Williams College 2017-2018 Supplemental Essay Prompts

Located in Williamstown, MA, Williams College is ranked number 1 in liberal arts colleges in the U.S.Williams College is one of the most popular liberal arts colleges in the U.S. Being a liberal arts college, Williams only has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2200 students, with approximately 550 students in each class. The small student body allows students to get to know their entire class, encourages classroom engagement, and fosters stronger relationships with professors. Like most liberal art colleges, Williams College follows the 4-1-4 academic calendar, with two 4-course semesters and one 1-course winter term in January. Williams has strong departments in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, art history and economics. Want to learn more? Here are 10 fun facts about Williams College. If you’re interested in applying, you can check out successful personal statement examplesin our database! Williams also has a writing supplement that is entirely optional. You do not have to submit it if you don’t feel the need to. Just in case you do, here are the essay prompts you can choose from: Please respond to one of the prompts below in a short essay of 300 words or fewer. Essay Prompts #1 At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum, with titles like Aesthetic Outrage, Financial Crises: Causes and Cures, and Genome Sciences: At the Cutting Edge. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be your partner in the class, and why? Essay Prompts #2 Each Sunday night, in a tradition called Storytime, students, faculty and staff gather to hear a fellow community member relate a brief story from their life (and to munch on the storyteller’s favorite homemade cookies). What story would you share? What lessons have you drawn from that story, and how would those lessons inform your time at Williams? Essay Prompts #3 Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers? Interested in reading successful essay examples that got students accepted into Williams? Unlock all of them in one go withour curated package.Ourpremium plansoffer different level of profile access and data insights that can help you get into your dream school. Unlock any of ourpackagesor search ourundergraduate profile databaseto find specific profiles that can help you make an informed choice about where to apply!

Gorbachev and the end of the Cold War essays

Gorbachev and the end of the Cold War essays In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed as a nation state. Although, in retrospect, this seemed the likely outcome after years of economic stagnation, political corruption, and most importantly, the collapse of all pro-Soviet communist regimes in Eastern Europe by 1989, no one expected it (Painter, 108.) The Soviet Union, ever since the death of Stalin in 1953, had experienced economic and nationalistic difficulties, but this had never led to such a drastic change of events. So why did it collapse so unexpectedly, and who or what is responsible for the disintegration? These questions have been the focal point of many debates in the historical and political arena, and this essay will take a closer look at one important issue. The issue at hand is, to what extent is Gorbachev responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union? Gorbachev came to power in March 1985 (Smith, 136) and, dismissing the Brezhnev era as years of stagnation, he announced strong intentions to radically transform the S oviet Union both politically and economically. Economically he aimed to radically restructure management and party through perestroika, and politically he intended to make the system more open to input and criticism through glasnost (Reynolds, 543.) Many historians claim that these two policies, which internationally became the catchwords of the Gorbachev era, caused the collapse of the U.S.S.R. Glasnost fueled dormant nationalistic sentiments throughout Eastern Europe and provoked public criticism of a failing political system, while Perestroika spelled deconstruction, not reconstruction of the economy. Other historians have turned the spotlight away from Gorbachev, focusing it on the hardliner President Reagan of the United States, who came to power after Jimmy Carter in 1981 (Cannon, online, 2001.) They argue that Reagan was the man who ended the Cold War through his national self-confidence, purpose, and optimistic m...

Examples of Real Life Markets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Examples of Real Life Markets - Research Paper Example This may be seen in real life in Apple’s products; the company has its own selling propaganda – when it produced the iPad it was the only firm in the market to produce such a smooth tablet for the purpose of work as well as entertainment. Other companies later came out with similar products however it holds monopoly in the market even today for its high end and sophisticated products. A monopoly however will not always produce at a profit maximizing level because if it prices its products too high then it might not have any consumers at all; thus it needs to check the level of competition among the consumers as well as the other potential producers in the market before pricing its products. Oligopoly on the other hand is a market that is dominated by a few suppliers (Oligopoly definition) for example in the case of cell phones, there are a few renowned companies like Nokia, Blackberry, iPhone, Samsung that dominate the market at a large level. They place their prices at somewhat the same as one another while bringing about innovation within their products to attract consumers. The demand thus is high however the supply is also at a constant with the demand because of the number of suppliers and options available to the

