Analysis of the core competences of PepsiCo

Analysis of the core competences of PepsiCo PepsiCo is an organization that has been known for its marketing and distribution prowess. This section is dedicated to analyzing the core competences of PepsiCo and evaluating their effect on the strategy adopted by the organization. Tangible Resources In this section, we analyse in detail, the tangible resources of PepsiCo under the following heads: Financial Resources PepsiCo has a strong financial backbone to support its aggressive marketing strategies, promotional campaigns and social activities. It works in collaboration with various governments in the countries that it operates and has operational ties with various civic authorities. Its capacity to generate finances is showcased by the fact that it could raise 31.37 billion rubles from a Ukrainian juice manufacturer, WBD which it acquired last year  [i]   Organisational Resources- PepsiCo recently revamped its organizational structure in an effort to handle the double digit growth prospects. It has three broad units, each of which looks after a sizeable business. The CEO of the company Indra Nooyi is known to be a flamboyant leader. She is known to lead by delegation and empowerment. This increases the loyalty of the employees towards the organization  [ii]  . Physical Resources PepsiCo has state-of-the-art manufacturing plants at three locations in India  [iii]  . In addition to this, it has 37 bottling plants, of which 17 are owned by PepsiCo. These are spread all over India, which help in increasing the reach of its products and ensuring timely delivery. Technological Resources PepsiCo tries to keep itself abreast of the latest technological developments. In a recent step taken, it has added hydrogen injected trucks to its delivery fleet in Canada  [iv]  . This was done as an effort towards increasing the fuel efficiency of its fleet and reducing emissions. Intangible Resources We look at the various intangible resources held by PepsiCo under the following heads: Human Resources PepsiCo attracts some of the best minds in the industry. By providing them enough financial and non-financial motivation and handing them challenging tasks to perform, they keep their employees satisfied and loyal to the organization. Innovation Resources The pace of innovation in functional foods and beverages division in PepsiCo has picked up since 2002. PepsiCo is second, after Kraft in this industry with 101 innovations since then. Some competitors are outspending PepsiCo on RD investments by nearly two to one margin  [1]  . But PepsiCo has been making good use of every dime spent on the RD as is seen from the number of innovations vis-à  -vis its competitors. Reputational Resources In a study conducted , it was seen that Pepsi as a brand enjoys a good reputation with the customers. They like it for its distinct taste. The study also pointed out that the brand name of Pepsi is certainly a force to reckon with. The quality perception of the product is generally high. However most of the customers see it as a drink second to Coke. One area wherein PepsiCo scores over its rivals is the social initiatives like contract farming and positive water balance. Due to this, it has a very strong reputation with its suppliers. Capabilities PepsiCo as an organization, has survived strong competition from its more established rivals like The Coca Cola Company , Nestle among others due to the following capabilities that it has:  [v]   Muscular Global Brands and Consumer Goodwill Over the years, PepsiCo, with its portfolio of global brands, has built platforms for growth. Its highly focused portfolio offers many of the worlds best-known foods and beverages-brands of enduring appeal. The portfolio includes 15 brands that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Thats more than any other food and beverage company. Pepsi leads the parade with $15.6 billion in annual sales. The company has been successful in entering into licensing ventures with other well-known names, such as Starbucks and Lipton, and has had huge success with global promotions by linking with globally recognized brands. Robust Technology/Manufacturing Platforms PepsiCos global brands are supported by sophisticated technology and manufacturing platforms. These platforms include the science of nutrition, food and beverages, process and manufacturing, and packaging. Each of PepsiCos divisions contributes to the knowledge and technology platforms, creating an institutional knowledge base that can be shared across divisions. Such sharing of best-practice knowledge creates a competitive advantage, because it allows PepsiCo to differentiate its products from competitors, and promotes innovation in products and processes. It is also a significant growth advantage: cross-fertilization between divisions allows for the creation of new products that can be brought to market. The various process and manufacturing platforms allow PepsiCo not only to improve existing products and packages, but also to create entirely new ones. Equally important, innovation gives retailers a great reason to feature products promin ently Global Footprint PepsiCo employs 137,000 people in 200 countries. Including the bottling system and other partners, it generates some $39 billion in revenues, of which 35% comes from outside North America. The company has nearly 700 manufacturing facilities worldwide, 2,100 distribution centers and 70,000 routes. In addition to its presence in North America, PepsiCo has leadership positions in Mexico, the U.K., and the Middle East. It is investing significantly in creating momentum in the critical emerging markets of China and India. In the Indian subcontinent, Pepsi Beverages International (PBI) has more than 45% market share of carbonated soft drinks (CSD). FLI also has a strong global presence, with sales in 44 countries supported by 71 manufacturing plants outside North America, as well as 62,000 associates and 22,000 routes outside North America. In many countries, it enjoys greater than 30% market share. While 61% of PepsiCos salty snack revenues come from North America, Latin America contributes 18% of revenues, Europe/Africa contributes 17%, and Asia contributes 4% Core Competencies PepsiCo enjoys the stature of the dominant force that it is in various segments of the food and beverage industry due to its famed distribution systems. PepsiCo goes to market through a distribution network of extraordinary strength and flexibility. This is a core competency as it satisfies all the four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage i.e., it is a valuable capability, rare, costly to imitate and non-substitutable. The reason why is it so is explained below. The goal of the distribution channel of PepsiCo is to put its products within easy reach of the consumer. Because practices and customs vary by market, and because retail customers have different needs, PepsiCo has several successful models for service that it uses around the world. Direct store delivery Direct store delivery (DSD) systems are at the heart of this network. Through these systems, PepsiCo takes its products directly to tens of thousands of distribution outlets, from the tiniest convenience stores to the largest warehouse outlets. Pepsi and its bottlers personally take products into stores and set them on the shelves, helping to ensure that products are fresh and that fragile items such as chips are handled with care. It also allows PepsiCo to merchandise its brands for maximum visibility and appeal. PepsiCos systems can move new products into national distribution quickly-sometimes as quickly as a week. And because representatives call on retail customers so frequently, they know very quickly how a new product is selling. At the same time, DSD provides financial benefits to retailers. Since Pepsi handles the products and merchandising, retailers save on labor. And because these products typically are sold and restocked every few days, while retailers pay for them on 30-day cycles, Pepsi adds to a stores cash flow. In fact, PepsiCo contributes more than any other manufacturer to the revenue growth, profit growth and cash flow of the big U.S. retailers. In international markets, PepsiCo is able to adapt its distribution to reap the benefits of traditional DSD-particularly the merchandising capabilities and the reach into many retail outlets-without the costs that would burden a young or subscale business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Broker-Warehouse Distribution- For some of PepsiCos products, traditional broker warehouse distribution is more economical and just as effective as DSD. According to this system, third-party distributors move PepsiCos products to stores, and store employees stock the shelves. This system works best for non-impulse products such as Gatorade, Quaker Oats, Tropicana Twister, or Capn Crunch cereal, which are neither fragile nor highly perishable. PepsiCos merger with Quaker dramatically expanded the companys broker-warehouse distribution capabilities, adding the large and efficient warehouse system used for Quaker and Gatorade products. To leverage that strength, PepsiCo has combined that system with Tropicanas. Additionally, the Quaker-Gatorade system is used for certain Frito-Lay snacks that are better suited to warehouse distribution. Vending and Foodservice-Every year, consumers buy more snacks and beverages from vending machines and the foodservice companies that serve stadiums, office buildings, colleges, and similar venues. By combining the capabilities of Frito-Lay, Tropicana, and Quaker, it has created one of the biggest vending and foodservice sales forces in North America, a 600-person team that already generates well over $1 billion in annual sales.

