Explore F.Scotts Fitzgeralds presentation of class and wealth in The Great Gatsby and The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Wealth and social class permeate much of F. Scott Fitzgerald's ‘The Great Gatsby' and ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'. Set during the roaring twenties when many people had newly accumulated wealth after the war, both texts seek to explore and satirise the complexities of wealth and social class. They particularly focus on how far people may go to fit into a social class or protect their fortune. Despite ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' being set within the fantasy genre, elements of Fitzgerald's own life run as undercurrents throughout both texts. Fitzgerald's life features heavily in the texts, be it through the characterisation of Nick and Gatsby or the underlying references to his personal experiences. The experiences of the main protagonists' form parallels with Fitzgerald's interactions with the wealthy, both at Princeton and Great Neck and in his relationship with Zelda. ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' satirises the exuberant wealth experienced by Fitzgerald when visiting a Princeton classmate. ‘The Great Gatsby' on the other hand, is more reliant on aspects of Fitzgerald's own life which forms the emotional foundation of the novel. Gatsby's relationship with Daisy mirrors Fitzgerald's turbulent relationship with Zelda who much like Daisy, was regarded as being incredibly materialistic. Gatsby can therefore be seen as a representing Fitzgerald's pursuit of sufficient wealth to support an aristocratic love interest. He does this to the detriment of his artistic integrity which he compromised by writing short stories to fund Zelda's opulent lifestyle. This is mirrored by Gatsby compromising his integrity and personal worth by bootlegging and lying about being the ‘son of some wealthy people in the Middle-West', in order to please Daisy and hopefully gain acceptance. He fails in both these areas. In integrating elements of his personal life, Fitzgerald may be implying that loving someone of a different social class comes with compromises and that one may lose sight of who they are in the process. ‘The Great Gatsby' by virtue of its representations of wealth and class can be seen as a running criticism of the American Dream and America's obsession with wealth amidst the hedonistic culture of the 1920's. The American Dream had originally been founded on the notion that anyone, irrespective of their background could achieve anything in the ‘land of opportunity' if they worked hard enough. Fitzgerald however, believed that the American Dream was just an ‘illusion' and that it had been corrupted by the of pursuit wealth. He consistently challenged the idea of the achievability of the American Dream in ‘The Great Gatsby'. The geographical motifs of East and West Egg embody just how unachievable the American Dream is. This geographical separation may symbolise the hypothetical and literal divides between the nouveau riche who reside in West Egg and aristocrats of East egg, consequently highlighting how they will forever lead separate existences. This gives the impression of the American Dream being highly flawed, as having acquired great wealth does not translate into acceptance for the people of West Egg, who are seen as the social subordinates of the aristocrats of East Egg. This is further established by the behaviour of the guests at Gatsby's party. The people of West Egg lack the refinement, grace and manners of their aristocratic counterparts for whom these traits form the rudiments of their social class. This consequently demonstrates how East and West Egg are separated by more than geographical distance but also by simple things such as social etiquette and fashion choices. Jordan's party (who consist of fellow East Eggers) are ‘spread around a table on the outside of the garden' ‘carefully on guard', emphasising that even within the intimate confines of the party the divide is still apparent and the people of East Egg are reluctant to mix. The corruption of the American Dream is further explored through the main protagonists' initial amazement and delight (early on in the text) at the great wealth they encounter. Fitzgerald employs a myriad of symbolisms, metaphors and similes to depict the sheer luxury and over exuberance of the aristocrats within both texts. Through these devices he is able to satirise the materialistic world the aristocrats inhabit, making it appear outlandish. In ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' John Unger, a boy from Hades with ‘meager standards of living' is ‘amused and delighted', by the luxurious lifestyle Percy and his family lead. When he arrives with Percy they are driven in what Percy dismissively calls a ‘buggy'. However, the reader can extrapolate from John's reaction at the ‘thousand minute tapestries of silk, woven with jewels' that the vehicle is far