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Human Resource Management - Essay Example Recruitment Process: The recruitment process starts right after devising the right job analysis which highlights the nature of the job, main tasks and responsibilities needed to be carried out by the potential employee (Pearn and Kandola, 1993). Job analysis gives a broader vision to the recruiter that what he needs to seek in a potential candidate and what are the demands required according to the nature of the job. It can be further highlighted by devising either a job description or person specification. Job description elaborates the tasks and responsibilities that constitute the job (Bratton and Gold, 2012; p. 224). Job description aids the recruitment agencies and the potential candidates in getting the right idea that what are the requirements an organization is seeking in a potential candidate. A typical job description consists of different elements such as job title, the department, whom should one report to, hierarchal chain, purpose and objectives of a job, requirements o f a job (travelling or working outside) and responsibilities associated with the job. However, person specification revolves around the criteria necessary for the selection of a particular candidate (CIPD, 2012) which according to Taylor (2008) are the presence of necessary skills, experience, education and qualification along with the presence of necessary behavioral attributes. ... The essential and desirable components are almost the same and they should be described more coherently and specifically to help the candidate in understanding the requirements more appropriately. The term â€Å"additional requirements† should be replaced with â€Å"required behavioral characteristics† as described by Taylor (2008). The person specification should explore that what are the basic personality and physical requirements are needed by the organization from a potential candidate. It should also explore that how much of the previous experience is required by the organization in the field of event management specifically, in organizing what types of events, in a detailed manner. It will help the candidate to explain his competencies in an efficient manner which will further help the organization to understand the attitude of the candidate in a better way. The core competencies in a candidate should elaborate his communication skills, people management attitude, whether if he/she is suitable to work in a team, customer services, results and problem solving attitude (CIPD L and D Report, 2007). Critical Analysis of Interview Structure: Interview plays a critical role in the recruitment and selection process. Interview enables the employer and the prospective employee to learn more about each other. It enables the employers to confirm the information disclosed by the candidate on the application form as well as to ask questions and to evaluate the personality of a candidate, his character, oral skills and the capability to tackle the tough situations. Interview helps the employers to develop a better understanding about the prospective candidate which is impossible to gain by just reading the application