Samuel Gander

Samuel Gander Mr. Dunham English 102 April 25, 2012 Farming On a Whole New Level Although people have worked in agriculture for more than 10,000 years, advance in technology assisted with maintaining and protecting land, crops, and animals. The demand to keep food affordable encourages those working in the agriculture industry to operate as efficiently as possible (Newman & Ruiz, pp. 33-47). Almost all people and companies in the industry have many acres of land they must maintain, and it is not always feasible for farmers to take frequent trips around the property to perform basic tasks such as watering soil in the absence of rain.The number of people-hours required to water soil manually on several thousand acres of land might result in businesses spending thousands of dollars in labor and utility costs. If the irrigation process is automated, sensors detect how much rain has fallen recently, as well as whether the soil is in need of watering. The sensors then send this data to a c omputer that processes it and decides when and how much to water. In addition to keeping the soil moist and reducing maintenance costs, computer also can utilize sensor to analyze the condition of crops in the field and determine whether pests or diseases are affecting the crops.If sensor detects pests and/or diseases, computers send a notification to the appropriate individual to take corrective action. In some cases, according to Brewster, the discovery of pests might trigger a pesticide to discharge in the affected area automatically (Agriculture: Expanding and Growing). Many farmers use technology in a daily basis to regulate soil moisture and to keep their crop pest free. With technology, farming can be much more convenient and efficient. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Barton states the many automated home irrigation system also are programmable and use rain sensor (pp. 67-73)

Social Media and Sports

Has social media’s impact on the professional sports world been positive or negative? Social media has made a massive impact on our culture. One of the areas that has not been affected is professional sports. In today’s world, professional sports teams and players from around the world use social media to connect with their global fan bases. Sports teams attempt to build a larger, stronger fan base by engaging fans through social media sites. Additionally, social media sites allow professional athletes to increase their marketability.However, they can also severely damage their career, personal life, and their ‘brand’ if they do not handle their social media interactions with care (Van Schaik). Twitter and Facebook allow teams and players to be interactive and personal with fans. They can use these platforms to not only deliver basic team news updates, but to share information about autograph signings, charity events, or ticket specials too. One of the most important aspects of any sports team is that they have a loyal, growing fan base that feels like they are valued and appreciated. Therefore, these fans will stand by their team through thick and thin.Social media provides the perfect opportunity for that. Sports teams and athletes are becoming more and more efficient at using social media to create a positive impact on their team and their fan’s. One of the positive impacts of social media on professional sports is the ability to share news and information with fans through it. Social media websites are beginning to replace sports radio and cable networks as the dominant places to find the latest breaking sports news. It seems more and more sports fans are turning to the internet for the latest sports news, updates, and information about their favorite teams or players.More specifically, fans are utilizing social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, fans are 10 times more likely to check Facebook or Twitter for their sports news than sports radio. Also, an overwhelming 81% of fans prefer the Internet for their sports information over any other platform (Blakley). Fans just are checking social media before or after the games either. More than 80% of fans interact via social media while watching games (Altobelli). I can attest to these statistics because I am one of this growing majority. There are a few reasons I choose to use the Internet and social media for my sports news nstead of sports radio or TV. First off, with social media and the Internet I am able to find information about my favorite player or team instantly. With TV or sports radio, you basically have to take the information as it is given. For example, ESPN chooses to focus on teams from major cities like New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. Very rarely will I be able to find daily updates on an injured Minnesota Twins player by watching Sportscenter. Instead, I can click on over to the Minnesota Twin’s Facebook page or Twitt er and find daily injury updates. Another upside to social media in this situation is that it is up to the minute information.Most sports radio shows or cable networks discuss what happened yesterday in the sports news world. Social media is constantly updating so there is a plethora of new information always streaming. Lastly, I prefer social media over the other forms of sports news because they are readily available to me. Sports radio and ESPN are not always as mobile as I would like. I am not able to take Sportscenter into the car with me. Also, I do not have a reliable sports radio station to listen to in my area. At times I can get KFAN from the Twin Cities, but not on a consistent basis.Therefore, any sports radio news updates come about once an hour and are quite brief. Additionally, I spend a lot of time at my girlfriend’s cabin during the summer months. At her cabin, they only have a few basic local channels. ESPN is not available. As a result, I turn to social med ia and my cell phone for sports news. Rarely do I miss a beat because of the efficiency and accuracy of the social media websites. Social media has already made a giant impact on how sports information is shared with fans. It is only going to keep growing as technology spreads and more fans get familiar with smart phones and tablets.Another way social media has affected the sports world is by bringing fans closer to the game. As a sports fan, I can agree that fans always want to feel closer to the game. That is why people still pay ridiculous ticket prices to attend ball games instead of watching them on TV in the comfort of their living room. Fans have an urge for that connection and closeness. They want to feel apart of the game. Social media sites provide teams and players the unique ability to directly connect with their fans. It used to be the closest you got to a favorite player was a post-game radio interview.Now, you can follow them on Twitter and have rare insight into thei r everyday world. Players use sites like Facebook and Twitter to give fan’s a behind the scenes look at what happens at home, in the locker room, and on the sidelines. Social media gives pro athletes the chance to interact and share data with fans in a way that was not possible in the past. Fans used to only know about a player from what they read in the paper or saw on TV (Van Schaik) . Now, fans can find out what their favorite player ate for breakfast or what music they are listening to.Fans have yearned for this kind of accessibility for years and now it is becoming a reality. I actually have friend’s that make it a daily ritual to check their favorite player’s Twitter. Actually, being able to follow players and coaches is probably the biggest reason why I created a Twitter in the first place. I love the inside