from an old buggy. In this instance John's amazement may have been employed to paradox Percy's dismissive attitude towards wealth as he refers to the luxurious car as ‘old junk'. Fitzgerald may have used this paradox highlight the hollow nature of the wealthy, whose lives are fueled by consumerism to the extent that they place little value to the possessions everyone else would deem as extraordinary. In ‘The Great Gatsby', Nick is also amazed by the wealth he experiences at the Buchanan home. His first interaction with Daisy and Jordon has a dream like quality to it. When he meets the women they are dressed in white, ‘their dresses rippling and fluttering †¦ a short flight around the house' this gives the women an angelic quality which hints at how Nick is initially drawn in by their great wealth. This surreal and dream like quality of wealth is also reflected in ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' with the depiction of the girl who is dressed like ‘Titania'. In the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is the queen of the fairies which Fitzgerald may have used to allude to the magical and mystifying qualities of wealth present within both texts. Conversely, the amazement the main protagonists' initially showcased soon dissipates when they discover the corruptive nature of wealth and the wealthy. Despite the people of East Egg possessing an abundance of grace, elegance and taste (that comes with adhering to the norms of aristocratic society) they lack compassion. The East Eggers are presented as little more than bullies who use their money to alleviate any concerns they have, irrespective of who they hurt in the process. This morally corrupt nature of the rich is explored through the Buchanan's in ‘The Great Gatsby' and the Washingtons' in ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'. The Buchanans' are presented as ‘careless people' who ‘smash[ed] things up' only to retreat back into ‘their vast carelessness'. Their lack of moral fiber is further emphasised when instead of attending Gatsby's funeral they move into a house far away. Fitzgerald may have used the Buchanans' as a moral didactic for the readers to illustrate how wealth can corrupt when one allows themself to become consumed by it. On the other hand, it could represent the unfair nature of capitalist societies whereby the wealthy upper-class can afford to pay for peace of mind. This conflicts with Gatsby whom despite accumulating his wealth through criminality is kind and loving, keeping watch outside Daisy's window to insure Tom does not hurt her, consequently illustrating that wealth alone does not corrupt but when coupled with high social status it can have disastrous effects. Moreover, in both texts religion (which is supposed to strengthen ones moral compass) has been replaced by consumerism. Atrocious things are carried out in the name of wealth in the texts, including murder and imprisonment. These things are written off as a natural pre-requisite of success and expansion. Here Fitzgerald argues that wealth can be its own prison blinding its pursuers, dehumanizing them to the extent that they devalue human life and assume that everyone can be bought. Fitzgerald satirizes the absurd nature of the rich when Mr. Washington tries ‘offering a bribe to God' with a voice immersed in ‘inextinguishable pride'. Ross Posnock, a Marxist writer, praised Fitzgerald in his essay ‘A New World, Material Without Being real' for his presentation of the capitalist society in ‘The Great Gatsby'1. Posnock believed that Fitzgerald had captured the capitalist society's obsession with material wealth and how it leads to people being regarded as little more than object that can be acquired along with capital in order to boost ones social status. Gatsby's vast wardrobe is a ‘heavy defensive wall' consisting of ‘thick silk' and ‘expensive dye' which support the Marxist view of material possessions providing a barrier against hardship which the rich can hide behind. For Gatsby, and many others, material possessions help to protect their status in the same way the ‘invisible cloak' of Gatsby's army uniform had hidden his lower class status when he first met Daisy. In general, the negative portrayal of consumerism in his work has made him very popular with Marxist writers. In conclusion, Fitzgerald uses ‘The Great Gatsby' and ‘The Diamond as Big as Ritz' to highlight the negative elements of wealth and class, whilst particularly emphasising that class roles will never be crossed. Both texts highlight the potential hazards of capitalist societies when one becomes consumed by materialism, placing greater importance on monetary fortune and status than the consequences of their actions. Although Fitzgerald presents both wealth and class in negative lights he reminds the reader that wealth alone does not give way to moral corruption hinting that it is wealth in conjunction with high social class that leads to the decaying of one's moral compass.