Cause And Effect Of Gender Discrimination Sociology Essay

Cause And Effect Of Gender Discrimination Sociology Essay Gender discrimination started since the days of our ancestors who had been suppressing womens rights and is perceived to be the norm of the male-dominance society. Men are always, until today, seen as the figure of leadership and success in many countries with no exceptions to some well-known countries where women are given as much rights as their counterpart (Dailymail, July 18, 2011). Although the idea of women belongs in the kitchen is fast fading or much despised by the society as discriminatory, women are underperforming comparing to their male counterpart. Women are facing these hard truths mainly because the fact that most traditional minded people thinks that women are underrepresented. After that, education is one of the main causes for gender discrimination. Lastly, religion is also the factor for this issue. Traditional lifestyle in some households causes unjust discrimination to women (Anderson, Moore, Faison, 1995). For instance, many Asian cultures groom young girls to becoming women, who later in life play the role of a homemaker responsible to prepare meals for the family and to do everyday house chores. On the other hand, they are deprived off some basic rights now considered to be essentially important such as their marriage. In their culture, they are required to seek for their parents blessing on their marriage, if it is unsuccessful, their relationship would fall apart. Daughters are matched for marriages with their parents discretion and rejection is a form of disobedience which is unacceptable in their society. Old folks especially Asians are concerned about the surnames and it is the duty for the younger generation to pass on. However, only the male members are able to inherit the surname while woman must adopt their husbands surname, abandoning their maiden name (WHO 2011). It is perceived to be important to uphold their familys name because family history is the pride of many people. Therefore, traditional lifestyle is the cause of gender discrimination. As mentioned by Moreau (2010, 159). Education opportunities are prioritized for the male family members. This is due to most of the people have a thought that men are more talented to studies. This will cause that men think that they have more knowledge compared to women and it is a cause of gender discrimination. Another cause for education opportunities are prioritized because men should be responsible for the family. They think that men must be educated in order to find a better work to give his family a better life. This is also the factor that cause gender discrimination due to men will think that they have to work hard to earn a living while women only prepare meals for the family and to do everyday house chores. Therefore, the equality of education opportunity is important to prevent gender discrimination. Religion in some ways contributes to gender discrimination. Women are suffering in countries where religion is law, such as many Muslim countries (MUNFW 2012). Some of the religion such as Muslim prohibits women to become leader. They think that men should take the responsibility while women are expected to be the followers of men. This fuels men with overwhelming self-confidence and underestimate womens ability without having to evaluate them. In-born egoism causes men to always think that they are right all the time and refuse to accept suggestion from women. This is also caused them to think that women do not have the ability to get things done. Therefore, some of the religion will cause gender discrimination in the society and will bring a lot of bad effect to the society. Most of the people think that gender discrimination doesnt really bring any negative effect to the community and society. They do not really comprehend the severity of gender discrimination to the community. The population of women is shrinking in China as the result of gender selection. Trafficking of women are becoming more common in European countries. Last but not least, gender discrimination leads to violence against women. Gender imbalance is one of the effects of gender discrimination in China. International average gender ratio is 104 boys for every 104-107 girls while Chinas gender ratio is 123 boys per 100 girls in 2005 (Hua 2006). The gender imbalance in China is due to abortion of female fetuses because Chinese parents desire sons over daughters due to surnames purpose and they believe girls will leave the family once they get married and no one is going to take care of them in old age (Hua 2010). Gender imbalance in China also caused twenty percent of men in China are single in twenty years time, that attitude itself reflects gender imbalance. Gender imbalance is one of the major effects of gender discrimination in China. Trafficking of women became more general in Europe since the collapse of Soviet Union for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Prostitution is a multi-billion dollar shadow market and it is estimated to generate seven to twelve billion annually. On top of that, this industry is relatively low risk compared to drugs or arms (Hughes, 2000, 4). They abduct women, because women are weaker and are able to contribute into the sex industry. The collapse of Soviet Union opens up a pool of millions of women from which trafficker recruited. It has become a major sending country for women trafficked into sex industry all over the world (Hughes, 2000, 14). Therefore, trafficking of women is caused from gender discrimination. Violence against women is also a miserable experience for women due to gender discrimination. Gender based violence reflects and reinforces inequality between both gender, it compress wide range of human rights violation, including abuse of children, violence of women, sexual assault, trafficking of women and girls and others (UNFPA 2012). Violence has profound effects on a womans reproductive health including unwanted pregnancies, restricted access to family planning information and contraceptive, unsafe abortion after an unwanted pregnancies, sexual transmitted infection including HIV and others. Other than that, gender based violence also serves to perpetuate male power and control. It is sustained by a culture of silence and serious health consequences due to long term abuse (WHO 2011). Lastly, sexual inequality is the main factor of violence against women. Gender discrimination is a very harmful activity to everyone in this world. In traditional, education and religious view, women are weaker compared to men and it is now a reason for gender discrimination as every person has human rights in this world. Other than that, gender discrimination brought us a lot of negative effect for us. Gender discrimination caused sex-imbalance in China and trafficking of women in European countries (The Problem 2012). Gender discrimination also caused womens life to be miserable because of the violence against women from gender discrimination. Lastly, men shall not discriminate women as this common saying stated Behind all successful man, there is a woman. This quotes stated clearly that everyone have their role including women in the way to success of a man.

