Kipling's White Man's Burden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kipling's White Man's Burden - Essay Example Rudyard Kipling is trying to show the negative attitudes of Europeans towards imperialism. Africans were considered as savages and a burden by them. This is a racial point of view. Africans are considered as crazy, devilish, and dumb people. Africans are treated as a burden of the Europeans, but at the same time, they also think that it is their responsibility to help Africans out. Kipling is simply justifying American’s coming in Africa and taking over the African lives. This reflects that he does not believe in the concept of equality. For him, not every person holds equal rights and some have fewer rights than others, simply because they are less humane. He is encouraging the concept of imperialism. He believes that the Africans are simply ungrateful people. Help is being granted to them, yet they are retaliating against it. 2. Kipling addressed this poem to the Americans in relation to their recent colonization of Philippines. I believe that Kipling really thinks that it i s the responsibility of the civilized nations to those they have conquered. While using the term â€Å"white man’s burden†, he is trying to explain the fact that the European ancestry (or the American one, for that matter) has more opportunities and chances for better education and has more political influence than the natives had. Had Kipling written this poem earlier, he would have argued against colonial imperialism. He was born in the time when native people have already been conquered. It seems as if Kipling is trying to get across the message that no gratitude or corporation in return for the improvement of the lives should be expected. When Kipling uses the phrase â€Å"Take up the White man’s Burden†, it has two meanings. It is naturally considered a duty towards the primitive, impoverished people and that the do-gooder has to bear the resulting ingratitude. Kipling’s assumption regarding the laziness and backwardness of the Filipinos might be considered as racist and patronizing to many modern day readers. But it simply was not meant to offend the people. Kipling was simply trying to explain the difficulties which the Americans faced. The issues, which were then raised by Kipling, seem to be relevant in today’s world. The world is not made a better place without sacrifices and hard work. In addition, the welcome mat is not always rolled out for those who want to change the world for the better. 3. Kipling has offered defense throughout the poem. He thinks that imperialism can work out for the best if it is executed correctly. The poem was meant to discuss not only the American response to the Philippines but also towards the European countries – that they should share medicines and wealth to reduce the misfortunes, illnesses, and famines which are polluting Africa. At first, imperialism might seem to be very striking, but it can have various definitions, depending on the way it is being executed. So muc h emphasis on the execution is placed so that dual meaning is not derived out of Kipling’s prose. He strongly believes that if imperialism is implemented in the correct way, than it can preserve cultures. It is possible only if the wealth is shared and medicine is practiced properly. However, it was not seen the way Kipling had interpreted. The wealthy defined civilization. White men are considered wealthy and hence

Chipotle Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Chipotle Case Analysis - Essay Example ii. Ensured usage of raw materials of the highest quality and application of classic methods of cooking. This was to ensure that the restaurant produces dishes that are reasonably priced and ready to serve to customers in a short while. iii. Creation of operationally efficient restaurant having a pleasing aesthetic distinctive setting in its interior. iv. Friendly customer care services. v. Increased awareness and respect for the environment. This would have entailed the use of freshly grown organic produce and meat that is humanely raised and having no hormones or antibiotics. At the point of establishing these chains of restaurants, the main idea that was in the mind of the entrepreneur Steve was that, as a place of fast foods, the restaurant needed not to be quite expensive but, more accessible and affordable to most of the consumers. As such, when Steve commissioned the opening of the first of such restaurants in Denver in the year 1993, it became a great hit in the marketplace, and the majority of consumers were pleased with the services offered. According to the report, Chipotle grew in operations from a 1-unit restaurant to a 1,230-unit chain of restaurants that served in various parts of the country (41 states), and which managed to serve a daily customer base of about 800,000 people. The reasons for this great increase in sales turnover and high profitability index was due to a combination of various factors among them, provision of better quality fast foods compared to other restaurants, up scaling of the restaurant and the ability to deliver faster services to the customers. It is as a result of this extensive expansion and tremendous increase in sales turnover of the restaurant that Steve sought to expand the base into other neighboring states. Such expansions were to areas such as the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom and Canada. For instance, according to the financial reports of the year 2011, Chipotle managed to record revenues worth $2.3 billion and a $214.9 million in net income. The diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the same year were about $6.76 million. These are clear indications to a company with a positive growth profile hence, prospectively looking forward to increased business opportunities in the near future. A SWOT analysis for Chipotle Mexican Grill will be based on the past relations for continued existence of the company. For instance, the continued increase in the stock prices for a company is a likely indication of strength in the restaurant. There are a number of reasons as to why a SWOT analysis for a company is essential, especially to stakeholders and prospective investors to the company. This is because the analysis will help in making informed decisions about investing in the company or even buy shares and stocks from the shares of the company traded in the stocks market (Paiz, Dave, Ryan, Brian, Kristina, Frank & Mark 165). Chipotle Mexican Grill is recorded to have publicly started tradin g in its shares in the year 2006, and since then, it has had impressive stock prices recordings in the market. For instance, according to this report, the stock price of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the year 2012 climbed to record high of about $380 to $385 per every traded stock as compared to the previous year; thus, a representative 80% increase. Strengths 1. The availability of a well developed marketing strategy. A critical study into the report

Creating the Constitution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Creating the Constitution - Research Paper Example The bill of rights is a vital constituent of American law and the government. It symbolizes culture and freedom of the United States of America (Beeman,23). The first three articles of the constitution are important in the land. They outline the three branches of the government, and states a set of regulations and rules these branches must follow. This ensures smooth running of the federal government. The American constitution was refined from the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. It was initially ratified by the nine states only. The final draft was then penned by Jacob Shallus. The penned draft is found and displayed in the Records of Administration and National Archives of Washington, D.C. Creation of American constitution was a long process. It was difficult to persuade the 13 states of America to ratify the constitution. The draft was based on the separation of powers, federalism and provision of checks and balances (Riemer, 55). The details of blue print of the new government under the new constitution and which bound all the American states were: The article I of the constitution provided for the functions and separation of the congressional powers. The legislation created here is bicameral. It also outlined the qualification for one to hold an office. It also set methods of selection both the senators and the representatives. It also stated powers such as declaring wars and regulating interstate commerce. Article II provided the power to the president of United States to execute laws. The article II also limited the president’s term to four years a maximum of two terms in office. It stated the mechanisms of removing the president from the office. The constitution also set the modest powers of the president. The powers include negotiator of foreign treaties, ambassadors’ appointment, judges and other high rank officers. The most important power vested on him is the power of being the commander-in chief of the armed forces.

