Later Greek Legacy Essay Example for Free

Later Greek Legacy Essay Athenian comedy, satyrs and tragedy were recorded as one of the earliest theater forms to appear in world. Greek theater and plays had great impact on western drama and culture. Almost every Greek and roman city which was noteworthy in those days had open-air theater, which had neatly arranged seats in tiers looking over the nearby lovely view of landscape. In these theaters, the ancient Greek could sit so as to watch plays of Euripides, Arostophanes, Aeschhylus, Menender and Sophocles. These theatres were developed through God Dionysus ceremonial worship and were naturally communal. Greek comedy flourished much from c. 600 to c. 200 BC as a tradition in the ancient Greek. Athens comedy are claimed to have evolved from several festivals related to cult of the Dionyos who was God of Greek in charge of wine and fertility. Athens comedy was conducted during Dionysia which was festival conducted annually in honor of Dionysus. The Athens comedy ridiculed members of the society who were prominent and also mythology. Autochthony myth was basic to imaginary of culture to democracy of the Athens. These comedies narrated about people shared origins for people of diverse statuses and origins. They provided theoretical justification crucial for exclusivity and democratic egalitarianism. The comedies were furnishing basis for every one in the society to be common and thus equality between them all. The myth provided a generation model that justified exclusion of all foreigners and all the women from power. Autochthony discourse of Athenians was inextricably tied on sexual reproduction. The comedy also was advocated to release slaves from slavery and also enfranchise foreigners and other disfranchised people. Pericles’ proposal claimed that the Athenians had passed law limiting their citizenship especially people who were born by two Athenians. Menander’s comedy also had little insight to the affairs of Athenians. This comedy also eschew politics as well as talked about how young Athenians in romance faced obstacles in selecting young women of their choice (Ehrenberg Victor, 1943). Menander comedy depicted on the traditional democratic ideology of the Athenian society and is also against the sexual harassment and mistreatment that women in that society under go. This comedy also advocated for breaking down the internal divisions which was based on economic classes and status. This comedy also played role of struggling for politics between the Greek cities and the Hellenistic kingdoms. It also played role in democratic status subversion and reproduction boundaries. The comedy provided stories which could enable Athenians to identify themselves as democratic citizens rather than referring themselves with the political regime in power since the wealth people tend to control the society. Menander comedy countervails the narrative trajectories so as to reproduce and also resist the social civic order. These comedies emphasize on citizenship law may be changed and deploy characteristic of naturalism in the Athenian society. The Menander comedy in general politicized on marriage, political silence and the state and also the genre laws. The comedy also advocates for social transformation to remove the marriage obstacles and free the society away from the initial illusions and injustice. The manander comedy plays role of transforming the society from the traditional laws and ideology governing marriages and citizenship and also the elimination of the social evils in the society. The society tolerated and supported this ideology since it was deeply rooted in their minds and they had to support what their fore-fathers considered good for the society. The wealthy person could not afford to free their slaves since it would mean losing their wealth or fame. The Athenians also wanted to restore the democracy which was put in place by Demetrius (Taylor Rabun, 1997). The practices and beliefs of the Athenian sustained their identity as citizens of Athenian and more specifically as democratic citizens so they had to continue practicing them. Each individual Athenian was entitled to democracy irrespective of the social and economical class he belonged to and thus the need of maintaining their culture. The Athenians also saw the rule of sexual reproduction as being important to them since it enabled them to exist and to be at their state. They had belief that the gender and marriage practices in their society enabled them to be democratic and that is why they never accepted intermarriages in their society. The Athenians saw democratic culture and the Athenian law as governing them well. Their traditional ritual cerebrations and events were very much entertaining and supporting their traditional cultures and also were making them to be united and proud of themselves and thus it was very hard to accept to lose their cultures (McCarthy Kathleen, 2000). The Athenians also had their own laws which were governing them and they considered these laws as uniting them and thus they never wanted the laws to be interfered with by anyone since it would mean losing their identity. The Athenians also never wanted their traditions to lose vitality and vigor and thus they supported them. They supported the reproduction belief since they never wanted their society to be mixed up as they saw it could result splitting of their tradition. In conclusion, the Athenian comedy is fighting for elimination of Athenian traditions and beliefs in the society as well as enlightening Athenians to transform and leave their traditions which seem to be like illusions. Work cited Ehrenberg Victor, 1943, The People of Aristophanes: A Sociology of Old Attic Comedy, B. Blackbell. Taylor Rabun, 1997, Two Pathic Subcultures in Ancient Rome, Journal of Sexuality, Vol. 7. McCarthy Kathleen, 2000, Slaves, Masters, and the Art of Authority in Plautine Comedy, Princeton University Press.