Aspects and traits of different cultures and how they communicate Essay

Culture can be interpreted differently by different people but the general meaning of culture can be defined as people’s way of life which is passed from one generation to another and also shared among other different societies. The world has very many different societies and each of these societies have their own way of life, their beliefs and norms. The activities that people involve themselves in and the beliefs they hold is what normally forms their culture. These cultural beliefs are the ones that distinguish one society from other societies and therefore many societies hold their culture as a very important symbol of identification(Neil). This document discusses the general aspects and traits of different cultures. It also gives a detailed view of how this traits and aspects are communicated within the societies and also across to other societies The aspects of culture generally display the general way of life of most societies in the world. These aspects can be a useful base to compare how different societies in the world live. One of the most prominent aspects of culture is the government structure of the societies and the international relation ships of this society with the outside world. Government within any society refers to the way the people in any society will make their laws and how these laws are enforced to the society. It also brings out the issues of leadership and how it is passed on to others within the society. All the societies in the world have different types of governments and the way one government is run is certainly not the same as the other society. The way laws are made and enforced is also independent among the different societies. For example, the United States of America has its own way of making laws and enforcing them, which is different from the way the African countries or other European countries do it. The procedures that are followed in the US to elect a president are not the same as the procedures that will be followed in Australia, china, or any other country. The international relations between one country and other country are simply not the same. The way the government of UK relates with the government of Canada is not the same way it will relate to a country like Nigeria. The international relations ships are different between one society and other all over the world (Shapiro, p25) . Another important aspect of culture is the economies of the societies and the resources available to them. The resources that are available to one society may not be available to another society. This can be due to different geographical locations which may favor some societies with better resources than others. For example, some societies in the world have natural resources while others do not have any natural resources. The resources available define a society’s way of earning a living. For example some societies especially in the African continent have abundant natural resources and most of them may depend on agriculture for a living. Other countries such as Korea have to import the raw materials for their manufacturing industries. The resources available and the type of management will then define the type of economies the societies will have at the end of the day. The scarcity of resources within the different societies has for example brought about trade and this has formed a major characteristic of culture in the different societies(Benedict,p13). The societies have different spiritual believes and this forms the basis of religion in the different societies. People within the societies have their own believes about the supernatural powers and this has given the society a clear definition of what to worship. For example the different societies in the world have different religions. While some societies believe in Christianity, others believe in Islamic, Hindu, cults among other religions. These beliefs affect the society’s way of life very differently. The way the Islamic religion dictates life is not the same as the Christianity. Their practices and believes are different. The passing of these religions between the societies is also very different. While to some like Islam it is mandatory other societies find it a personal choice and therefore optional (Lull,p22) Literacy and technology is another aspect of culture. This aspect brings out the different ways in which different societies acquire education. For example how they attend school and the type of school curricula that is followed. The education system in most word societies are not the same. The kind of technology that is incorporated in the school programs is very different from one society to another. Some societies such as western societies have more advanced technology than societies in the African context. What is taught in the school curricula is also different from one society to another. This eventually affects the types of societies that are finally brought up in future. Some of the societies are more technologically advanced that other societies in the world(Shapiro, p27) . Community and family life forms another part of the cultural aspect. This gives an approach of how people live and how closely they are related to each other. This also defines the kind of housing that the individuals may live in. Different societies construct their houses differently according to their beliefs. While some societies believe in stone built houses, some societies may construct mud hoses thatched with grass. The shapes and finishing of the houses constructed by the different societies is also different owing to their beliefs. The way the societies are divided for example in terms of race, ethnicity, family among others is also very different. This clearly means that the defined relationships between the family members in the societies are different. For example the way the younger people relate to the elders within the society is different across the world societies. The occasions and how they are celebrated within the societies is also very unique. For example they way the Chinese embrace their culture is not the same as then Indian society(Benedict, p17). The cultural arts and crafts within the societies are diversified. The arts that you will find in America are not the same as the arts in Asia. All the societies in the world have their unique paintings, music, sculptures, and architecture. The way the societies make the pottery, carvings, baskets, mats and others is very different. The kind of music enjoyed by one culture is not the same as the other society. These cultural aspects are known to exist in every society. The only difference is that every society has a unique and independent way of approaching each aspect. Apart from the aspects of culture in the societies, another major characteristic of culture is its traits. All cultures across the different societies have common traits. One of the cultural traits in the society is that culture is learned. All of us are born and raised in different societies. One is not born with the culture of any specific society. Individuals learn the culture of the society they are born in. If a child is born in a different culture from his parents, the child is likely to learn the culture of the second society and not that of his /her parents. Another trait of culture is that it is transmitted from one generation to another. People do not form other cultures when they are born. Instead the older people normally pass the culture in their society to the younger generations within the same society(Neil). This reinforces and maintains culture within the societies. This is because, if a culture is not passed from one generation to the next, it is most likely that that culture will eventually die. The older people therefore normally hold the responsibility of teaching the younger people the beliefs , traditions, values and norms of the society. Culture is dependent on the world of symbols to communicate it from one generation to another. This means that the methods used to pass culture in one society are basically similar as methods used in another society. The symbols that are normally relied upon by the societies are the verbal and non-verbal symbols of communication. Other symbols that may be used to communicate culture include icons and images. Change is another important trait of culture. This means that there is no one culture that is not subject to change. The culture that used to be followed by our great grand parents is not the same culture that we follow today. As times change, people keep changing what they believe in and this eventually changes the culture of the society (Benedict, p18). Change of culture is normally subject to the various changes that occur in our daily lives. For example changes in the education systems, change in technological advancement of the society, discoveries and innovations that may occur as life progresses. All the societies have another important cultural trait of superiority over other cultures. This trait is referred to as ethnocentric. The societies believe that their norms, values and practices are superior and far much better than those of other societies. This trait is a major source of conflict between societies since none of the societies will accept to be put down by another society. This trait helps the individuals within any particular society to feel proud of themselves and portray the positive image of their society. The final cultural trait in the societies is the adaptive nature of culture. As the world advances the changes that come with it must readily be acceptable within the societies. For example most cultures in the past regarded women as a weaker sex and their role in the society was very minimal. As the technological advancement took ground, women have adapted different roles in the society and today they perform the roles that were previously referred as masculine roles. People keep adapting different styles of life as change is adapted within the cultural context of the societies (Neil). Culture is communicated using different methods within the society. Communication of culture is done through various methodologies of learning. Culture itself can be learnt consciously or unconscious. Unconscious methods include observation and practicing of what other people do within your culture. The younger people may for example start dressing, singing and behaving like other people do within their society by just observing and imitating them. The conscious methods include reading about the culture and being taught by the older generation about your culture (Benedict, p23) Culture is taught to the younger generation through proverbs, folktales, myths folklore, art, music, poetry and mass media. Many are the times when our grand parents would tell stories related to our culture. The younger generation is then expected to behave in a manner that suits the lessons they learn from the stories and legends they hear. Everything that we do in our lives, both in the verbal and non-verbal originates from what we learnt in our cultural back ground. Apart from the older generation, culture can also be learnt from other sources such as our families, teachers ,religious organizations and our peer groups. Within the family context, parents hold the sole responsibility of teaching their young ones how to behave in accordance to the society’s value and norms(Lull, p28). They introduce them to the religious education and also the formal education system. What a child starts learning from the beginning of child hood forms a big ground for the cultural beliefs. For example, a child introduced to Islamic faith when very young and has grown believing in it would be very difficult to change and start believing in other religions such as Hindu or Christianity. In the institutions that we grow in, peer groups are likely to result and this forms another source where culture is learnt within the society. One is eager to learn what the other knows that he/she does not know and in this way we find that culture quickly passes to other individuals (Lull, p33). Culture is not only passed within the societies but it is passed to other societies. This has become very common in today’s societies where we find that individuals do not strictly stick to the beliefs in their own society. This has resulted from the effects of globalization that takes place in the present world. Many societies today are very integrated in different aspects of life such as marriage, trade, education among others. With such integration we find that people start dressing like other societies, eating foods similar to other societies, appreciating arts and traditions of other societies among others. People learn about other cultures through adaptation of behaviors and norms of the society at interest. Trade, media, intermarriages and education have become the best mechanisms of passing the cultures from one society to another (Toomey, p10) . In conclusion culture has the same general aspects and traits within the different societies across the world. The only difference is how these characteristics are interpreted in the different world societies. Culture is no longer viewed the same as it used to be in the past. Many individuals today do not know about their culture due to the adaptation of other societal cultures which is often mixed with the native culture. This has given rise to societies with very diverse believes and many cultural conflicts within the society. Works cited Dennis O’Neil. (2007). Characteristics of Culture. Available from: http://anthro. palomar. edu/culture/culture_2. htm Harry Lionel Shapir. Aspects of Culture. Ayer Publishing, 1970, p23-56 Lull, J. Media, Communication, Culture: A global approach. New York, Columbia University Press, 1995, p16-34 Ruth Benedict Patterns of Culture. Mariner Books, 2005,p13-44 Ting Toomey, S. Communicating across cultures. New York, Guilford, 1999, p4-18