A Friendship and Betrayal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Friendship and Betrayal - Essay Example At the same time, the friend needs to be supportive, come what may, even if you do something wrong and this something comes back to bite you, so to speak. So, honesty and loyalty are the most important qualities when it comes to a friendship. Then, of course, there are other things to look for – compatible personalities, a shared sense of humor and a shared interest in activities are good things to look for as well. These are the same qualities that I look for in a boyfriend. Loyalty is an important aspect of friendship in general. It is important that a person not take positions that will undermine you, that a person does not steal from you, and that they did not betray you in any way. Of course, as I stated before if you are doing something which is immoral, wrong or illegal, the friend should not support that, but, other than that, a friend should be loyal, and this is universal. Disloyalty generally means that the person is not a true friend. One day, I found out that my b oyfriend and my best friend were sleeping together. And they were doing it in my apartment, while I was away at work. Right away, I decided to end both the friendship and the relationship with my boyfriend. If they wanted to be together, then they could be together, but I would no longer be a part of their lives. This was the ultimate betrayal, and I did not think that I could look past it. As I said, loyalty and honesty are the two biggest traits that a good friend must have, and my best friend showed that she was neither loyal nor honest when she did this to me. I was especially hurt because my friend had recently lost her baby through miscarriage, and I was totally there for her during this period of time. She had an ectopic pregnancy, which means that her baby was growing in her fallopian tube and not the womb, so the pregnancy was actually life-threatening. I went to the hospital with her and stayed with her after she arrived home because she was an emotional mess at that point . I called her every day to make sure that she was feeling okay. I felt that she was profoundly disloyal, and that really hurt. It was several weeks before I would take her phone calls. I heard it through the grapevine that she and my boyfriend did not last, and that my boyfriend had found somebody else. I felt that this was karma for my friend because she hurt me and now she was hurting too. Still, I was feeling sad and lonely, and my friend was calling me several times a day and leaving messages, so I finally picked up and we talked. She told me that she was suffering from severe depression, and her doctor had put her on medication. The depression stemmed partly from her lost pregnancy, but it turns out that the problem went even deeper than that. She was clinically depressed, which means that she had a chemical imbalance in the brain, and she was getting treatment for that. She did not have an excuse for sleeping with my boyfriend, except to say that she was lonely and he was the re. I could feel that she was needy, and I could understand why. She was vulnerable, and my rat of a boyfriend took advantage of that. Really, my boyfriend is the person who deserved all the blame in this situation. I wrestled with whether I would let this person back in my life. I thought about all the good times we shared because we had been friends for many years.