The Canterbury Tales Women Essays - The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales' Women Essays - The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales' Women The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Thomas a' Becket's tomb in Canterbury. Throughout the stories, women are often portrayed in two opposing ways. The women in these tales are either depicted as pristine and virginal, or as cunning and deceitful. First, women are described as being pristine and virginal. This type of woman is always beautiful and has men vying for her affections. However, she is so pure that it seems she is unattainable. She is not treated like a real person and people never ask her what she wants. This virginal woman is captured in the character of Emily in The Knight's Tale. Emily, who is described by the author as radiant and serene (32) enchants two cousins and cause them to argue over her. Palamon is so love-struck that he states Woman or Goddess, which? I cannot say. (32). He doesn't even know her yet calls her ... my lady, whom I love and serve (34). When Arcite is released, he becomes sick because he can no longer see her. He is described as Thin as a shaft, as dry, with nothing left./His eyes were hollow, grisly to behold,/Fallow his face, like ashes pale and cold (39). When the cousins finally reunite, Palamon claims Emily for his own once again by saying You shall not love my lady Emily./I, no one else, will love her! (45). They are engaged in battle when the king rides by with his wife and Emily. When confronted, Palamon tells the king that Arcite dares love Emily (49), and that he is also in love with Emily the Bright (49). Even though Emily is sitting right there he still doesn't talk directly to her, instead he tells the king. Emily is herself immune to love: she has seen neither of the knights, nor is she aware that they have seen her, much less that they are in love with her (Hallissy 59). Poor virginal Emily knows no more of this affair,/By God, than does a cuckoo or a hare! (51). However, the king tells the cousins to get Ready by battle to decide his claim/ to Emily. (52) without even asking her what she wanted to do. If he had asked her, he would have found out that she wanted to remain a virgin and marry no one. She even prayed that she would be mistress, no, nor wife. (65). However, she was forced to marry Palamon when he won the battle. Secondly, women are described as cunning and deceitful. This type of woman causes her husband nothing but heartache. She is depicted as a liar and a cheater with low morals. She is a woman neither to be trusted nor respected. In many of the stories she makes a fool of her husband by having adulterous affairs. This type of woman is depicted in the Miller's Tale, the Merchant's Tale, and in the character of the Wife of Bath. In the Miller's Tale, Alison who is described as . . a fair young wife, her body as slender/As any weasel's, and as soft and tender; (90) marries an old man named John. John then takes in a lodger by the name of Nicholas. Since there is a big age difference between Alison and her husband, there is an assumption that Alison is sexually unsatisfied and thus easily seducible by a younger and more virile mana man just like Nicholas (Hallissy 77). John foolishly leaves the two at home alone while he goes to Osney. Nicholas seizes this opportunity to make his move: he held her haunches hard (91) and begs her to satisfy him. Immediately: She gave a spring, just like a skittish colt Boxed in a frame for shoeing, and with a jolt Managed in time to wrench her head away. And said, Give over, Nicholas, I say! (91). However, it rapidly becomes clear that Alison consents to Nicholas's advances. In fact, so swift is the courtship that it is clear that Alison is a woman of exceedingly flexible moral standards she is, in modern terms, easy (Hallissy 77). It is not long before another man named Absolon also falls in love with

Career Guide How to Become an Office Clerk

Career Guide How to Become an Office Clerk When you see office clerks on TV or in movies, they’re often overworked, apathetic workers who hassle a main character, setting up laughs or conflict. In reality, office clerks are skilled administrators who keep an office organized and humming along. They have stellar organizational skills, and a versatile collection of administrative know-how that makes them indispensable players in any office. This is also one of the most popular jobs in the U.S., with more than 2.9 million office clerks working across the country.The Role of an Office ClerkBasically, office clerks do what needs to be done in an office, administratively. Their duties might include any of the following:Answer phonesFile records and manage filing systemsReview data for accuracyEnter data into databases or other systemsMaintain customer or client accountsSort mailMake copiesProcess payments or perform basic bookkeepingEnsure office compliance with rules or regulationsThe job varies according to industry as wel l- for example, a medical file clerk’s day-to-day would likely be very different from a file clerk in a law firm or a large corporation. There may be industry-specific administrative duties in addition to these general responsibilities.The BenefitsA job or career as an office clerk makes you a very adaptable employee, with a skill set you can carry