Yum cha between my culture and our culture Essay

Yum cha, which is a Chinese style morning and afternoon tea, involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum, which are small dishes. In expert restaurants, staff will commonly wheel around heated trolleys serving small yum cha dishes. Hong Kong also has some western food and local food, like mango pudding, egg tarts that are desserts. Before Hong Kong was occupied by British, which already had â€Å"Yum cha†. Then, this traditional is important for people. Yum cha is a habit for most of local Hong Kong people. Some of them will go to yum cha once times per week. Or they will spend a whole morning to enjoy the meal with friends. In my family, we have a traditional, dad and mum bring me to yum cha in every Sunday, on that day, and they will spend 1 to 2 hours to yum cha, to have a little gathering for us. When I was young, my parents always ordered my favourite dim sum to me, and we have lots of interesting conversation. After that, my dad would give me the pocket money; it was a great time for me. Now, I was grow up, we may not go to yum cha in every Sunday now, if we feel free, we must go to yum cha. If we decide to yum cha, I will go to the Chinese restaurant wait for my parents and ordered their favourite dim sum. But technology influence, we would not talk a lot, I only focus on my telephone, and my parents only read the newspaper. It seems a bad effect for us, not only my family. Yum cha’s original meaning is a little gathering with relative or friends, and enjoys the dim sum. Nowadays, the meaning changed. Most of teenager just hold a smartphone, and keep going touch it, just focus on it, no conversation with family. Although, our traditional was altered, we will not have yum cha in every Sunday, I believe this traditional must go on, spend some time with family, is a most important thing in my life. Chinese like goes to yum cha with family, and care about family. When we feel free, we should not only focus on friends, technology but family.