Statistical Methods

Most quantitative research projects have a statistical component to them, particularly in the social sciences and economics. Researchers collect large samples of data and manipulate various factors based on the hypothesis at hand. For example, if you want to measure the effect that nutrition has on a student’s ability to retain material, you would manipulate the amount and nutritional quality of breakfasts consumed across your research sample. Opinion surveys with five- or seven-point attitudinal scales are also common tools. Depending on the statistical method, various regression methods (linear or non-linear, for example) are applied to the data to see if there are significant links between factors and outcomes.

Item-Response Theory

How well do these surveys actually work as far as giving a meaningful result to the questions that researchers want to answer? This is where item-response theory (IRT) comes in. According to the assumptions of IRT, if you are looking at one particular trait, such as reading level or strength of feeling about the designated-hitter rule, and you keep your questions independent and you can render your respondents’ answers in a mathematical way, then your assessment should render valid, meaningful results.

The Rasch Model

This model primarily works with measurement of personality characteristics, aptitudes and attitudes. You could use the Rasch model to figure out, for example, how a person feels about the right to bear arms using a questionnaire. While it is useful to find out one particular trait or attitude, it is not the ideal tool to use if you are trying to measure several factors at once.

Effective or Not?

Researchers who are skeptical about quantitative methods tend to point to the complexity of factors in any situation involving research in the social sciences. For example, if you’re going to measure the importance of a healthy breakfast for student learning, how can you isolate the choice between Frosted Flakes and All-Bran from other factors that affect that learning, such as sleep patterns, emotional turbulence in the home, disciplinary differences and other elements? Those who argue for quantitative methods insist that the results can be valuable if the researcher ensures a minimal disturbance from outside factors.

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Make a Plan

Before you begin writing, take some time to make a master plan fro your essay. Decide what information you want to cover and the method you will use to accomplish this. If your paper is a narrative, you might use pre-writing activities like brainstorming to come up with ideas. If you are writing a research paper, clustering to find a focus might work better for you. Though your plan may change as you research and write your paper, making a plan will help streamline the writing process by helping you focus on a final goal for your paper. Write your plan down and keep it near you as you write your paper to make certain that you are headed in the right direction.

Take Good Notes

Organized notes are essential for an organized essay paper. While conducting research for your paper, use your master plan to identify the topics you need to research and the questions you must answer in your paper. Write your notes on index cards; not only will they help you stay organized, but their small size forces you to condense information and keep your notes brief, which will reduce the risk of unintentional plagiarism. Carefully label each card with a topic and reference information.

Create an Outline

An outline is a kind of road map for your essay and is more detailed than your essay plan. The method you use to outline your paper will depend upon your style of writing and the type of paper you are writing; an outline for a personal narrative will probably be less detailed than the outline for a research paper. Use roman numerals or letters to organize main ideas, and then break those main ideas into smaller chunks of information.

Topic Sentences

Use topic sentences to organize ideas within your paper. These topic sentences can be used in your outline as main ideas. Begin each new paragraph or section of your paper with a topic sentence that outlines the main idea of that section. Then, use supporting sentences to expand upon or explain that topic sentence.

Revision

After you have written a rough draft, create a reverse outline, recommends the University of Toronto Writing Centre. To make a reverse outline, go through your paper and write down each main idea on a separate sheet of paper in the order in which they appear, leaving plenty of space between each topic. When you have finished, read through the main ideas to make sure that they make sense. Make sure that you have not left out key points or repeated topics. Make changes to your draft if needed. Next, go through your paper to find sentences that support your main topics, and jot these down below each topic on your reverse outline. This will ensure that you fully explain each main topic.

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There are quite a few institutions that offer scholarships for writers, although they might require a little bit of searching on the applicant’s part.  Here, for instance, is a great scholarship given to aspiring college students from 21^st Century Insurance. The grand place winner in their scholarship contest has the potential to put ten thousand dollars toward their expenses.

