Reflective Essay Paper Sample

Reflective Essay Paper SampleIf you are looking for a reflective essay paper sample to be used as a basis for your own essay, this site is for you. Here you will find an online selection of reflective essay sample papers which will help you select the best one for your individual needs. This essay sample is designed to give you a variety of options when it comes to essay topics.This essay is just one example of how you can use reflective writing and essays to really get your point across. In a way, it is like a 'trip down memory lane' that helps you remember some of the most memorable experiences in your life. Since so many students are now looking to write academic essays, it would be a shame if you did not have any reflective essay sample to help you with your reflective writing skills.The reflective essay sample on this site gives you a wealth of options. There are also a number of different essays included, but all are designed to help you with your reflective writing and essay w riting needs. You will have an amazing variety of topics covered, and you will find them very helpful in helping you understand how to structure your own essays.When you choose to use a reflective essay paper, make sure that you make a decision as to whether you are going to provide an essay about yourself or one that will discuss something else entirely. For example, if you are going to write about something that you enjoy, then you will want to use a reflection essay sample that has this type of topic. However, if you are going to talk about something that you dislike, then you should consider using a reflective essay sample that does not provide that sort of topic.Another thing to think about is whether or not you are going to use an essay that you have already written before. If so, then it would be nice to have an essay that contains a review of what you previously wrote. You can do this by reviewing your essay and incorporating the things that you liked or did not like into yo ur essay.If you are going to choose an essay that you have never written before, then you will want to try and understand the topic before you begin writing. You will need to determine whether you are going to use something that was asked in class or something that is actually something that is in your mind. For example, many students that do not think about their emotions very often actually experience sadness writing about their personal experiences.Regardless of the style of the essay that you decide to use, you will want to know that this one is designed to help you enhance your reflective writing and essay writing skills. This site offers a selection of reflective essay samples that are sure to help you write reflective essays for all types of subjects. Just browse around and see what fits you best, and you will see the choices that are available to you.

The Reliability of Bible

Human beings are social beings who live together and set some mechanisms of governing their interactions; according to Versluis, 2008, religion is an aspect of human social life which provides for virtues and vises among a particular society. Religion is defined as an institutional system of belief, symbols, value, and practices that followers to the religion should adhere to; the concept of religion brings forth the need for a central source of power, guidance, reference, and direction.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Reliability of Bible specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the Christian religion, the bible is used as the source document where Christians should refer to and follow the teachings of in the book. The bible has sixty six books which Christians belief they were written with the inspiration of God (God is the Supreme Being worshiped by the religion). The bible was written over two thousand years a go however the Christians believe it is still applicable in modern changed lifestyle; the age gap between current generation and the time the bible was written creates the question of how reliable the bible is in modern Christian lives. Other than the difference, there are a number of stories, parables, historical analysis, and teachings that are written in context of older generations mostly the Jews. Depending with once understanding and believes about the bible, there have been numerous questions that seek to challenge the level at which modern generation can rely with the bible; this is so despite the book having been existence and bestselling book since its publishing 1 Thesis Statement A number of people in the world today approach historical books with some sense of uncritical and have trust with what they see or read to be accurate and authoritative; despite the notion, when historical material becomes the moral guidance, then people seems to be uncomfortable with the materi al. The bible has fallen in the trap of some of the world historical books that have been criticized and faces feign intellectual objections, claiming alleged contradictions in its