Investigation on finding the Molar Mass of Butane Essay Example for Free

Investigation on finding the Molar Mass of Butane Essay Aim: To find the molar mass of butane, by finding the number of moles of gas in the container and comparing it to the mass of butane in the container Theory Butane (C4H10), also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3. Its only other isomer is methylpropane: CH(CH3)3. It is an organic compound which belongs to the alkane group or organic compounds. It is a highly flammable, colourless and odorless gas at r. t.p. this, along with the fact that is an easily liquedified gas, is why it is used in lighters as a fuel. Its Relative Molecular Mass is 58.12g, and it is barely soluble in water like most organic compounds: 0.0061 g/100 cm3, at 20 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C. In the experiment we shall find the mass of butane by calculating the change in mass of the lighter before and after the experiment. We shall find the number of moles in the container by finding the volume, pressure and temperature of butane inside the container, and then use the formula PV = nRT (where P: Absolute Pressure measured in millibars, V: Volume of gas measured in dm3,T: absolute temperature in Kelvin, and R is the universal gas constant, which equals to 83.14472 dm3à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½mbarà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½K-1à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½mol-1). Since we could not measure the temperature or pressure inside the container, we measured the atmospheric pressure and temperature. We assumed that if we waited for enough time, the temperature inside the container will be equal to the atmospheric temperature. Secondly, the atmospheric temperature = pressure inside the container and the pressure exerted by the column of water. The pressure exerted by the column of water = mgh. [Reference: www.wikipedia.com] Prediction I feel that the mass of one mole of butane will be approximately 58, as this is the RMM of Butane (correct to 0 d.p.). Apparatus * Lighter (filled with Butane) * Water * Trough * Digital Thermometer [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.01à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C] * Top-pan balance [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.01g] * Burette [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.05 cm3] * Pressure Gauge [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.5mb] * Meter Rule [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 0.0005m] * Table showing Vapour Pressure of water at various Temperatures Modifications to Method * We dipped the lighter in water before any of the trials, and then dried it using ethanol in an attempt to reduce the margin of error in the mass reading due to water droplets sticking the lighter. * The Burette was filled completely with water. * We did not take the final volume reading when the level of water in the burette was equal level with the water in the trough. Instead, we measured the height of the water column above the level of water in the trough. * We found the volume of water between the tip of the cylinder and the 0cm3, and included that in our calculations of the volume of water. Fair Test * After every trial, we dipped the lighter in ethanol and then shook it to dry to ensure that was minimal inaccuracy in the mass reading due to water droplets sticking to the lighter. However, it is impossible to get rid of all the water droplets. Therefore we dipped the lighter in water and dried it using ethanol before any tests in an attempt to ensure that the extra mass (though minimal) due to water droplets on the lighter remained constant throughout the experiment and thus could be ignored. * We filled the burette completely with water, to ensure that no gases were inside the burette before the trial, which would have affect the pressure readings. * The pressure inside the container is equal to the pressure due to butane and moisture. Using a table, we shall find the pressure due moisture, and subtract it from our pressure reading to get the pressure due to butane alone. * We waited a little which after the trail before measuring the air temperature to ensure that the temperature of butane inside the burette was the same. * We used water inside the burette since butane barely dissolves in water. * We removed the metal piece at the top of the lighter, as water droplets could easily stick to it. Also, it ensured that the butane could not catch fire. Safe Test * We removed the metal piece of the lighter, to ensure the butane could not catch fire. * We were careful while dipping the lighter in ethanol, not to release butane as ethanol is flammable. Conclusion In the experiment, when we opened the nozzle of the lighter, butane escaped from the lighter, causing a decrease in mass of the butane inside the lighter. The butane rose to the top of the burette, since butane is less dense than water. This caused the pressure at the top of the butane to be greater than the atmospheric pressure. Since liquids are mostly incompressible, the increase pressure at the top, created a force on the top of the water column, pushing it down. Hence the volume of gas (butane and vapour) inside the burette would increase, causing the pressure of gas to decrease until it is equal to the atmospheric pressure. This process kept on occuring as more and more bubbles of butane and moisture reached the top, hence at the end of each trial the pressure inside the burrrete can be estimated to be equal to the atmospheric pressure. From the graph, it has been calculated that the RMM of butane is 53.946à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½60.2% using the formulae RMM = mass/n and pV= nRT. There are no anomalies, since the graph passes through the error bars of all 4 points. Evaluation In the experiment, the accuracy is fairly high as the experimental value for the RMM of butane is 54, while in theory it is 58.12 (percentage error of only 7.089%), which shows that very few systematic error occured during the experiment. This is also shown by the fact that the y-intercept is 0.0125, which is very close to 0, showing an almost completely proportional relationship between mass and n. Regarding the precision of error, the margin of error has been calculated as 60.2% and is far to high, resulting in a poor precision. However the experiment was more precise than this value of 60.2% shows it to be, because from the graph one can see that all the points lie close to the line of best fit. In the experiment, various errors could have occured, such as: Systematic Errors: * Error in readings of pressure due to high uncertainty. Random Errors: * The pressure due to the water column has no been taken into consideration. * We are assuming that the temperature inside the burette is equal to atmospheric pressure, which may not be true. * Water droplets may have still stuck to the lighter, causing an error in mass. To reduce the margin of error we could have: * Calculated the pressure exerted do to the water column, and subtracted it from the atmospheric pressure to find the pressure inside the container. * Taken a larger container than a burrette, so that we could release more butane and cause a larger change in mass, so that the uncertainty of 0.01g would have a smaller affect on the margin of error. * Used a seperate lighter for each trial, eliminating the error caused due to water droplets clinging to the sides of the lighter.

Reading Comprehension Strategies And Reading Skills English Language Essay