with you to any number of industries. It’s also a very stable career path, because offices will always need skilled, organized people to handle daily administration.The QualificationsOffice clerks can usually get started with a high school degree or an associate’s degree. There is no specific training or certification program for office clerks. Clerks are typically hired based on experience and/or skills rather than specific educational milestones.Office clerks should have strong skills in the following areas:Organization. Keeping everything straight and moving forward is a major part of the job description.Communicat ion. Office clerks are often a liaison between different parts of an office, making sure that information and processes are running efficiently. This means you should be able to communicate clearly and effectively with a variety of different people.Customer service. This is a service position, often dealing with direct requests inside the company or external customer interactions, so it’s important to have a strong, patient customer service game face.Attention to detail. Office clerks may be processing sensitive information or just lots of it, so it’s crucial to be able to spot inconsistencies, and ensure that everything is correct and accurate.Computer skills. Forty years ago, an office clerk would have been deeply knowledgeable about hard copy filing systems, recordkeeping, and the like. Now, an office clerk has to be up on all the technology used to manage the storage and flow of information in a company. That can be anything from standard paper files to apps to dat abases. You don’t have to be a hacker-level computer genius, but knowing how to use the most important tech for your particular industry or company is key. Knowing the technology can also make you an even more valuable member of the team as companies look for ways to streamline their staff and operations.The SalaryFor general office clerks, the median salary is $30,580 per year (or $14.70 per hour), per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pay can vary depending on the industry (specialized file clerks might earn more, for example), level of experience, and type of company.The OutlookThe good news about being an office clerk is that this is a pretty evergreen job. How companies manage their information and offices may change and adapt with the times, but there will always be the need for qualified people to perform these tasks. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that growth will be steady, if slightly slower than average: 3% growth by 2024. But again, the skills you use as an office clerk are excellent baseline skills that you can take to a variety of different fields, even if office clerking isn’t necessarily your long-range plan.

Marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Marketing plan - Essay Example The Insider Fashions has got a good reception to in the market, thanks to its broad range of customers. Its target market has found the place a one stop shop for all the family fashion. This has brought the need for the store to stretch its branches in various parts of the state. Therefore, it is only from a good marketing plan that the operations of this company can be well executed. Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives The mission of The Insider Fashion Store is to ‘’use the displayed opportunity in the current trends in fashion to provide the best outfit solution to all categories of customers, under one roof, through vigorous market research and rapid product design’’. Its vision is to ‘’become a world class store of the best outfits to all consumer categories’’. As a progressive store, The Insider has a goal to cover all the states in the USA by 2014. SWOT Analysis i. Strengths The Insider Fashions Store is a one stop shop for all the family cloths; therefore it attracts a broad range of customers. There is a welcoming mood created by the store’s employees, where customers are ushered in, well attended to and even provided with snacks to keep them shopping even for longer hours. The store stocks a range of products from all over the world, most of which, come from the most reputable brands in the world. It has partnered with children's entertainment companies to provide various entertainment facilities like video games for the children. This makes the parents to prefer the store since they can move in with their children and stay for longer hours without the children complaining Provision of trial rooms where the outfits are tried by customers to confirm the sizes. ii. Weaknesses The store is forced to charge relatively higher prices than its competitors since it deals with exclusive high quality products which come from far and at high prices. There is need to train employees thoroughly befor e they are employed, this makes the store to lose a lot of money in training iii. Opportunities All the store’s branches have been strategically placed at busy malls and near big colleges where there is a thrilling lot of customers There is a need for a one stop shopping store for all the family outfits which the store has exploited. There is still need for such stores in various parts of the state, an opportunity that the store has taken up positively and planning for further expansion. The store specializes in training its employee and is now planning to