look into their personal lives. It is very cool when you find out how much you do or do not have in common with them. One of the highlights of my Twi tter career was when I tweeted Kevin Love after a Timberwolve’s game and congratulated him on his performance and the team’s win.A few minutes later, I received what is called a â€Å"retweet† from Love basically saying thank you. I was blown away. It meant a lot to me to know that Kevin Love took thirty seconds out of his life to tell me, some nobody fan, thank you. It is almost as if social media has taken the place of autographs. Before, you wanted players’ autographs, now you want players to say something back to you on Twitter (Blakley). Social media is a great way for athletes to communicate and engage with fans. It allows players and teams to share information with them before it has been filtered by the news media.Twitter and Facebook have been instrumental in raising the profile of athletes in every sport. It allows them to give a personal perspective on all aspects of the competition, seemingly unhindered by various PR and marketing machines. Wh ile the majority of social media’s impact on professional sports has been positive, there is definitely a negative side that should be discussed. In the early age of social media, some sports leagues had trouble regulating player usage of it. People who grew up long before the Internet age govern most sports.This creates a problem when they try to tackle the issues surrounding sports and social media (Westhenry). First off, there was the problem with players actually posting on Twitter immediately following and even during their games. League officials found social media to be a distraction to their player’s. Accordingly, the NBA and NFL implemented policies that limited when players and staff could use social media. The NBA’s policy bans the usage of social media from 45 minutes before tipoff until after the players have fulfilled their other media duties following the game.The NFL stretched it to 90 minutes before and after games (Westhenry). The other major i ssue surrounding social media and sports is controlling what athletes post or say. Athletes are and should have the freedom to share their personal opinions and ideas through social media. In fact, it should be encouraged for them to do so. Like I’ve stated before, fans have a desire to feel connected with players and love that â€Å"uncensored† feeling. However, if not handled with care, social media has the potential to seriously damage a player’s private life, athletic performance, and possibly their career.All it takes is a split second of poor judgment and one senseless social media posting for a major incident to occur. Many athletes fail to remember the impact their social media activity can have. Others fall victim to the dangers of being provoked by obnoxious fans. When athletes dispose of their frustrations and anger online without thinking over the consequences, the results are rarely good (Van Schaik). While there are numerous examples of this happen ing, I will only share a couple. To begin with, we can look at the case of Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back Rashard Mendenhall.He posted controversial comments on his Twitter following the death of Osama bin Laden that caused him to lose an endorsement contract. Mendenhall had previously stirred up a controversy when he posted his opinion about the 9/11 attacks (Westhenry). More recently, there was the case of San Antonio Spurs forward Stephen Jackson. He was fined $25,000 for threatening another NBA player via Twitter (â€Å"Jackson Fined for Tweet about Ibaka†). Countless athletes fail to learn from the lessons of others. It is frustrating to me as a fan to see player after player get in trouble for something they said on a social media site.Many athletes fail to recognize the importance of their social media channels to their sponsors and their teams. Also, some seem to think that because they are using social media that it permits them to forgo traditional media p rotocol (Van Schaik). An athlete’s words reach far beyond just their fans and followers. They impact colleagues, friends and their family. One foolish tweet can instantly turn into a scandal with the capability to damage the athlete, their team, and their sponsors (Van Schaik). A big component here is sponsors. Many sports superstars are actually brands in themselves.They represent their team, league, city, fans and sponsors. It is important to note that while some of their income comes from their sports contract, a lot of their money comes from being a public figure (Van Schaik). Creating the wrong headlines and wrong type of publicity can cost an athlete not only thousands in fines, but millions of dollars in sponsorship money too. Every single athlete has to be aware of the social media pitfalls and consequences. While many stars have been forgiven for their online troubles, the problem is that the commonness of such mistakes is growing.If the trend continues, it will sure ly damage the positive impact that these communication platforms have had on professional sports (Westhenry). I feel that the best way for the sport’s world to handle these issues is through education and guidelines. Social media is still in its infancy. Therefore, leagues and teams must educate their players on social media and how to use it. As social media becomes a larger part of everyday life for millions of people around the world, people will also become more educated about how social media works. This will help alleviate some of these issues (Westhenry).Lastly, leagues and teams need to develop a social media code of conduct for their athletes. For example, if a player would get suspended for cursing or ranting at a team press conference, they should have the same consequences for a social media outburst. If they would get fined for complaining about officials to a TV camera, do the same if they complain about them on their Twitter (Westhenry). Like I stated before, t he more athletes and sports teams use social media, the more educated they will become. With a little common sense, some education, and a few regulations, these negative social media issues will fade away.Sport’s fans love social media. This can be illustrated by the millions of followers athletes have on networking sites. Moreover, athletes themselves seem to truly love social media. It allows them a platform to step away from the normal interview cliches and really have some freedom in what they say. Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow fans to get to know their favorite athletes on a deeper, more personal level. The increasing use of social media in the professional sports world can have a substantially positive impact on a player and an organization.While there is criticism surrounding its usage, the positives are overwhelming. There is no doubt that sports has and will continue to benefit from social media. Works Cited Altobelli, Diana. â€Å"The Rise of Social Media i n Professional Sports. † 1 SEO. N. p. , 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. . Blakley, Julie. â€Å"Sports and Social Media. † Postano. N. p. , 7 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"Jackson Fined for Tweet about Ibaka. † NBA. com. N. p. , 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 012. . Van Schaik, Thomas. â€Å"Professional Athletes on Social Media: Why Some Get Fans and Others Fines. † Sports Networker. N. p. , 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. . Westhenry, Rowanne. â€Å"Sports Stars on Twitter: Marketing Geniuses or Massive Twits? † Bleacher Report. N. p. , 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012. .

