Sunday, February 23, 2020

An analyst for the Bank of England and you have been asked to analyse Essay

An analyst for the Bank of England and you have been asked to analyse and critically evaluate the causes and consequences of the - Essay Example It is apparent that events in the previous years such as the dotcom crash, bankruptcies and frauds of large firms such as Enron and the sub prime crisis all lead to successive weakening of the financial markets. The money and capital markets showed extreme distress selling and in the crash, assets were depreciated to the extent of 300 trillion USD. Money supply and demand underwent some dynamic changes with banks reluctant to release funds to borrowers for fear of that the loans would not repaid. The UK government attempted to correct the problems by bring in a number of measures and methods. These included macroeconomic instruments and quantitative easing that was used for the first time in UK financial history. The market reacted in a diffident manner to these economic policies and some slight recovery is apparent in the GDP, inflation and other indicators. Table of Contents An analyst for the Bank of England and you have been asked to analyse and critically evaluate the causes and consequences of the world financial crisis of 2007/2008 in the UK 1 January 19, 2013 1 1. Introduction 5 2. Causes and consequences of the financial crisis 6 3. Response of capital and money markets 11 4. Response and effectiveness of the macroeconomic policies 16 5. Conclusions 26 References 28 List of Figures Figure 2.1. LIBOR-OIS Spreads (Kacperczyk and Schnabl, 2012) 7 Figure 2.2. Rise in risk premium (McKibbin and Stoeckel, 2009) 8 Figure 2.3. Euro Area Government Bond Rate (Kacperczyk and Schnabl, 2012) 10 Figure 2.4. The US housing bubble and crash (McKibbin and Stoeckel, 2009) 10 Figure 3.1. UK market index FTSE100 (Stockcube 2012) 11 Figure 3.2. Global financial assets value reduction (McKinsey, 2009) 12 Figure 3.3. Dispersion in Money Market Funds (Kacperczyk and Schnabl, 2012) 13 Figure 3.4. Asset holding and their spread (Kacperczyk and Schnabl, 2012) 14 Figure 3.5. M2 Multiplier and the ratio of M2 to reserves (Hodson and Mabbett, 2009) 16 Figure 4.1. GBP response to p olicies (Benford, et al, 2010) 17 Figure 4.2. UK Percent Change in GDP (Benford, et al 2010) 18 Figure 4.3. Central Banks Asset Holdings (Benford, et al 2010) 19 Figure 4.4. Transmission mechanism for purchase of assets (Benford, et al 2010) 20 Figure 4.5. Desired movement of the LM curve (Thomas, 2010) 21 Figure 4.6. Actual movement of the LM curve (Benford, et al 2010) 22 Figure 4.7. New equilibrium point in the IS-LM model (Athey, 2009) 23 Figure 4.8. Impact of QE on the economy (Joyce, et al, 2011) 24 Figure 4.9. UK Money Multiplier (Bank of England, 2010) 25 Figure 4.10. UK GDP growth (ONS, 2012) 25 Figure 4.11. UK CPI Inflation rate (Benford, et al, 2011) 26 1. Introduction The previous decade saw one of the worst and most widespread financial crisis in modern history when global financial markets crashed from 2007-2008. The financial loss across the world measured in terms of devaluation of assets, insolvencies of banks and asset depreciation is estimated at 290 trillion Doll ars (Barrel, 2011). According to a report by Rose and Spiegel (2009), the recession was fallout of the sub prime crisis that originated in 2005 and the market crash occurred in 2007. Mishkin (2008) is of the opinion that the years before 2007 that saw the dotcom boom and bust, the peak in crude oil prices and the high value of the stock market were signs that a crash was coming. Nothing was done to prevent the market