The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers is the foundation behind the awards given out by Scholastic for art and writing.  Their scholarship program allows kids from seventh grade to twelfth grade to send them a piece of art or a work of writing and the alliance will then choose the winners able to receive a scholarship.  The money that is given to the kids comes from the alliance as well as some of their educational partners and the best part is that there are more than thirty categories to choose from so anyone can enter.

For those college applicants looking to further their career in the world of journalism, there exists a very prestigious and well-known scholarship that is available specifically for journalism majors.  The National Press Club offers the Richard G. Zimmerman Award each year to one scholarship applicant who is planning on going into journalism.  Applicants will need to submit three examples of journalistic writing before they’re eligible for the five thousand dollar scholarship.

Journalism students will also be able to take advantage of the Free Spirit Scholarship, which is an award given one journalism major in each of the fifty continental United States.  This scholarship only accepts applications from journalism students who are juniors in high school with at least three pieces of journalistic examples and possess what the judges would call a free spirit.  Each winner will go to Washing D.C. to accept their scholarship.

Creative writers aren’t left out of the scholarship awards either.  There is also the Unpublished Author Award, which accepts applications until March of every year and will award the winner whose short story wowed them the most a scholarship for five hundred dollars.  Though the competition for this one might be a little tougher, it’s really a good idea for fiction writers, especially since some of the past writers have gone on to publish novels after receiving the award.

The Aspiring Writer award from the Go on Girl Book Club is available to any sophomore or junior studying in a historically black university and majoring in English, Journalism, or any other type of literary field.  This will award them five hundred dollars if the book club likes their essay on the power of the written word.

There are plenty of great scholarships available for writers if one knows where to look and not only do many of them offer a great deal of money, but some of them also have the benefits of helping publish work or get jobs later down the road.

• Carefully read through and examine the prompt. The Praxis essay topics ask you to discuss your stance on a given statement. This implies that you may either completely agree or disagree with a statement. In addition, you may use a middle-ground approach to your essay if that works best for you.
• Plan your essay for at least eight minutes. The planning is essential, because it will actually enhance the quality of the essay. Before you start writing, be sure to make a list of all your supporting details. Then select two or three of your finest arguments and organize them logically. Organizing the arguments in advance is critical, especially if you are taking the paper-based Praxis exam, as you would not be able to reorder huge chunks of the text once you have begun writing. Analyze and discuss your points in an interesting way.
• Draft the essay. Try to finish your draft in 15 minutes so you can have at least a few minutes to reread the essay at the end.
• Include a concise and clear introduction to your topic, but don’t spend too much time on it.
• Add an effective conclusion to the essay that accurately sums up the main points and evaluates the benefits.
• Use the remaining time to revise the essay. Read your draft carefully, looking for omitted words, awkward phrasing, problematic transitions and similar issues. Pay close attention to errors in sentence structure and subject-verb agreement. In addition, be sure to avoid the use of the second-person pronoun “you” in your writing.

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How can you sell your personal brand as a writer?

Guest Posting – Do you follow any blogs faithfully? If you have a topic in which you are knowledgeable, why not offer to provide guest posts for the blogs that you love? You’ll find that all great blogs are willing to accept quality guest posts, and it’s a good way to spread your name around. If you can provide people with links to posts you made on popular websites, it will be better than a professionally-worded resume. Quality examples of published content will speak much more loudly than any boring resume!

Create a Website – This may sound costly, but you’ll find that a simple website with a few static pages and a blog can cost you as little as $50 or so per year. You can use a simple WordPress template, buy the domain name and hosting, and get everything set up easily. Once you have your website, start writing and posting content to your blog. A professional-looking website will be one of the best marketing tools, and you can point potential clients to your site to see your writing style first hand.

Use Social Media – You’ll be amazed at how effective social media websites can be for building your personal brand. LinkedIn is the ultimate tool for professional freelancers, and you can expand your network, find job opportunities, and expand your horizons using this free social media site. Post a good profile complete with your information, projects, and links to content, and refer people to the page whenever you send out your resume. The larger your network, the greater your scope of influence. Leverage social media sites to help you market yourself, and you’ll be amazed at what you can do!

