Five Challenges for the Future of Media-Effects Essay

Five Challenges for the Future of Media-Effects - Essay Example Through the research of Peter and Valkenburg, it is vivid that the effect of media on individuals is evident. But at this point, they both have managed to show that these effects show a slight or major difference when compared to other disciplines. â€Å"Five Challenges for the Future of  Media-Effects  Research† shows that the changes in cognition, emotional and behavioral attitude of individuals attributable to the media effects are different from other social and behavioral sciences. They have presented a number of figures and statistics that point out this difference. They have gathered the results of different experiments performed by different experts to show the deviations. These surveys of different experiments helped them to construct their argument that will further be strengthened by the drawbacks and solutions. They completely agree with the fact that the media effects are inevitable and they affect every individual. But the impact of this effect depends on age, gender and taste that is often overlooked while experimenting or collecting data. The authors then present five major challenges that need not be overlooked while carrying out an experiment that determines the effect of a certain act on individuals. They travel from micro level to macro keeping in mind the minute details that shall not be overlooked. The first challenge is the Improvement of Media Exposure Measures that includes the risk of self-reported  data in which an individual might feel uncomfortable while revealing intimate information due to public pressure so this will give an opinion shaped by social pressure, not by the personal opinion which will affect the results. To avoid this we should divide the genres and then ask the willing and able candidates to provide information. This will help in collecting pure opinions. The second challenge is More Attention to Conditional Media Effects.  

The other sister reflection Essay Example for Free

The other sister reflection Essay This movie portrays how a family, who has a member with a disability, encountered and overcame adversities from within triggered by several environmental factors. The protagonist, Carla Tate, who has an intellectual disability, seeks freedom from her mother, acceptance from others, and attention/love from opposite sex. Eventually she got those as the story developed. This only means that a disability should never serve as a hindrance in achieving your dreams. On the other hand, it lso gives us an idea that persons who have siblings with a disability are also crying out for their parents attention because they too have needs. I never had the chance to experience having a sibling but I wish I had one. Actually, I cant even relate when my cousins/friends speak of sibling rivalry. The bottom line of this is parents should be fair with their children; there should be no room for favoritism because it can serve as the root of quarrels and divisions. One thing that really intrigues me a lot is its title. It made me think about why it is called The Other Sister. When I heard it (the title), I supposed that the protagonist is an illegitimate child. Then as I watch, I realized that I was wrong with my presumption and I ponder that its more far from but deeper than that. I remembered her lines, mies, I can if you will give me a chance, mother, which drew me to a fact that more often than not, our parents worry too much to the point of impeding our capacity to grow. For me, she struggles a lot of being alienated inside her family when she felt at first uncomfortable with hem, when they sent her away to a far special school, and when they still cant fully accept (in denial of) her disability. Alienation because they seem cant hear the voiceawhich cries aloud within her, cant feel the hunger in her heart and cant see the real her. They want to view her the person they want her to be. It might be because they still have in their minds the little Carla whom they can easily dictate or manipulate. She is hardly begging for a chance a chance not only to be independent but also to search for self-identity and to contemplate whom she wants o be despite of her disability. I can hardly bear how much it would be difficult for persons with disability to fght for their right to be heard. Given the fact that they have a disability, still we should not forget that they also have life and right to live it to the fullest. The best part for me is when finally her mother granted her that chance to explore and celebrate life. Though its hard in her part to give that but indeed it was the best decision she made for Carla. Admit it or not, we also undergo/ undergone that same process. To tell you the truth, even l, also experience unending expectations and it sometimes irritates me. Although its not bad for others to expect from you but when youre being bound with too much expectations, it can actually exhaust you, overrule you, and even destroy you. This might serves as a boundary in achieving your goals. Yes, others opinions, including your familys, matter but sometimes it hinders what and who you really want to be. Lesson: never allow others to dictate who you will be; at the end choice is yours. -Remigio, Czarine EFR1-3 the day, its still your lite, which means