teachings; this creates the question of how reliable the bible is. This paper discusses the reliability of the bible in modern lifestyle; it will discuss some of the contradictions that some scholars and laymen people have brought up about the holy book. The reliability of the bible It is evident that some scholars, locals, illiterates and literates do not trust the bible and some of its translations that have been made to the historical book; other people, either believers, non believers, and other religions have considered the bible as a mere derivate of Babylonian and Assyrian believes/way of life and law codes; some people are of the opinion that the reliability of the bible can be challenged by its contradictions that exists; for example phrases like â€Å"Cleanliness is next to godliness†, is challenging in meaning and context.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To test the reliability of the bible, this paper will focus or discuss three main lines of evidence that will illustrate the reliability of the bible and send some light on areas that the bible seems to mislead: The bibliographic test Under this title the paper will be concerned on the transmission of the bible texts in the old testament to the new covenant; it will evaluate how the book moves from original autographs to the modern contemporary society despite the prevailing differences in economic standings; under the bibliographic test the main context will be on quality, quantity, and time span of the material2. The quality of the manuscript When reading the Old Testament, one notes of small number of Hebrew manuscripts as the Jewish had the tradition of burying inappropriate and unwanted manuscripts; m ost of the materials were also lost or destroyed during turbulent Israel’s history; it was in the sixth century, the manuscripts of the old testaments where standardized by the masoretic Jews and the Hebrew manuprists was supplemented by the Dead Deas Scrolls commonly refered to as Targums. When referring to the New Testament, there are over 5000 Greek manuscripts, 1000 of other languages lije Syriac and about 8000 latin manuscripts; other than the materials the bible has thousand of citations/references copies in works of early latin authors like Plato 3 According to the Bible, Almighty God is the most powerful creature that is responsible for creating the earth and heaven; the earth is where we life but one day if we maintain the faith and act according to the will of God, we will rejoice in heaven with him. The principle of having an eternal life with the Supreme Being works to the good of uploading high moral standings and virtues within the communities. In the bible, it is considered prestigious that people will live with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The bible recognizes the works of early prophets in their works of developing the religion; it brings forth the struggles they had in the efforts of instilling handwork as a virtue among communities. They specifically recognize the work of Abraham, Mosses, Isaac, and Jesus; these people where portrayed as men of high moral standings, handworkers’ and people of high integrity, when the bible brings such issues, it aims at improving people’s virtues. The appealing stories presented in the bible are applicable in modern lifestyle where people are expected to have high moral standing and be handworkers4’.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Reliability of Bible specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Quantity of manuscript The Bible teachings influences human beings and the observance of the world by the believers Man has also to adjust himself to align him with the teachings of the bible. The teachings are bidding at all the times and the punishment of those who do the opposite is left as the work of the super national being. Some regard religion as immorality of the soul especially the earthiest. Earthiest are people who don’t belief in the existence of religion. Under the frameworks of quantity, there are some facts that can show that the bible can be relied upon, they include: The Bible is a Unique Book The bible has been written by over forty people of different lifestyles ranging from immerse poverty to very wealthy people the people ranged from kings and paupers, statesmen and fishermen, poets and physicians who used to live in more than one continent. The Bible is unique in its survival The period that the book has stayed and still has some relevance in modern life is an indication and test of time; the material can be relied to offer numerous explanations and seems to underst and situations well. Christian’s belief recognizes the existence of a super national force or power that have control over men and the activities that man do. The super natural may take any form of three supreme beings that is Holy Spirit, Jesus and God. In bible the phrase â€Å"by the power of the Holy Spirit† is recognition of the existence of a supreme power which has control over humanity. Respect to the