Email People About Your Services – If you happen to be the creative type of writer then maybe the best way to get the word out about your services is to have people you know be your first clients. Make sure you have plenty of examples and proof to share before you email your friends a sales pitch. If you are part writer part crafter you can create some Invitationbox customized wedding invitations or perhaps some blog post samples if you are a blogger for hire. You’ll be amazed at how extensive your network can become if you just let people know what you can do.

Set Up Portfolios — Websites like oDesk and Elance are great places to find freelance work, but they’re actually better for setting up a professional profile. Even if you never get a job from these websites, you can point people to your profile – where they can check out what you can do. Guru and Freelancer are also excellent sites to use, and you should take full advantage of these job board websites.

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Read the essay aloud. You will be able to spot mistakes, parts that don’t make sense and sentences that are just too short or too long for the reader. Practice this method in your room and don’t hesitate to ask your parents to listen to you. Divide longer sentences that make you lose your breath into shorter ones, retaining their meaning. Combine successive short sentences that disrupt the flow of your speech. If certain words don’t work well together, consult your parents to find a better solution.

Combine sentences. This is one of the basic skills that separate middle school students from their early grades counterparts. “I am a 10-year-old boy. I used to be an only child.” Instead of writing that as two sentences, write: “I am a 10-year-old boy, who used to be an only child.” It is a very simple example, but it shows the ability to express more complex thoughts and identify the connection between two sentences, such as cause and effect or similarities and differences.

Broaden your vocabulary. One of the main reasons papers receive poor grades is because they only incorporate a handful of commonly used words, even in large essays. You should never use the same word more than once in the same sentence and avoid repeating it regularly in paragraphs. When you are doing your homework, consult dictionaries to look for synonyms of the words you constantly use.

Ask your teacher to specifically explain your mistakes. When you receive your essay with only a grade on top or some inexplicable corrections, you won’t be able to identify your mistakes and avoid them in the future. Don’t be afraid to ask teachers. They will be more than happy to help.

Read literature. The best way to learn how to write well is to read high-quality works. You don’t have to turn to Shakespeare, but there are numerous options of middle-school options in libraries and bookstores to choose from. Dedicate some of your spare time to reading books and you will find that apart from helping you improve your writing skills, it can also turn out to be an interesting activity.

Research your topic before you start writing the essay. Apart from your written skills, teachers are looking for original, well-presented content. Ask for your parents’ help to show you how to search for information in encyclopedias or on the Internet.

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What Does a Medical Assistant Do?
The term “medical assistant” is somewhat abstract and doesn’t truly describe what all a medical assistant does. According To Wisegeek online, some of the things you could work on might include:

• Initial contact with patients.
• Takes blood pressure, vital signs, records medical history.
• May draw blood for tests or give injections.

 
Front office assistant:

• Administrative work.
• Dealing with patient charting.
• Orders supplies.
• Answers phones and deals with insurance companies and hospital scheduling.

 
Back office assistant:

• Escorts patients to rooms.
• Listening to or questioning patients about their current health.
• Assists doctors with medical procedures.
• Clarifies instructions with the patient.

 
Where Can You Get A Degree?
If you live in Florida, wondering about a medical assistant degree in Miami you can earn your degree in medical assistant in Miami FL at places like:

• Miami Dade College.
• MedVance Institute.
• Everest Institute.

 
California has:

• University of Southern California.
• Santa Ana College.
• San Joaquin Valley College Fresno.

 
Online degrees are tremendously popular too. Kaplan, Anthem College, and Herzing University are just a few that offer online degrees.

What to Know About Getting a Degree
Regardless of if you are getting your medical assistant degree in Miami, California, online, or any place else there are a few things to know about the field. First is its job outlook. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows:

• The average salary is approximately $28,860 a year.
• Job projection for 2010-2020 is higher than average, at 31%.
• Most medical assistants work in doctors’ offices.

 
Another thing to know is that you don’t always have to work in a doctor’s office. You can work with dentists, in administration, educational settings, or get a medical assisting degree as a stepping stone to a LPN, PA, or even RN degree.

