Thursday, November 28, 2019

7 Surprising Facts About Homeschooling

7 Surprising Facts About Homeschooling If youre new to the idea of homeschooling, you may think its just like traditional school, but without the classroom.  In some  ways, youd be right -  but there are many important differences. And those differences make homeschooling the best choice for many families.   Whether youre a new  homeschooler  or are just curious about how it works, here are seven facts about homeschooling that may surprise you. 1. Homeschoolers Dont Have to Do the Same Work as Kids in School In some states, public school students have the option to  do their work at home online. Because theyre still enrolled in the public school system, those students follow the same curriculum as kids in school. But in general, homeschoolers also have the option to create their own curriculum -  or not use a curriculum at all. Often they choose lots of hands-on activities and ​learning resources other than textbooks. So instead of trying to keep up with what students in their grade are doing, homeschooling students can study Ancient Greece while their peers study the Civil War. They can  explore states of matter with dry ice  or go  in-depth on evolution  while kids their age are memorizing the parts of a flower. The freedom to follow childrens interests is one of the aspects of homeschooling many families like best. 2. Homeschooling Parents Stay up to Date on How Children Learn and Grow To keep their teaching license current, classroom teachers may be required to attend professional development workshops. At these workshops, they study the latest information and strategies about how children learn. But research on education topics like learning styles, brain development, and the links between physical activity and memory can be found in books, magazines and websites available to the public as well. Thats why even homeschooling parents who dont have teaching degrees are familiar with the latest information on how to be a better teacher. Whats more, experienced homeschoolers -  including those with a professional background in education or child development - are very willing to offer support to other homeschoolers, whether online or at  parent meetings. So the knowledge base within the homeschool community is vast and easily accessible. 3. Its Not Unusual for Classroom Teachers to Homeschool Their Own Children Nobody knows how schools really operate better than classroom teachers. So its not surprising that  many licensed, trained, experienced public school educators decide to homeschool their  kids. As they will tell you, homeschooling lets them use their skills and experience without a lot of  red tape. At home, dedicated professional teachers can create the kind of  learning environment every child should have. 4. Were Still Waiting for a Good Study of Homeschooling You may have  read articles that claim homeschoolers do better than average on standardized tests, come from wealthier families, and homeschool mainly because of religious beliefs. None of the conventional wisdom about homeschooling is backed by rigorous scientific research, however. Most of the statistics you read were collected by groups with a vested interest in proving  that either homeschooling is a cure-all for American education or the end of civilization as we know it. The true answer is more complicated and yet to be reliably studied. 5. Lots of Homeschooling Parents Are Also Working Parents Along with the idea that homeschooling families are wealthier than average is the notion that teaching your own children means one parent must be home full time  and not working. This is not true. Homeschoolers come up with many creative ways to balance work and homeschooling. 6. Homeschoolers Dont Need a High School Diploma to Get into College Colleges have come to recognize that homeschool students are as well prepared as traditionally-schooled students for college life. Thats why they often have a special application process for  college-bound homeschoolers  that takes into account their varied backgrounds. Some homeschoolers also get around requirements for standardized tests like the SAT by taking enough community college classes while in high school to apply as transfer students. 7. Homeschoolers Can Get Many of the Same Educator Discounts as Classroom Teachers Classroom teachers know that national chains and local stores that carry school supplies, art materials, books, and teaching aids often offer educator discounts. In many cases, homeschooling parents can get these discounts too. Stores that have offered discounts include Barnes Noble and Staples. Special educator discounts extend to field trips as well. Museums, summer camps, amusement parks and other educational and recreation venues have learned that offering special events and programs for homeschoolers can boost business during slow periods. For instance, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, the Colonial-era living museum, has run popular Home School Days for several years. Some national companies also include homeschoolers in competitions and incentive programs aimed at school kids. For example, homeschoolers can earn rewards for reading from the Six Flags chain of amusement parks and Pizza Hut restaurants. Policies change, so its always a good idea to ask. You may also want to be prepared to show proof that you homeschool, such as  a letter from the school district or your  homeschool group membership card.