start up a commercial training college for such services. iv. Threats There is stiff competition that the store receives from several other stores set up in the state. By opening up a commercial training facility, there are high chances that the store will disperse its idea of success which other people will use to start up other stores like The Insider. There is also a threat of the new companies that are entering the mark et with new strategies The store has a threat of losing its international customers in case similar stores are starting up in the customers’ respective countries. Market Segmentation The market will be segmented in the strength of the customers’ demographic characteristics. The stores around colleges will be stocked up with various youth outfits, more than the other outfits of other age categories. The prices at these stores near colleges will also be lowered to consider that the targeted clients at these places are students who have tendencies of spending less money. For example, one

Community teaching part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Community teaching part 2 - Essay Example Diabetes is widespread in the Mexican community and thus are eager to learn. The CDC has clear statistics that diabetes affects more Hispanics than other Americans. The disease causes pain, discomfort and disrupts the social welfare of the people. The Alma Ata declarations are poised to enhance the general health of the people and equity in access to health. The initiatives recognize that health is a factor of social economic, cultural and individual a behavioral factors. As reported by the CDC, the Hispanic community is highly vulnerable to diabetes and thus should be enlightened more about it to be at par with other Americans. At the end of the teaching, the participants will fill teacher and process evaluation forms. The forms will be anonymous and will not require personal details. Sample questions include; did the process meet your expectations? Did you learn something new about diabetes? How professional were the teachers? How organized was the presentations? Will the information you have gathered influence your future lifestyle decisions? The main problem will be education differences in the population. Some participants may have basic information about the disease and other may not be aware. In this regard, the teaching session will reconcile the two groups and start from scratch. I will start with an eye-catching PowerPoint video that will outline the basics of diabetes and the introductions of all items to be covered in the session. The participants will thus be eager to learn more about the contents. The session will end with a video on the disease. The video will provide testimonials of people who have managed to control diabetes and people who are at risk the diabetes but have managed to stay

DIGITAL DIVIDE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DIGITAL DIVIDE - Essay Example Based on the attributes, scores were developed and the scores became the basis for building an overall score on digitization with a scale of zero to 100 with 100 representing as the measure with the highest level of digitization. The Global Technology Report 2012 defined digitization as â€Å"the mass adoption of connected digital technologies and applications by consumers, enterprises, and governments† (Dutta & Bilbao-Osorio, 121). However, the way that The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 defined the economies appears to indicates that no other finding would be possible except the finding that as an economy move from a constrained economy into an emerging economy and then ultimately into a transitional economy and eventually into an advanced economy, digitization would increase. â€Å"Constrained economies† were defined as economies with digitization scores below 25, â€Å"emerging economies† with digitization scores of 25 to 30, â€Å"transitional economies† with digitization scores of between 30 to 40, and â€Å"advanced economies† with digitization scores of greater than 40 (Dutta & Bilbao-Osorio, 122). Expectedly, The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 obtained Figure 1 on the relation between economy type and digitization for 150 economies of the world. Based on The Global Information Technology Report of 2012 , the constrained and emerging economies include Ethiopia, Morocco, India, Egypt, China, Algeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, Angola, Lao PDR, Cuba, Iraq, Bangladesh, Uganda, Peru, Mongolia, Georgia, and Guatemala. The transitional economies include Turkey, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, and Chile. Finally, the advanced economies include the United States, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Austria, and Australia. The countries enumerated are representative countries only. The association between GNP per capita and digitization

Personal Learning Statement for Dissertation

