely almost solely on crude oil for most of our â€Å"gasoline† needs, meaning our fuels. The issue with our current reliance on crude oil is, plainly, that it is running out. We don’t currently have enough crude oil production in the US to support our current demand, so we are forced to import oil from overseas. And, we import a lot of it. With a gas demand of roughly 134 billion gallons per year, there exists a large risk relying on a fuel that is unsustainableRead MoreThe Energy Consumed By The United States1153 Words   |  5 PagesRoughly 81% of the energy consumed in the United States in 2015 was produced by fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, and petroleum oil (EIA, â€Å"U.S. Energy Facts Explained†). A study on the consequences of coal revealed that the bur ning of coal produced over 100 million tons of solid waste, and the readying of coal to be burned creates nearly 90 million gallons of slurry, a muddy waste product, in the United States every year (Sierra Club 2011). In 2015, 2,413 petroleum oil spills were reportedRead MoreEnergy Security And The United States1553 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Introduction Energy is more than a utility that keeps the lights on in our homes or the gas in our cars; it’s a foundational resource that plays a key role in a nation’s ability to provided economic opportunity and basic services and security to its people. As such, it is imperative to a nation’s overall security that it develops/acquires access to energy, ensures energy needs are properly met and supplies are readily available, and disruptions minimized. Policy directs that the URead MoreThe Energy Consumption Of The United States1392 Words   |  6 Pageswondered how many sources for energy you use during your day? We use energy to drive our cars, heat and light our homes, and provide efficiency at our jobs. We live hectic and demanding lives and little thought is given about the types of energy resources we have used from the time we wake up to our alarm clocks to the time we lay our head down in our warm cozy bed at night. According to the Energy Information Agency, in 2012, the primary energy consumption in the United States was about 95 quadrillionRead MoreRenewable Energy : The United States Gas892 Words   |  4 PagesToday in the United States gas is at a record low on the national average being below $3 it seems like we are heading in the right direction, but looks can be deceiving. While the USA gas prices drop, other countries are fighting over our $120+ Billion average oil costs. Despite the consistent jump prices from being outrageously expensive to afford to fill up our tanks, we are still not focusing more on something that would save the American people billions a year. The solution is focusing less onRead MoreEnergy Usage Of The United States1945 Words   |  8 PagesHere in the US alone we consume nearly 6.844 Quadrillion Btu’s of energy, however most alarmingly less than 7% of our toll energy usage comes from Alternative energy resources. This leads to the edge of a dangerous presuppose as our current resources continue t o dwindle and our future grows darker each day. It is estimated that there is less than 200 years of oil left in the reserves we currently have and with the population and the demand for oil increasing each year it could be here faster thenRead MoreThe Nuclear Energy Advantage Of The United States1571 Words   |  7 PagesNuclear Energy Advantage There is often speculation surrounding Nuclear energy. There were reports that the British applied to the United States for permission to carry out their first atomic bomb in the flats of Nevada. These reports were met with much speculation due to the physical size and observable flaws in the British program . This highlights an important problem with Nuclear energy production. Many countries pursue Nuclear energy for weaponry or other status symbols. When Nuclear Energy is harnessedRead MoreThe United States Energy Industry Essay1431 Words   |  6 Pagesbecoming increasingly important. So too is the lure of the future possibility of energy independence for countries both developed and developing. In the last decade, oil and natural gas development have rapidly expanded in the United States, fundamentally reshaping domestic energy production. It is abundant both within the United States and around the world. Currently, natural gas provides 22% of the U. S. energy demands. It also emits less than half of the greenhouse gas as other fossil fuelsRead MoreThe Solution to the United States Energy Crisis849 Words   |  3 Pagespossible? As the United States’ population increases and continues to undergo economic growth, this demand for energy will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that â€Å"the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today† [1]. And while Americans only make up about 5% of the world’s population, we consume more than 20% of the world’s energy supply [2]. The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supplyRead MoreThe Effects Of Renewable Energy On The United States1550 Words   |  7 Pages Renewable Energy In the 1960’s and 1970’s a movement regarding the physical environment began, this movement focused on a few environmental issues and disasters caused directly or indirectly by pollution. As the years progressed, this movement grew into a multifaceted activist movement gaining more attention in the US, more often referred as â€Å"Environmentalism† or â€Å"Environmental Activism†. As the human race realized the physical environment is fragile and thus must be protected, scientists started

The Murder Of Skylar Neese Was A Case That Shocked The

The murder of Skylar Neese was a case that shocked the entire nation. It was a case of betrayal and heartbreak that once solved brought about more questions than it did answers and left a cloak of fear over the town and citizens of Sky City, West Virginia. July 6, 2012 was a night no one in the town would have ever imagined possible or could ever forget. Skylar Neese was just an average sixteen-year-old girl who believed she was going out for a night of fun; that quickly turned south as she was attacked and stabbed to death by her two best friends, Sheila and Rachel. They were also sixteen-year-old girls whom defied all gender norms as they crossed the line from innocent female high school students to murderers. This paper will analyze the†¦show more content†¦It has also been seen that â€Å"boys are almost five times as likely to be arrested for violent index crimes as are girls† (Britton 2011:27). This is due to the fact that females are typically considered to be too nurturing and weak to be able to commit any crimes much less murder. The case of Sheila and Rachel has proven that these are purely just misconceptions and that women can just as easily commit any sort of crime with the same efficiency as men, as proved in Britton’s theory about a new emerging â€Å"liberated female offender† (Britton 2011:28). When they murdered Skylar, there was no sense of remorse or nurturing at all. Rachel described that as they stabbed Skylar they could hear her neck making weird sounds and instead of stopping to realize what they were doing they instead continued to stab her until the sounds stopped (Ashdown 2014). In addition, prior to the murder Sheila and Rachel played a game with Skylar where they asked her which would be her preferred way to die and instead of taking one of her suggestions, such as suffocation or being shot by a gun, they chose to brutally stab her a total of ten times (Dateline 2014). This case shows that just because women are supposed to be loving and nurturing, that does not mean that they always are. Women too can just as easily turn to violence and anger as a way to resolve their problems and achieve their goals. Another common belief that this case