Supreme Being is highly adhered to and there is always a set mode through which the community or individual communicates with the supreme power. In the teachings of the bible, there are some aspects or doings that are considered sinful and anyone who contravenes them is believed that he will get punishment in an appropriate method according to the discretion of the supreme power. Christianity recognizes the works of early prophets in their works of developing the religion. They specifically recognize the work of Abraham, Mosses, Isaac and Jesus. The power of God i s seen an incomparable. He is seen as one who the early prophets served and the today’s people have no alternative than to follow his teaching, the early prophets were seen as the ones who were to ensure that the religion and respect is accorded to God. He is invisible but omnipresent. This means that the misfortunes in the life’s of the Christians is as a result of the action of the supreme power. On the other hand, there is a book called the bible that governs the religion. If a believer does not comply with the requirement of the bible then the God’s power is supposed to punish the individual 5Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Time manuscript Christianity, whose teachings are advocated in the bible, influences human life and the observance of the world by the believers Man has also to adjust himself to align him with the requirements of the religion and not the religion to adjust in a way that suits everybody. Each religion has either written or unwritten laws that govern the religion. They are bidding at all the times and the punishment of those who do the opposite is left as the work of the super national being. Some regard religion as immorality of the soul especially the earthiest. Earthiest are people who don’t belief in the existence of religion. In sociology the word religion is used to means a wide range of activities. Religion is thus an institutional system of belief, symbols, values and practice that provide men solutions to their questions that the mere world that man can explain can’t give. On the other hand it always gives a solution to what man always seem not to have an a nswer. A common characteristic found among all religion is that they present a complex of emotional feelings and attitudes towards mysteries in life. Thus religion comprises of systems of attitude, beliefs and symbols which are based on the assumption that certain kind of social elements are sacred and supreme. There is also a structure of activities governed or influenced by this system. The religion of Christianity assumes that when someone has been saved, then he has been delivered from sins and oppression of different kinds. The deliverance is in the form of liberty they enjoy after the delivery in the form of salvation. The perception of the religion is that the issues and milestones that can be attained with salvation goes further than â€Å"admission to heaven† but it includes having a virtuous life on earth as one prepares good relationship with God6 The most important aspects brought about by the topic is how people should respect each other and how the respect can b uild a community that is well interlinked and cares for each other. The topic seem to suggest that evil prevail in the community because people have little or minimal regard for each other; there is no mutual respect and people seem to be selfish and act as individuals. One of the most interesting aspects brought about by the topic is the role played by religion as an ethical principle; the chapter shows that people can live in harmony and liberate each other from social, economic, and political. Christians are supposed to think about each other and how they can solve problems of other people in the community. When reading the chapter, one gets the feeling that dignity in the world can be restored by people respecting and having value for each other; despite the differences in the community, Christianity always offers the people a chance to solve their differences and assist each other improve their living conditions, socially and economically. The role of the church has been brough t about in the chapter; the church should have frameworks that ensure its people live well amongst each other. The following are the questions that came into the picture: How will the religion ensure that the virtues have been adhered to? Who should set the standards of the religion? Are the deviant people expelled from the religion? Though Christianity is a highly personal issue, it has a social impact to the entire society. It is a very powerful tool in the society and performs a lot of important social functions in the society (Brà ¼mmer 101). It is through religion that suffering can be justified to be good and necessary; this was portrayed by Frederick Douglass, an American Slave deliberator when he accused the Americans of using Christianity particularly the bible as the mode of oppression. When reading the bible there are some verses that seem to support that