Reading Comprehension Strategies And Reading Skills English Language Essay Hammadon (1991) says: Reading comprehension is not just understanding words, sentences, or even texts, but involves a complex interartion of the readers prior knowledge, language profiency and their learning strategies (p.30). So reading strategies are very important to achieve the comprehension. Many types of reading strategies are introduced to guide students of all different levels. However, there were few researchers who investigate the relationship of reading comprehension strategies and reading comprehension of students. At HETC, reading has a key place in any English courses when students study English not only as the interest but also the demand for improving their study and promoting in their careers to achieve the long-term goals, especially some of them were assigned to live and work abroad. In their learning process, almost the students meet great challenges when dealing with the reading texts. They usually do not understand texts and cannot complete the tasks so they fee l tired in reading lessons. Therefore, what are the main causes of this current situation? In order to find out the answer, the researcher started a survey on the reading comprehension strategy use. For teachers at HETC, it is hoped that this study may offer them the ways on how to identify strategies used by the students and then they can decide what they should do to promote their students reading comprehension and in their learning as well. Literature review 2.1. Reading comprehension strategies and reading skills Oxford (1990) gives a detailed definition of language learning strategies: Learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations (p.8) and described concretely how learning strategies are applied to the four language skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading. According to her, four strategies: listening strategies, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, or reading strategies are those learning strategies themselves that applied to each of the four skills. Of course, skills and strategies are two big words and common terms of the reading activities, as well. Nutall (1982) pointed out that reading was certainly a process of the readers, who used strategies to work with the meaning of the texts actively and then made sense from them. By the interesting interactions from the readers and texts, more and more researchers keep working to research the relationship between the use of reading strategies and reading comprehension. However, strategy and skill, are they different? Yes, it was actually apparent that they were different. Strategy meant people used the planned methods and implements to achieve their goals, but skill was known as a routine. Moreover, strategy was the result of conciously work towards goals. It helped readers to understand the meaning of contents in order to find out the answer or obtain a certain performance level in reading that they want for themselves (Gagnà ©, 1985). However, it is not always easy to make such a clear differnces between these two terms. Grabe and Stoller (2002) said that many abilities that are commonly identified as strategies are relatively automatic in their use by fluent readers (e.g. skipping an unknown word while reading, rereading to reestabilsh text meaning (p.15) Paris et al (1991) supposed an emerging skill can become more efficient and developmentally advanced when they become generated and applied automatically as skills (p.61). Sometimes this diff erence is not clear at all because that is part of the nature of reading. In this study, reading strategies are used to show specific actions, steps and plans that students conciously apply in their reading process to improve their comprehension. 2.2. The relationship between reading strategies and reading comprehension Reading comprehension must occur rapid in almost any purposeful context, and the more rapidly a text is read, the better reading processes are to effect. Those specific processes must be implemented effectively in combination to ensure the reading comprhension. Reading comprehension requires the reader be strategic. The reader needs to identify processing difficulties, address balances between text information and background knowledge, decide for monitoring comprhension, and shifing goals for reading. When a good reader use strategies, they can read fluently, flexible in line with changing purpose and then continue monitoring the comprehension. Similarly, reading is an process that evaluating the reader, who must decide if the reading information is coherent and finds out the purpose for reading.Alderson (2003) said reading as the interaction of four things. He claimed that the reader and the text together must be fluent reading or the ability to reach at an appropriate rate with ad equate comprehension, or the ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading (p.149). So discovering the best methods and strategies are the way that a good learner apply during a reading process. 2.3. Previous research on reading comprhension strategies Grellet, F. (1981) wrote a book Developing Reading Skills. This book showed the important role of reading and provided some techniques which help learners improve their reading skill. Nutal, C. (1989) proved reading is to enable students to read without help unfamiliar authentic texts at appropriate speed, silently with adequate understanding. Ozek, O. (2006) researched A study on the Use of Cognitive Reading Strategies by ELT Students. This study carried out to find out which reading strategies are commonly employed by ELT students while reading a text, and which reading strategies are needed to be developed to understand the text better, and to continue academic studies successfully. San San Kung (2007) did an investigation into the relationship between reading comprehension and the use of reading strategies among EFL students in colleges in Taiwan. Through the study, the researcher knew what the reading strategies the EFL students use more or less and what the differences between different grade students. Methodology This chapter will describe research methods used to collect data to answer the research questions and then explain how and why the methods are used. 3.1. Research questions This study aims to find out reading strategy use of HETCs students. This also has objectives to discover if there are any differences in strategy use between lower and higher proficiency readers, as well. Then to suggest some recommendations to raise students awareness of using reading comprehension strategies in the classroom. It aims at answering the following questions: What reading strategies are used by students at HETC? What are the differences in the use of reading strategies between lower and higher proficiency readers? 3.2. Descriptions of variables 3.2.1. Independent variables In this study, the independence variables were the students at HETC. 51 students were chosen as representatives of this particular group sudents to collect needed data. These 51 students were divided into four groups in which students are the members of higher and lower proficiency groups. These 2 groups were chosen to get information to answer the second research question ( More details about these groups and about higher and lower proficiency readers will be found in 3.3.1 and 3.4.2) 3.2.2. Dependent variable: The dependent variable in this research were the strategies applied in reading comprehension, i.e. reading comprehension strategies. 3.3. The data collection instruments: This study employs a combibation of 3 data collection instruments: General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) Questionaire Think-aloud interviews As one of the objectives of this study is to find out if there are any dfferences in the strategy use between higher proficiency (HP) and lower proficiency (LP) readers. The test was used to divide the subjects into difference groups in which groups of higher and lower proficiency were chosen to collect the data. Think-aloud interviews aimed at getting qualitative data and quesionaire was used to get quantiative data. The author can collect a large information of all mentioned strategies and the information from students who share their thought of strategy use in the think-aloud interviews. Of course, the think a loud interviews in this study can be one of the best ways to reaffirm the result got from the questionaire. For example, in the questionaire, the subjects report that they use life experiences to understand the meaning of texts or read the first and last paragraphs and then go back to read the paragraphs; the author will know they use these strategies or not in the interview. 3.3.1. Test A General English proficiency test is a procedure taken to collect data on students ability or the knowledge of disciplines as Information about peoples language ability is often very useful and necessary (Nunan, 1992). The GEPT was taken form the book IELTS for Academic Purpose: A short insentive course (see the appendix 3). Based on the result of the test, the subjects were classified into 4 groups. Group 1 consists students who just got from mark 1 to 2.5; group 2 has those who got mark from 3 to 5. The students in these 2 groups are LP learners. Meanwhile, the students who are in group 3 got mark from 5.5 to 6.5 they are at medium levels. And the last group group 4 consists of HP ones who got mark from 7 and over. After having the result of the test, the author decided to chose group 2 and 4 to collect the data to answer the second research question. So there are 51 subjects in these 2 groups. The author did not choose group 1 because their proficiency were too low and they we re only 1% of the subjects. Details of the test can be found in Appendix 1. 