Identify the Most Appropriate form of Market Research in a Given Essay

Identify the Most Appropriate form of Market Research in a Given Situation and Implement that Research - Essay Example One of the main reasons that were understood in this connection is the happening of economic recession for which many social activities of the people countered a sharp decline. Further it was found that owing to the rise of the economic recession the main consumer segment that was increasingly affected constitutes the premium segment of consumers. Brand Heineken in this context reflects as have fallen in a trap in not being able to reduce the price of its products to help reach to a mass consumer base in the recessionary market. It is because a reduction in the price of the products may hamper or tarnish its brand image of being a premium product. On the other hand the inability to gain a larger market signified less of marketing and sales revenues which also restricted the brand’s ability to make any significant marketing and promotional investments leading to the problem getting intensified (Cannes Creative Lions, 2011). Having hinted on the problem the market research domai n can now consider on deciding on the attributes of the target group of people over whom research would be conducted based on questionnaires and again the budget for conducting the market research activity would be decided upon (Hague and Morgan, 2004, p.21). Market Research Market Research Objective In regards to the above context the company desired to conduct a market research activity which would help in satisfying the subject of the queries created focusing on the stated problem. The main objectives of market research were found to be threefold. Firstly the market research was conducted by the company to help sustain the brand image and market position of the brand in the premium beer market of Italy. Secondly the market research also focused to help sustain the same price for its premium products in the recessionary market. Finally the market research activities were also conducted to help the brand gain a large amount of consumer loyalty than before in the premium beer segmen t of Italy. Henceforth the market research objectives for enhancement of brand loyalty of the beer brand is found to be subjected to a specific market territory and to a specific consumer group to analyse the change in sales volume and market share (Cooklin et al., 2006, p.48). Market Research Process For the above condition the market research activity that was designed operated based on a threefold step. In the first step the market research team focused on segmenting the entire market into relevant consumer groups consisting of the target consumers. Such division was conducted based on demographic profiles of the consumers such that firstly the consumers in the age group of 18-24 were chosen. However the group for its failure to project the premium set of consumers the target group was based on the consumer segment of age group of 20-30 years who would drink the premium beer. The second focus of the market research activity targeted at helping the old consumers gain their bygone youthful

Northanger Abbey Characters Essay Example for Free

Northanger Abbey Characters Essay Second of which, it is also important to note that the social identity theory claims that every person enacts multiple identities that functions in every social context such as for instance, mother, professor, volunteer, that could be drivers of buying actions (p. 11). The behavioral decision theory that is under the umbrella of the social identity theory claims that choices of consumers are often made in accordance with their attribute values. Closely related to this is the attitude theory which emphasizes consumer expectancies and evaluations on a particular product belief (p. 11-12). The figure below presents consumer goals in terms of their buying preferences. It could be seen that the core reason that determines why such and such consumers buy certain products is primarily due to their life theme and values. In effect of these, their life themes and values deeply influenced how they are going to deal with their life projects, current concerns and consumption intentions. Finally, the benefits sought and the feature preferences are also considered as the end goal of the being and doing hierarchy. Figure 3:   A hierarchical model of consumer goals Source: Ratneshwar, Mick and Huffman (2000, p. 14) Life themes and values are the personal ideas of being and the highest goal in a persons framework. A terminal value is a belief that is considered as an end in itself such as freedom r wisdom. These types of values are like existential concerns that every customer has to deal with their daily lives which are rooted on their personal histories (p. 15). Themes and values in one’s life are the core conceptions of the self. These values are deeply embedded, interconnected and central in order to maintain integrity of the self-system. Corollary with this, these values are relatively stable and accessible as well and could be activated easily in almost any circumstance. As such it could be said that themes and values serve as a yardstick or standard guide to lower-order goals and actions (p. 17). Current concerns such as activities, tasks or quests are also vital in a consumers buying behavior. For instance, activities or life projects that a customer wants to engage into like gardening, being an animal rights advocate and the likes influences them to buy certain products that are in accordance to such goals (p.18). 2. 5 CSR and Purchasing Decisions The link between CSR and consumer purchasing decisions is something that has a direct relationship. It has been said by Varadarajan and Menon (1988) that it is very relevant for consumers to first be educated on a particular companys level of social responsibility before they could incorporate such on their pattern of behavior. This is important so that consumer purchasing decisions could be affected by the CSR programs that a company is employing. The notion of cause related marketing which is a way for companies to support non profit organizations by allotting a certain percentage of their sales to the former is one of the most effective way of doing the aforementioned (Mohr and Webb, 2001, p. 45). Albeit, it should be noted that although CSR has been highly exercised by most companies, the biggest inhibitor of the latters success is lack of consumer awareness on a particular companys CSR program. However even if this is the case, there is a growing evidence that a lot of consumers are desiring to know more about how companies conducts their businesses. The purchasing information that was given by Council on Economic Priorities in 1994 tells that consumer interest on CSR has been steadily growing (Mohr and Webb, 2001, p. 45). 2. 