Exactly What to Expect From AP Language Multiple Choice

Exactly What to Expect From AP Language Multiple Choice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Perhaps because the free-response section of the AP Language and Composition exam is worth more than the multiple-choice section, some teachers spend much more time preparing you for free-response than multiple-choice. While it's great to be prepared for the essays, this might leave you feeling like a lost and confused lamb when it comes to the AP English Language and Composition multiple choice section. But never fear, the guide is here! This guide will give a brief overview of the AP Language and Composition multiple-choice section, the eight question types you can expect to see on the test, three preparation strategies, a slate of AP practice question resources, and finally some tips for success on test day. The Multiple-Choice Section: An Overview Section I of the AP English Language and Composition test is the multiple-choice section. This section will have 52-55 questions testing you on how well you can read and understand nonfiction passages for their use of rhetoric. On the exam, you will be presented with four to five nonfiction passages. You will receive a bit of orienting information at the beginning of this passage, for example "this essay originally appeared in a major national newspaper in the 1980s." Each passage will have about 10-15 questions associated with it. The AP Lang multiple choice section is worth 45% of your total exam score. You will receive one point to your raw score for every question you answer correctly. However, as on other AP exams, your raw score will be converted to a scaled score from 1-5. But what's actually on the multiple-choice section? The next section explores what kinds of questions you can expect to actually be asked on the exam. The 8 Types of Multiple-Choice Questions There are eight kinds of multiple choice questions on the AP Language exam. In this section, I'll go over each type, provide an example question, and walk you through answering it. All of the example questions come from the "Course and Exam Description." You can find the original passages these questions are referring to there as well. Type 1: Reading Comprehension As you might expect, reading comprehension questions are about testing if you understood the passage on a concrete level: what does this particular sentence mean in a literal sense? And so on. You can usually identify them from phrases like "according to" and "refers." To succeed on these kinds of questions, your best strategy is to go back and re-read the part of the passage the question is asking about. Do so carefully, and when you then answer the question, focus on what the passage is actually saying outright. Don't infer on reading comprehension questions! Example: Let's go back and look at Lines 23-26 to answer this question: "But ‘books are not about schedules,' author Stephanie Nolen argues; rather, they are ‘about submerging yourself...about getting consumed.'" To return to the question, what is her "primary criticism of book clubs," then? Well, she says, "books are not about schedules." So, they shouldn't have to be a scheduled-in obligation. The only answer that choice that resembles what she actually says in the passage is that the problem with books clubs is that they (A), "are too programmed." Type 2: Implication This question style moves beyond basic, concrete reading comprehension into the realm of implication. Implication is what the author seems to say without actually coming out and saying it directly. However, even though the answer may not be written out clearly in the passage, the question will still have a clear correct answer based on textual evidence. You can identify implication questions from phrases like "best supported," "implies," "suggests," and "inferred." As for reading comprehension questions (and indeed, all multiple-choice questions on the AP) turn and look back at the relevant part of the passage before you answer. Then ask yourself: Which interpretation put forth by the answer choices does the passage *most* support? Example: First, we need to find where in the passage names for hurricanes and tornadoes are discussed. We can find this in lines 14-17: "A tornado, although more violent than a much longer lasting hurricane, has a life measured in minutes, and weathercasters watch it snuff out as it was born: unnamed." What answers about why tornadoes are unnamed and hurricanes are named are at all supported by this line? Choice (A), "there are too many of them," is clearly incorrect as the line says nothing about the frequency of either weather event. Choice (B) says, "their destruction is not as great as that of hurricanes." This is a trap! You may know based on your own knowledge that hurricanes generally incur much greater damages overall than tornadoes, but the passage doesn't say that. You have to choose an implication that is actually supported by the passage, and the passage doesn't say which causes more destruction. Choice (C) says "they last too short of a time." The passage does say that hurricanes are "much longer lasting" and that the life of a tornado is "measured in minutes." This could be a reasonable answer, but let's make sure it's the best one before we select it. Choice (D) says "they move too erratically to be plotted" and Choice (E) says tornadoes "can appear in any area of the world." It doesn't matter if either of those statements is true since the question asks what the passage implies, and the passage does not discuss either their movements or where they appear. Thus, (C) is the answer most supported by the passage. It's a trap! Don't be fooled. Type 3: Overall Passage and Author Questions Overall passage and author questions want you to identify key, overarching elements of the passage or author's views, like the purpose of the text, the author's audience, the author's attitude toward the subject, and so on. These questions are identifiable because they won't refer back to a specific place in the text but will instead ask general questions that apply to the entire excerpt. These questions can be a little more difficult to answer than those where you can look to a specific place in the text to answer your questions. You'll really need to have an overall impression of the passage based on its overarching details. It might be helpful to jot down a couple overall impressions of the excerpt right after you read it, to refer back to when faced with overall passage questions. Example: This passage is about the rise of book clubs. The first paragraph gives examples to demonstrate that book clubs have become a popular phenomenon. The second discusses book club backlash and some book club guides. The third paragraph asserts that book clubs are positive and sharing literary experiences is a good thing. Which of the answers fits with the passage? Answer (A) can be eliminated right away because there is no personal narrative. Answer (B) can also be eliminated because the passage begins with an example about Oprah, not any "empirical" (numbers-based) data. Answer (C) can be eliminated because the passage never introduces any questions related to the practice of book clubs. Choice (D) could be good- the first two paragraphs give mostly description, and the third and final paragraph gives an evaluation. Choice (E) doesn't fit because there is no initial condemnation of "the practice" (i.e. of book clubs). So (D) is the correct answer. Type 4: Relationships Between Parts of the Text Another question type will require you to identify or describe a relationship between two specific parts of the text. This could be paragraphs or shorter line segments, or a specific part of the passage compared to the rest of the passage or the passage as a whole. My advice for answering these questions is similar to my advice for most questions- go back and read the parts of the passage in question! You may want to jot down an overarching impression of what