Monday, November 25, 2019

A Reflection Essay

A Reflection Essay A Reflection Essay A Reflection Essay Paper: Writing Tips A reflective essay is a paper that basically describes your views and feeling about some particular subject. The goal of it is to convince the personal experiences and feelings that resulted. Unlike many other types of essays the purpose of this paper is not to discuss the subject, but to explore the ideas. To Write A Reflection Essay: Getting Started Before writing find the topic. There can be one major or several small topics. When you choose a topic fora reflection essay, think about the information that you have learned and interesting facts that brought you some new knowledge. It should be wide enough to raise the interest in reader. Consider at least three-page reflection essay writing. The main part of a reflection essay has to include: Keep to the basic rules of five paragraph essay: Write an introduction paragraph that gives the information about the author and the document Develop your idea by dividing it into several important points and, therefore, into several paragraphs Give solid background information Use topic sentences Provide some sense of the importance of your writing for your own faiths development Use good sentence structure, avoid sentence fragments and fuses sentences, choose language that expresses your meaning While writing a reflection essay you should provide your own experiences in an interesting manner, however carefully consider your target auditorium. It is very important to get the reader involved in the story. A reflection essay is like playground for good presentation of ideas and experiences of the writer, they allow him to grow. The successful reflection essay will involve the reader in the writers ideas, emotions, and experiences. Thus, you should use vivid writing style, different linguistic tools and analyze the audience carefully in order to engage your reader as much as possible. A Reflection Essay Writing Help If you need help in writing your work or you simply do not have time to make a research and to prepare it, you are welcome to become our client and receive a professional help in your task overnight. It is easy and very convenient. Read more: Essays on Patriotism Assignment Help Writing a Critical Essay Synthesis Writing Steps Custom Writing Service

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Subsea construction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Subsea construction - Research Paper Example For instance it is genuinely correct to use the word ‘submarine’ or ‘undersea’ but it is not right to say ‘undermarine’ or ‘subsea’ (Palmer, 2008). The services of Subsea Construction include Offshore Services, Vessels, and Shoreboard Services. In gas fields and deepwater oil all over the world, this subsea construction provides work proposals for laying pipes, and also manifold tiebacks and subsea tree and also various others particularly applications of subsea. Fast speeds of transit and huge range of pipeline capabilities which worked for ten thousand feet is also an advantage of flexible construction of subsea fleet. Many experienced engineers are known with leading technology of the technology are an important part of many world-renowned class projects in the frontiers of deep water. The underwater vessels improve economics, execution, and safety (Palmer, 2008). These capacities include enhanced effective operation of tiny-diameter of pipelines, flexible risers, umbilicals, and flowlines. Furthermore, huge diameter pipes are laid out in the bottom of the sea having a six to thirty inch OD; also a S-laid pipe is installed with a radius of seventy to three hundred radius. Six hundred metric ton equipment is consumed to a depth of ten thousand feet. Also a muti-service with an open deck is bolstered with four thousand metric tons of variable load available and the transit speeds provided are as high as fourteen knots (Robinson, 1996). The offshore wind power is an important constituent of Subsea Construction. The infrastructure of transmission of power makes use of many technologies of subsea construction for the maintenance and installation of transmission cables of submarine power and many other equipments of electrical energy. Also, there are monopole basis of fixed bottoms of wind turbines and fastening the cable structures of these hanging wind turbines as they are examined on a regular basis using diversity of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Primary Critical Anaylysis of Edward Albee's The Zoo Essay