What are Some Current Trends in Medical Assisting?
Both the Everest College and The Salter School point out that the biggest trends in medical assisting will be the job growth and potential salary increases. With healthcare needs growing as baby boomers retire, and the constant shortage of nurses, medical assistants are in demand. Salter points out the specializations of medical assistants with:

• Clinical medical assistants.
• Specialized medical assistant.
• Clerical medical assistants.
• Administrative medical assistants.

 
Medical Assisting and Technology
Technology is another area that medical assistant students are exploring. Ehow contributor Douglas Hawk lists equipment and tools that medical assistants will need to be trained on.

• Standard office equipment like a computer, copier, fax.
• X-ray technology and echocardiograms.
• Therapeutic ultrasound.
• Computerized diagnostic multichannel electrocardiograph machine for monitoring heart rhythms.
• Automated blood chemistry apparatus.
• IV administration.
• Cardiac pacing.
• Casting equipment.
• Vision diagnostics.
• Surgical and optical equipment.

 
Becoming a medical assistant will have its ups and downs. The course work may be challenging, and at times the job may be too. But it will also be very uplifting when you realizing how you’re helping people have a better quality of life through good health care.

Envision the surroundings. Describe in detail the setting and characters for your essay. This will be anything that you can actually see. Include items such as color, shape, volume, texture and light. Many of the actions you will describe will probably start with this sense.

Think about what you would hear. This included not only loud obvious sounds, but the little things you take for granted. Consider the sound a piece of paper makes when it is crinkled or torn, or the difference in footsteps when walking slowly or hurried.

Give it some feeling. It is easy to forget to describe the sense of feeling because people focus mainly on what they are actually touching, like a brick wall or a sweater. Feeling descriptions can also include things that touch you, like the rain, someone’s breath or intuition.

Sniff around. There are certain smells everywhere you go. You probably associate different smells with people and places. Pay attention and describe what scents and perfumes may be in your environment.

Add anything you might taste. This comes into play mostly when food items are involved, but try to be aware of anything that might tough your lips or tongue too, like the adhesive on a envelope or even a kiss..

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1. State the main idea for your paper. This will help you organize it and give it a title.
2. Write down the main categories or subtopics under your main idea. For example, a paper on the benefits of sports for children might include types of sports available, effects on character, and research on the health benefits of sports participation. Highlight the key points in your introduction.
3. Notate the introduction and the key points in your outline. Notate the introduction with the Roman numeral number I. Identify each point with a capital letter beginning with A, and each subcategory with a number, beginning with 1.
4. Explain the first point that you would like to cover. For the example above, list the types of sports that children can become involved in. Describe whether the activity is a team sport such as baseball or an individual sport such as gymnastics. Include information that you would like to research.
5. List the remaining points in a similar manner to complete your outline. The last section should be the conclusion and include a summary of your key points.

Topic

In the school setting, the teacher often chooses a topic for an illustration essay for students. However, if it is not already given to you, choose a topic that you are passionate and know a lot about. For example, if you decided to write an essay about how dog breed discrimination occurs in your town, make sure that you know enough about this topic to prove your point.

Give Examples

Don’t just tell your reader about your subject. Sticking with the dog breed discrimination example, don’t just describe what it is. Instead give detailed examples of situations that you feel illustrate the discrimination. Perhaps landlords don’t allow certain breeds of dogs on their properties. Give the audience lots of detail so that there is no doubt in their mind that a certain situation or thing exists. The more examples you can write in your essay, the easier it will be to illustrate that something exists.

Vary Example Types

Not every reader will respond to the same examples. By including different types of examples in your essay, you can better illustrate your topic to more people. Give examples from your own experiences with the topic as well as examples that anyone may come across. These may overlap or your experience with a certain topic may vary substantially from the normal experience with a topic.

Don’t Analyze

Analyzing a situation should be left for an analysis essay, which seeks to prove why something exists rather than just proving that it does exist. Illustration essays should stick to illustrating your point. In longer, more complex writing assignments — like ones assigned in college — students might have the chance to combine these two types of essays. However, in lower grade levels, combining these essay types may result in a lower grade for not fulfilling the assignment properly.

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