3.3.2. Questionaire: Questionaire is the second data collection instrument in this study. This is also a pretty popular means of data collection. Many researchers suppose that using questionaire in language research has many advantages. First, questionaire can be given to a great amount of students at the same time and it is self-administered. Second, to protect the privacy and keep the fairness, the subjects names might not be appeared on the questionaire. So subjects tend to share the information more naturally, even some sensitive information. Third, the data collected are more accurate because questionaire is usually given to all the subjects at the same time. This study used one survey questionaire to gather the information about reading strategies as well as the differences in strategy use between these two kinds of readers. According to the result of the questionaire (and interviews), the athor can make some recommendation to help students improve their reading abilities. The quesionaire was designed based on the questionaire of Shan Shan Kung (2007). This part consists 3 parts. Of couse, in this study, the author modified the first part personal information part. The next part concept of reading had 3 questions to explore the perceptions of English reading. The last part had thirty eight questions of strategy use. In the beginning of third section, thirty four questions utilized a Liker Scale point systems. The subjects were asked to respond to each statement by choosing among four answers: 1) usually; 2) sometimes; 3) rarely; 4) never. Each section has four to six questions (except section 1 has 10 questions because of discoverin g the reading process). Through the survey, the author found out which strategies actually actracted HP readers more than LP readers. 3.3.3. Think aloud interviews In addition to the quetionaire, interviews are used to obtain information by actually talking to the subject. The interviewer asks questions and the subject responds. Interviews are the good way for collecting data as Seliger, H.W. (1989) claimed Interviews are personalized and therefore permit a level of in-depth information gathering, free response and flexibility that cannot be obtained by other procedures (p.166). However, it can be costly and time consuming. In this study, think aloud interviews were used to collect the data about the students reading strategy. The Interviewer Guide for Reading Strategies developed by Honsenfeld et al. (1981). In oder to make the Guide appropriate for objectives of thi study, the researcher has made some changes in the strategies they posed ( see Appendix 3). 3.4. Participants in the study: At the time the study was carried out, the subjects had just finished an English course. Their textbook was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Therefore, their commonly assumed proficiency was intermidiate. They were members of three classes. One class included 25 students , 24 in the other class and 21 in the last one and they stuied the same textbook. Their ages ranged from 19 to 24. Almost all of students had at least 3 years of learning English before this class. They were delivered a reading proficiency test to be divided into higher and lower proficiency readers. In this study, gender has minimal effect on the results because the number of male students is quite small in the total of the subjects. 3.5. Procedure The data were collected by the researcher during a week in autum 2009. After contacting the English teachers of the subjects in person to get approval for asking their students to participate in the study, the researcher pre-arranged the time. The researcher went to English classes to administer the tests. The students were asked to complete the test in 60 minutes. The English teachers and the researcher supervised and marked the test papers later. The 2 days after, subjects were distributed the questionanires. The researcher gave some directions to the subjects and of then encouraged students to ask for any clarifications they might need and any other extra time when they filled out the questionaire. And of couse, the researcher wanted to protect the privacy and the students fairness, so the students names would not fill in the questionaires. In order to advoid misunderstanding the questions, the questionaire were translated into Vietnamese which were enclosed with the English version. The questionaire administration took about 30 minutes in each class. For days later, six chosen students were interviewed individually at the researcher s office in HETC. The reseacher pre-arranged the time and contacted to the students by the phone. Before the interview, the reseacher gave the instructions and explained the purpose of the study to students so they could understand what they had to do clearly. Each interview took from 10 to 15 minutes. Data analysis and findings 4.1. The result of the questionaire 4.1.1. Demographic Data Table 4.1 Demographic Information of Students (N=51) Subject Frequency Percentage Total N % Gender Male 9 17.6 51 100 Female 42 82.4 Level Lower proficiency 32 63.7 Higher proficiency 19 36.3 Years of English learning experience 2 3 5.9 51 100 4 9 17.6 5 15 29.4 6 11 21.6 7 6 11.8 8 2 3.9 9 4 7.8 10 1 2.0 Look at the table 4.1, of the 51 students participating in the study, 9 (17.6%) were males and 43 (82.4%) were females. Of the 19 HP students (36.3%) and 32 (63.7%) were LP students. When asking about years of English learning experience, just 1 students (2.0%) has been studying English for ten years. 9 students (17.6%) have been studying English for four years, 15 students (29.4%) have been studying English for five years, 11 students (21.6%) have been studying English for six years, 6 students (11.8%) have been studying English for seven years, 2 students (3.9%) have been studying English for eight years, 4 students (7.8%) have been studying English for nine years. Because foreign language in general and English in particular were given into school from sixth grade in secondary school, and from tenth grade in high school ( in some remote areas), the most students years of English learning experience were between four and seven years. To answer the second section of the questionnaire about concepts of reading, the results were presented in Table 4.2. Table 4.2 The Relationship between the Important of Reading for Language Learning and Reading Hours per Week by higher and lower proficiency students Reading hours per week 2 3 4 Over 4 N % N % N % N % Higher proficiency students (N =19) Very important 2 10.5 5 26.3 6 31.6 3 15.8 important 1 5.3 2 10.5 Not important Lower proficiency students (N =32) Very important 6 18.8 7 21.9 5 15.6 important 4 12.5 5 15.6 4 12.5 Not important 1 3.1 According to the illustration of Table 4.2, HP students who thought reading was very important for language learning were 2 (10.5%) spent two hours per week on reading, 5(26.3%) for three hours per week, 6 (31.6%), for four hours per week and 3 (15.8%) for over four hours per week. HP students who thought reading was important for language learning were 1 (5.3%) spent two hours per week on reading, 2 (10.5%) for four hours per week. There were not any students who thought reading was not important for language learning. In the LP group, 6 (18.8%) students thought reading was very important for language learning and spent two hours per week for it, 7 (21.9%) spent three hours for reading, 5 (15.6%) spent four hours for reading. These LP students supposed reading was important for language learning were 4 (12.5%) spent two hours per week on reading, 5 (15.6%) for three hours per week. There was 1 (3.1%) students said reading was not important for language learning but still spent two hours per week on it. 4.1.2. Findings for Research Question One The research question one was What reading comprehension strategies are used by students at HETC ? After collecting data, it showed what the same or different strategies were used more or less by HP or LP students for helping them understand the contents of the reading materials in different reading situations and were ranked from low to high to represent which strategy would be used more or less by the students during their reading process in different situations. The results were listed in the following by all of students reading ability levels when they used reading strategies in different reading situations. The total results came from the 51 students in Table 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6. Table 4.3 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I read English materials, Mean Mean SD Rank 1. I read a table of contents, and then read the contents 1.82 1 .90 2. I focus on the first sentence of each paragraph for helping me understand the main points of the whole paragraph 2.51 7 .12 3. I underline the main points when I am reading 2.03 4 .97 4. I write Vietnamese on the margin for vocabulary words I dont understand during reading 1.86 2 .90 5 I skim over the full text, and then read details 1.88 3 .92 6 I use life experiences helping me understand the meaning of texts 1.86 2 .90 7 I use the background knowledge of the English culture to understand the contents 2.57 8 1.03 8 I use key