Friday, February 7, 2020

Tourism strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Tourism strategy - Essay Example Services offered include travel shops, tour operators, and charter airlines. To complement the company's brand strength, Thomas Cook also owns a whole host of other renowned tour operator brands and airlines, including Thomas Cook Reisen, Neckermann, JMC, Condor, and Thomas Cook Airlines." (SAP customer success story, p.2). Corporate social responsibility is the motto of Thomas Cook Group. They provide support to the responsible tourism programs of the Travel Foundation by minimising the negative impacts arising from intensive tourism and maximising the benefits from the tourism to the local community. Through positively influencing the native society of the tourism destination, they contribute to the development of the industry itself. "Thomas Cook's mission is to "perfect the personal leisure experience." "In keeping with the values of Victorian society, Thomas Cook believed that by offering alternative, more virtuous and educational leisure activities, the lives of working people would be greatly improved and that everyone could become better educated through travel." (Steps towards a sustainable future). In order to achieve the operating profit target of $ 620 million in the period of 2009/ 2010, Thomas Cook differentiates their focusing from the main stream tour operating to independent travel and financial services. "Thomas Cook said it would increase targeted online sales to 35% in 2009/10 as part of its strategy of increasing controlled distribution." (Fearis 2007). Brief synopsis of the sustainable tourism strategy of Thomas Cook: Sustainable tourism is also referred as responsible tourism. It is based on the development of positive attitude towards the community and the environment of the destination to which the tourism is focused. Careful utilisation of valuable local resources for the benefit of the community and the protection of local environment is part of sustainable tourism. In this concept the following points are involved. 1. Admiring the local culture and environment of the destination. 2. Giving adequate economic returns to the people in the local community by buying their products and utilising their services. 3. Considering the savings of water and other natural resources in the environment. To co-operate with the energy saving programs initiated by local government is the main consideration required. 4. Contribution to protect the endangered wild life species in the destination. 5. Safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage of the tourism destination while tourists are in visit. 6. Self enjoyment and at the same time being responsible for one's own actions. 7. Caring and enhancing the attraction of the favourite destination through brilliant actions for the future generations of visitors. Sustainable tourism strategy adopted by Thomas Cook: Thomas Cook adopted sustainable tourism strategy. By holding the concept of social responsibility, they started the first holiday package. The sustainable tourism strategy of Thomas Cook is divided into six sections and for each of the section, detailed insight is provided for fulfilling the targeted goals. Thomas Cook is showing commitment to their sustainable tourism strategies. For the fulfilment of their objective they ensure the support and help from their clients. For helping to boost the local economy, local purchasing is

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Comparing the Last Song and Dear John Essay Example for Free

Comparing the Last Song and Dear John Essay Comparing Movies The last 2 movies I saw were The Last Song and Dear John. Considering both of these movies are sappy Nicholas Sparks books, they have a ton of similarities. They also have some differences. I saw both of these movies more than 4 months ago so I hope I can even remember enough to compare them. One similarity is about 2 people that meet in a beach setting. In The Last Song, Ronnie, who is played by Miley Cyrus and is the main character, is shipped to her fathers house in Tybee Beach, Georgia, with her mothers hopes of her losing her bad attitude due to her arents rough divorce. While she is staying there, she meets a boy named Will who she tries to repel, but she ends up falling for him. In Dear John, which is also set in North Carolina, John, who is played by Channing Tatum, is visiting his father before he goes off to the army and Savannah, who is played by Amanda Seyfried, is going to school in North Carolina spends a month in Wilmington to built a house for Habitat for Humanity. These two also meet on the beach and fall in love. Another similarity is that death happens in both of these plots. In The Last Song, Ronnies dad had been aced with a battle with cancer and in the end of the story, he lost it. Leaving behind an ex wife, a changed-for-the-better daughter, and a young, very sensitive son. In Dear John, Johns dad had been suffering from having many heart attacks and eventually died. One last similarity is how the couples in both movies fall in love over a short period of time. In The Last Song, Ronnie tries to resist Will but she falls for him anyway over about a 2 week period. In Dear John, Savannah and John meet when Savannahs purse falls into the water and John goes to retrieve it. There were sparks there from the start. They also fell in love over a 2 week period. One of the most famous lines in that movie is said by Savannah and sounds like, Two weeks together, thats all it took. Two weeks for me to fall for you. There are also many differences in these movies. One, is that in The Last Song, Ronnie and Will end up together but in Dear John, Savannah marries a man who is dying and John sells his fathers prized coin collection to get money for his treatment but Savannah still loves John as much as she did. Another difference is in Dear John, the guy in the relationship goes away and leaves the girl. That doesnt happen in The Last Song ecause Will stays around and continues to date Ronnie. One last difference between these two movies is that the girls in both plots feel completely different towards the guys in the beginning. In Dear John, it was basically love at first sight. Savannah was attracted to John from the start. In The Last Song, Ronnie didnt like Will and tried to stay away from him. Both of these movies were based on books written by the same author so it was rather easy to find similarities. The plots of these movies are different but also have some of the same aspects. Comparing the Last Song and Dear John By lucilleparr