Wal-Mart Case Study Free Essays

In 2005, it created jobs for more than 1. 5 million people worldwide. In the United States this number is 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Wal-Mart Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now 3 million. Every year, Wall- Mart distributes 2% gross national product in US with estimated $300 billion annual sales. After nearly a half of a century, it still follows Sam Walton philosophy to provide low price for customers every day (Stank Stank, 2009). In 2006, this organization has slipped to number two after a serious problem. This case study old show these unethical issues that Wall-Mart faced many years from 2001 to 2006, including off-the-clock work. Sexual discrimination, health benefits, union, and using illegal aliens and child labor. In 2000, the main unethical of Wall-Mart shows in this case is the â€Å"off-the-clock work† that the employees were enforced working overtime In the Wall-Mart stores. From 11 states In 2001 that was pending lawsuits against Wall-Mart the number of states had Increased even 28 after one year (Satanist Satanist, 2009). The store managers had required the employee check UT their time card, while they were working at night and locked inside the stores. Many emergencies happened without any help because the managers were not around to open the door. These Wall-Mart activities show that this organization is breaking the law when enforced Its employees working more time without any payment while the managers went out earlier. Sexual discrimination Is another unethical Issue that Wall-Mart faced in 2001. In fact, the percentage of male employees who were promoted to management is less than female employees. According to Satanist and Stank (2009), there are sixty-five percent women employees of the hourly worker, but women who stand on management position Just only thirty-three percent at Wall-Mart. Some employee claimed that, Wall-Mart gave these Job opportunities to men because the men had to feed their family, whereas women Just want to make some extra money (Stank Stank, 2009). There are clearly things that Wall-Mart were not fair with women who daily worked for this organization. This activity should be considered and adjusted to fit with the new situation. Wall-Mart was blamed that provided many policies reduce cost of health care. This corporation provided the health benefit programs for its employee, but somehow many employees cannot pay or payable but less benefit. Normally, all companies In the united States spend average $ 5,646 per user for health care than the average rate (Satanist Satanist, 2009). This is considered unethical issue in Wall-Mart when this organization is largest retailer in the world. In addition, Wall- Mart has used states health benefits program to instead its own payment; it was not responsible action of a big corporation. Many employees and their family could not allow Wall-Mart’s health care program, they return to Medicaid – a state’s health care program. Marshland’s law stated that the company had to pay at least 8 percent of payroll costs per user health insurance, nor the difference amount actual pair and percentage must be passed to Marshland’s Medicaid fund (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Wall-Mart had changed its health care policy and reported increasing the percentage up to 8 percent, however, only 47. 5% employees can approach Wall-Mart’s health care insurance (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Keep the labor cost as low as possible seem tick with its philosophy â€Å"everyday low prices† because if the labor cost increase that means this philosophy would no longer right. That also was the problem that Wall- Mart faced in globalization. That is why Wall-Mart disbanded the meat department and nearly 180 other stores when the employees became unionized (Satanist Satanist, 2009). In fact, if employees become a member of a union, they would get a lot of support from this community to fight for their right benefits. However, Wall-Mart had to allow unions in protected of China government because if they not allow they old lose a lot of resources such as: material, merchandise, low labor cost, and series of suppliers, etc. Other issues at Wall-Mart stores are using illegal aliens working for the company. Although Wall-Mart knows exactly if it uses these employees they are against the law. However, Wall-Mart has continued to hire illegal aliens from the outside employment agency for cleaning. This company has agreed to charge for this issue $11 million, four times higher than normal charge by another corporation (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Wall-Mart used child labors and violated child labor laws. The result of the audit showed that Wall-Mart used employees under eighteen years old for working at night, on school hour, and more than 8 hours per day (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Not at all, this company also used child labor in the dangerous Job such as: chain saw and cardboard balers. Once again, Wall-Mart has broken the law in many states. In 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against Wall-Mart with series of violating labor laws in five countries: Swaziland, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua (Satanist Satanist, 2009). The violations include irking overtime without payment, preventing any effort to have a union, and locked in working time. The major reason that making Wall-Mart supplier broken the laws is Wall-Mart was not enforcing the company’s code of conduct with its suppliers (Satanist Satanist, 2009). After a series of unethical issues during few years, Wall- Mart shows that it is still the big company where it provided the cooperation to repair and troubleshoot its problems quickly. Wall-Mart has acknowledged its issues and step-by-step solve them making ethical decisions, changing management methods, ND charging for all people who directly impacted. In conclusion, responsibilities of the big corporation should always do the right thing, and fixes every issue ethically to making the better reputation. The discuss questions that more clearly about this case study: 1 . Are the ethical issues Wall-Mart faces really any different from other large retailers? The largest retailer faces this these ethical issues that means many target for any concern and naturally the ethical issues become a sensitive problem. In additional, Wall-Mart cannot hire its problem, because of million employees who irking on thousands of stores. Wall-Mart might be a good case study for other corporations who are facing ethical issues. 2. Wall-Mart officials have stated that they don’t feel women are interested in management positions at the company. Do you agree or disagree? I disagree with this point of Wall-Mart. Women are much more holding the key position in the company. It shows a fact that women also do the same things as much as men can do. I do not see any reason to reject the opportunity to offer the management positions of women at work. The world is changing, women as no longer Just take care their family, they also are great people in the business. . Wall-Mart is continually criticized for its health-care policy. Is this really an ethical issue? Why or why not? This is considered unethical issue in Wall-Mart because the health cares that Wall-Mart provides to their employees are not fitted with a world- class company. In additional, Wall-Mart has used states health benefits program to instead its own payme nt; it was not responsible action off big corporation. Many employees and their family could not follow Wall-Mart’s health care program, they turn to Medicaid – a state’s health care program. Billion of revenue that the company could get is based on its employee’s distribution. Pay more money for health care also kind of investment, and I guessed that the return of this is greater than the profit, including loyalty, employees’ effort, and good company’s image. 