words or sentences to guess the main idea of the articles 1.88 3 1.08 9 After reading each paragraph, I ask myself if I understand what I read before, and paraphrase the main idea, then keep reading the next paragraph 2.25 5 1.09 10 I discuss what I read with classmates 2.45 6 1.05 In Table 4.3, the result indicated which strategies the 51 students used more or less when they read English materials. The table showed the data with mean, mean rank, and standard deviation. As illustration of Table 4.3, the mean was from 1.82 to 2.51 and the rank was S1 (1.82) Table 4.4 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I do not understand a vocabulary, Mean Mean SD Rank 11 I check the dictionary immediately 2.37 3 1.1 12 I mark and pass it, keep reading and then go back 2.33 2 1.08 13 I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary 2.09 1 .87 14 I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning 3.00 4 1.21 Through Table 4.4, strategy 13 I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary was most used by the students when they did not understand a vocabulary during the reading process. On contrary, strategy 14 I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning was the strategy which most students used least in this reading situation. Table 4.5 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I do not understand a sentence, Mean Mean SD Rank 15 I use the context (topic, subject) to derive the meaning of each sentence 1.86 1 .91 16 I translate word for word into Vietnamese to better understand the meaning of the sentences 2.35 4 1.12 17 I take grammar analysis (ex: finding subject and verb etc.) to understand the meaning of the sentences 2.33 3 1.02 18 I analyze the structure of sentences (ex: sample sentence, adjective clause, or adverb clause, etc.)to derive the meaning of sentence 2.37 5 .97 19 I will analyze the verb tense (ex: past tense or future tense) or verb mood (ex: subjunctive mood or imperative mood) for better understanding 2.27 2 .95 In Table 4.5, those strategies had close mean scores between each other, but it also pointed out the differences from 2.27 to 2.37, except the strategy 15 had the mean score less 1.86. It described that strategy 15 I use the context (topic, subject) to derive the meaning of each sentence were the most used by the students when they did not understand a sentence during reading process. Vice versa, the means of the strategy 16 and strategy 18 to derive the meaning of sentence meant that they were used least than other strategies in this section. Table 4.6 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students When I dont understand (including vocabulary and sentences,) except above reading strategies, Mean Mean SD Rank 20 I check books (ex: grammar books or encyclopedia) for references 2.16 2 1.14 21 I go on the Internet to find related information 1.98 1 .92 22 I ask teachers or classmates for clarification 2.27 3 1.03 23 I read the difficult parts several times 2.63 5 1.12 24 I read the contents orally several times 2.47 4 .94 25 I will memorize the vocabulary pertaining to the contents before reading 2.16 2 .99 According to the data, it presented that strategy 21 I go on Internet to find related information was used by almost students. The information technology nowaday becomes quite popular to students so they would like to search information on the Internet. The S20 = S25 (2.16) both stood the second position. The strategy that students used least was strategy 23 I read difficult parts several times. 4.1.3. Findings for Research Question Two Research question two was What are the differences in the use of reading strategies of the higher and lower proficiency students at HETC? Through mean, standard deviation, t-tests and p value, the data analysis depicted detailed information about the differences of reading strategy performance between these two groups of students. The comparative groups focused on higher and lower proficiency student. Table 4.7 Means, Standard Deviations, t-Tests and p Value between higher and lower proficiency students at HETC when I read English materials, Lower proficiency students Higher proficiency students T p (N=19) (N=32) Mean SD Mean SD 1. I read a table of contents, and then read the contents 2.00 1.054 1.72 .813 .999 .322 2. I focus on the first sentence of each paragraph for helping me understand the main points of the whole paragraph 2.16 1.118 1.78 .792 1.288 .20 3. I underline the main points when I am reading 2.00 1.105 2.06 .914 -.208 .84 4. I write Vietnamese on the margin for vocabulary words I dont understand during reading 2.79 1.084 2.78 1.069 .026 .98 5. I skim over the full text, and then read details 2.05 1.026 1.78 .870 .965 .34 6. I use life experiences helping me understand the meaning of texts 1.89 .937 1.84 .917 .189 .85 7. I use the background knowledge of the English culture to understand the contents 2.05 1.129 2.86 .871 -2.729 .00** 8. I use key words or sentences to guess the main idea of the articles 2.37 1.261 1.59 .911 2.412 .02* 9. After reading each paragraph, I ask myself if I understand what I read before, and paraphase the main idea, then keep reading the next paragraph 2.00 1.202 2.53 .983 -1.630 .11 10. I discuss what I read with classmates 2.53 1.264 2.41 .946 .359 .72 p As indicated in Table 4.7, strategy 7 and strategy 8 attended to the significant difference level (p Table 4.8 Means, Standard Deviations, t-Tests and p Value between higher and lower proficiency students at HETC When I do not understand a vocabulary, Higher proficiency students Lower proficiency students t p (N=19) (N=32) Mean SD Mean SD 11. I check the dictionary immediately 3.32 .749 1.81 .896 6.432 .00** 12. I mark and pass it, keep reading and then go back 2.89 1.1 2.06 .878 2.809 .00** 13. I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary 2.05 .911 2.13 .871 -.279 .78 14. I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning 2.84 1.344 3.13 1.07 -.782 .44 p In table 4.8, strategy 11 and strategy 12 attended to the significant different level (p

Evaluation of Writing :: Education Educational Writer Writing Essays

Evaluation of Writing Works Cited Missing "We need to recognize that composition is probably going to remain the stepchild of rather unwilling English departments, that research in teaching and learning to write will continue to scrape by on the edges of several disciplines, and that few of those who will teach writing in American schools and universities will get much training or background as part of their regular education." -E. White (Teaching and Assessing Writing) In retrospect, I fail to remember consistent writing practices or writing assignments in English class (or otherwise) as a student in middle or secondary school. Luckily my love for and skill at creative and critical writing was encouraged by my parents and has remained at the heart of what I have chosen to pursue as a career. However, students whose writing is not only discouraged but is not treated fairly and properly in terms of evaluation have few options: to begin to regard writing as frivolous and unimportant; to remain underdeveloped in the areas of mechanics let alone harnessing of creativity and stylistic technique. Evaluation, as does actual instruction of writing, remains underdeveloped as well. Tension lingers between teachers who either are intimidated by evaluation processes or reject too rigidly structured models and the necessary aspect of not only teaching students how to write but teaching writing as a process which, in the end, requires assessment. Ultimately what has been absent in the past and is lacking still is agreed upon (by teachers, administrators, and test practitioners) theory and practice of sound writing programs and evaluation measures. Two major components, whose relationships fuel the tension that inhibits a consensus, are the contrasts between holistic and analytic approaches to evaluation and hence writing as process or a mix of isolated skills. It is with interest that I research what has historically been found to work and not work with regards to practical and purposeful evaluation procedures that, in and of themselves, should reflect thoroughness but also serve as an integral component of good writing. The Whole Picture versus Isolated Elements Surely on opposite ends of the English education spectrum are the camps who advocate subjectivity and overall quality of writing and those who approach writing with analytic reductionism. Holistic proponents value writing in terms of its ultimate expression while reductionists believe that the whole is merely a sum of its parts (White, 18). Holistic assessment contradicts the notions of not only evaluating writing as a series of independent skills but also multiple choice testing as a means of determining writing ability (testing which requires the labeling of sentence components).