each part of the text is accomplishing or saying as you do, which should help you compare them and identify the relationship. Example: Because this passage is only two paragraphs long, this question is essentially asking us about the relationship between the first and second halves of the passage. What is the main idea of each of the sections? Well, the first paragraph describes essentially what makes a strong writer. The second paragraph establishes that Carlyle is "such a writer" and then discusses some of his works and why they are important. When we look at the answer choices, what matches up best with our main idea descriptions? Clearly (A), which describes how the first paragraph describes the strengths of a writer (which we know Carlyle has based on the topic sentence of the second paragraph), and the second describes Carlyle's "legacy." What kind of relationship do the parts of the text have? Type 5: Interpretation of Imagery/Figurative Language This type of question is concerned with the underlying meaning or implication of imagery or figurative language used in the excerpt. What is the author trying to accomplish with this particular phrase or this metaphor? Again, it is critical that you go back and read the part of the passage that the question refers to, or you will be completely lost on these questions (more so than on most others). You may want to re-read a few lines before and after as well so you can get a sense of the imagery in context. Example: For this to make sense, we need the entire sentence the "acorns" appear in: "It is an idle question to ask if his books will be read a century hence: if they were all burnt as the grandest of Suttees on his funeral pile, it would only be like cutting down an oak after its acorns have sown a forest." What could this mean? Well, acorns come from oak trees and make more oak trees. So this must refer to something that comes from Carlyle and is somehow a replication of him or his works. The best choices if we think about that, then, would be (A) his children, or (C) the ideas in his books. However, since the passage doesn't mention anything about his children that would be an irrelevant detail and can't be what the acorns represent. So the answer must be (C). Type 6: Purpose of Part of the Text These questions will ask you to choose the answer that best states the purpose that a given part of the text serves in the piece. What is the author hoping to accomplish with this specific example/sentence/device? These questions can usually be identified because they will ask specifically about purpose or function of a specific moment. To address these questions, you will need to, of course, re-read the part of the text in question. Think about what point the author is trying to make in that specific moment, and how that would serve their larger argument. All parts of a given text will serve the larger argument if they are well-constructed, so if it seems like an interpretation of the text presented in the answer choices doesn't work with the main argument, eliminate it. Example: These lines read, "You may meet a man whose wisdom seems unimpeachable, since you find him entirely in agreement with yourself; but this oracular man of unexceptionable opinions has a green eye, a wiry hands, and altogether, a Wesen, or demeanor, that makes the world look blank to you, and whose unexceptionable opinions become a bore; while another man who deals in what you cannot but think ‘dangerous paradoxes,' warms your heart by the pressure of his hand, and looks out on the world with so clear and loving an eye, that nature seems to reflect the light of his glance upon your own feeling." This sentence is really overwhelming, so let's try to break it down and re-write it in a simpler way. "You might meet a man who seems wise because he agrees with you, but this man might eventually become a bore; while a different man who presents challenging ideas may warm your heart and eventually convince you." This fits into the larger argument because Carlyle is the writer who presents challenging ideas, and this piece is in praise of Carlyle and his legacy. Let's go through the answers and see which choice fits best. Choice (A) describes a contrast between a writer who reinforces reader viewpoints and one who challenges them. This sounds like it could be right- let's keep it. Choice (B) describes an analogy between kinds of people and types of writing they prefer. There's no analogy in these lines, so we can eliminate (B). Choice (C) says that these lines challenge the idea that writers modify their ideas to appeal to readers. But since this passage overall refers to Carlyle's legacy and doesn't give any indication that he modifies his views to appeal to readers, so we can eliminate it. Choice (D) doesn't even refer to writers, and Choice (E) doesn't work because the lines say nothing about good and evil. So (A) is the best answer choice. Good and evil? Aren't all these questions evil? Type 7: Rhetorical Strategy For these questions, you'll need to identify the specific rhetorical strategy used by the author in the specific place in the passage. Essentially, you'll be identifying the particular argumentative "move" that the author is deploying to try to convince the audience of their position. Example: The passage identified in the question says: "The character of his influence is best seen in the fact that many of the men who have the least agreement with his opinions are those to whom the reading of Sartor Resartus was an epoch in the history of their minds. The extent of his influence may be best seen in the fact that ideas which were startling novelties when he first wrote them are now become common-places. And we think few men will be found to say that this influence on the whole has not been for good. There are plenty who question the justice of Carlyle's estimates of past men and past times, plenty who quarrel with the exaggerations of the Latter-Day Pamphlets, and who are as far as possible from looking for an amendment of things from a Carlylian theocracy with the ‘greatest man', as a Joshua who is to smite the wicked (and the stupid) till the going down of the sun. But for any large nature, those points of difference are quite incidental. It is not a theorist, but a s a great and beautiful human nature, that Carlyle influences us." So which of the rhetorical strategies in the answer choices makes the most sense? Choice (A) says the author berates Carlyle's opponents. This doesn't seem accurate- while she mentions those who disagree with him, she doesn't berate or insult them. Choice (B) says she acknowledges but discredits other arguments. While, again, she acknowledges that there are those who disagree with Carlyle, she doesn't really mention their specific arguments or discredit them. Choice (C) suggests she claims most people don't recognize Carlyle's genius. This can't be right; she says "few men will be found to say that this influence on the whole has not been for good" and describes how many of his ideas are now "commonplace." Choice (D) says she cites facts. She doesn't- she gives examples of his works and describes reactions. Thus, choice (E), which says she gives examples that reflect his influence, is correct. This is the best choice as the passage repeatedly emphasizes that even those who don't agree with him are affected by his thoughts. Type 8: Style and Effect The last question type asks you about stylistic moments in the text and the effect created by those stylistic choices. Essentially, what does the author accomplish by making that particular stylistic choice? To address these questions, re-read the sentence or moment in question with an eye for how it sounds and feels. Don't just think about what it says- what does it evoke? Example: The sentence says, "‘Oh God, that I were a writer!' She cried. ‘Surely a writer could not string words together about Henry Irving's Hamlet and say nothing, nothing.'" The stylistic choice in question is the italicization of "nothing, nothing." We