Primary Critical Anaylysis of Edward Albee's The Zoo - Essay Example In the play "The Zoo Story" by Edward Albee in 1958 first performed in Berlin at the Schiller Theater Werkstatt, 1959. The "zoo" imagery runs throughout the play and the actual crisis emerges from the sentence that Jerry enters saying "I've been to the zoo". Jerry reflects a "great weariness" and questions the verisimilitude of "social prosperity" and "happiness" that the optimism that seem to surround the American Dream. The isolation and the confinement of his free life becomes the curse of the modern society. He is free to remain condemned, and hardly can share a relationship with even an animal. The one-act drama revolves around the concept of the 'zoo' that belies the 'Disneyland' of American promise of superabundance and civility. My present concern in this paper is to analyze the questions that Jerry raises and how he escapes through his death. On a fine Sunday afternoon Peter sits on a park bench reading a book, just when Jerry enters looking a bit tattered and ragged. He starts a conversation with Peter which takes a violent turn after Jerry goes into a detailed analysis of his life at his apartment, and his relationship with a dog the story that he names "THE STORY OF JERRY AND THE DOG!". The dialogues about his personal life and that of the present turn seamy which ultimately takes a dangerous note when he starts telling Peter what exactly he saw in the zoo. Peters request to leave becomes ridiculous when Jerry starts to tickle him without reason, almost bordering on absurdity. While continuing with his zoo story Jerry challenges Peter repeatedly to leave the bench and hits him on his hand. Angry at the illogicality of Jerry's response he starts a fight and ultimately falls into Jerry trap when he picks up his knife and Jerry lunges on him killing himself. Jerry dies with a fitting parody of a prayer. The speech of Jerry borders on madness and implicitly becomes a subversive force to unsettle the middle-class morals that seem to be the binding force of the American bourgeoisie. Jerry questions traditional concept of roles as he confuses "wife" with "parakeets", "cats" and often compares Peter's household with a zoo that makes a mockery of marriage and human relationships. Most importantly it becomes a satire against the concept of the "family" as portrayed by the popular American image, like the "The Brady Bunch", a sitcom aired between 1969 and 1974. Clearly Jerry and peter represent two different worlds.1The typical archetype of "good old mom" and "good old pop" are just ideals that the society forces on us and thus Jerry says that the empty picture frames that should have framed another picture perfect moment is just a sham and his family history is just another terrible "middle-European joke". Again he scandalizes middle-class morality by professing that he was "once" a homose xual and graphically gives a detailed encounter of his landlady and the "pretty little ladies" who are just an embodiment of carnal "desires". This is a mockery of the prudery as he says "People looked up. It always happens when I try to simplify things; people look up" Jerry is not stupid, infact he is quite learned since he tragically says that he is "howling because [he] is alive". Characters like the hellish dog, the "colored queen",

Monday, November 18, 2019

Art Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Art Research paper - Essay Example revolutionized the Western art scene, while Middle-Eastern cultures denounced it as blasphemy. With the advent of Christianity, the nude form was suppressed and it was not until the Renaissance, when artists looked to antiquity for inspiration, that the nude form came in vogue once again. The period between the 15th -17th century saw some of the most renowned works of nudes come into being. Kenneth Clark2 (1956) whose seminal work on the female nude gave way to much animated discussion on this forgotten topic, credits the Renaissance with giving an impetus to this form, saying â€Å"In the greatest age of painting, the nude inspired the greatest work†. The nude female form continues to inspire artists and art lovers to this day and many ground breaking studies reveal the various nuances of female depiction, its metamorphosis over the ages and the reaction it evokes, ranging from awe to a total denial of its worth as a subject. The words nude and naked are often interchanged for each other, but the difference in their meaning is so wide that the word nude invariably evokes the image of a person without clothes but it has an aesthetic ring to it. Naked on the other hand can mean intolerance and a subsequent discarding of clothes or even to a cult of nudists who exhort people to give up clothing. To put forth the idea more clearly, we can use Kenneth Clark’s definition of the terms, where he says â€Å"To be naked is to be deprived of our clothes, and†¦. the embarrassment†¦in that condition. The word nude carries †¦no uncomfortable overtone†¦it projects†¦a balanced, prosperous, and confident body: the body re-formed.† The author has delineated the female nude in conformity with religious, cultural and philosophic tenets of classical and modern Western society. Clark’s theories are the benchmark for any argument for or against the female nude, while John Bergerâ⠂¬â„¢s study of the relation between the work of art and the person