The Battle Of Midway Essay -- American History

The Battle of Midway On June 3rd, 1942, the United States declared war on Imperialistic Japan and Nazi Germany. Due to the bombing of the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese the U.S. was forced to take action. The United States began their first naval battle near the Midway islands in defense of its pacific fleet and positioning. Midway was the Japanese' last goal for its western expansion in the Pacific. Just after midnight on June 4th,1942, the United States attacked a fleet of Japanese transport ships. One American torpedo plane took out fleet tanker "Akabono Maru". Later that morning at about 6:30am, Japanese planes began bombing midway island installations, though causing minimal damage to the U.S. naval base. Between 9:30am and 10:30am the U.S. took out Japanese aircraft carrier's "Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu". During the battle the Japanese recovered three U.S. naval aviators. But after interrogating these men, the Japanese murdered them. On June 5th, 1942, a battleship, under the command of Rear Admiral Spruance, pursued the Japanese fleet westward leaving salvage workers to repair the U.S. aircraft carrier "Yorktown"(which was damaged a day earlier by a Japanese submarine torpedo). The last of the air attacks of the battle took place on June 6th, 1942, with the United States beginning to emerge victorious with the sinking of 2 destroyers, 1 heavy cruiser, and 1 cruiser. Meanwhile a Japanese submarine torpedoed aircraft carrier "Yorktown" and the destroyer "USS Hammann", though it took a day for the carrier to turn over and sink. The Japanese submarine escaped with-out destruction soon after the torpedoing. (Naval Historical Center, Battle of Midway:4-7 June 1942, Department of the Navy... ...he U.S. complete control over the Pacific Ocean. This defeat also gave the Allies an absolute victory over Japan and the remaining Axis powers. The infamous Battle of Midway officially ended on June 7th 1942. Works Cited Baikie, Eric. Ngo, Kevin. Collins, McKenzie. "Major Battles of WWII". Viking Press. January 2002. Bruce, George "Sea Battles of the 20th Century", Stopping the Tide: the Battle of Midway 4th - 7th 1942, Department of the Navy, May 1990 Cressman, Robert, J. "No End Save Victory", Naval Historical Center, June 1998 Dingman, Roger, The origins of naval arms limitation,"Power In The Pacific", Naval Institute Press, 1998. Naval Historical Center, "Battle of Midway: 4th -7th June 1942, Department of the Navy. June, 30, 2003. Naval Historical Center, "Preparation For Battle" Department of the Navy, April 1999

Conflicting Cultures in Louise Erdrichs Captivity Essay example -- Lo

Kidnapping colonists during the struggle for land in the early centuries of American history was a strong force influencing the images of Native Americans circulating among the Puritan pioneers. During these centuries, the battles between the natives and the Puritans cost thousands of lives on both sides, and countless stories in the forms of captivity narratives revealed truths and myths about the Native people. Although there were countless pieces of literature and propaganda published in this time period, the actual Indian captivity narratives have been narrowed down to works â€Å"that presumably record with some degree of verisimilitude the experiences of non-Indians who were captures by American Indians† (Derounian-Stodoloa, Levernier, 9). Through such a narrative by Mary Rowlandson, who was taken captive by the Wampanoag tribe in 1676, the contemporary writer and poet Louise Erdrich shows another side of history that could not have been expressed by the surviving captiv es hundreds of years ago. That recreation is her poem, â€Å"Captivity,† which uses the inner conflict of the captive woman to express both historical feelings of Native Americans and their place among whites, along with Erdrich’s conflicts within her own life.# Coming from a mixed family, with her mother being part Native American, Erdrich experiences a pull from both her European history and Native American heritage. Through her poem, â€Å"Captivity,† Erdrich exposes the inner conflict that is felt by both historical women and herself, such as the conflicting feelings and cultural pulls of the two societies through sharing experiences of removal from their known worlds and returns to the white man’s society. In order to fully understand Erdrich’s interpretation... ...rk, 1993. Erdrich, Louise. â€Å"Captivity,† in Kelly, Joseph ed. The Seagull Reader: Poems. Norton and Company: New York, 2001. Fast, Robin Riley. â€Å"Resistant History: Revising the captivity Narrative in ‘Captivity’ and Blackrobe: Isaac Jones.† American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 23:1 (1999) 69-96. Logan, Lisa. â€Å"Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity and the ‘Place’ of the Woman Subject.† Early American Literature. 28 (1993) 255-277. Namias, June. White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier.University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, 1993. Vaughan, Alden T. â€Å"Early English Paradigms for New World Natives.† American Antiquarian Society. 102:1 (1992) 33-67. Woodard, Maureen L. â€Å"Female Captivity and the Deployment of Race in Three Early American Texts.† Papers on Language and Literature. 32:2 (1996)

Vampire Academy Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR IN SPITE OF ALL THE training I'd received, all the lessons on Strigoi habits and how to defend against them, I'd never ever actually seen one. It was scarier than I'd expected. This time, when she swung at me again, I was ready. Sort of. I dodged back, slipping out of reach, wondering what chance I had. I remembered Dimitri's joke about the mall. No silver stake. Nothing to cut her head off with. No way to set her on fire. Running seemed like the best option after all, but she was blocking my way. Feeling useless, I simply backed down the hall as she advanced on me, her movements far more graceful than they'd ever been in life. Then, also faster than she'd ever moved in life, she leapt out, grabbed me, and slammed my head against the wall. Pain exploded in my skull, and I felt pretty sure that was blood I tasted in the back of my mouth. Frantically, I fought against her, trying to mount some kind of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crack. â€Å"My dear,† murmured Victor, â€Å"try not to kill her if you don't have to. We might be able to use her later.† Natalie paused in her attack, giving me a moment to back up, but she never took her cold eyes off me. â€Å"I'll try not to.† There was a skeptical tone in her voice. â€Å"Get out of here now. I'll meet you there when I'm done.† â€Å"I can't believe you!† I yelled after him. â€Å"You got your own daughter to turn Strigoi?† â€Å"A last resort. A necessary sacrifice made for the greater good. Natalie understands.† He left. â€Å"Do you?† I hoped I could stall her with talking, just like in the movies. I also hoped my questions would hide how utterly and completely terrified I was. â€Å"Do you understand? God, Natalie. You†¦you turned. Just because he told you to?† â€Å"My father's a great man,† she replied. â€Å"He's going to save the Moroi from the Strigoi.† â€Å"Are you insane?† I cried. I was backing up again and suddenly hit the wall. My nails dug into it, as though I could dig my way through. â€Å"You are a Strigoi.† She shrugged, almost seeming like the old Natalie. â€Å"I had to do it to get him out of here before the others came. One Strigoi to save all of the Moroi. It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic.† â€Å"But you'll want to kill Moroi! You won't be able to help it.† â€Å"He'll help me stay in control. If not, then they'll have to kill me.† She reached out and grabbed my shoulders, and I shuddered at how casually she talked about her own death. It was almost as casual as the way she was no doubt contemplating my death. â€Å"You are insane. You can't love him that much. You can't really – â€Å" She threw me into a wall again, and as my body collapsed in a heap on the floor, I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting up this time. Victor had told her not to kill me†¦but there was a look in her eyes, a look that said she wanted to. She wanted to feed off me; the hunger was there. It was the Strigoi way. I shouldn't have talked to her, I realized. I'd hesitated, just as Dimitri had warned. And then, suddenly, he was there, charging down the hallway like Death in a cowboy duster. Natalie spun around. She was fast, so fast. But Dimitri was fast too and avoided her attack, a look of pure power and strength on his face. With an eerie fascination, I watched them move, circling each other like partners in a deadly dance. She was stronger than him, clearly, but she was also a fresh Strigoi. Gaining superpowers doesn't mean you know how to use them. Dimitri, however, knew how to use the ones he had. After both giving and receiving some vicious hits, he made his move. The silver stake flashed in his hand like a streak of lightning, then it snaked forward – into her heart. He yanked it out and stepped back, his face impassive as she screamed and fell to the floor. After a few horrible moments, she stopped moving. Just as quickly, he was leaning over me, slipping his arms under my body. He stood up, carrying me like he had when I hurt my ankle. â€Å"Hey, Comrade,† I murmured, my own voice sounding sleepy. â€Å"You were right about Strigoi.† The world started to darken, and my eyelids drooped. â€Å"Rose. Roza. Open your eyes.† I'd never heard his voice so strained, so frantic. â€Å"Don't go to sleep on me. Not yet.† I squinted up at him as he carried me out of the building, practically running toward the clinic. â€Å"Was he right?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"Victor†¦he said it couldn't have worked. The necklace.† I started to drift off, lost in the blackness of my mind, but Dimitri prompted me back to consciousness. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"The spell. Victor said you had to want me†¦to care about me†¦for it to work.† When he didn't say anything, I tried to grip his shirt, but my fingers were too weak. â€Å"Did you? Did you want me?† His words came out thickly. â€Å"Yes, Roza. I did want you. I still do. I wish†¦we could be together.† â€Å"Then why did you lie to me?† We reached the clinic, and he managed to open the door while still holding me. As soon as he stepped inside, he began yelling for help. â€Å"Why did you lie?† I murmured again. Still holding me in his arms, he looked down at me. I could hear voices and footsteps getting closer. â€Å"Because we can't be together.† â€Å"Because of the age thing, right?† I asked. â€Å"Because you're my mentor?† His fingertip gently wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek. â€Å"That's part of it,† he said. â€Å"But also†¦well, you and I will both be Lissa's guardians someday. I need to protect her at all costs. If a pack of Strigoi come, I need to throw my body between them and her.† â€Å"I know that. Of course that's what you have to do.† The black sparkles were dancing in front of my eyes again. I was fading out. â€Å"No. If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you.† The medical team arrived and took me out of his arms. And that was how, two days after being discharged, I ended up back in the clinic. My third time in the two months we'd been back at the Academy. It had to be some kind of record. I definitely had a concussion and probably internal bleeding, but we never really found out. When your best friend is a kick-ass healer, you sort of don't have to worry about those things. I still had to stay there for a couple of days, but Lissa – and Christian, her new sidekick – almost never left my side when they weren't in class. Through them, I learned bits and pieces about the outside world. Dimitri had realized there was a Strigoi on campus when they'd found Natalie's victim dead and drained of blood: Mr. Nagy of all people. A surprising choice, but since he was older, he'd been able to put up less of a fight. No more Slavic art for us. The guardians in the detention center had been injured but not killed. She'd simply slammed them around as she had me. Victor had been found and recaptured while trying to escape campus. I was glad, even though it meant Natalie's sacrifice had been for nothing. Rumors said that Victor hadn't seemed afraid at all when the royal guards came and carried him away. He'd simply smiled the whole time, like he had some secret they didn't know about. Inasmuch as it could, life returned to normal after that. Lissa did no more cutting. The doctor prescribed her something – an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug, I couldn't remember which – that made her feel better. I'd never really known anything about those kinds of pills. I thought they made people silly and happy. But it was a pill like any other, meant to fix something, and mostly it just kept her normal and feeling stable. Which was a good thing – because she had some other issues to deal with. Like Andre. She'd finally believed Christian's story, and allowed herself to acknowledge that Andre might not have been the hero she'd always believed him to be. It was hard on her, but she finally reached a peaceful decision, accepting that he could have had both good and bad sides, like we all do. What he'd done to Mia saddened her, but it didn't change the fact that he'd been a good brother who loved her. Most importantly, it finally freed her from feeling like she needed to be him to make her family proud. She could be herself – which she proved daily in her relationship with Christian. The school still couldn't get over that. She didn't care. She laughed it off, ignoring the shocked looks and disdain from the royals who couldn't believe she'd date someone from a humiliated family. Not all of them felt that way though. Some who had gotten to know her during her brief social whirlwind actually liked her for her, no compulsion necessary. They liked her honesty and openness, preferring it to the games most royals played. A lot of royals ignored her, of course, and talked viciously about her behind her back. Most surprising of all, Mia – despite being utterly humiliated – managed to wiggle back into the good graces of a couple of these royals. It proved my point. She wouldn't stay down for long. And, in fact, I saw the first signs of her revenge lurking again when I walked past her one day on the way to class. She stood with a few other people and spoke loudly, clearly wanting me to hear. † – perfect match. Both of them are from completely disgraced and rejected families.