6 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty Customer satisfaction is difficult to understand and it is define in different ways. Many researchers argued that there is a difference between the customer satisfaction, which is gained from tangible products and intangible services. The difference is because of the intangibility of the services and the failure to separate production and consumption. Therefore, customer satisfaction from services and goods may come from and influenced by different factors. Hence, should be considered separately and differently (Veloutsou, C. et al, 2005). Two issues should be considered when looking customer satisfaction in services whether it is conceptualized or transaction specific or cumulative (Hoest, V. and Knie-Andersen, M. , 2004). Customer satisfaction has been perceived as not the sole determining factor for a loyal customer base (Griffin and Herres, 2002, p. 2). During the 1980s and the 1990s, the notion of customer satisfaction which is weighed in terms of providing quality customer service and excellence has been perceived as providing good financial results and repeat purchase. A study conducted by Forum Corporation (Stum and Thiry, 1991, p. 34) claimed that 40% of the customers who participated in the study claimed to be satisfied with a particular product found it easy to shift brands without any hesitation. As such, it has been perceived by Griffin and Herres (2002; p.4-5) that the true measurement that should be used in repeated business is Customer Loyalty. Customer loyalty focuses more on consumer behaviour than attitude. When a particular client is loyal to a brand, such a person is more particular in conducting purchase behaviour that is relatively more non random. A client who is loyal to a brand has developed a particular justified belief on which and what to buy from whom. More importantly, the notion of loyalty implies a purchase that occurs for a particular duration, which does not occur less than twice. Also, it could be significantly noted that the decision to purchase could be made by one or two or more individuals. As such, it could be the case that the decision making to buy a particular product could be a compromise, hence explaining one of the key reasons for ones loyalty for a particular unit. There are two important factors that are closely associated with brand loyalty and these are customer retention and total share of customer. The former describes the duration in which a particular company has the business of a client. The rate of customer share on the other hand is equivalent to the percentage of a customers budget that is spent with the firm. For instance, a company is said to have 100% share of a customers budget if the latter spends his or her entire budget with a particular firm. As such it could be said that customer retention and percentage of customers budget is very important; however, there might be instances wherein a customer is prevented by certain laws to purchase just from one vendor such as government accounts. Gustafsson and Johnson (2000; p.50) presented a model which would effectively measure customer satisfaction. Satisfaction in terms of the model is perceived as customers overall evaluation of the purchase and consumption experience with a product, service or provider†. The model presented by Gustafsson and Johnson (2000) appears to be different from transaction-specific portrayals of customer satisfaction that normally leads to repurchase. The model focuses on the importance of Customer Lens or the perspective of a customer on a particular brand, most especially how it benefits them. The lens of the customer will allow the organization to take a view of their product as it appears on the market place and not really how their organization perceives it (Gustafsson and Johnson, 2000, p. 5). It has been argued by Gustafsson and Johnson   (2000) that customers decisions to repurchase a particular product are deeply influenced by their overall purchase and consumption from a particular company or brand. In addition, customer satisfaction could pave the way for an enhanced reputation and an increase of brand equity for a particular organization. Such in turn could further attract customers that could have further increase the market share of a particular brand. 2. 7 The Body Shop International, PLC Values The Body Shop International PLC has five corporate values: Against Animal Testing, Support Community Trade, Activate Self Esteem, and Protecting our Planet (The Body Shop International plc a, 2007). 2. 7. 1 Against Animal Testing The company strongly advocated for the banning of the test of cosmetics on animals. In addition, the company prides itself due to its strict compliance of the internationally recognized Humane Cosmetics Standards (The Body Shop International plc b, 2007). As such it has been implementing a so-called fixed cut-off date to all of their ingredients. Such means, that the company does not and will never test their cosmetics on animals, hence calling it an immovable fixed date (The Body Shop International plc c, 2007). More importantly, the company has also assured that their products could also be suitable for vegetarians. This means that the company does not use any ingredient that is perceived to cause harm to animals (The Body Shop International plc c, 2007). In effect of this, the Body Shop has been awarded on 2006 as the Best Cruelty-free Cosmetics by the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals). (The Body Shop International plc b, 2007). The advocate of Body Shop to ban animal testing is stretched even by the company supporting researches that could bring about alternatives against animal testing. In 2004, the Body Shop Foundation has awarded the Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing at John Hopkins University ? 20 000 in order to support the universitys research in finding other ways to test cosmetics   (The Body Shop International plc b, 2007). 2. 7. 2 Support Community Trade Body Shops support for community trade focuses on the use of natural ingredients and handcrafted products from skilled people and was brought for a reasonable prize for more than 20 years on over 24 countries and 31 suppliers (The Body Shop International plc e, 2007). In another perspective, community fair trade provides workers in marginalized countries to earn a reliable wage that could help them build their futures (The Body Shop International plc d, 2007). More importantly, the community trade that Body Shop made from the aforementioned also provides the company the assurance that it has been purchasing ingredients in which they know where came from (The Body Shop International plc d, 2007). As such, it could be said that the company has been spreading not only its monetary assets but also its intellectual investments as well fairly among countries most especially to the ones which needed it most (The Body Shop International plc d, 2007). 2. 7. 3 Activate Self Esteem Body shop also deeply upholds basic feminist values. Their motto: Know your mind, love your body; communicates the individuality of all women and the disregard to false promises, hype, and jargons of cosmetics and a fixed standard of beauty (The Body Shop International plc f, 2007). More importantly, the body shop emphasizes the importance of self awareness, self-confidence, self-growth and self-acceptance. As such it deems self respect while focusing on diversity, acceptance and empowerment (The Body Shop International plc g, 2007). 2. 7. 4 Protecting our Planet Protecting the planet is the last among the five core values of Body Shop. This value is deeply connected on the advocate of the company in using natural ingredients. Body Shop believed that through the use of natural ingredients and through helping on the ban against cosmetic test on animals, they are helping to protect the environment (The Body Shop International plc h, 2007). Furthermore, Body Shop also supports the use of renewable sources through the use of Forest Stewardship Council certified wood products. I