Friday, November 15, 2019

Media Essays Mass Media Society

Media Essays Mass Media Society Mass Media Society Abstract This paper shows the problems of mass media. Mass media is absolutely important for our life. However, as much as mass media plays an important role in our society, it causes some serious problems. Mass media makes citizens recognize misjudgments by distorting the truth. Most serious problem mass media can affect extreme power to our society. Mass media has been developed more and more as society has grown, becoming centralized authority in our society. Exaggerated contents of mass media affect bad sides to people-especially teenagers. Some people tend to believe mass media absolutely, so it is also becomes a problem. Television, internet, and advertising, nowadays, the most important medium of mass media brings some problems to each other, so these are issue in society which people have to solve. Mass Media Power The more society has grown, the bigger the market of mass media has been developed. Hibbert (2006) defined in the book the power of media that mass media is all part of television, radio, Web sites, newspapers, magazines and books. They deliver information to the public (p. 6). People can meet and understand their society through mass media. Before 1960s, mass media was not public. Some citizens could know how their society and economy were moved according to newspaper. Since 1970s when television was invented, the market of mass media has been developed. Now, most fields of mass media were created, so we can meet mass media really easily not only on the streets but also at home. We are living under the effects of mass media. However, this development of mass media brings some problems in our society as two sides of the same coins. Mass media crisis has rear up secretly because most media organizations do not want to be revealed to their problems frankly. Problems Mass media affects all fields such as politic, economy, government, culture and society. Almost all countries have their own problems of media. The most serious problem of that media is mass media can bring confusion of people value. For example, mass media is to make people agree their ideas or thoughts in terms of propaganda. The meaning of propaganda is â€Å"a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people† (Propaganda, 2008). Actually, this word was meaning of the things to be spread. However, now most people may know the word of propaganda is some information which is false or emphasizes one part of a situation, normally used by a government or political group according to Nazi propaganda (Bytwerk, 2005). Taylor (2001) revealed how Hitler implanted his ideology in their citizens: In 1933, Adolf Hitler appointed Minister for Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels had spread a lot of propagandas, contained the ideology of Hitler and Nazi. All journalists, writers, and artists were needed to register with one of the Ministrys subsidiary chambers for the press, fine arts, music, theater, film, literature, or radio. The Nazis believed in propaganda as a vital tool in achieving their goals. Adolf Hitler was impressed by the power of Allied propaganda during World War I and believed that it had been a primary cause of the collapse of morale and revolts in the German home front and Navy in 1918. Broadcasters and journalists required prior approval before their works were disseminated. Along with posters, the Nazis produced a number of films and books to spread their beliefs. (pp. 162-163) In the U.S. and South Korean government also by emphasizing red complex to their citizens through mass media like radio or newspapers, the governments make their citizens recognize the hostile attitude about all policies of socialism while they justifies their policies (Kang, 1997). These things are absolute examples of mass media’s problem. In addition, as market of mass media has been developed much, the authority of mass media has grown also. The power of mass media has been centralized too much, so it exercises extreme influence over any government. The contents of mass media have been contained exaggeration and violence more and more. This mass media makes people tend to believe absolutely. Mass media has strong authority in our society. Mass media became one most important way for people to deliver information since mass media has been developed. We can get a lot of information and knowledge easily through mass media like newspaper, magazines and books. Actually, there is no way for us to take new information except through mass media. Therefore, mass media could have great authority among our society. Television Television is one of the most important media of mass communication. Common people may watch television at least one hour every day. Some people usually meet news through television and others may want to watch dramas or variety shows. We can watch a lot of programs according to our tastes through television. Nielsen media research (1998) reported: â€Å"Television was introduced to the U.S.A. at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. After two years, the Federal communications Commission licensed and approved the first commercially available television stations. In 1950, about 9% of American homes had TV sets. Since 1985, television ownership has been about 98%† (cited in Bushman, 2001, p. 477). Since television was invented, media became very popular in our life. Now almost all families have television at least one at home. Television has developed since 1930th as amazing invention can give people a lot of information and enjoyment visually and audially both. Most Americans watch television for 3 to 5 hours per day (Horvath, 2004, p. 378). As much as television has become famous to people, it causes many problems too. The violence of television’s programs has very serious effects. In television programs, we can easily see a recurrence of a case. It causes imitative crimes. Brandon Centerwall (1993), a professor at the University of Washington reported that from 1945 to 1974, 93% of the murder rate has been increased. It shows that television teaches violence, and it also makes people be unconcerned about violence. It can also cause antisocial actions. Television can bring addiction, which is one problem appeared since mass media was developed. TV addiction is similar with other addictions like drugs addiction or gambling. Especially TV addiction is bad for children. â€Å"A child who watched two hours of television a day before age three would be 20 percent more likely to have attention problems at age seven compared with a child who did not watch television† (Christakis, 2004). Television programs are contained to the violent acts and sensational contents more and more by pursuing commercial value. Moreover, they also maintain that television is forcing simple thoughts. Television gives us a lot of information but they can just give that. Viewers just can accept television’s information we cannot communicate with television. It is sure that the invention of television brought great development in our society. However, as the market of broadcast has been bigger, programs in television has been contained more violence and exaggerated. These things give children and teenagers bad effects, so all broadcast need to adjust their program contents. Internet Thatcher and Goolam (2005) said in their journal: The number of people using the internet has grown exponentially since the emergence of World Wide Web about ten years ago. No one is exactly sure how many people have online access. According to NUA Internet Survey (2002), it was estimated the number of internet users is approximately 600 million people in 2002 (Nua Internet survey, cited in Thatcher Goolam, 2002, p. 767). The popularity of the WWW, combined with the pervasiveness of computer technology in general, means that people are becoming increasingly reliant on technology and the Internet to conduct their day-to-day and work activities. (p. 767) Although internet appeared as a new medium of media and it formed new society, internet is not mixed with society where we live, so it caused many problems. We can accept tremendous information via internet because people in all over the world could share their information on network. However, as much as there is a lot of knowledge, in internet there is also information not true and useless. Also, since internet was popularized, many illegal crimes have been happened through internet. These crimes committed through the use of computer are called cybercrime. Cybercrime is â€Å"a real and growing problem that costs governments, businesses, and individual computer users millions of dollars annually and that facilitates many of the same crimes committed in real space, such as identity theft and the trafficking of child pornography, only on a larger scale† (Jones, 2007). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) revealed the U.S.A. lost about 240 million dollars from online crime during 2007: Financial losses from online crime reported to U.S. authorities reached a record high last year, topping nearly 240 million dollar. Taking into account unreported crimes the real figure is likely to be much higher. Auction fraud and other forms of cybercrime reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center were up 40 million or 20 per cent from those reported in 2006. The IC3 received 206,884 complaints about internet crimes last year, more than 90,000 of which were referred to law enforcement agencies across the U.S. IC3, which serves as a clearing house for cybercrime, is a joint operation between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Although internet auction fraud was the most widely reported complaint to the IC3, other problem areas included non-delivery of purchases and credit card fraud. Computer hacking attacks spam and child abuse on the net formed the subject of other complaints. Commonly reported scams involved the purchase or sale of pets, cheque fraud, email spam, and online dating fraud. The report provides evidence that the U.K. is fast catching up with the U.S. in being a hotbed of cybercrime. Despite the fact that the IC3 study is supposedly a national US annual report, the UK is the source of 15.3 per cent of the crime reports, significantly ahead of other cybercrime hotspots such as Nigeria (Leyden, 2008). It is also commonly happened to be invaded person’s privacy and personal information on network. According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by TNS Sofres on behalf of digital-security company Gemalto (2008), about 60% of Americans are concerned about stealing their account passwords when they bank online, and 38% do not believe online payments (cited in Swartz, 2008). Advertising Advertising is a part of mass media. Market of advertisement has been developed as much as we can see an advertisement per one minute. Nowadays most products make up of advertisement because each product has to be sold in infinity competition society. Now customers live in the flood of advertising. From the moment of opening eyes to going to bed, people are connected with advertising through television, radio, newspapers, magazines and catalogs. Human Communication research (1998) shows one adult can contact to 3,000 advertising during one day and he or she can memorize just 10 out of 3,000 (cited in Kim, 2000, p. 54). The market of advertisements has been developed. However, the problem of advertisements are inherent in function of information, entertain and persuasion, so they may not only make people’s life style changed but also promote decadent culture like alcohol, cigarette and sex. Ellickson et al (2005) studied about how much advertising will affect to adolescents: Ellickson and other authors examine the relationship exposure to different forms of alcohol advertisingand subsequent drinking among U.S. adolescents and assess whether exposure to an alcohol and drug prevention program mitigates any such relationship. The sample includes 3111 seventh-graders drawn from 41 South Dakota middle schools, and they are exposed to television beer advertising, variables were constructed for four types of alcohol advertising television, in store displays, magazines and concession stands. The result of this experience is several forms of alcohol advertising predict adolescent drinking; which sources dominate depends on the childs prior experience with alcohol. Forty-eight percent of the non-drinkers in grade 7 qualified as past-year drinkers by the spring of ninth grade, indicating a substantial amount of initiation over the period examined. (pp. 235-246). Like this, advertising affects to people, especially adolescents a lot. Actually advertising has a great of influence on customers and society. For example, there is a study that skinny models in advertising cause eating disorder of women and girl, so some countries took measures to ban ultra-skinny models from their catwalks (Diderich, 2007). People can meet the extreme number of advertising everyday, so advertising has to be made without exaggeration and fiction. Janese Heavin (2007) who is the Tribune’s staff, wrote the article about a study: University of Missouri-Columbia research said that looking at pictures of flawless models in fashion magazines can make even the prettiest women feel downright crummy. Laurie Mintz, associate professor of education, school and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education said most women know intuitively or subconsciously that when they look at magazines they will feel badly about themselves. The study validates what women know in their own experiences but assume it is just theirs to deal with. Spearheaded by graduate student Emily Hamilton, who used the project to earn her master’s degree, the study asked 81 college women to rate how they feel about their appearance, from facial features to chest size. Some of the women were then asked to view magazine advertisements that used fashion models to sell products. Others looked at ads that showed products with no models. Those who saw the images of fashion models later reported having a more negative body image, regardless of their own attractiveness. This study shows women were equally affected by the images. It is been commonly believed that larger women or women struggling with eating disorders feel worse after seeing pictures of models, but the latest study indicates the images are bad for everyone. In conclusion, people have to be careful when accepting mass media’s information. There are not simple solutions to solve the problem of media. These problems of mass media like television, internet and advertising have bad effects on people especially the perfection of self during childhood. People should try to accept right information through mass media. Therefore, they need to improve critical thoughts for filtering correct acknowledge. Critical thinking might be helpful to accept which information is needed to us. Critical thinking is â€Å"mental processes of distinguish, analysis and evaluation. Critical thinking is a form of judgment, specifically meaningful and reflective judgment. Using critical thinking one makes a decision or solves the problem of judging what to believe or what to do, but does so in a reflective way† (Critical thinking, 2008). People have the right to criticize and punish media which is to destroy our emotion and ethics. People have to improve power of judgment. If people have ability to control information in this information-oriented society, they may have precedence over other people who do not have.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Transformation of Jack in William Goldings Lord of the Flies Essay