† I clenched my teeth and kept walking, following her gaze to where Lissa and Christian stood. They were lost in their own world and formed a gorgeous picture, she blond and fair and he blue-eyed and black-haired. I couldn't help but stare too. Mia was right. Both of their families were disgraced. Tatiana had publicly denounced Lissa, and while no one â€Å"blamed† the Ozeras for what had happened to Christian's parents, the rest of the royal Moroi families continued to keep their distance. But Mia had been right about the other part too. In some ways, Lissa and Christian were perfect for each other. Maybe they were outcasts, but the Dragomirs and Ozeras had once been among the most powerful Moroi leaders. And in only a very short time, Lissa and Christian had started shaping one another in ways that could put them right up there with their ancestors. He was picking up some of her polish and social poise; she was learning to stand up for her passions. The more I watched them, the more I could see an energy and confidence radiating around them. They weren't going to stay down either. And I think that, along with Lissa's kindness, may have been what attracted people to her. Our social circle began to steadily grow. Mason joined, of course, and made no secret of his interest in me. Lissa teased me a lot about that, and I didn't yet know what to do about him. Part of me thought maybe it was time to give him a shot as a serious boyfriend, even though the rest of me yearned for Dimitri. For the most part, Dimitri treated me just like anyone would expect of a mentor. He was efficient. Fond. Strict. Understanding. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that would make anyone suspect what had passed between us – save for an occasional meeting of our eyes. And once I overcame my initial emotional reaction, I knew he was – technically – right about us. Age was a problem, yes, particularly while I was still a student at the Academy. But the other thing he'd mentioned†¦it had never entered my mind. It should have. Two guardians in a relationship could distract each other from the Moroi they were supposed to protect. We couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't risk her life for our own wants. Otherwise, we'd be no better than the Badica guardian who'd run off. I'd told Dimitri once that my own feelings didn't matter. She came first. I just hoped I could prove it. â€Å"It's too bad about the healing,† Lissa told me. â€Å"Hmm?† We sat in her room, pretending to study, but my mind was off thinking about Dimitri. I'd lectured her about keeping secrets, but I hadn't told her about him or about how close I'd come to losing my virginity. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell. She dropped the history book she'd been holding. â€Å"That I had to give up the healing. And the compulsion.† A frown crossed her face at that last part. The healing had been regarded as a wondrous gift in need of further study; the compulsion had met with serious reprimands from Kirova and Ms. Carmack. â€Å"I mean, I'm happy now. I should have gotten help a long time ago – you were right about that. I'm glad I'm on the medication. But Victor was right too. I can't use spirit anymore. I can still sense it, though†¦I miss being able to touch it.† I didn't entirely know what to say. I liked her better like this. Losing that threat of madness had made her whole again, confident and outgoing, just like the Lissa I'd always known and loved. Seeing her now, it was easy to believe what Victor had said about her becoming a leader. She reminded me of her parents and of Andre – how they used to inspire devotion in those who knew them. â€Å"And that's another thing,† she continued. â€Å"He said I couldn't give it up. He was right. It hurts, not having the magic. I want it so badly sometimes.† â€Å"I know,† I said. I could feel that ache within her. The pills had dulled her magic, but not our bond. â€Å"And I keep thinking about all the things I could do, all the people I could help.† She looked regretful. â€Å"You have to help yourself first,† I told her fiercely. â€Å"I don't want you getting hurt again. I won't let you.† â€Å"I know. Christian says the same thing.† She got that dopey smile she always did when she thought about him. If I'd known what idiots being in love would make them, I might not have been so keen to get them back together. â€Å"And I guess you guys are right. Better to want the magic and be sane than to have it and be a lunatic. There's no middle ground.† â€Å"No,† I agreed. â€Å"Not with this.† Then, out of nowhere, a thought smacked me in the head. There was a middle ground. Natalie's words reminded me of it. It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic. The magic. Ms. Karp hadn't become Strigoi simply because she'd gone crazy. She'd become Strigoi to stay sane. Becoming Strigoi cut a person completely off from magic. In doing that, she couldn't use it. She couldn't feel it. She wouldn't want it anymore. Staring at Lissa, I felt a knot of worry coil within me. What if she figured that out? Would she want to do it too? No, I quickly decided. Lissa would never do that. She was too strong a person, too moral. And so long as she stayed on the pills, her higher reasoning would keep her from doing something so drastic. Still, the whole concept prodded me to find out one last thing. The following morning, I went to the chapel and waited in one of the pews until the priest showed up. â€Å"Hello, Rosemarie,† he said, clearly surprised. â€Å"Can I help you with something?† I stood up. â€Å"I need to know more about St. Vladimir. I read that book you gave me and a couple others.† Best not to tell him about stealing the ones in the attic. â€Å"But nobody told how he died. What happened? How did his life end? Was he, like, martyred?† The priest's bushy eyebrows rose. â€Å"No. He died of old age. Peacefully.† â€Å"You're sure? He didn't become Strigoi or kill himself?† â€Å"No, of course not. Why would you think that?† â€Å"Well†¦he was holy and everything, but he was also kind of crazy, right? I read about it. I thought he might have, I don't know, given into that.† His face was serious. â€Å"It's true he fought demons – insanity – his whole life. It was a struggle, and he did want to die sometimes. But he overcame it. He didn't let it defeat him.† I stared in wonder. Vladimir wouldn't have had pills, and he'd clearly continued to use magic. â€Å"How? How did he do that?† â€Å"Willpower, I guess. Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused. â€Å"That and Anna.† â€Å"Shadow-kissed Anna,† I murmured. â€Å"His guardian.† The priest nodded. â€Å"She stayed with him. When he grew weak, she was the one who held him up. She urged him to stay strong and to never give in to his madness.† I left the chapel in a daze. Anna had done it. Anna had let Vladimir walk that middle ground, helping him to work miracles in the world without meeting a horrible end. Ms. Karp hadn't been as lucky. She hadn't had a bound guardian. She hadn't had anyone to hold her up. Lissa did. Smiling, I cut across the quadrangle toward the commons. I felt better about life than I had in a very long time. We could do this, Lissa and me. We could do it together. Just then, I saw a dark figure out of the corner of my eye. It swooped past me and landed on a nearby tree. I stopped walking. It was a raven, large and fierce-looking, with shining black feathers. A moment later, I realized it wasn't just a raven; it was the raven. The one Lissa had healed. No other bird would land so close to a dhampir. And no other bird would be looking at me in such an intelligent, familiar way. I couldn't believe he was still around. A chill ran down my spine, and I started to back up. Then the truth hit me. â€Å"You're bound to her too, aren't you?† I asked, fully aware that anyone who saw me would think I was crazy. â€Å"She brought you back. You're shadow-kissed.† That was actually pretty cool. I held out my arm to it, half hoping it'd come land on me in some sort of dramatic, movie-worthy gesture. All it did was look at me like I was an idiot, spread its wings, and fly off. I glared as it flew off into the twilight. Then I turned around and headed off to find Lissa. From far away, I heard the sound of cawing, almost like laughter.