Peer Correction in Teaching Writing Skills

Peer Correction in Teaching Writing Skills CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the problem Writing skill which includes language, private knowledge and skill, emotion and the interaction of personal opinion is difficult and challenging to learn and develop for many students in EFL contexts in general and in Vietnam in particular. In Vietnam, there are many teachers of English who even believe that teaching writing skill to EFL learners is more complex than teaching other communicative skills (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001). Although language learners have to learn hard to have good compositions, they still have made a variety of errors or mistakes when writing. In other words, EFL learners often feel stressful and anxious when writing in a foreign language (Spratt Leung, 2000). Consequently, language teachers and researchers have made an effort to know how they can do to help students be able to minimize their mistakes in their writing. However, they also admit that it is impossible for them or any teacher to read and correct all the students compositions on writing lessons because â€Å"correcting written work is time-consuming† (Ur, 1999, p.74), especially for large classes. Peer feedback (also peer correction, peer response or peer review) with its advantages can be a promising way which can be used to encourage students to read and give comments and suggestions together for enrichment of their peers writings before the final versions of their products are submitted to their teachers. Peer correction works as a vital part in the process approach to teaching writing because it helps learners realize their learning level as well as their demands for enhancement of writing ability. Brown (1994) and Gipps (1994) have the same opinion that feed back is one of the main factors in the process of English learning and teaching. Many other researchers, for example, Paulus (1999), Min (2006) promote the idea that verbal and written feedback should be applied to foster writing skills. This strategy, thus, has been used popularly on the writing lessons of many English classes in Vietnam consisting of those at centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, Thai Nguyen College of Education, Thai Nguyen Uni. Ur (1999, p.74) states that peer correction can help us not only save time, but also develop the â€Å"critical reading† skill for â€Å"content, organization, style and language accuracy†. Additionally, peer feedback can receive an efficient method to make students to have critical thinking of writing and assessment skills than teacher feedback. In other words, peer feedback helps learners make good use of their own effort to make their writings expressive and effective. However, in spite of its roles and impact on the process of writing, peer feedback has not been paid much attention in Vietnam. Some researchers such as Tran (2007), Phan (2007) who are interested in peer response in writing introduce their point of view, knowledge and experience about this topic in their researches which show the present state of emplo ying peer feedback learners attitude and especially offer some suggestions to better the current response training. 1.2. Purpose of the study As mentioned above, it is not difficult to find out studies which research the role of peer feedback in writing skill on the way to foster it. However, the writer of this study with to do the research to know about the fact of peer feedback in Vietnam in general and the Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, TNCE, TNU more clearly. This study also investigates whether peer feedback can have positive impact on ESL writing process among pre-intermediate non major students at this Centre or not; they can revise their own writing works to develop their writing skill or not and how this process really happens. Bearing in mind, the writer decides the research with title â€Å"Using peer correction in teaching writing skill to help Vietnamese college non-major students at CIF, CE, TNU reduce errors in their written compositions† 1.3. Research question(s) or statement of hypothesis This study aims at finding answer to the following research question: How can peer correction help EFL learners reduce mistakes in their written compositions? The question is addressed to one of the writing classes that I am teaching this term in Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, College of Education, Thai Nguyen University with the aim to examine how peer correction affects the process of revising and writing a complete composition of my students here. 1.4. Organization of the study This study can be divided into five chapters. In this chapter, background of the EFL writing in local context is given and the aim of this study is also identified. Chapter 2 mentions some reviews of the literature which go through related literature and researches, in which, general of writing teaching and a brief idea of peer feedback in writing skill will be focused. In chapter 3, the writer describes the methodology and processes of the research. Chapter 4 presents data analysis and findings. Chapter 5 gives some implications of the study, summarizes main point discussed in the study, indicates some limitations and proposes some suggestions for the further researches. Lastly, the final parts of the study are appendices and references. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Overview of writing process Lannon (1989) claims that writing is a process delivering meaningful messages and including its own specific goal. This process requires students to work hard instead of regarding it as an uncomplicated act (Byrne, 1988). However, in language teaching and learning process, Tribble (1996, p.3) defines writing as a language skill that involves â€Å"not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way†. This means writers need to arrange their ideas logically and systematically. There have been different approaches to teaching writing EFL classes but two most popular ones are product approach and process one. Product approach can be the traditional method of writing which stresses the final outcome of the writing process as well as grammar, usage, form and mechanics of the composition. Students are often asked to write a similar paragraph basing on the model and using new taught structures, vocabularies or any aspects of language. After that, the teacher will correct students writings or â€Å"feedback in the class commonly means the correction of the students language errors† (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001, p.56). Therefore, students find difficult to know why and how they made errors to avoid repeating them on the next tasks. Though thanks to this method students can sometimes reject errors (Tribble, 1996), it does not encourage students create in writing at all, â€Å"the use of language is manipulate of fixed patterns; the patterns are learned by imitation† (Pincas, 1962, p.185). Over the last forty years, there has been remarkable interest in writing process. There are many researchers and educators suggesting language teachers that they should pay attention to students writing process instead of only their final writing version (Paige Way, Joiner and Seaman, 2000). Process writing can contain stages such as rewriting, writing, revising and rewriting or editing. However, Reid (1993) supplement this process with three more stages, namely, responding, evaluating and post-writing, in which peer feedback is focused more in responding. Prewriting: something done before drafting such as choosing a topic, brainstorming, collecting data, organizing. Composing / drafting: actually writing. Revising: selecting organization, structures, edition or collection word. Rewriting: completing stage step by step. Responding: getting the teacher and peers responses, discussing with them about papers to improve the content. Evaluating: receiving marks or scores from the teachers. Post-writing: any activities happened after completing rewriting and getting assessment (role-play) Cresswell claims that to as students to exchange their writing draft is an effective way to foster their learning autonomy and help them become alert reader when proofreading their partners written tasks (2000). As the result, they also have critical thinking when they read their own paper to find and correct themselves their mistakes in those, i.e. their writing ability can be develop (Markino, 1993). It is necessary to allow students to have more time to write and get feedback from their teachers and classmates, and then rewrite the drafts so that they can let reader be abele to understand their idea expressed on the paper better (Frankenberg-Garcia, 1999). 2.2. Definition and some types of errors Different researchers have different ways to categorize errors. In this study, the writer only wishes to refer one of classification strategies based on the relation to comprehensibility given by Burt and Kiparsky (1972) because of its close concern with the notion of mistakes mentioned in this study. These researchers divided error into two main types: global errors and local ones. Hendrickson (1978) notes that we will be able to realize which error is global or local, because error can be regard as â€Å"communicative† or â€Å"non-communicative† ones. According to Ellis (1997), while global errors such as over generalization or simplification have an effect on explanation of the whole structure of sentence, local error just affect a single factor in sentences, i.e. word, phrases, closures or grammatical morphemes. Burt and Kiparsky (1974) also claim that global error have higher hierarchy than local errors. Thus the global ones seem to be care about and be corrected more than local ones Norish (1983). However, those local errors can be considered as â€Å"minor ones†, error in tense and aspect†, they are popular mistakes of English writing learners. 2.3. Peer feedback and its impact on reducing mistakes and developing writing skill â€Å"Knowledge is best acquired through negotiated interaction† (Grabe Kaplan, 1996, p.380). There are many approaches to error correction and also definitions of peer feedback from many linguists and experts. According to Richards, et al, Peer feedback is an activity in the revising stage of writing in which students receive feedback about their writing from other students-their peers. Typically students work in pairs or small groups, read each others compositions and ask questions or give comments or suggestions (1992, p.268). Some other researchers of EFL writing state that feedback play an essential role in the process of writing. Keh (1990) claims that giving feedback means giving comments and suggestions, which helps the writer edit his or her composition. Through teachers or classmates feedback, students can know what kinds of mistakes they made and how to cope with those mistakes. Therefore, if students can get a â€Å"productive feedback†, they can correct their own errors and avoiding making the similar mistakes in the later writing tasks. It is wise for teachers to require learners responsibilities for their own writing performance and their peers ones because of the strong effect of peer feedback on students review as well as their writing skill. Zamel (1987) supposes that peers are actual and direct readers or reviewers. In the fact that, there are a number of methods teachers utilize to assist students check their mistakes but indeed teachers seem to not be able to resolve the problem individually. Students play the parts of both writers and readers or givers and receivers. Hefernik (1983) regards peer editing as learning and teaching instrument for teachers and learners because students can give helpful feedback each other. Peer writers can edit their own written compositions basing on the readers remarks and comments (Mendonca and John, 1994; Rollison, 1998), so the writers can be better at learning writing. Students can also have superior performance by the student-to-student activities because these activities are often more detailed than teacher feedback (Caulk, 1994). Also, Mangelsdorfin thinks that peer review can help many students to have diverse perception about their topics as well as foster the ideas and make them more clearly in the EFL writings. Therefore, researchers believe that â€Å"peer feedback can have a positive effect on classroom dynamics and can help to train learners in skills they need to become autonomous† (Spratt et al, 2005, p.157). Joyce (1997) employs a research to explore main strategies so as to respond to the EFL students composition writings. After the twelve-week period, by comparing the initial writing sample and the third one after using peer editing, he shows that writing competency of students grows strongly and concludes this strategy is efficient and necessary. In the research conducted by Wong (1999), peer correction was carried out and discovered by qualitative data to ease the process of EFL writing in four factors: grammar, rules and concepts, meaning and emotional elements. In addition, it helps students improve awareness of writing skill. Quantitative findings of this study introduce 97% students admit that they want to apply peer correction in the future. It is important to stress that the writer of this study learns a lot from Wongs research, and longs to use some his methods in this research to examine whether it is suitable for the writer teaching fact. Kurt and Atay (2007) also experimented with 86 Turkish Prospective Teachers of English. Those participants are divided into 2 groups: Experimental group (writing an essay and receiving peer feedback) and control group (writing an essay and receiving teacher feedback only). This study concluded that peer feedback helps Turkish PTs reduce writing anxiety and it is really considered as a complementary factor of the teacher feedback. Despite its advantages, peer response has its own weakness. Its procedure requests the training and organization from the teacher as well as it depends on students ability of collaboration with peers. Many students give their partners too general and ambiguous reviews. They make their peers find it difficult to understand and catch messages or information. The writing ability, thus, seems to not improve (Tsui Ng, 2000). CHAPTER 3: METHODS AND PROCEDURES 3.1. Methods of the study The research is done qualitatively in the context of a 30-student English class. They are non-major students; their level of English proficiency is pre-intermediate and their writing ability is average. In this report, the writer uses two research tools to collect and analyze the needed data, i.e. recording and interview. Recording is used to record the process of peer correction. Chosen subjects were invited to record their discussions and then they were transcribed (Appendix 4) for analyzing. Voice recorder is chosen instead of video recorder to prevent their discussions from the presence of another people, which may interrupt their current process of peer correction. The writer also hopes that through recordings she can derive how students check and correct their writings each other and what types of mistakes are corrected most. The second tool used in this study is interviews with students at the end of the research to study whether this strategy is really suitable for them or not, that is, expose students attitude toward peer correction strategy as well as their opinions and get their suggestions to make this process better. According to Herbert and Irene (1995), in interviews students need to know the way of actual listening. Because they are pre-intermediate non-major students, they can only use English during the interviews, so they can speak in Vietnamese and then the writer record and translate them into English. 3.2. Procedure As a matter of ethics, the whole procedure of teaching and learning is implemented similarly to all students of the class after all of them give consent to be part of the research (Appendix 1). However, due to the limit of the study, I only focus to record and interview the learning engagement of two students (who I call anonymously in this report as A1 and A2 as a matter of ethics) during this process as the data for analysis. The writer after considering carefully decide to make peer correcting tasks in class. Before the real peer correction, the writer design some exercises to introduce the way to check a composition. They were guided to focus on some discrete mistake. Items are subject-verb agreement, spells, tense, verb form, number, part of speech. The structure of sentence, content, and organization of the composition/essay is also asked to be commented. Firstly, the students were asked to check sentence by sentence and then, they worked in pairs to check the paragraph (Appendix 2, Appendix 3) This research lasted for 8 weeks, and the writer chose 3 topics to ask students to write, discus and correct and then rewrite before submitting to give the teacher. These topics are informal letter to a pen friend; a descriptive passage about a close relative in your family; a biography passage of a famous person. Topic 1: Describe a person in your family Topic 2: Write an informal letter to your pen-friend Topic 3: Write a brief biography of a famous person you admire During this process, the writer asks students to give them tape-recorder to record their own discussions. In this paper, interviews are well-prepared. After recording them, the writer will transcribe and translate them (Appendix 6). CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1. Data analysis à ¼ Analysis of data from the recordings The writer, in this part, wishes to learn about the process of peer correction through discussions taken recordings of subjects and interviews between the writers and them. After that, the writer would assess the result of the recorded discussions and interviews. It is undeniable that peer correction helps students improve EFL writing a lot, although the level of subjects is not high, they can give comments on a variety of types of mistakes language such as article, preposition, S-V agreement, infinitive or gerund an sometimes even whole structure of the composition or word choice. When correcting mistakes, they also give some suggestions and explain the reasons for those mistakes. Below are some examples in collected data. Extract 1(topic 1, A1s composition) Before correction: She and I are very different but we got on well together. She is short and Im tall. She likes stay at home and watch television with my parentss. A2: Ok. Sentence 1 is ok. In sentence 2, you should use get, not got, simple present. Next sentences let me see, here, like add v-ing not bare verb. My parentss, I dont know my parentss here mean, without possessive mark is correct. Do you agree? A1: Yeah of course After correction: She and I are very different but we get on well together†¦. She is shorter than me†¦.. She likes staying at home and watching television with my parents Extract 2 (topic 1, A2s composition) Before correction: My young brother is a 15 year old and I am 20 year old. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. A1: My young brother is a 15 year old. You dont need an article here, it is not a noun and years, not year. Its plural. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education, wrong form of the verb the third singular person. A2: Okie. Learns not learn After correction: My young brother is 15 years old and I am 20 years old. He learns at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. Extract 3 (topic 2, A1s composition) Before correction: I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. A2: I dont understand the next sentences. I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company. Why? A1: Oh, so so sorry, I mean classes in society. But I cant express this idea. A2: Working class, you mean? Or you will not ? sentence. Are you clear? Now, next, any brother is married, was, not is and works for the post office. After correction: My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. Extract 4 (topic 2, A2s composition) Before correction: Its verry wonderful. A1: Verry? Wrong spelling. Its Very. Can you find out the sentence? A2: Yes. Thats right. After correction: Its very wonderful! Extract 5 (topic 2, A2s composition) Before correction: I am looking forwalk to learning from you. Write soon! A2:†¦ And the last sentence, forwark, what do you mean? Forward, you mean that, wrong word. Learning what here? I think its hearing. A1: Yes. Thats terrible. After correction: I am looking forward to hearing from you. Please write soon to me! Through recordings, the writer also realizes that apart from getting knowledge to improve their writing skill, students are very interested in their discussions. They seem to feel confident and have responsibilities with their task. Extract 6 (topic 1, A2s composition) A1: Your handwriting is beautiful and their writing makes only a few mistakes. A2: Kaka. Thanks Extract 7 (topic 1, A1s composition) A1: Ok. Many thanks. I think I need to rewrite this topic carefully, a lot of mistakes A2: Try hard! Extract 8 (topic 2, A1s composition) A1: Yes. Thats terrible. A2: No, its very normal, me too. A1: Thanks Extract 9 (topic 2, A2s composition) A1: Theres few mistakes in their writing. Well-done! Hi Hi. I only give mistakes, you try to look at the writings. A2:Yes, Its OK. No problems. Be quick! However, when facing a little bit more difficult topic, both of them have difficulties in the way to express their ideas due to their lack of vocabularies, explanation of rules of grammar. They suppose that for those mistakes they need the support from the teacher. Extract 10 (topic 3, A1s composition) A2: Due to 1954, you mean? Since 1954, †¦This paragraph, you need to read again and correct structure to clarify. Honesty, I am not sure to edit this section exactly. I just give some comment. For example, you should use fight to liberation, not fights to unify whole country; instead of using comma and then unify country. A1: OK. I will try. After that, we can ask teachers help. à ¼ Analysis of data from the interviews The information from the interviewed reveals students thoughts, feelings and ideas toward this process. Although A1 has not tried peer correction before, she is convinced of this strategy after this study. She feels that she can realize her mistakes clearly and correct them. She is also able to avoid repeating on the next task. She wants to work in group of 3 or 4 to get more feedback from her peers. That means she admit the role of the peer feedback in developing her writing skill. Extract 11 (interview between the writer and A1) W: Will you use this strategy again? A1: Yes, of course. W: Can you give some suggestions to make the process better? A1: I like working in group of three or four. Thats all. W: Thank you very much! Unlike A1, A2 has used this strategy many times. Therefore she has a lot of experiences. Her ideas express her deep understanding of peer correction. She also likes it and she knows how it assists her in her writing process. However, she stresses the role of the teacher in the process of revising. Extract 12 (interview between the writer and A2) A2: I like it. But I still want teachers correct it finally. W: Why do you think so? A2: Because I myself sometimes find out my own mistakes. My partner can help me that. Moreover, when reading the text of my partner, I can learn something from it. However, there are some mistakes we cant correct we need teacher. 4.2. Findings Through the data collected from 3 writing assignments with recorded discussions and recorded interviews of students, the study has had the answer to the research question: Does peer correction help students reduce mistakes in their writing skill? The findings shows that peer correction affect pre-intermediate students writing ability, i.e. it has positive impact on students writing ability. There must be different factors or element affecting students changed writing versions. However, at various levels, students can profit from peer feedback to reduce mistakes in their composition. The result can help students review the writing process of an assignment, especially careless mistakes, grammatical and â€Å"discrete mistake item† rules of word choice (Wong, 1999, p.23). In contrast, the result says that students have difficulties in supporting the content, and the organization, structure depends on different opinions, so it is flexible. For students of low level, the teacher feedback is also very necessary when they can not cope with their problems alone or in pairs or in groups. Besides, the attitude toward peer feedback is quite favorable and sympathetic, they consider it useful and appropriate for them to use and they long to apply it to their learning in the future. CHAPTER 5: REFLECTION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Reflection This study can be seen as a good opportunity to know more about my students, about what is the reason for the fact that they are not good at writing. In the study, I also have chance to access a number of researches of many experienced language educators and teachers, from which I obtain new knowledge of language teaching and learning in general and knowledge of peer correction in teaching writing composition in particular. Besides, during the process of doing this research, I can learn more about the methods of doing research scientifically and seriously. I also realize that it is important to learn looking at the practice of my English learning and teaching by critical thinking and make research questions with the hope of improving it. I also learn to arrange and organize my ideas and my work systematically to fit the timetable of the research procedure. However, the thing I feel sympathizing fully is that I get the way to put my background knowledge into the knowledge repertoire of related previous researches to have a more general view of my situation and to utilize my research skills, i.e. summarizing or synthesizing effectively by stimulating them actively, creatively and critically. However, the research still has some limitations regarding the methods of data collection and analysis that I might change in my next research if I have any chance. Firstly this study was conducted with 2 subjects, so it is difficult for the researcher to have an overall view of peer feedback and its impact on the writing process of students. This affects the validity of this research. Secondly, the study has not categorized students into different pairs with different levels such as high-high, high-low, and low-low. In the other word, this study has not generalized about the effectiveness of peer feedback in different students level of English teaching and learning. Thirdly, because the writer of this research can be seen as an inexperienced one, and there exist time limit, the writer is hoped to be able to do a further and better research which is expected to overcome the shortcomings in this study. 5.2 Conclusion To sum up, the research has brought to the writer some important lessons of English teaching and learning in general and of working with my students in particular. The research affirms for the writer that peer feedback activities are useful and suitable ones that students want to do regularly when learning writing. It is not because in the activities, students have opportunities to get productive responses and suggestions from their friends in order to edit errors in their own writing and avoiding repeating them but also because those activities let them read their peers writing, they can learn a lot from this, and also in those activities they feel confident and relaxing. Thus, they can comfortably improve their English fluency. The writer also realizes that to have peer feedback activities, teacher needs to arrange and organize carefully and systematically. The role of the teacher need to be cared for because in any case, the correction of the teacher is the most important and exact one. However, since the research is not totally as good as the writer expected, the writers would like to do further research on this topic to overcome the limitations of this study mentioned above.