The Transformation of Jack in William Golding's Lord of the Flies        In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack is the character that experiences the most change. Jack begins the novel as a somewhat arrogant choirboy, who cries when he is not elected leader of the island. Jack is gradually transformed into a vicious killer who has no respect for human life. Through a series of stages, such as leading the choir, leading the hunting tribe, wearing the mask, killing Simon, separating from the group and intentionally killing Piggy, Jack degenerates from a normal, arrogant school boy into a savage beast. At the beginning of the novel, Golding describes Jack's physical appearance as "inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin and bony; his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled and ugly without silliness" (20).   Jack's original intentions were to keep an organized group on the island. Jack agrees with Ralph when he brings the group together, saying, "I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are the best at everything. So we've got to do the right things" (42).   Although originally portrayed as a pretty normal boy, evidence of his hostility begins to emerge. While Piggy is talking, Jack exclaims, "you're talking to much. Shut up fatty" (21).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jack is made the leader of the hunting tribe. He and his hunters have much trouble trying to hunt and kill a pig. Since he was raised as part of a sophisticated and wealthy family in England, he has not had any experience with hunting before. He struggles to become a hunter. But Jack is shown to have savage urges early. The author says, "he [Jack] tried to convey the... ...a vicious killer who has no respect for human life.    Works Cited Magill, Frank N., ed. Masterplots. Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs: n.p., 1949. 3 vols. Matuz, Roger., ed. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 1990. 68 vols. Michel-Michot, Paulette. "The Myth of Innocence,". Matuz 175-7.    Comments You have a solid discussion of Jack's transformation as well a good grasp of your language and grammar.   Your introduction and your conclusion should be more detailed. In the introduction you should introduce the novel, itself, and introduce your topic.   Why is a developing character important to the development of the novel?   Your conclusion should discuss how the change in Jack's character has affected the rest of the group, how it has affected the plot, and perhaps, why Jack's character degenerated instead of improving.