may notice that this mirrors the italicization of "writer." Italics generally indicate emphasis- so what's the effect of emphasizing "writer" and "nothing, nothing"? Be careful here, because it might be tempting to choose (B) - indicate a sarcastic tone. This kind of emphasis is often used to communicate sarcasm. However, that doesn't fit with the rest of the passage, or the fact that she "dropped her pen in despair" just before. The best choice is (A), that it emphasizes her frustration. With the eight question types addressed, we can move on to more general strategies to prepare to take the multiple choice section of AP Language and Composition. You are the general of your own AP preparation army! How to Prepare There are several key strategies you can use to prepare yourself to rock the multiple-choice section of the AP Language and Composition exam. #1: Read and Engage With Nonfiction A key prep strategy is to read nonfiction of all different types, particularly nonfiction that argues a position or advances an agenda of some kind. When you read, you should work on identifying and understanding how the author makes use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. Ask yourself: What is the author's argument? What evidence do they use to support their position? What is the nature of their evidence- anecdotes, statistics, illustrative examples? What rhetorical techniques and strategies do they use to build their argument? Are they making particular kinds of appeals? Is their argument strong? If yes, what makes it strong? If no, what makes it weak? Constantly considering these questions as you read will help you learn to analyze passages quickly and informally, which is an essential skill for answering multiple-choice questions focused on rhetorical analysis. #2: Learn Rhetorical Terms and Strategies In order to analyze works, of course, you need to know rhetorical terms and strategies. You will undoubtedly learn many techniques and strategies from your teacher, and you should definitely review those before the exam. You can also check out my essential list of 55 AP English Language terms you need to know. Make sure you aren't just memorizing the terms and the definitions, but that you can actually identify all of the techniques at work in the things you read! #3: Practice Answering Multiple-Choice Questions To succeed on the multiple-choice section, you need to practice answering multiple-choice questions! This will help you get familiar with the feel of the multiple-choice section and identify any gaps in your understanding. The next section will suggest tons of sources for practice multiple-choice questions. A whole pile of practice questions! Practice Question Resources There are a variety of practice test resources you can use to hone your multiple choice skills. The best multiple-choice practice resources come from the College Board. This is because they write the AP exam, so their practice questions are the most like real AP multiple-choice questions. Unfortunately, there are not as many official resources for the AP Language and Composition exam as there are for some other tests. However, once you run out of official College Board practice questions, there are still some unofficial resources that you can use for multiple choice practice. In this section I'll go over both. Official Multiple-Choice Resources The College Board offers both complete released exams and sample multiple-choice questions. Complete Released Exams Complete official exams are a great resource if you can find them, because they will have complete multiple-choice sections for you to practice with. Unfortunately, the College Board has not released any official previous exams for AP Language and Composition, as they have for many other tests. You may, though, still be able to find complete official exams from past years by Googling "AP Language complete released exam" or similar variations on that. You might also ask your AP teacher if there are copies of old AP exams you can use for practice. They often have access to past exams and may be able to loan them to you. Sample Questions From the "AP Course and Exam Description" The AP Course and Exam description for AP Language and Composition includes 50 sample multiple-choice questions. This is actually only two questions short of a complete multiple choice section, so this a pretty sizable collection of questions to add to your practice bank. Better get a safe so you can put it in the bank! Unofficial Multiple-Choice Practice Resources There are tons of sites out there offering free multiple-choice practice questions and quizzes for the AP Language and Composition exam. But they aren't all created equal! In this section I'll highlight just several of these resources that are most worth your time. For an even more comprehensive list, see my list of all practice tests available for AP Lang and Comp. College Countdown Complete AP Language Practice Test This site has a complete unofficial practice test. You can ignore the essays for the purposes of multiple choice practice. The wording of questions on the multiple-choice section aren't exactly the same as on a real AP exam, but the tasks are very similar and the passages are well-selected. This is a great source for sample multiple choice questions once you run out of College Board official options. McGraw-Hill AP Practice Quiz McGraw-Hill, an academic book publisher, offers this free 25-question multiple-choice "diagnostic quiz." It has difficult, well-written multiple-choice questions that really look and feel like real AP questions. The passages do open in another window, which is slightly awkward and annoying, but the questions are so good that it's worth it! The quiz is supposed to be 25 questions, but you could theoretically get more than 25 questions from this resource since every time you open a new test window you get a subset randomly selected questions from a question pool. Albert English Language Practice Albert has a decent number of small multiple-choice quizzes that offer practice questions analyzing the rhetoric of various notable nonfiction passages. The style of the questions is a little more informal and to the point than genuine AP questions published by the College Board, but they are still good practice for answering multiple-choice questions about rhetorical techniques deployed in a passage. So when you've exhausted your other resources this is still a solid multiple-choice practice question source. In order to answer questions, you need to sign up for a free account. It then costs "credits" to answer questions. You can both buy additional credits and earn credits for answering questions correctly, so if you are good at answering questions, you can use this service for free pretty much indefinitely! Otherwise I don't really advise buying credits since there are frankly better paid resources available (like review books). Review Books Most review books also have practice multiple-choice questions designed to mimic College Board questions and are a good resource when you've used all of your official and unofficial free questions. However, not all review books are of equal quality, and some have questions that are downright poor quality. Be sure to look at reviews and flip through the book to check out its questions and how they compare to College Board questions before buying if you can. As a starting place, Barron's and the Princeton Review are usually reliable review book sources. You might need a nap after you do all of these questions. Test Day Tips Here are four key strategies to help you succeed on the multiple choice section on test day. Interact With the Text When you are initially reading a passage, do some preliminary marking up! Underline things that seem particularly significant, like a thesis statement or major shift in the text. Make notes of motifs or confusing sentences. These marks will help you familiarize yourself with the text and navigate it when you come back to answer the questions. Identify Main Ideas Once you finish reading a passage through, quickly jot down the main idea/argument of the piece, the author's purpose, and the intended audience. This will help you answer overarching passage questions. Additionally, preemptively identifying these points before addressing the questions should help make many of them more clear and help you keep the passage framed in your mind as you work through questions. Always Re-read Never rely on your memory when the question is about a specific place in the text: always go back and read the line in question. If the answer still isn't clear once you've consulted the text, read a little bit around the specified line for more context and clarity. Eliminate Off-Topic Answers An easy trick to eliminating wrong answers for many questions is to simply identify answer choices that are clearly off-topic. At a first pass these might not be obvious, since they may use a word or phrase from the passage and will sound stylistically similar to the other choices. But a closer look will reveal that the answer has nothing to do with the paragraph or passage topic! Here's an example: The sentence says, "‘Oh God, that I were a writer!' She cried. ‘Surely a writer could not string words together about Henry Irving's Hamlet and say nothing, nothing.'" We might see the words "writing" in answers (C) and (D) and think they are on topic- after all, Ellen Terry wishes she "were a writer." However, the very point of the sentence is that she is not a writer. So does it make sense for the effect to have to do with writing parts for actors or how to succeed at writing? No! Those answers are completely off-topic. A highly professional and profound production of Hamlet. Key Takeaways The multiple-choice section of AP Lang and Comp has 52-55 questions and is worth 45% of your exam grade. There are eight types of questions you can expect to see on the AP Language and Composition multiple choice exam: Reading comprehension Implication Overall passage and author questions Relationship between parts of the text Interpretation of imagery/figurative language Purpose of part of the text Rhetorical strategy Style and effect The multiple-choice section of the AP Language and Composition exam can be challenging for students who are more used to literary close-reading than rhetorical analysis. However, you can learn to succeed! Here's how to prepare: Read and engage thoughtfully with nonfiction so you can identify essential rhetorical elements quickly and thoroughly. Learn rhetorical terms and strategies and both how to identify them in other works and how to use them in your own writing. Practice for the multiple-choice section! There are a number of resources, both official and unofficial, where you can get practice AP language and composition multiple-choice practice questions. There are some official resources from the College Board and some unofficial free online resources, though you should always be careful to thoroughly investigate unofficial material for quality. Once it's time for test day, here are four strategies to succeed on the multiple-choice section: Interact with the passages as you read them for the first time. Identify the main ideas- the author's purpose, argument, and audience- right after the first time you read the passage. Always go back and re-read the part of the passage in question- don't rely on memory! Watch out for answer choices that are clearly off-topic and eliminate them! Ready like a freshly baked muffin! What's Next? If you need more help with AP Language and Composition, we have a total list of practice tests and a complete guide to the exam. In addition to our guide to AP Lang terms, we also have several more detailed articles about specific literary devices that might prove helpful. We recommend reading through our posts on point of view, tone words, personification, and the literary elements you'll find in every story. For analyzing poetry and poetic prose, we have specific articles on assonance and iambic pentameter, with explanations and examples of each. Taking other APs? See six tips for acing your AP exams, our five-step AP prep plan, and our guide to finding the best AP practice tests. Wondering if you can retake AP exams? We have the answer! 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:

Power and Evocation of Horror The Macbeth Witches Chant

Power and Evocation of Horror The Macbeth Witches Chant The witches’ chant in Macbeth is powerful poetry and powerful drama. It derives its power from several features. Among them are the rhymes, the rhythm of the words, the interpolation of a chorus, the increasing complexity of the lines as the poem progresses, and the vivid and horrifying imagery. Shakespeare may have had many aims in this play, some of them as deep as the Protestant/Catholic conflict that was roiling in Elizabethan England, but this particular piece of poetry stands on its own, apart from its historical context.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Power and Evocation of Horror: The Macbeth Witches’ Chant specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The most striking characteristic of the poem upon first reading is the rhyming. As Clugson points out, most of the personae of the play speak their parts in blank verse for most of the time (Clugston, 2010). The appearance of these definite, assertive, unsubt le rhymes in the midst of the heroic declamation sets it apart instantly. The character of the rhymes is heavily constrained. Each line taps out a â€Å"four-beatrhythm†(Wilson, 2002, p. 126). Wilson describes the result as a â€Å"‘drumming insistence’ with a musical effect which is irresistibly conspiratorial, ‘hovering between a ritual and a threat’† (Wilson, 2002, p. 126). This wonderful description captures the feeling of a dance that this poem has evoked for many young people, even if they did not know what issues or events the play addresses. These lines are largely monosyllabic, a feature which, as Kranz notes, makes the iambic pentameter very obvious (Kranz, 2003, p. 346), almost a caricature of itself. The words that Shakespeare chooses for these lines also display what Kranz accurately describes as â€Å"fricative alliteration† (Kranz, 2003, p. 346). This gives the poem a hissing sound, which reinforces the nearly inhuman nat ure of the speakers and the spectral activities they pursue. A poem of equivalent power in using rhythm might be Vachel Lindsay’s The Congo(Lindsay, 1917). The chorus lines demarcate the verses, providing a welcome relief from the insistence of the ingredients list. The chorus also includes all the participants, transforming the poem from a recitation to an incantation, a shared, almost sacramental activity. This pattern is very reminiscent of the versicles/responses in the Christian mass, or the call-and-response of African music. In light of Wilson’s contention that the witches symbolized the Elizabethans’ suppressed and rebellious Catholic gentry (Wilson, 2002, p. 129), the chorus also seems more than a rhythmic change of pace. The altered rhythm makes the lines around the chorus stand out in greater relief. The imagery is where the poem really packs a massive punch. Shakespeare has assembled a collection of ghastly items that retain their power to shock and make us squeamish. This is true even in an era when the reader is quite likely to have a poison tree frog or an endangered tiger on their t-shirt.