4. Should Wall-Mart be concerned about unionization of stores since allowing unionization of workers in China? The major reason the make Wall-Mart allow unionizing in China not start from its expectation. However, this is a good signal for a ewe revolution in many Wall-Mart stores worldwide. In America, if any store starts to form a union the store could face many problems from Wall-Mart managers. This would change because of no former union are not fair for United States employees. The union would keep fighting the employee’s right benefit. On the other hand, my opinion, United States government should protect the union like China government that also protects the American labors. Reference Satanist, P. A. , Satanist, S. D. (2009). Understanding business ethics (1st deed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. How to cite Wal-Mart Case Study, Free Case study samples

Wal-Mart Case Study Free Essays

In 2005, it created jobs for more than 1. 5 million people worldwide. In the United States this number is 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Wal-Mart Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now 3 million. Every year, Wall- Mart distributes 2% gross national product in US with estimated $300 billion annual sales. After nearly a half of a century, it still follows Sam Walton philosophy to provide low price for customers every day (Stank Stank, 2009). In 2006, this organization has slipped to number two after a serious problem. This case study old show these unethical issues that Wall-Mart faced many years from 2001 to 2006, including off-the-clock work. Sexual discrimination, health benefits, union, and using illegal aliens and child labor. In 2000, the main unethical of Wall-Mart shows in this case is the â€Å"off-the-clock work† that the employees were enforced working overtime In the Wall-Mart stores. From 11 states In 2001 that was pending lawsuits against Wall-Mart the number of states had Increased even 28 after one year (Satanist Satanist, 2009). The store managers had required the employee check UT their time card, while they were working at night and locked inside the stores. Many emergencies happened without any help because the managers were not around to open the door. These Wall-Mart activities show that this organization is breaking the law when enforced Its employees working more time without any payment while the managers went out earlier. Sexual discrimination Is another unethical Issue that Wall-Mart faced in 2001. In fact, the percentage of male employees who were promoted to management is less than female employees. According to Satanist and Stank (2009), there are sixty-five percent women employees of the hourly worker, but women who stand on management position Just only thirty-three percent at Wall-Mart. Some employee claimed that, Wall-Mart gave these Job opportunities to men because the men had to feed their family, whereas women Just want to make some extra money (Stank Stank, 2009). There are clearly things that Wall-Mart were not fair with women who daily worked for this organization. This activity should be considered and adjusted to fit with the new situation. Wall-Mart was blamed that provided many policies reduce cost of health care. This corporation provided the health benefit programs for its employee, but somehow many employees cannot pay or payable but less benefit. Normally, all companies In the united States spend average $ 5,646 per user for health care than the average rate (Satanist Satanist, 2009). This is considered unethical issue in Wall-Mart when this organization is largest retailer in the world. In addition, Wall- Mart has used states health benefits program to instead its own payment; it was not responsible action of a big corporation. Many employees and their family could not allow Wall-Mart’s health care program, they return to Medicaid – a state’s health care program. Marshland’s law stated that the company had to pay at least 8 percent of payroll costs per user health insurance, nor the difference amount actual pair and percentage must be passed to Marshland’s Medicaid fund (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Wall-Mart had changed its health care policy and reported increasing the percentage up to 8 percent, however, only 47. 5% employees can approach Wall-Mart’s health care insurance (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Keep the labor cost as low as possible seem tick with its philosophy â€Å"everyday low prices† because if the labor cost increase that means this philosophy would no longer right. That also was the problem that Wall- Mart faced in globalization. That is why Wall-Mart disbanded the meat department and nearly 180 other stores when the employees became unionized (Satanist Satanist, 2009). In fact, if employees become a member of a union, they would get a lot of support from this community to fight for their right benefits. However, Wall-Mart had to allow unions in protected of China government because if they not allow they old lose a lot of resources such as: material, merchandise, low labor cost, and series of suppliers, etc. Other issues at Wall-Mart stores are using illegal aliens working for the company. Although Wall-Mart knows exactly if it uses these employees they are against the law. However, Wall-Mart has continued to hire illegal aliens from the outside employment agency for cleaning. This company has agreed to charge for this issue $11 million, four times higher than normal charge by another corporation (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Wall-Mart used child labors and violated child labor laws. The result of the audit showed that Wall-Mart used employees under eighteen years old for working at night, on school hour, and more than 8 hours per day (Satanist Satanist, 2009). Not at all, this company also used child labor in the dangerous Job such as: chain saw and cardboard balers. Once again, Wall-Mart has broken the law in many states. In 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against Wall-Mart with series of violating labor laws in five countries: Swaziland, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua (Satanist Satanist, 2009). The violations include irking overtime without payment, preventing any effort to have a union, and locked in working time. The major reason that making Wall-Mart supplier broken the laws is Wall-Mart was not enforcing the company’s code of conduct with its suppliers (Satanist Satanist, 2009). After a series of unethical issues during few years, Wall- Mart shows that it is still the big company where it provided the cooperation to repair and troubleshoot its problems quickly. Wall-Mart has acknowledged its issues and step-by-step solve them making ethical decisions, changing management methods, ND charging for all people who directly impacted. In conclusion, responsibilities of the big corporation should always do the right thing, and fixes every issue ethically to making the better reputation. The discuss questions that more clearly about this case study: 1 . Are the ethical issues Wall-Mart faces really any different from other large retailers? The largest retailer faces this these ethical issues that means many target for any concern and naturally the ethical issues become a sensitive problem. In additional, Wall-Mart cannot hire its problem, because of million employees who irking on thousands of stores. Wall-Mart might be a good case study for other corporations who are facing ethical issues. 