Case Study Samsung Mobile Advertisement Marketing Essay

Case Study Samsung Mobile Advertisement Marketing Essay The following essay will analyse the attached Samsung mobile advertisement, in terms of the type of advertisement, the psychological approach used and the target market to which the advertisement is aimed at. A comparison with other advertisements would also be looked at in order to support the general argument of the essay. Advertising is a pervasive form of communication. Society is bombarded with paid-for messages from the morning they wake up until they go to bed at night. Advertisements appear on television as consumers watch their favourite weekly shows, on billboards as they commute to work, in magazines and newspapers as they read an interesting article, on radio while they listen to the music of their choice and on the internet where they communicate with their friends far and wide, advertisements appear wherever humans are present. It is estimated that the average consumer is exposed to more than a thousand images a day. (Tellis, 2004:3) Thus advertisements impinge on consumers awareness and can greatly affect their thoughts, beliefs, actions, attitudes and decisions, making advertising an extremely powerful tool for communicating to the general public. Many people in society make the assumption that advertising is only done by corporations in order to sell their products to consumers and make quick money off it. These individuals also believe that advertising is an accident of the free market system, an evil force that consumers have to endure for the sake of free speech in our capitalist society. However in reality, advertising is a vitally important force for many reasons. (Tellis, 2004:3) Advertising firstly creates fierce and healthy competition between corporate organisations. In a free capitalist market companies constantly competes with each other, offering potential customers better quality products or services at lower prices than their rivals. Companies make use of a brand image to represent a consistent level of quality at specific prices. Corporate organisations then use advertising to communicate to potential customers what these brand names represent and what the particular prices are and where the consumers can find the products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) The various forms of advertising enable companies to communicate to the potential consumers promptly and efficiently as needed, thus making advertising an essential tool in the workings of the free capitalist market. (Tellis, 2004:4) Secondly, companies make use of advertising as a primary tool to communicate to customers about new or improved products or services. Since the beginning of the Industrial Age during the 19th century, the quality of consumers lives has greatly improved primarily due to the availability of new or improved products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) The great vitality of most free capitalist markets rests on the ability of companies to market and sell these new or improved products or services to consumers. In order to do so, corporate organisations need to communicate to potential customers and inform them of the current innovations at hand and to persuade them of the values associated with these innovations. Advertising thus becomes the primary tool corporate organisations use to achieve this task, while at the same time ensuring the vital functioning of markets for new or improved products or services. (Tellis, 2004:4) Advertising thirdly provides major support for media in any free market economy around the world. Several forms of media including broadcast television, satellite television, magazines, newspapers, and most of the internet, reach consumers mainly free or way below cost. The reason for this is that advertisers pay media companies to display their advertisements. The media companies in turn do not have to charge customers the full cost of the chosen media. As such, advertising subsidises the chosen media. Consumers primary form of information and entertainment comes from the media, thus advertising helps improve and maintain the free flow of information and entertainment to society. (Tellis, 2004:4) Fourthly, advertising as an industry in itself is enormous. Total expenditures on all forms of media for the year of 2007 stood at $385 billion worldwide. (Wikipedia, 2010) The advertising industry employed over 300,000 professionals in over 21,000 companies at the turn of the century with growth in employment projected to rise to 32% compared to 15% of other industries. (Tellis, 2004:4) The fifth and final reason for the vitality of advertising to the free capitalist market is that, the public subsidises advertising expenditures. Advertising expenditures in many free market economies are tax deductable. This means that corporate organisations can charge these expenditures as costs of doing business in order to reduce their pre-tax profits. In Layman terms, the general public pays for a small fraction of the cost of advertising that is equal to the advertisers marginal tax rate. (Tellis, 2004:4) Advertising can take the form of various mediums. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes (logo jets), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles, the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an identified sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. (Wikipedia, 2010) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement is a form of press advertising. Press advertising is form of advertising that utilises newspapers and magazines as a tool for communicating to potential consumers. These encompass either a very broad readership base such as major national or international newspapers and magazines to a more narrowly targeted readership base such as a local newspaper or magazine. (Wikipedia, 2010) The use of a textual based advertisement is a major reason behind the use of press advertising as medium, it makes it essential. The viewer or consumer requires a certain amount of time to read through the advertisement and then to process the given information on the Samsung Mobile advertisement. If Samsung Mobile used a billboard as a medium to advertise the attached advertisement instead of the preferred press advertising medium, the given information of the advertisement would be lost or misinterpreted by the viewer or consumer, as not enough time was spend on the reading of the information in the advertisement. Thus the message or purpose of the advertisement would be ineffective. The use of press advertising as a medium to communicate to potential customers would also render itself more cost effective than the use of television or billboards as a medium. In the corporate environment, advertising would either adopt a rational or emotional psychological approach in order persuade a potential customer in buying the specific product or service, or in certain cases both approaches would be utilised. The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement uses the emotional approach successfully to grab the attention of the viewer or consumer. Emotional advertisements can utilise the three most common components, namely; arguments, emotions and endorsements. Arguments are appeals that persuade the consumer with the use of evidence or force of logic. An emotional approach would persuade the consumer by arousing certain emotions, such