Personal Learning Statement for Dissertation Careful, precise and comprehensive planning is the key to success. Having known the importance of planning, I carefully planned my project with a step by step approach. The first step at this stage was the analysis of my strengths and weaknesses in order to decide the topic of my research project. I have always been interested in stock markets and business analysis of companies. This interest helped me learn more about business and financial analysis of companies and the different ways by which their financial performance and position can be analysed. The next important step was the formulation of a strategy as to how I would carry out the task in hand i.e. How to conduct the research? When to start? And most importantly whom should I choose as a mentor? In regards to the selection of a suitable mentor the article titled Making the most of your Mentor by Pippa Riley (11th August, 2005) published on ACCA website proved to be a life saver. I gave it a deep thought and after carefully considering all my options I chose my mentor to be my tutor Mr Muhammad Yasser Naqvi Syed, who is a Member of ACCA. A person who has helped me a great deal since the day I joined ACCA and has been a role model for me over the years. After concluding my decision I approached my mentor and I was extremely delighted when he accepted to be my mentor and guide me through the project. 2. Meetings with Mentor The role of Project Mentor is of great significance in the success of a research project. I had my first meeting with my chosen mentor on 5th January 2010, just after December 2009 ACCA examinations. In that meeting I introduced my mentor to the topic I had chosen and the reason behind my selection. I told him about my strategy and the means and methods I intended to use. I was confident that I had properly communicated the reasons and objectives of the topic I chose and my mentor seemed to be satisfied with my choice and strategy. Furthermore, I sought his advice on the matters such as research methods and we had a fruitful discussion. All in all, the first meeting was highly successful and cemented my ideas showing me a clear path to my objective. After my first meeting I was much more confident as I had a clear direction towards preparing the project. Our second meeting was scheduled for 12th March 2009. Before the meeting I reviewed my project at every stage and tried to make sure that there are no spellings or grammatical mistakes and after that I sent the completed part to my mentor for reviewing the progress. I also noted all the feed back from my mentor and tried to improve the quality of my work. In the meeting I demonstrated all the information I had gathered from different sources and asked my mentors advice on some unresolved issues. Before the 3rd meeting I sent a draft copy of the project to my mentor and noted his feed back and then I prepared slides in Microsoft PowerPoint along with extra slides showing charts and share prices. We held our third and final meeting on 14th April 2009. I was very confident of the work I had done and prepared for the presentation beforehand. I had a clear set of mind of what I had done and how I wanted to express that work in the presentation. My mentor was satisfied and equally amazed at my effort and congratulated me on my work. As stated in the guidelines, I had 15 minutes for the presentation; therefore I planned for my presentation well in advance and made sure that I included all the relevant information. Before I started my presentation, I handed out printed copies of my presentation to my mentor and my colleagues. I started my presentation by introducing J Sainsbury and giving a brief history of the company. After that I explained the various analyses and comparisons I had performed in order to analyze the financial position of J Sainsbury and to reach at a conclusion. I also explained the potential opportunities and the threats faced by the company. I used Microsoft Power Point to convey my message more efficiently and used graphical analysis to help my cause. My presentation was indeed a success and I felt all my hard work and dedication paid off. My mentor was pleasantly surprised and gave me a pat on my back. My strengths included a thorough understanding of the topic, detailed research work and good presentation skills while my weaknesses included taking a few more minutes outside my allowed quota. This experience was a massive confidence booster for me and it proved to me that I am very well capable of delivering top class professional presentations. 3. Self Assessment / Critical Evaluation As part of the skills and learning statement, I would now try to critically evaluate my performance and the skills I learned during the preparation of my project. One of the ways of evaluating the success of a project is to analyse whether it has answered all the relevant research questions satisfactorily or not. In formulating the strategy of my research project, I identified a few research questions which were critical to the overall success of my project. I focused my energies to finding the answers of these questions. Although I think I managed to answer most of the research questions in a satisfactory manner, there were a few areas where I could have done more research and allocated more time and resources. The feedback I got back from my mentor suggested that I have been able to achieve the objectives of my research project successfully. This being the first extensive research project carried out by me made the task a little bit daunting in the beginning and made me a little apprehensive about my abilities of carrying out the task with perfection. But as the project progressed, things started becoming clearer and my confidence levels