Monday, January 20, 2020

intro to networking and the tcp/ip stack :: essays research papers

SLIP is a TCP/IP protocol used for communication between two machines that are previously configured for communication with each other. For example, your Internet server provider may provide you with a SLIP connection so that the provider's server can respond to your requests, pass them on to the Internet, and forward your requested Internet responses back to you. A better service is provided by the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). Point-to-Point Protocol is a protocol for communication between two computers using a serial interface, typically a personal computer connected by phone line to a server. For example, your Internet server provider may provide you with a PPP connection so that the provider's server can respond to your requests, pass them on to the Internet, and forward your requested Internet responses back to you. PPP uses the Internet protocol and is designed to handle others. It is sometimes considered a member of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. Relative to the OSI referen ce model, PPP provides layer 2 (data-link layer) service. Essentially, it packages your computer's TCP/IP packets and forwards them to the server where they can actually be put on the Internet. PPP is a full-duplex protocol that can be used on various physical media, including twisted pair or fiber optic lines or satellite transmission. PPP is usually preferred over the earlier standard SLIP because it can handle synchronous as well as asynchronous communication. PPP can share a line with other users and it has error detection that SLIP lacks. Where a choice is possible, PPP is preferred. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser, the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. HTTP concepts include the idea that files can contain references to other files whose selection will elicit additional transfer requests. Your Web browser is an HTTP client, sending requests to server machines. When the browser user enters file requests by either "opening" a Web site or clicking on a link, the browser builds an HTTP request and sends it to the Internet Protocol address indicated by the URL. File Transfer Protocol (FTP), a standard Internet protocol, is the simplest way to exchange files between computers on the Internet. intro to networking and the tcp/ip stack :: essays research papers SLIP is a TCP/IP protocol used for communication between two machines that are previously configured for communication with each other. For example, your Internet server provider may provide you with a SLIP connection so that the provider's server can respond to your requests, pass them on to the Internet, and forward your requested Internet responses back to you. A better service is provided by the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). Point-to-Point Protocol is a protocol for communication between two computers using a serial interface, typically a personal computer connected by phone line to a server. For example, your Internet server provider may provide you with a PPP connection so that the provider's server can respond to your requests, pass them on to the Internet, and forward your requested Internet responses back to you. PPP uses the Internet protocol and is designed to handle others. It is sometimes considered a member of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. Relative to the OSI referen ce model, PPP provides layer 2 (data-link layer) service. Essentially, it packages your computer's TCP/IP packets and forwards them to the server where they can actually be put on the Internet. PPP is a full-duplex protocol that can be used on various physical media, including twisted pair or fiber optic lines or satellite transmission. PPP is usually preferred over the earlier standard SLIP because it can handle synchronous as well as asynchronous communication. PPP can share a line with other users and it has error detection that SLIP lacks. Where a choice is possible, PPP is preferred. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser, the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. HTTP concepts include the idea that files can contain references to other files whose selection will elicit additional transfer requests. Your Web browser is an HTTP client, sending requests to server machines. When the browser user enters file requests by either "opening" a Web site or clicking on a link, the browser builds an HTTP request and sends it to the Internet Protocol address indicated by the URL. File Transfer Protocol (FTP), a standard Internet protocol, is the simplest way to exchange files between computers on the Internet.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Premier Fitness Ethics Assignment