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Shakespeare manages this by selecting animals that are not our cuddly barnyard friends. These creatures mostly hail from other taxonomic groups and distinctly different modes of life. There are examples of reptiles (adder, blindworm, snake, and lizard), amphibians (newts, toads, and frog), nocturnal mammals (bat), nocturnal birds (owl, or howlet), notochord (shark), and mythical (dragon). The cat appears as a herald of mischief, and the dog appears in the form of its tongue. This latter is one of the most alien body parts of man’s best friend; dogs, after all, only sweat through their tongues. The goat, perhaps the least sympathetic of domestic animals, is represented by its gall, a bitt er and mysterious organ. The reader moves from the more revolting portions of the animal kingdom to the misfits of the human world. The poem lists the offal of the witch, Jew, Tartar and Turk, all despised groups. Jews were discriminated against severely (Campos, 2002), scapegoated even more severely than Catholics (who were in active, violent rebellion (Wilson, 2002, p. 139), and ghettoized. The Tartars were a name to evoke terror, for their ravages, all over Europe. The Turks had threatened Europeans in the Holy Land for centuries. These choices by Shakespeare for his poem, then, were among the most frightening boogeymen of Elizabethan England. Witches were another emerging fear, in an era of religious conflict. The most disturbing image that of the body parts of a poor, demoralized girl’s roadside infanticide being used in witches’ potions is distressing on many levels. Just in this one image, the reader is reminded of the issue of sexual exploitation of women (Wh y is the girl pregnant out of wedlock in the first place?), class oppression (If the father was of the same social class, why did they not simply get married? If the father is of a different social class, what gave him the right to victimize?), hypocrisy in attitudes about sexual behavior (Would a wealthy girl be consigned to this position?). Thus, Shakespeare caps off a gallery of horrors. These imagesmake readers and viewers think of all the things that made people shudder and cringe, from slimy or predatory animals to the Elizabethan world’s version of terrorists. Shakespeare has woven together rhymes that pound, a rhythm that evokes the slow, foreboding dance of the witches, a chorus that brings everyone into the action, and images that retain their power to disturb after all these centuries. I am struck by all, but especially by his deeply upsetting imagery.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Power and Evocation of Horror: The Macbeth Witchesâ€⠄¢ Chant specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Campos, E. V. ( 2002, Fall). Jews, Spaniards, and Portingales: Ambiguous Identities of Portuguese Marranos in Elizabethan England. Englis Literary History, 69(3), 599-616. doi:E-ISSN:1080-6547. Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into Literature. NY: Bridgepoint. Kranz, D. (2003, Summer). Sounds of Supernatural Soliciting in Macbeth. Studies in Philology, 100(3). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4174762?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Lindsay, V. (1917). The Congo. In H. Monroe (Ed.), The New Poetry: An Anthology. Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/265/193.html Wilson, R. (2002). The Pilots Thumb: Macbeth and the Jesuits. In T. L. Stories, R. Poole (Ed.), The Lancashire Witches (pp. 126-145). Manchester: Manchester Universiity Press.

Effect of the media, TV advertising and commercials to individual, Essay

Effect of the media, TV advertising and commercials to individual, families and to society - Essay Example This essay "Effect of the media, TV advertising and commercials to individual, families and to society" outlines the changes that media and advertisement industry has brought to our society. To improve the body image, teenagers go fasting getting into unhealthy cycle of malnutrition, anemia and become an open field for attacking diseases. At the same time, young men devote their focus on a well-built, athletic body to make their mark in the female arena, and in the world at large. Both these pressures hardly give the youngsters any time for their intellectual or educational development. All advertised images of men and women are full of perfectly shaped bodies, drooled over by the lesser fortunate mortals. The average viewer watches 400 to 600 advertisements every day and this enormous amount of messaging can create a permanent mindset. Fatty foods are shown with awfully thin bodies triggering off a confused and strange eating tendency among the really younger sets. Acceptance of violence, almost expecting it, is another tendency that is unhappily growing among viewers. Children are becoming more and more bloodthirsty. Recent media story about a TV game where the little viewer had to blow up President Kennedy’s head was an ultimate example of the horrifying intellectual bankruptcy. Children know all names in the TV game world, but cannot recognize the next-door kid, as they hardly play in the open. Perhaps a positive and encouraging, almost ethical approach is necessary for TV to make the right impact on viewers.

William Butler Yeats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

William Butler Yeats - Essay Example Yeats can get away with absolutely cliched poetical language like "loveliness" and still create lines of matchless significance about a woman's beauty: "How many centuries spent/The sedentary soul/In toils of measurement/Beyond eagle or mole,/Beyond hearing or seeing, Or Archimedes' guess,/To raise into being/That loveliness" (Opening song from the play Fighting the Waves). Of language he was a past master. The themes and subjects of Yeats' poetry could be varied, because he was a man of varied interests and pursuits. Yeats could combine simplicity, a concise style, and innate wisdom for commentary on war from a soldier's point of view: "I know that I shall meet my fate/Somewhere among the clouds above;/ Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love;"An Irish Airman Forsees His Death, The Wild Swans at Coole. 1919). He could make a commentary on the Easter Rising in Ireland like he did with his poem Easter(1916): "Too long a sacrifice/ Can make a stone of the heart./O when may it suffice/ That is Heaven's part, our part /To murmur name upon name,/As a mother names her child /When sleep at last has come /On limbs that had run wild". Or, he could write with a deep sense of almost Wordsworthian longing for the peace and beatitude of nature: "I will arise and go now, for always night and day/ I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;/ While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,/ I hear it in the deep heart's core".(The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Rose, 1893). In his final years, Yeats was also known to give expression of his occultist beliefs in a 2000-year cycle of existence: "The darkness drops again but now I know/ That twenty centuries of stony sleep/ Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,/ And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,/ Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born"( The Second Coming, Michael Robartes and the Dancer.1919) This range and versatility is the outcome of a lifetime of evolution, because Yeats is one of those rare breed of creative minds who can produce their best work in their waning years. Yeats was born on 13 June 1865, and came from an Anglo-Irish heritage. It was his mother who introduced him to Irish folktales which were to be an important influence on his poetry. He had ideal parents for his profession as a poet : "Yeats has told of the deep emotional reserves in his Sligo-born mother, "whose actions were unreasoning and habitual like the seasons. From his father, John Butler Yeats, a man of original mind who had been trained in the law but turned to painting and to the pre-Raphaelite enthusiasms current in the '70s and '80s, Yeats early heard that "intensity was important above all things." (Bogan, 1938) Yeats was moved to London from Ireland when he was two, and remained there for all his schooling till he enrolled in the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin for two years in 1884, and here he saw the early beginnings of his poetry. In Dublin he made famous acquaintances like G.B. Shaw, and W.E. Henley, and soon began to publish poetry, and in 1889, came out with The Wanderings of Usheen [Oisin] which included works