2. Wall-Mart officials have stated that they don’t feel women are interested in management positions at the company. Do you agree or disagree? I disagree with this point of Wall-Mart. Women are much more holding the key position in the company. It shows a fact that women also do the same things as much as men can do. I do not see any reason to reject the opportunity to offer the management positions of women at work. The world is changing, women as no longer Just take care their family, they also are great people in the business. . Wall-Mart is continually criticized for its health-care policy. Is this really an ethical issue? Why or why not? This is considered unethical issue in Wall-Mart because the health cares that Wall-Mart provides to their employees are not fitted with a world- class company. In additional, Wall-Mart has used states health benefits program to instead its own payme nt; it was not responsible action off big corporation. Many employees and their family could not follow Wall-Mart’s health care program, they turn to Medicaid – a state’s health care program. Billion of revenue that the company could get is based on its employee’s distribution. Pay more money for health care also kind of investment, and I guessed that the return of this is greater than the profit, including loyalty, employees’ effort, and good company’s image. 4. Should Wall-Mart be concerned about unionization of stores since allowing unionization of workers in China? The major reason the make Wall-Mart allow unionizing in China not start from its expectation. However, this is a good signal for a ewe revolution in many Wall-Mart stores worldwide. In America, if any store starts to form a union the store could face many problems from Wall-Mart managers. This would change because of no former union are not fair for United States employees. The union would keep fighting the employee’s right benefit. On the other hand, my opinion, United States government should protect the union like China government that also protects the American labors. Reference Satanist, P. A. , Satanist, S. D. (2009). Understanding business ethics (1st deed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. How to cite Wal-Mart Case Study, Free Case study samples

People Pleaser Essay Example

People Pleaser Essay Ethics And Values Assignment Monisha Chandar. B Sometimes we take exception to a decision, yet we nod in agreement, or we simply let it pass. we justify our acquiescence as keeping the peace, or knowing when to pick our battles. But something else is going on. we worry about saying no. About ruffling feathers. Or worse. So we keep mum. Or we say yes. Sometimes we hear ourself saying yes and we wish dearly that  no  would roll off our tongue, but it seems so much harder, more frightening, capable of unleashing a string of consequences that don’t bode well. Anger. Resistance. Disapproval. And now  yes  is the habit of a lifetime, the habit of our relationships, the habit of our role at work. If we always say yes, where do we put  no? Anxiety, migraines, sleeplessness, the nightly glass of wine, the cigarettes, the growing depression? Sometimes, we spend so many years accommodating – everyone – that we forget to accommodate ourself, wondering when â€Å"you† got lost in the mix. our life is filled with many good things, but something doesn’t quite fit. You  don’t quite fit. You’re not unhappy exactly, but nor would you say you’re happy. But then  no one’s  happy, right? Or so you tell yourself, seeking solace. We will write a custom essay sample on People Pleaser specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on People Pleaser specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on People Pleaser specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer But There’s absolutely nothing wrong with pleasing people, including ourselves. If we’re willing to make sacrifices for the sake of another, who are we to say that’s wrong? But the fact is, people pleasing isn’t about pleasing others, but fending off our fear of rejection. Those of us who would consider themselves people pleasers are generally individuals who feel the need to be accepted by the world around them. And not just a general acceptance, but that of each person they come in contact with. And to maintain this madness, we seek to please with abandon. Let me just start by saying that I’m one of the biggest people pleasers out there. Show me a possible moment of displeasure and I’ll jump in and fill the need as fast as I can in hopes of both harmony among those involved as well as positive feelings toward little old me. I’m not a saint by any stretch, I just have the disease to please. In the long run, we’re pleasing nobody. One of the great misconceptions among people pleasers is this idea that we’re ‘good people’ who are just trying to make everybody happy. As I stated before, it’s not so much our great concern for another human being, but our obsession with the way others may perceive us. As a result, we tend to say yes to everything and rarely stick up for ourselves. Even if someone blatantly wrongs us, we are usually the ones who absorb the hurt and then stand in the corner, fuming to ourselves. It’s not a pretty site. The fact is, when we try to please everybody, we end up pleasing nobody. Tired from the burnout that comes from the over extension of ourselves and frustrated by the fact that we keep letting others take advantage of us,  we quickly become ineffective in helping others and often times end up resenting everyone around us. Then, when we finally run into a situation where our help is truly needed, we are too depleted to help out. Also, our ability to decipher a real need from that of someone trying to take advantage of our people pleasing nature, is quite skewed. In our minds, every ‘need’ is a requirement for us to act and in time, this wears us down to worthlessness. Different people pleasers Among Us :-! Its often said that people pleasing is a  woman’s issue? Think about it. Who do you know that’s most likely to capitulate, to compromise, to self-sacrifice – even to step into the doormat role on a regular basis? Who puts everyone’s needs before her own, believing that it is the better path – or the only path? Do these behaviors begin in our homes as children? Do they find reward in the classroom, in the adolescent dating waters, and then the workplace? Are you rewarded for pleasing, but at great cost to self-esteem, and even, ultimately, earning power? Do we eventually learn to use our people pleasing behavior in ways that benefit ourselves? The typical People Pleaser is someone who lacks an internal compass to gauge the value of their own actions, â€Å"As a result, they spend their lives looking for validation from others. † The Child’s Desire for Validation What child doesn’t seek the comfort and approval of a parent? Who among us doesn’t remember wanting to please those we loved, those in authority, those we admired? â€Å"Often,  parents  will simply tell kids what to do and never encourage them to assert themselves,† he says. â€Å"When the kids obey, the parents give them conditional love. † And when parents are physically or emotionally abusive, when they are absent, when they are erratic in doling