Ethics Assignment Premier Fitness The actions in question regarding Premier Fitness Clubs were proven to be misleading and in violation of the competition act as well as the basic consumerism trend that has aimed to empower consumers and increase their rights. In their quest to meet the firm’s profit oriented objectives, objectives of being economically usefull, and to earn enough profit to survive, Premier Fitness seemingly decided that they could forgo the objective of being socially useful. Misleading/false advertising and marketing was employed that drastically reduced or eliminated social usefulness by underhandedly convincing customers to enter contracts with the fitness club that resulted in materially higher fees, undisclosed costs, and high total net costs than the advertising would lead their customers to believe. Information was not adequately disclosed to portray the true costs associated with gym membership and cancellation of membership was found to be excessively difficult. Premier Fitness also was found to be withdrawing money from cancelled customer accounts which is also unethical behavior on their part. It is ironic that focusing on profit oriented objectives and the resulting unethical activity lead to the payment of a $200,000 fine by Premier Fitness for their unethical actions. Social usefulness was sacrificed by producing misleading advertisements that would lead customers to come to incorrect conclusions regarding total fees. This action violates the competition act and gave Premier Fitness and unethical advantage over their direct competition in the competitive business of fitness establishments. The competition act is structured to limit monopolistic behavior that could be damaging to smaller competitors and protect consumers, and by violating it, Premier Fitness could have negatively affected the competition in an unethical fashion as well as harmed consumers who ended up suffering greater financial losses than they had expected based on the advertising that they would have thought they fully understood. Premier Fitness’ false/misleading advertising and marketing would have left customers to believe that Premier Fitness was giving lower prices than the competition, which was not necessarily the case. Customers would therefore wrongly choose Premier Fitness’ services over those of the competition based on the superior price-point that Superior Fitness was seemingly offering. The result is that Premier Fitness’ acts harmed both the customers themselves as well as the competition that was advertising in a more ethical manor and losing business to Premier because of it. Advertising produced by Premier Fitness was misleading in that it violated many of the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of advertising. For example, using of fine print that was excessively small and possibly not legible. The impression created by the ad was much different than what the fine print conveyed. Also, not all material information was disclosed in all advertising, as some information was strategically left out of some advertisements. Premier’s misleading advertising and fine-print resulted in the charging of higher prices when multiple prices were appearing on their advertised product. With the misleading nature of the advertisements, customers were seemingly charged above the advertised price. The result of legal actions taken against Premier Fitness has undoubtedly affected their reputation considerably. Wide-spread negative publicity toward the company has unquestionably had a negative impact on the company’s operations. Websites designed to promote consumerism are a breeding grounds for the spreading of negative publicity towards unethical business operation. Although Premier continues to operate and has been in business for many years, it is conceivable that their reputation has been tarnished in a way that offsets any financial gains obtained through their unethical actions. Lost business due to poor reputation could easily have negatively impacted their financial objectives far more than gains achieved through misleading and false advertising. In order to fully recover from the negative effects on reputation that this incident has caused, Premier Fitness may benefit from re-aligning its objectives towards more of a customer oriented focus. Its marketing objectives must also be evaluation in order to be in line with such changes in the focus of the company objectives since marketing objectives often go hand-in-hand with company objectives. It is clear by the results observed in this case that Premier Fitness should have paid closer attention to the legal environment. Closer attention would have yielded the knowledge and understanding of the laws that inevitably were broken and could have guided Premier in a more ethical direction that would have bypassed the requirement for legal action and all the following negative publicity and financial ramifications that have haunted Premier Fitness thereafter.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Essay about Hamlets Fatal Flaw - 786 Words

Hamlets fatal flaw is his inability to act. Unlike his father, Hamlet lets his intelligence rather than his heroism govern him. When he has a chance to kill Claudius, and take vengeance for his fathers murder, he hesitates, reckoning that if he kills the man while he is at prayer, Claudius would have asked for pardon from the Lord and been forgiven of his sins, therefore allowing him to enter Heaven. Hamlet decides to wait for a better opening. His flaw of being hesitant in the end leads to his own death, and also the deaths of Gertrude, Ophelia, Laertes, and Claudius. Hamlets fatal flaw is his delay in avenging his fathers death. Hamlet is still devastated by his fathers death when the ghost appears to him, and he is unable to†¦show more content†¦He has a lot of trouble in coming to terms with all of the evil that is around him in a corrupt world. As Hamlet said himself, Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. One wonders how Hamlet can interact as well with his environment as he does; he has said many times that life is full of evil and deceit. He says to Rosencrantz that the world is a prison, in fact, a sizable one, in which there are many jails, cells, and dungeons. One also might expect him to be a very bitter person, but he is not. He is sometimes able to suppress his anger towards life in prison. Hamlet’s anger, and his need for revenge, places a great amount of stress on Him. Eventually, this stress became so great that it forced him to act. But why did he wait until his breaking point to do something? Perhaps Hamlet is not sure, even in his immense experience and understanding, whether justice should be left in his hands; despite the ghosts admonitions that it should. I agree with the belief that it is difficult, in a deceitful world, to tell a good man from a criminal. His morals guide him to be absolutely sure of his uncles guilt, and not have a hasty emotional reaction. I think Hamlet has a hard time understanding peoples evil motives, because of his own idealistic nature. Therefore it would be difficult for him to commit an act ofShow MoreRelatedHamlets Fatal Flaw Essay688 Words   |  3 Pagesparticularly intriguing in regards to his fatal flaw. Hamlet’s fatal flaw is a specific trait that forces him to postpone killing the king and it is this trait that drives Hamlet mad (Shakespeare 1.4.23-38). This Shakespearean tragedy is open to many interpretations of Hamlet’s fatal flaw. Two recent film productions of the play, Ke nneth Branaugh’s Hamlet and the Zeffirelli’s Hamlet, each show a different fatal flaw in Hamlet. Branaugh shows his fatal flaw to be that Hamlet over thinks everythingRead MoreTo Believe Or To Believe: No Question About It: An Analysis of Hamlets Fatal Flaw1236 Words   |  5 Pagesthe people of that age. It is important to examine the historical setting to fully understand some of the play’s subtler connotations. The protagonist of the play, Hamlet, is one of the most famous tragic heroes in existence, but the character’s fatal flaw is that he does not believe in God sufficiently. According to Christian doctrine, spirits that were not God originated from Hell, and ghosts were classified under demonology (Bath Newton, 3). This fact explains why Marcellus warns Hamlet not toRead MoreAnalysis Of Hamlet s Hamlet 1547 Words   |  7 PagesHamlet’s Hamartia Shakespeare s longest play is Hamlet, which takes place in the Kingdom of Denmark. Hamlet is a tragic tale about the Prince of Denmark and is a drama about revenge. Prince Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost who demands he kill his uncle, Claudius, after Claudius killed Hamlet’s father. Yet despite being â€Å"†¦ the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,† Hamlet delays enacting vengeance on Claudius (II,2,584-585). This delay ultimatelyRead MoreAgamemnon, Hamlet and ALfred prufrock compasion essay1616 Words   |  7 Pagesroles in the plays, it would be best to know first what hamartia means to further connect them with this element. By definition, hamartia is a flaw in the hero’s personality that allows them to commit certain tragic or fatal mistakes. To better understand the significance of hamartia in the plays, a thorough understanding of each character’s personality flaws as well as how they respond to the circumstances is just as important. The central characters of these plays include Prince Hamlet in â€Å"Hamlet†Read MoreHamlet by William Shakespeare648 Words   |  3 PagesTo be, or not to be, or maybe just to pretend to be – Hamlet - make up your mind already! Before discussing Hamlet’s hamartia, please let me say that Hamlet is one of my all-time favorite plays. Yes, it is tragic. Yes, they all fall in the end. But, good lord, what action! So, what is this shortcoming the unfortunate Hamlet possesses that brings about his undeserved end? Before discussing the frailty of this tragic hero, let us examine the word, hamartia, used by Aristotle in â€Å"The Poetics†. HamartiaRead MoreDifferences in the Tragedies of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet by William Shakespeare1621 Words   |  7 Pagesact in the manner that will allow the truth to be reviled, as the truth is the ultimate goal. Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are tragedies that end in death. The foils of Laertes and Horatio compared to Benvolio and Tybalt are able to portray the fatal flaws of of the heroes while also defining the differences of each tragedy. Laertes is seen as a man of action that does not think about the consequences. When finding out about his father’s death he proves his spontaneity by declaring, â€Å"I dare damnationRead More Hamlet As An Aristotelian Tragedy Essay581 Words   |  3 Pagesmust fall through his or her own error. This is typically called the quot;tragic flawquot;, and can be applied to any characteristic that causes the downfall the hero. Shakespeares Hamlet, Prince of Denmark can be seen as an Aristotelian tragedy and Hamlet as its tragic hero. Hamlets flaw, which in accordance with Aristotles principles of tragedy causes his demise, is his inability to act. This defect of Hamlets character is displayed throughout the play. In the opening scenes of the play,Read More Hamlet Essay1206 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet Each major character of Shakespeare’s Hamlet has a major flaw, which destroys him or her. The King, Queen, Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius all have these flaws but Horatio does not. He is Shakespeare’s ideal man. Claudius’ fatal flaw is ambitiousness. Claudius kills his brother King Hamlet and then takes the throne by marrying King Hamlet’s wife: â€Å"Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen†¦have we (as ‘twere with a defeated joy, with an auspicious and a dropping eye, withRead MoreThe Tragic Flaw of Hamlet Essay792 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tragic Flaw of Hamlet One of the greatest works in literature, Shakespeares Hamlet has been the topic of controversial discussion ever since it was written. The controversies range from Is Hamlet truly mad, to Is Hamlet really in love with Ophelia. The most intriguing topic of discussion though, is Hamlets fatal flaw. As in all Shakespearean works, there is always a tragic hero. This hero is always the person that the audience comes to love, however every tragic hero has to haveRead MoreIs Hamlet A Tragic Hero Essay961 Words   |  4 Pagesmakes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy.†. Throughout the play, which follows Hamlet as he plots to get revenge on his uncle Claudius for his father’s murder, Hamlet reveals his tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is â€Å"a character trait that brings about the downfall of the protagonist; ironically, in some works, this ‘flaw’ is the characters greatest strength taken to an extreme.† Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to take action due

Friday, December 27, 2019

Second-Grade Goals for Students After the New Year

In order to hit developmental benchmarks, it helps to have parents on your side. These are a few second-grade goals for students to complete after the new year. Share them with parents during conferences so they will have a rough idea of the expectations you have for their child. All children learn differently and are not alike, but it helps to have a few general goals listing which skills students will need to know by the end of the school year. Goals to share with parents should include a focus on reading, math, writing, and what to work on at home. Reading Goals Second-grade students should be able to recognize words as chunks, not just individual letters. For example when looking at the word cheat, the second-grade student should be able to recognize the word eat. Other reading goals include: Increase reading fluency and expression.Use punctuation appropriately.Identify an increasing number of words by sight.Be able to identify the speaker in a story.Retell a story by providing details. Students should also be able to use graphic organizers—visual and graphic displays that organize ideas and demonstrate relationships between different information and concepts—to show an understanding of story elements such as the main character, plot, main idea, supporting details, setting, solution, and theme. Additionally, second-grade students need to strengthen their comprehension skills when reading independently.  They should  be able to identify the main idea in the story as well as locate supporting details, infer, and be able to answer text-specific questions. (This is now a part of the  common core.) Math Goals Second-grade students must able to simplify word problems and directions when needed. They need to have the ability to take their time and work through a problem until it is completed properly. Other math goals include: Recite 25 math facts in one minute.Understand math vocabulary and recognize it. For example, they must be able to recognize what the question is asking, such as: What is place value?Use appropriate tools to strategically to solve a problem.Mentally calculate sums and differences for numbers with only tens or hundreds.Develop a foundation for understanding area and volume.Be able to represent and interpret data. Additionally, second-grade students should extend their understanding of the base-10  system. Writing Goals By the end of second grade, students must be able to capitalize and punctuate correctly and use punctuation to add effect to their writing. Second-graders should also be able to: Provide a strong beginning that will grab the readers attention.Create an ending that will show that their writing piece is finished.Use strategies to plan writing, such as brainstorming and using graphic organizers.Show their personality through their writing.Use a dictionary to self-correct during the drafting phase.Add details to support the main idea. Additionally, students should begin to use transition words in their writing to construct logical order, such as first, second, and third, or next and finally. At Home Goals Learning does not end in the classroom. While at home, students should: Practice math facts—three to five facts at a time—each night or at least five times a week.Study spelling patterns and practice spelling words in a variety of ways besides memorization.Read independently for at least 10 to 15 minutes each night.Have plenty of age-appropriate books available to help them develop vocabulary skills.Work with their parents to develop study skills that will last a lifetime. Even at home, children should use punctuation correctly and write in complete sentences in letters, shopping lists, and other writing.