were boosted. I chose to assess the business and financial performance of J Sainsbury plc over the last three years. J Sainsburys plc is a United Kingdom-based company principally engaged in grocery and related retailing, and financial services. Financial ratios were used to asses the financial performance of the company over a three year period and then I tried to explain the reasons for variations in the ratios. I kept sending my draft incomplete project to my mentor and requested him to assess my performance under the guidelines of Oxford Brookes University so I could judge the quality of my work done so far. For this purpose I sent several emails to my mentor and made notes of every feed back. I carefully assessed the external position by looking at the macro environment by using Porters Five Forces Model. I tried to do well on this analysis by giving a detailed overview and try to look at the wider side of the picture. I highlighted critical strengths and weaknesses and the resulting opportunities and threats faced by the company by using a technique called SWOT analysis. This exercise was very beneficial to get a thorough understanding of the company and also helped me to come up with some recommendations to capitalise on the strengths of the company and eliminate or neutralize its weaknesses. 4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills The term interpersonal skill is very often used to measure the personal ability to operate within the business organization through social communication and interaction. And the Communication skills are the skills which enable people to communicate effectively with each other. It also includes the ability to speak in public, meetings, presentations and writing letters. In my RAP it relates to the communication skills which I demonstrated during the meetings with my mentor and customers. The meetings with my mentor helped me to assess my interpersonal and communication skills and identify the areas which needed improvement. Questioning is one of the most important utensil in communication in order to derive answers and achieve confirmation. Since it is a fundamental tool in seeking information it is was imperative to get direct answers during the initial stages of the project as I required direction from my mentor. However I realised that getting direct information was not easy as the response is directly dependent on the style of question. During the project I used both closed questions where I needed a confirmation of what I knew and open questions where the intention was to get as much information as possible. Towards the end of the project, when I had passed the data gathering stage I was seeking specific answers, this also entailed asking probing questions in order to clarify many areas. Restating information in a form of a question enabled me to understand difficult factors. Effective communication also entails speaking and listening. I used both gestures and a variety of verbal and non verbal means for instance, nodding my head, making notes of important points, and basic words of confirmation to express a form of acknowledgement seen as a verification or feedback that is identified as active or reflective listening, as I would continuously be seeking to understand what my mentor was stating. This was reinforced with the use of eye contact to show that I understood and was interested in what was being communicated to me by my mentor. Prior to meetings I would make sure that my mobile phone was switched off, to reduce disturbance that was in my control. These activities helped me to improve my interpersonal and communication skills and also made me more confident in my approach. 5. How RAP Helped In Studies / Employment The preparation of RAP has helped me to gain certain invaluable and precious skills which have helped me both in my studies and my working life. I learned a lot of new skills and techniques which has given me an edge over my competitors in the job market. The preparation of RAP helped me immensely in better understanding of professional subjects of ACCA such as P3 (Business Analysis) and P2 (Corporate Reporting). As a part of my RAP I used different financial and non financial techniques described in these subjects to asses the business and financial performance of JS Sainsbury. It was a great exercise for me and gave me a chance to apply all my knowledge gained from ACCA qualification in to a practical company scenario. RAP also improved my skills in Microsoft Office. I learned a lot of new features of MS Word, MS Excel and MS Power Point. These skills are still helping me in my current job and have increased my work efficiency. I have also had a pay rise from my employer since preparing my RAP, underlining the improvement I have made. RAP has also helped me polishing my interactive skills as I improved this skill by collecting financial and non financial information about the company from different sources. These interactive skills have helped me a lot in my current job and as a result I am much more confident while interacting with clients during audits and client visits. The project helped me develop my IT skills. I added not only to my accounting knowledge, but also learned different aspects of planning, organising, time management, writing, and public speaking. These skills will be of use to me in all aspects of my life.