out love or approval – the seeds of people pleasing behaviors are planted early, and reinforced. Not only does the child seek validation, but avoidance of pain, or the foreboding sensation that disapproval promises dire consequences. A Society of Silent Women? Silence as tacit consent can be destructive. Compliance, as a way of life, can be demeaning. People Pleasing, taken to an extreme, undermines an ability to function independently, or to direct our lives according to  our  goals rather than those of others. Women who suffer from people pleasing behaviors may not be  literally  silent, but – and I include myself here as a recovering People Pleaser – we are silent in voicing our true expressions of self. And in acting on them. We know ourselves as the tireless team players, the volunteers who rarely (if ever) say no, the cheery jugglers who are admired by others. But we fall into bed at night depleted, feeling as though the day’s accomplishments are insufficient, even if we ticked off items on an endless list. And incidentally, as the years wear on, frequently those items only peripherally involve  us. Parent Pleasers My own bouts with people pleasing derive from early training, absorbed in childhood. I was a Parent Pleaser. My father was often away, and my mother was the textbook narcissist – an imposing, even frightening force. Pleasing her meant greater likelihood ofnot  incurring her wrath – her booming voice, her verbal lashing, or any other form of punishment for stepping out of line. And stepping out of line generally meant doing or saying whatever displeased her at a given moment. I learned the necessity of  yes –  to anything she asked. Thus, my parent pleasing was less about the carrot than the stick. I was conditioned to avoid pain, and educated as the â€Å"good girl,† occasionally garnering reward in the form of parental approval. Is People Pleasing – a Syndrome? I have spent my life in the pursuit of goals and simultaneously seeking to please those around me. Is there any crime in wanting a pleasant environment? A cooperative team? A tranquil household? I find nothing inherently wrong with a desire to please others or give pleasure. The problem arises when the scales constantly tip in favor of choices that are not in our own best interests. Or even, when behaviors are laden with motivations (conscious and otherwise) that drive us to please others in ways that are compulsive, that obscure our own needs and wants, or obliterate them altogether. Should we coin another syndrome, another personality disorder? Might we have a brave new pharmacological solution for this condition, , and a pill to miraculously restore our psychological balance of power? I suspect that’s already been done. And yet People Pleasing is not so simple, and nor is it always  a disadvantage. But taken to an extreme, the behaviors set us up for being benignly or maliciously exploited. People Pleasers are prime targets for narcissists, often gravitating toward each other, playing out subconscious scenarios that go unrecognized at the time. Pleasing Ourselves Must we toss away our people pleasing talents altogether? And they  are  talents, finely honed skills, and useful. Our most charismatic personalities are People Pleasers – successful motivational speakers, sales people, fundraisers, PTA organizers, celebrities, and politicians. There’s nothing wrong with people pleasing; in fact, there is much that is right. It is a matter of impetus and of degree. It is a matter of how you feel – about yourself, your actions, your purposeful inaction. Even for those of us who have tumbled into the trap of a lifetime of people pleasing, we can learn to transform some of these behaviors into advantages. We use them to make friends, to network professionally, to be conciliatory when it is truly required. We learn to please bosses and spouses and those in the public arena whose help we may need. The problem comes when we don’t dare to  displease. How to Stop Being a People Pleaser At a certain point, the light bulb goes on. We may think –  it’s too much, I want to find myself again, I want something for me. The People Pleaser  personality  may be one thing, but the skills are quite another. We needn’t cease pleasing people; we need to moderate our diet. Just as the narcissist might seek to curb her excessive ways. Or, the socially anxious, to interact with less fear. When it comes to people pleasing, it is not about stopping altogether; it is about awareness, and management of feelings and behaviors. My experience tells me that modifying any behavior is a slow process, a matter of practice, and determination. I continue to work at this precarious and essential balance, daily. Learning to say  yes –  to what is most important – by saying  no. Conclusion As individuals, we all have our own personal flavor. Some are sweet, some salty and others plain bitter. But as a people pleaser, because of our skill of going with the flow at all costs, we lose our flavor all together. We try to blend with every personality we come in contact with and as a result our own personality fades. What makes you, YOU, is your own blend of Yes’s and No’s. It’s our beliefs and values and preferences that give us our spice. Lose this and you lose yourself in the process. Before long, you end up forgetting what you’re all about. This can be a scary realization and one that should be harnessed to help push us out of our people pleasing ways. We need to figure out for ourselves what needs we should be addressing and then go out and address them. Stop waiting for the world to dictate our attention and start attending to the needs we were meant to address.

Mad About the Insanity Defence essays

Mad About the Insanity Defence essays Insanity, is it a game that criminals can play to get out of a death sentence, or is it actually a disease that effects certain people? Insanity has been a subject of debate for many years. The majority of people in the United States feel that there is just to great of a chance for someone to pretend they are mentally ill. Instead of having the mentally ill get the treatment they need a jury is sending them a way to spend the rest of their life behind bars or even to be executed. If someone cannot tell the difference between right and wrong then how can they be convicted of a crime if they didnt understand it was a crime? The insane need to be treated with psychiatric help and then need to be made into productive citizens. Perhaps if more of the criminally insane were treated, doctors might someday find away to stop the next Son of Sam from killing. What makes someone insane? Are they simple born like that or is it something that can happen over time? There are many different answers to this. One is that they are born mentally ill, another is brain tumors or injuries to the brain. One thing remains a fact though, that all criminals are not created equal and all punishments should not be the same. Indeed, there are countless levels of criminal activity that prove to land offenders in jail, with a percentage of those criminals committing their crimes under the duress of mental illness. These prisoners, while deserving of severe punishment, often do not have full control of their faculties. These orphans of society are often compelled by an emotional or mental imbalance that provokes them to act savagely toward their fellow human beings. One might assert the fact that what these disturbed individuals need is assisted treatment, not prison. Rafter (1997) discusses the subject of criminals being so badly abused in jails that mo st of them are killed by fellow inmates before their sentence is up. ...