when someone is suffering then he is more likely to go to heaven. In Matthew 19:24, English Standard Version states â€Å"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,7† the statement seems to strengthen that being poor Is a virtue in the Christian religion. When following the bible there can be some justification that someone needs not to be rich as when he get rich he is likely to be detached from his creator. When such notion as created is employed in modern life, then people are likely not to work hard nor accumulate wealth, this is not right. The bible generally gives an accepted mode of living and doing some functions, it is seen as an effective way that bring people together for a social good. It also emphasizes on the importance of each and every societal member8 Conclusion Different people practice different forms of religion. Christianity is one of the oldest and most practiced religions in the world. The bible recognizes God as the Supreme Being who has super powers to influence mankind in all as pects. It believes that all glory and power belong to God and thus he should be worshiped alone. The religion believes in the son of God, Jesus Christ and believes that the world is ruled through Holy Spirit. Reference List Brà ¼mmer Vincent. 2006. Brà ¼mmer on meaning and the Christian faith: collected writings of Vincent Brà ¼mmer. New Jersey: Ashgate publishing. Mackintosh, Helen.2003. Christian Experience of Forgiveness.New York: Kessinger publishing. Tinder, Glenn.2001. The Fabric of Hope: An Essay Issue 6 of Emory University Studies in Law and Religion. New York: Eerdmans publishing. Trombley, Frank.2001. Hellenic religion and Christianization. New Jersey: Brill. Versluis Arthur. 1993. American transcendentalism and Asian religions. London: Oxford university press Footnotes 1 Tinder, Glenn.2001. The Fabric of Hope: An Essay Issue 6 of Emory University Studies in Law and Religion. New York: Eerdmans publishing. 2 Versluis Arthur. 1993. American transcendentalism and Asian re ligions. London: Oxford university press 3 Tinder, Glenn.2001. The Fabric of Hope: An Essay Issue 6 of Emory University Studies in Law and Religion. New York: Eerdmans publishing. 4 Versluis Arthur. 1993. American transcendentalism and Asian religions. London: Oxford university press 5 Trombley, Frank.2001. Hellenic religion and Christianization. New Jersey: Brill. 6 Mackintosh, Helen.2003. Christian Experience of Forgiveness. New York: Kessinger publishing. 7 Versluis Arthur. 1993. American transcendentalism and Asian religions. London: Oxford university press 8 Brà ¼mmer Vincent. 2006. Brà ¼mmer on meaning and the Christian faith: collected writings of Vincent Brà ¼mmer. New Jersey: Ashgate publishing This essay on The Reliability of Bible was written and submitted by user Nadia Bates to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Critical Analysis of Diary of a Mad Black Woman Essays

Critical Analysis of Diary of a Mad Black Woman Essays Critical Analysis of Diary of a Mad Black Woman Paper Critical Analysis of Diary of a Mad Black Woman Paper Essay Topic: Black Boy Orlando The Heart Of a Woman Critical Analysis of the Movie: Diary of a Mad Black Woman Produced: 2005 Director: Darren Grant Producer: Tyler Perry Producer: Reuben Cannon Co-Producer: Mike Upton Executive Producer: Tyler Perry Executive Producer: John Dellaverson Line Producer: Joseph P. Genier Executive Producer: Michael Paseornek December 12, 2008 Sociology 100 Critical Analysis of the Movie: Diary of a Mad Black Woman Helen McCarterhas everything that she could possibly want in life: a huge house, lavish lifestyle and a very rich husband. The morning after attending an awards banquet where her husband (Charles McCarter) receives an award for the most outstanding lawyer of Atlanta, Helen awakes to her husband not in bed on their 18th wedding anniversary. She then goes to his office to surprise him with lunch but finds him there with another woman and two kids. Helen then arrives home with a U-Haul truck parked in her driveway. When Helen goes in the house she discovers a closet full of a new designer wardrobe that she believes is a surprise from Charles. But the new wardrobe is not the anniversary surprise that she was expecting. Charles comes home that evening to tell her that he is divorcing her for a younger woman and to be with his two sons. When Helen refuses to leave, Charles has to drag her out of the house and shut the door on her. Helen is left outside the door crying and is rescued by the U-Haul driver (Orlando) that she eventually throws out of the U-Haul truck. Helen then turns to her mother, grandmother (Madea) and her cousin (Brian) who take her in and help her put God back in her life. Helen learns how to stand on her own two feet for the first time in her life. When her husband is almost killed by a vengeful client, Helen is faced with the decision of having the heart to forgive him despite all the pain he has put her through. But after much thought, she decides to marry her boyfriend (Orlando).

International business essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International business - Essay Example These same forces influence the growth of globalization, which is the ongoing political, economic, and social process that deepens the interdependency amongst nations. In the world today, approximately 25 percent of the produce globally is sold outside the country from which they originated (Boyer, 2012). This is due to the continuous reduction in the restrictions that concern imports and exports. This has helped the expansion of multinational retail, as the retailers take advantage of these incentives to venture into foreign markets. In addition to the reduction in import restrictions, the regional trade agreements signed amongst various countries have enabled the retailers to reduce the costs of foreign licensing, as the globe is transforming towards the reliance in regional trade balances (Dicken, 2011). The easy movements of resources across borders are a factor that influences the retail activities all around the world. Contrary to the previous trends that made it difficult to move resources across the precincts, this current trend facilitates mechanisms that increase the access of retailer resources in the foreign market (Connell, 2005). Besides, the trade restrictions on foreign investment allow foreign retail investors to open multiple store branches across a foreign market. This is coupled with the increasing need of governments to fulfill the overgrowing customer tastes in trying foreign retail services and products. In a bid to diversify the consumer tastes, Marks and Spencer ventured into the Italian dressing industry, opening multiple stores that competed against the trademark Italian Giorgio Armani cloth line. This example has championed the growth of economic blocs, such as the COMESA, NATO, and European Union that have general agreements on the conditions of trade as we ll as suitable tariffs (Schmalz & Ebenau, 2012). The expansion of multinational retail services and activities is attributed to the expansion in

Health care should be free Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health care should be free - Research Paper Example The government should provide a basic level of health care to all citizens and allow the affording to purchase quick, more efficient, or a higher quality service, though the quality of medical health services provided to the poor should be comparable to that available to the rich in any case. Countries in which the private health care has become the norm have a great number of citizens without insurance. Millions of people in the US either have no insurance or are underinsured because of a variety of reasons including lack of employment and poor economy. If the health care system is made free, people would not be denied the service just because they cannot pay for it. Everyone would have access to all kinds of medical services irrespective of the financial status. The government should establish a network of community health centers so that health care becomes accessible to all communities across the country (Zwegenthal et al, 2009, p. 4). Making the health care system free is a pote ntial way of bringing the overall costs of the health care down. Countries that have a public health care system instead of one that is sponsored by the state usually spend a much larger amount of their gross national profit over providing the health care. As a result of this, the free market system places the need for increased expenditure on the administrative costs. This increases the insurance premiums and raises the costs for the expenses paid out of pocket for the medication after meeting the insurance deductible. One way to resolve this issue is by using co-insurance and deductibles, but these mechanisms require the imposition of restrictions to ensure the provision of health care to the financial strained. â€Å"And since cost sharing can have an adverse effect on the health of the poor, these and certain other groups should be exempt from sharing the cost of care altogether† (Harris and Manning, 2007, p. 80). Making health care free is an important way of reducing th e cost of medical care since the competition would be eradicated under the single administration. Presently, because of the availability of a variety of health care plans, claims and procedures are often duplicated. Free health care system would save the time that is otherwise consumed in processing the claims, thus making the system more efficient. Free health care system can be administered more easily with lesser cost. The need for the employers to incur expenditures by providing their employees with insurance would be obviated. Placement of the health care system under the single administration would also obviate the need for contractual negotiations. It is noteworthy here that different free health care systems function differently. For example, the health care system in Canada is different from the health care system in the UK. Which out of a certain number of free health care systems are superior or inferior to the others is eventually determined by the consumers. The infant mortality rate of the US is high while the life span is shorter as compared to many countries around the world (Kongaika, 2013). This can partly be attributed to the fact that many Americans do not get the

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).

Make Death Penalty Legal Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"And thine eye shall not pity, But life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,† the Book of Deuteronomy 19:21. When the word â€Å"death penalty† or capital punishment is mentioned, so is morality. Others claim that there is no morality in such punishment. However, what is more moral than the Bible? The Bible encourages condemning sinners. The golden rule practically sums it all up: do unto others as you want done unto you. If you choose to kill, then you had better be ready to accept the consequences. California is a state built on a foundation of justice and equality. It is only fair that when an innocent life or lives are taken, some kind of compensation is given. In most cases, the death penalty is a matter of justice and equality. With most crimes, the purposes of the punishment are to rehabilitate the convict and to send a warning to others who would commit similar crimes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics, 60 to 80 percent of all convicts will continue to commit more and generally worse crimes when released. Violent con...