as anger or love. Endorsements on the other hand utilises the use of a lay endorser, an expert in the field or a celebrity who vouches for the effectiveness or quality of the product or service either by claim or association. (Tellis, 2004:23) Of the variety appeals that companies can use to advertise, the emotional approach would be regarded as the most effective form of persuasion for a number of reasons. Emotional appeals are firstly more interesting and can more easily cut through the clutter and grab the attention of the consumer than other forms of appeals. Secondly, emotional appeals require less attention by the viewer or consumer. Thirdly, emotional approaches are far more vivid and easily remembered than other appeals. Fourthly, an emotional approach contains far less counterarguments, thus resulting in less resistance from the viewer or consumer. The fifth and final reason why an emotional appeal is more effective than other appeals is that it evokes a more immediate action by the consumer. (Tellis, 2004:23) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement effectively utilises the emotional psychological approach or appeal with the use of a textual based advertisement. The text used in the advertisement reminds the viewer of reasons why he or she unfortunately cannot join their family and loved ones during the festive season, for reasons such as having to work during the festive season or living far away. The text or information contained in the advertisement are written in a hand-style format in order to create a more personal touch or feel to the advertisement and to engage with the viewer at such a level. Certain words are also circled and underlined to emphasise the importance of these specific words relating to time that could be spent with the viewers family during Christmas. Hand drawn illustrations for example like snowmen, reindeer and turkey dinners are used to enforce the text based information by creating a festive feel and a personal emotional touch of previous festive times. An essential component for effective advertising is the ability to understand the selected target market for the specific product or service. Knowledge or information regarding this matter can be achieved by the company involved utilising a process called market research. The main purpose of market research is to have a clear understanding who your target audience or potential customers are. A target market consists of those individuals or specific groups that have common characteristics or needs which the participating company can satisfy with their products or services. The goal of market research is to develop a profile of the potential consumers with the use of gathering information through a comprehensive study of demographics and psychographics. (Jinnet et al, 2006:19) The term demographics refers to the statistical information gathered regarding sex, age, ethnic background, occupation, education, income, family status and geographical location. Sex is an important element regarding market analysis, as traditional buying patterns are ever changing, for example, not only men go fly-fishing. Age distribution dictates certain trends associated to a specific age group. Ethnic differences would indicate specific product preferences, language differences and population shifts. (Jinnet et al, 2006:20) Population distribution would help the specific company involved to create a better understanding of the size and location of the target market. Trends indicate that people are moving to the cities suburbs at increasing speeds. The family status of a target market has changed in the past decade with two new distinct groups emerging, single people living on their own and unmarried couples living together. Education, occupation and the level of income are othe r demographics to be considered in a target market. Specific educational level points to a change in product or service preferences. (Jinnet et al, 2006:20) Target markets are can also be defined as psychographics. Psychographics refers to the specific lifestyle, personal behaviour, self-concept and buying style. These factors are just as important as demographics as they can indicate why consumers buy and use certain products or services. The lifestyle factor refers to the consumers manner of living and involves personal characteristics, interests or activities. Personal behaviour is attached to the specific values of the consumer, which can be linked to the consumer being sceptic or cautious. The term or factor of self-concept refers to how the consumer views themselves or how they would like to portray themselves towards the public. Self-concept is strongly linked to the demographics of location, family size, income level and occupation. The buying style of the target market is crucial to the success of the advertising campaign of a company. Elements such as how often does the consumer buy the product and/or what the reasons were for buying the specific product or service. Trends show that new products are normally bought by adventurous and open-minded consumers rather than less adventurous individuals. (Jinnet et al, 2006:21) The attached Samsung Mobile advertisement targeted a specific target market that can be associated to young professionals. Young professionals aged between 21-30 years of age, which live mostly on their own and are adventurous enough to leave the comfort zone of living near their family or loved ones. Individuals that are educated, career driven and have a disposable income in order to buy the latest Samsung mobile phone in order to communicate with their family during the festive season. If comparing the attached Samsung Mobile advertisement to other existing mobile advertisements, one can observe the use of either the emotional or rational psychological approaches to sell a similar product. The Sony-Ericsson C905 advertisement utilises both sexual emotions and rational appeal, combined by the fact that the advertisement was the first of its kind to ever use a photograph taken by a mobile phone camera and not a professional stand-alone camera. (See attached Figure 1) Figure Figure The Sony-Ericsson W705 uses a rational approach to advertise the mobile phone main selling ability crystal clear sound. An inner city environment covered in egg containers are used in the advertisement to indicate that the sound produced by the mobile phone is as perfect as a recording studio used for professional artists. (See attached Figure 2)nokiastring.preview.jpgSoundproofCityDowntown.preview.jpgsony-ericsson-c905-mobile-phone-ad-campaign-a-world-first.bmp Figure The Nokia mobile phone advertisement utilises a rational approach to indicate chaos, but with the help of this specific Nokia mobile phone the consumer will never get lost as it has the function of GPS (Global Positioning Service) used instead of a traditional road map, the GPS function on the mobile phone can give the user directions to their final destination, thus making the consumers experience easier and more enjoyable. (See attached Figure 3) In conclusion, the above essay effectively analysed the attached Samsung mobile advertisement, in terms of the type of advertisement, the psychological approach used and the specific target market to which the attached advertisement was aimed at. Varies comparisons was made to other existing mobile phone advertisements and their respective psychological approaches identified.

Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov A Diabolical Hero Essay -- essays papers

Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov A Diabolical Hero Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky is considered by many to be the pinnacle in a great line of Russian authors who wrote in the 19th century. Gogol, Tolstoy, Lermontov, Pushkin, Chekhov: these writers, like many greats the world round, concerned themselves not only with their art, but with its affect on their society; Gogol, for example, is said to have gone insane while working on his masterpiece, Dead Souls, obsessing himself with the idea that he could bring about the resurrection of his country through his tale. Eventually becoming disillusioned with the task he had set himself, Gogol burnt much of the manuscript and renounced all his worldly possessions, going on to lead an ascetic life until his death from starvation. While Dostoyevsky did not go to such extremes, he also intended to provide a salvation for his country, which he saw was headed down a dangerous path. This salvation was to take the form of The Brothers Karamazov and 'the Church as a positive social ideal was to constitute the central idea of the new novel...' (xiii)1. Some critics, however, have claimed that while he may have set out to write in support of the Church, Dostoyevsky ended up writing a novel which in many ways shows 'evil' in an attractive, or at least ambiguous, light. For them, Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov is one of the most compelling characters in all literature the world round and that it is with him and not Alyosha (the 'Saviour' in the novel), that we as readers identify most strongly. Thus, they claim, by having us identify with the rational, amoral atheism of Ivan, the novel becomes something of a 'diabolodicy' rather than the great defense of God and Church it was intended to be.... ...n of accepting God, or, at the very least, His necessity. Of course, it could be argued that this 'acceptance' only stands in the context of the novel-that is, the events in the novel are structured so as to make all non-believers come to bad ends and thus make it seem as though any path other than that of Zosima and Alyosha is the wrong path; however, I must stress that the existence of such a profound conscience in Ivan and our deep sympathy for him leads us, almost inevitably, to reject the idea that'all things are lawful' because our sympathy proves that we ourselves have consciences as well. Thus, whether we believe in God or not, we are forced to admit that we must at least act as though there is. To do otherwise is to risk the fate of Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov. Bibliography: Fyodor M. Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Trans. David McDuff (Penguin)

DBQ 1850’s Period Essay

In 1782 Americans won their independence from Britain in the American Revolution. After the colonies won their independence, Americans created the Constitution. Its purpose was to replace the Articles of Confederation and solve its problems and more importantly to bring the states together under a single document creating a stronger union of all the states. During the period of 1850, until 1861 when the Confederate States of America was formed, the union was clearly divided between the North and South. Although the Constitution was not the only factor leading to sectional tension in America, there are many strong points in the North and South favoring the statement, â€Å"By the 1850’s the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created.†It is known that the union did not last, for there was the Civil War. If the majority of congressional leaders could agree on what the constitution implied, then there probably would not have been a civil war. From several of the documents, there are arguments about what the constitution states. â€Å"To the Argument, that the word ‘slaves’ and ‘slavery’ are not to be found in The Constitution, and therefore it was never intended to give any protection or countenance to the slave system, it is sufficient to reply, that no such words are continued in the instrument, other words were used, intelligently and specifically, to meet the necessities of slavery.† Ralph Waldo Emerson, address on the fugitive slave law. This indicated the constitution can be interpreted differently, and when used with other pertinent documents, can be incongruous. Those views that differentiated were of those in the North and South. The Constitution can be interpreted in many different ways, which leads to sectional discord and tension. For many reasons, the South evidently did not like what the constitution said. There were many conflictions with the compromise of 1850, shown on the map with the United States territories and the fugitive slave act. Certain northerners were so against slavery and the fugitive slave act that they even posted caution signs for the slaves. It shows how kidnappers were being sent after the slaves, and how Northern abolitionists were revolting against the South’s rules and regulations. This fugitive slave act also helped drive the tension deeper into the United States. When the idea of popular sovereignty came about with the compromise of 1850 Freesoilers in office were pushed harder into complex decisions over the popular sovereignty issue. â€Å"FORCING SLAVERY DOWN THE THROAT OF A FREESOILER,† illustrates in a very blatant text and disturbing political cartoon although being okay with slavery in the state, many including Buchanan and Steven Douglas make it seem as if slavery is the only way to go. All of the tension gathering, authors were predestining the Civil War. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that the Constitution, when assorted with others like the fugitive slave law or the compromise of 1850, were contradictory, and that they aid to the now inevitable seeming end of the union. â€Å"What kind of legislation is this? What kind of constitution which covers? †¦ I suppose the union can be left to take care of itself†¦.But one thing appears certain to me, that , as soon as the constitution ordains an immoral law, it ordains disunion. The law is suicidal, and cannot be obeyed. The union is at an end as soon as an immoral law is enacted. And he who writes a crime into the statute-book digs under the foundations of the capitol to plant there a powder-magazine, and lays a train† This proves that By the 1850’s the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it has created. This was shown by ambivalent interpretations of the constitution and other important documents when assorted together.

14 Ways to Write Better in High School

14 Ways to Write Better in High School Whether youre putting together a research paper for class, posting a blog, composing your SAT essay or brainstorming for your college admissions essay, you just kind of need to know how to write. And sometimes, high school kids really struggle to get the words from their brain onto paper. But really, writing is not all that tricky. You should not break out in a cold sweat when your teacher announces an essay exam. You can write better in six minutes if you just use some of these tips to help you get the ideas that flow so easily from your mouth to do the same thing from your fingertips. Read on for 14 ways to write better essays, blogs, papers, the works! 1. Read Cereal Boxes Yep, cereal boxes, magazines, blogs, novels, the newspaper, ads, e-zines, you name it. If it has words, read it. Good writing will challenge you to up your game, and bad writing will help you learn what not to do. A variety of reading materials can influence you in subtle ways, too. Ads are often perfect examples of succinct, persuasive text. The newspaper will show you how to hook a reader in a few lines. A novel can teach you how to incorporate dialogue seamlessly into your essay. Blogs are great for demonstrating an authors voice. So, if its there, and youve got a second, read it. 2. Start a Blog/Journal Good writers write. A lot. Start a blog (maybe even a teen blog?) and advertise it all over Facebook and Twitter if youre interested in feedback. Start a blog and keep it quiet if youre not. Keep a journal. Report on things happening in your life/around school/ around your home. Try to solve daily problems with quick, one-paragraph solutions. Get started on some really unique creative writing prompts. Practice. Youll get better. 3. Open Up a Can of Worms Dont be afraid to get a little risky. Go against the grain. Shake things up. Tear apart the poems you find meaningless on your next essay. Research a touchy political subject like immigration, abortion, gun control, capital punishment, and unions. Blog about topics that generate real, heartfelt, impassioned discussion. You dont have to write about hummingbirds just because your teacher loves them. 4. To Thine Own Self Be True Stick with your own voice. Nothing sounds faker than a high school essay with words like alas and evermore sprinkled throughout, especially when the author is a skater kid from Fresno. Use your own wit, tone, and vernacular. Yes, you should adjust your tone and level of formality based on the writing situation (blog vs. research paper), but you dont have to become a different person just to put together your college admissions essay. Theyll like you better if youre you. 5. Avoid Redundancy Just drop the word nice from your vocabulary. It doesnt really mean anything. Same goes for good. There are thirty-seven better ways to say what you mean. Busy as a bee, sly as a fox, and hungry as a wolf belong in country songs, not in your ACT essay. 6. Keep Your Audience in Mind This goes back to adjusting your tone and level of formality based on the writing situation. If youre writing to gain entrance to your first choice for college, then perhaps youd better not talk about that time you made it to second base with your love interest. Your teacher is not interested in your sticker collection, and the readers on your blog dont care about the stellar research project you put together on the migratory habits of emperor penguins. Writing is one part marketing. Remember that if you want to be a better writer! 7. Go To the Dark Side Just for the heck of it, allow yourself to consider the possibility that the opposite opinion is actually correct. Write your next essay defending the 180 of your thought processes. If youre a Coke person, go Pepsi. Cat lover? Defend dogs. Catholic? Figure out what the Protestants are talking about. By exploring a different set of beliefs, you open up your brain to endless creativity, and maybe garner some fodder for your next debate, too. 8. Make It Real Boring writing doesnt use the senses. If your writing assignment is to report on the local parade and you fail to mention the shrieking kids, dripping chocolate ice cream cones, and rat-tat-tatting from the marching bands snare drum, then youve failed. You need to make whatever youre writing about come alive to your reader. If they werent there, put them on that street with the parade. Youll be a better writer for it! 9. Give People Goosebumps Good writing will make people feel something. Tie something concrete – relatable –to the existential. Instead of talking about justice as a vague idea, tie the word, judgment, to the sound the gavel makes as it hits the judges desk. Tie the word, sadness, to a young mother lying on her husbands freshly dug grave. Tie the word, joy to a dog careening around the yard when it sees its owner after two long years at war. Make your readers cry or laugh out loud at the coffee shop. Ticked off. Make them feel and theyll wanna come back for more. 10. Write Creatively When Youre Sleepy Sometimes, the inspiration bug bites when youre all strung-out from being up too late. Your mind opens up a bit when youre tired, so youre more likely to shut down the robot-I-am-in-control portion of your brain and listen to the whisper of the muses. Give it a whirl the next time youre struggling to get out of the gate on your take-home essay. 11. Edit When Youre Fully Rested Sometimes those late-night muses steer your writing vessel directly into a rocky shoreline, so dont make the mistake of calling your work done at 3:00 AM. Heck, no. Make time the next day, after a long, satisfying rest, to edit all of those ramblings and misspelled words. 12. Enter Writing Contests Not everyone is brave enough to enter a writing contest, and thats just silly. If you want to become a better writer, find some free writing contests for teenagers online and submit everything you wouldnt be embarrassed to see plastered all over the Internet. Often, contests come with editing or feedback, which can really help you improve. Give it a shot. 13. Dive Into Nonfiction Not all good writers write poetry, plays, scripts, and novels. Many of the most successful writers out there stick to nonfiction. They write memoirs, magazine articles, newspaper articles, blogs, personal essays, biographies, and advertisements. Give nonfiction a shot. Try describing the last five minutes of your day with startling clarity. Take the latest news report and write a two-paragraph description of the events as if you were there. Find the coolest person you know and write your next essay about his or her childhood. Write a two-word ad for the best pair of shoes in your closet. Try it – most of the good writers do!