Big Picture Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips

Big Picture Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Of the many question types on SAT Reading, "big picture" questions are the ones that require the most thorough comprehension of large amounts of text. You'll be asked to discuss and examine the main claim or purpose of a paragraph, passage, or even multiple passages. But how do you identify these "big picture" questions on SAT Reading? And what are the best ways to approach answering them? Below, I’ll discuss the three primary types of big picture questions you’ll encounter on the SAT, along with common ways the SAT will ask you about each. I'll also give you expert SAT Reading strategies to answer these questions, illustrated with examples from real practice questions. Secret Bunker Turn Right and My Garden_in The Big Picture by Amanda Slater, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped and rotated from original. Big Picture Questions: A Brief Intro On SAT Reading, there are three kinds of questions that require you to read large amounts of text and distill them down into answers. At PrepScholar, we call these "big picture" questions. In contrast to "little picture" questions that ask for specific details, big picture questions tend to ask about big ideas found in large chunks of text, which can be anything from a paragraph or a series of paragraphs up to an entire passage (or multiple passages, if it's a paired passage question). Learning to answer these sorts of questions will prove very useful for college or university, where professors will expect you to do exactly this with even more dense and academic writing. Type 1: Main Point, Perspective, and Author Attitude On the SAT, you'll rarely get asked questions about the main point of a passage outright like this: "The main idea of the passage is that the author..." "Over the course of the passage, the main focus shifts from..." Instead, questions are far more likely to ask you about the author’s attitude or perspective towards something discussed in the passage. Here are a few examples of ways I’ve seen these questions asked, all modified from actual SAT questions: "This passage is written from the point of view of a..." "The author's attitude toward narrative structure is best described as one of..." "Which of the following best characterizes Staffaroni's attitude toward 'today's digital technologies' (lines 42-43)?" "Which best reflects the perspective of the "narrativists" (line 42) on aleatoric music? "The authors of both passages agree that Valve’s Portal..." "With which of the following statements about the role of music in games would the author most likely agree?" In some ways, these perspective questions are just inference questions that are only focused around the point of view of the author (or narrator). What makes these questions big picture questions, rather than inference questions, is that the perspective of the author or narrator inevitably affects what is written in the whole passage. Being able to answer these kinds of perspective questions is not only important for your SAT score, but an important skill for you to have going into post-high school life: if you can figure out where someone’s coming from and what their attitude is, you can use that to inform how trustworthy you should consider their information. Type 2: Primary Purpose These questions ask what’s the point (vs. what’s a point, which would be a detail question). Is the cited text describing an issue or event? Is it trying to review, inform, prove, contradict, parody, or hypothesize? Primary purpose questions are almost always asked in this way: "The primary/main purpose of the passage(s)/paragraph/X paragraphs is to†¦" On occasion, there's a little variation in the wording: "The sixth paragraph (lines 67-68) is primarily concerned with establishing a contrast between†¦" "The passage primarily serves to " Sometimes questions asking about purpose are function questions, rather than big picture questions; which type of question it is depends on the answer choices. More specific answer choices that include information about what the point of the paragraph is indicate a big picture question, while vaguer answer choices point to questions asking about the paragraph's function (what does the paragraph do). For example, if the question was "The primary purpose of the paragraph is to†¦", answer choices like "analyze a faulty assumption" or "disparage an opposing viewpoint" would indicate this is more of a function question. If, on the other hand, the answers choices were more like "discuss findings that offer a scientific explanation for the Venus flytrap’s closing action," "describe Nawab’s various moneymaking ventures," or "convey the passage’s setting by describing a place and an object," then it would be safe to assume it is a big picture question. Type 3: Rhetorical Strategy Rhetorical strategy questions are more commonly asked about, but not limited to, paired passages. Rather than asking why something happens in the passage (an inference question), these questions ask how something happens/happened in the passage(s). In contrast to primary purpose questions, which have relatively specific answer choices (eg. "The primary purpose of this paragraph is to...explain what rhetorical strategy questions are"), rhetorical strategy questions sometimes require generalization. Like the answers to primary purpose questions, however, the answers to rhetorical strategy questions are usually in the form of "verb a noun" (or more often, "verbs an X of Y," as in "explaining the appeal of a discredited tradition"). Abstract answer choices can be tricky, because they can require some degree of analogy/inference skill (you have to take the answer choices and see if they apply to the passage). How do you get around this? Answer the question in your own words first, then see which answer aligns with yours (we’ll show an example later on). Here are some examples of questions you might be asked that fall into the rhetorical strategy category: "Which best describes the overall relationship between Passage 1 and Passage 2?" "Which choice identifies a central tension between the two passages? "Which best describes the overall structure of the passage?" Notice that the wording of some of these questions is similar to that of little picture/detail questions. Again, just as with primary purpose questions, the answer choices are what turn the question into rhetorical strategy. Here's a specific example: In the context of each passage as a whole, the questions in lines 25-27 of Passage 1 and lines 67-69 of Passage 2 primarily function to help each speaker (A) cast doubt on the other's sincerity. (B) criticize the other's methods. (C) reproach the other's actions. (D) undermine the other's argument. This is a rhetorical strategy question because the answer choices are relatively abstract. If the answer choices were more specific (eg "relate Maguire's study of mental athletes to her study of taxi drivers"), then this would be a detail question, and you would need to use little picture skills to find this specific detail in the passage. A Brief Warning: Big Picture Questions ≠  Function Questions Caution Tape by Eugene Zemlyanskiy, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Big picture questions are different from function questions because they ask what the author said (not asking why the author wrote a thing). The wording of the questions sometimes makes it difficult to clearly see this, so I wanted to hash it out here. Questions about the author’s purpose (function question) ask "why is the author writing this?" rather than "what is the perspective the author is saying/arguing?" (which would be a big picture question). Questions about the paragraph’s function ask "how does this paragraph function?" or "what is the purpose of this paragraph in the context of the passage as a whole?" rather than "The main argument of this paragraph is," "what is the primary purpose of this paragraph" or "The author develops her argument by†¦" Read more about what exactly goes into answering SAT Reading function questions in this article. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Strategies For Answering Big Picture Questions Naturally, part of your strategy depends on how you read the passages. If you have enough time to read each passage all the way through, then you should be trying to figure out the main point and author perspective as you read. You can do a quick check to see if there will be any questions about it first (usually they're among the first few questions on the passage), but even if there aren’t any questions that directly ask you about the main point, knowing it can be helpful in answering other questions (more on that later). If you read the questions first before going back to the passage, you may be able to get a sense of what the big picture is just by the various questions that are asked- for instance, if all the passages are asking about food in the UK, you can be pretty sure that the main point of the passage isn't going to be about the Mayan calendar. This is also the one case where I recommend answering detail questions first- those are much easier to answer with just line numbers, and their answers (as well as the questions themselves) may give you even more clues about the main point/primary purpose/rhetorical strategy of the passage. If you skim the passage, then attack questions, you should focus on just the key information the first time skimming through and answer the big picture questions first. But how do you know what the key information is? Read on for three strategies to help you out with that. #1: Check The Introduction and Conclusion When it comes to nonfiction passages, chances are that if the author’s done a good job, the main point and perspective should be clear in the conclusion (if not also in the introduction). This can be true for fiction passages as well, but since having a clear thesis isn’t as essential to the construction of a successful piece of fiction, the author doesn’t always structure her writing that way. When finding the main point of a single paragraph, however, this rule gets a little fuzzy, because sometimes there will be direction-changing words in the middle of the paragraph that are essential to understanding the main point. In addition, last/conclusion sentences often try to take the argument a step beyond what has been discussed in the article, placing it in a broader context. Still, reading the introduction and conclusion can be helpful as a place to start. If the introduction and conclusion seem to contradict each other, that is a clear sign that you need to go even deeper into the passage/paragraph to find the main point/primary purpose/rhetorical strategy. #2: Use Key Words as Clues If you're looking for key words in a passage or paragraph, it makes sense that you’d want to note where the author says things like "important" or "significant"- those things probably are important (or even significant). What isn't as obvious, however, is that you should also pay attention to words that signal changes of direction to help uncover key information. Words like "in contrast," "while," "however," and so on, indicate important, contrasting information, while words like "again," "still," and "similarly" indicate the information is the same (or comparable to) what was just written. Spotting key words and reading the sentences around them can help you get to the meat of the issue and also help you avoid the trap of just reading the first sentence of a paragraph and assuming that's what the paragraph will be about. Let's take a look at this strategy in the context of a sample of my own writing: This paragraph is excerpted from the paper "‘This was a triumph:’ Narrative and dynamic uses of music in Portal" by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2013 by Laura Staffaroni). This paper was written as the final assignment for a Research and Materials class. In general, because Portal is a puzzle game, it might be expected to lack a strong narrative; this, however, is not the case. While the gameplay is focused on the solving each level’s puzzle, you are also provided with tantalizing bits of story in the form of dialogue spoken to you by GLADoS, the AI directing the "tests." Bits of the story are revealed over the course of the game in this way, picking up with the introduction of secret rooms with writing on the walls and the adorable but deadly turrets. The beginning sentence seems to start with "Portal doesn’t have a strong narrative," which might cause you to stop reading- after all, you've found the author's argument, right? Not so fast! The word "however" in that sentence should catch your eye, as should the following sentence that starts with "While", because they indicate that something in contrast to the opening statement is being presented.  ©2013 Laura Staffaroni Don't just read the first part of a sentence or paragraph and walk away- look out for key words as well! #3: Answer In Your Own Words First If you come across a question that asks you a big picture question, try to formulate the answer using your own words before you look at their answer choices. When doing this, it's important that you rely only on what you read in the passage or paragraph, not on things that could be true but aren’t supported by the passage. After you've answered the question in your own words, when you go to look at the answer choices you can simply see which one best matches your own answer and choose it. You must be careful, however, not to oversimplify with this strategy. Remember, the central argument and primary purpose are asking about the specific point the author is making, not a general topic or theme. Also, since you're not being directly scored on your "own word" answers, you should use as few words as possible to write them down- you don’t want to waste too much time on something that won’t be graded. Putting SAT Reading Strategies To Use: An Example Before I set you loose on big picture practice questions, I've written out a walkthrough of an example from an actual SAT to find the primary purpose of a paragraph. Here's the relevant paragraph for the purposes of this question (fifth paragraph, lines 45-56 of the passage): This passage is adapted from Ian King, "Can Economics Be Ethical?"  ©2013 by Prospect Publishing. There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves. From this perspective some things are right, some wrong- we should buy fair trade goods, we shouldn't tell lies in advertisements. Ethics becomes a list of commandments, a catalog of "dos" and "don'ts." When a finance official refuses to devalue a currency because they have promised not to, they are defining ethics this way. According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everyone better off. Here's the question: The main purpose of the fifth paragraph (lines 45-56) is to (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. Where should I start with figuring out the main purpose of the fifth paragraph? Step 1: Check out the introduction and conclusion (sentences, in this case). Introduction: There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves. Conclusion: According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everybody better off. What do these sentences reveal about the main purpose of the paragraph? My thinking: Both these sentences call whatever's being discussed in this paragraph an "approach", so the main purpose probably has something to do with whatever this approach is. Since both the intro and conclusion tie back into this approach, maybe the main purpose of the paragraph is to explain it? Not enough information just from this to be sure, though. Step 2: Look for direction words The next step is to look within this paragraph for words that indicate the author might be presenting information that either contrasts with or matches what he already wrote about. Direction words in this paragraph: "yet another", "instead", "even if" My thoughts: Wow, there are a lot of direction words in this paragraph, most of them in that first sentence: "There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves." So "yet another" is interesting because it implies that there were at least two other approaches before the one described in this paragraph; if it were just one other approach, the author wouldn't bother with the "yet" and would just say "another". The word "instead" also backs this up, because it implies that in previous paragraphs at least one alternate approach was taken. Plus, two alternate approaches (rooting ethics in character and rooting ethics in consequences of actions) are listed in the same sentence. What about "even if"? Does that add or change anything? "According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everybody better off." Hmm, not much more here. It further fleshes out the idea that doing a thing that some might see as good (devaluation) can be bad under the approach described in this paragraph, I guess. Step 3: Answer the question in your own words The final step is to answer the question in my own words before looking at the answer choices. My thoughts: The main thing this paragraph talks about is the ethical approach of focusing on actions themselves, rather than on their character or consequences, which means the main purpose of the paragraph is probably something like "describe the action-focused ethics approach?" maybe? let's check how it fits into the rest of the passage to see if that changes everything- nope, that seems pretty accurate. Here's the question, once more: The main purpose of the fifth paragraph (lines 45-56) is to (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. Okay, now that I've gone looked at the first and last sentences, key words, and answered it in my own words, let's consider the answer choices one by one. (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. Not really? I guess it kind of has a counterargument to the other two ethics approaches, but it doesn't really say one thing or another about greed being good. Oh and plus there's that thing about this approach seeing devaluation as bad even if it technically is better for everyone, which doesn't seem greedy. I'm going to put this one as a probable nope. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. This one is a definite no- in the very first sentence of the paragraph it says that the approach being discussed in this paragraph is an alternative to ethics being about character ("instead of rooting ethics in character"). And the rest of the paragraph follows through on ethics being about actions, not character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. Yep, this is pretty much what this paragraph does. The author talks about "yet another approach" which is at least the third approach based on wording, definitely the third approach based on reviewing the rest of the passage and counting the other approaches mentioned. And this answer lines up with my "answer in my own words" answer, which was "describe the action-focused ethics approach." This answer's certainly more correct than choices (A) or (B). I'll double check that the last choice isn't an even better answer, though. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. For one thing, no, it doesn't do that; for another, isn't that basically the same as (B)? I guess not exactly, but either way, it's still wrong. The main purpose of this paragraph is to say that in yet another approach, you could say that ethics is about the actions we take. It doesn't say anything about whether or not those actions are a result of one's character in particular. Looking back over the answers, (C) is clearly the one that discusses the main purpose of this paragraph, which is to talk about "yet another" way to define ethical economics. Boom! The answer is (C). August 25th "The Big Picture We've Done It_I'm a World Record Holder!" by Amanda Slater, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original.Huge success! Try It Out on Your Own! Below, I've provided three questions on short paired passages from an official, publicly available SAT practice test. As a bonus, these questions also involve paired passages (for more on paired passages, read my article about how best to attack paired passages on the SAT). Want more practice tests? Check out our list of official practice SATs, complete with links to free content! Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage. This passage is adapted from Henry W. Blair's statement to the United States Senate during the 1886 "Debate on Woman Suffrage" in Washington, D.C. There is no escape from it. The discussion has passed so far that among intelligent people who believe in the republican form- that is, free government- all mature men and women have under the same circumstance and conditions the same rights to defend, the same grievances to redress, and, therefore, the same necessity for the exercise of this great fundamental right of all human beings in free society. For the right to vote is the great primitive right. It is the right in which all freedom originates and culminates. It is the right from which all others spring, in which they merge, and without which they fall whenever assailed.This right makes, and is all the difference between, government by and with the consent of the governed and government without and against the consent of the governed; that is the difference between freedom and slavery. If the right to vote be not that difference, what is? No, sir. If either sex as a class can dispense with the right to vote, then take it from the strong, and no longer rob the weak of their defense for the benefit of the strong.It is impossible to conceive of suffrage as a right dependent at all upon such an irrelevant condition as sex. It is an individual, a personal right. It may be withheld by force; but if withheld by reason of sex it is a moral robbery.But it is said that the duties of maternity disqualify for the performance of the act of voting. It can not be, and I think is not claimed by anyone, that the mother who otherwise would be fit to vote is rendered mentally or morally less fit to exercise this high function in the state because of motherhood. On the contrary, if any woman has a motive more than another person, man or woman, to secure the enactment and enforcement of good laws, it is the mother. Beside her own life, person, and property- to the protection of which the ballot is as essential as to the same rights possessed by man- she has her little contingent of immortal beings to conduct safely to the po rtals of active life through all the snares and pitfalls woven around them by bad men and bad laws which bad men have made. And she has rightly to prepare them for the discharge of all the duties of their day and generation, including the exercise of the very right denied to their mother.I appeal to you, Senators, to grant this petition of woman that she may be heard for her claim of right. How could you reject that petition, even were there but one faint voice beseeching your ear? How can you deny the demand of millions who believe in suffrage for women, and who can not be forever silenced, for they give voice to the innate cry of the human heart that justice be done not alone to man, but to that half of this nation which now is free only by the grace of the other. By our action today we indorse, if we do not initiate, a movement which, in the development of humankind, shall guarantee liberty to all without distinction of sex, even as our glorious Constitution already grants the su ffrage to every citizen without distinction of color or race. #1: The central claim of the passage is that (A) the United States Senate should extend suffrage to women. (B) both sexes should have all of the same roles and responsibilities. (C) members of the Senate wish to enslave women by denying them the vote. (D) the female vote will lead to improved laws and better politicians. #2: The second paragraph is primarily concerned with establishing a contrast between (A) the interests of men and the interests of women. (B) politics before and after slavery ended. (C) governments in different countries. (D) having and not having suffrage. #3: With which of the following statements about the right to vote would the author most likely agree? (A) It is unrelated to the protection of other privileges (B) It is essential to the preservation of liberty (C) It is difficult to institute and execute in society. (D) It is unnecessary to some social groups. Answer key (scroll down when ready): 1. A 2. D 3. B In Conclusion Big picture questions require being able to read through a text and sum up "what’s the point," "what's the author's point of view," or "what does the author do here?" Knowing the answers to these questions can be useful for answering other types of questions, like function and author technique questions, that rely on you understanding the "big picture" of what's going on in the passage. No matter how you approach the passage, use the strategies of checking the intro/conclusion, looking for key words, and coming up with the answer in your own words to help you answer big picture questions What’s Next? Want more in depth guides like this? Our ultimate study guide for SAT Reading is a fantastic index of all of our SAT Reading strategy articles, including ones on Inferences, Words in Context, Analyzing Data Graphics, and many more. What if you can't finish Reading section before time's up? Learn strategies to improve your time management and stop running out of time on SAT Reading here. What are the other types of questions you’ll find on the SAT Reading section, and what’s the best way to read the passages to answer them? Check out our article on the three best ways to read the passage on SAT Reading. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: