Histroy of English Language Essay Example for Free

Histroy of English Language Essay History of English language will explain, why learning English as a second language is difficult without proper instruction, even though basic components are same. Throughout its history English has been influenced by the varieties of language. Living languages never remain static. Every language is the product of change and continues to change as long as it is spoken. Only dead languages like Latin or Sanskrit change no longer, since no one speaks them now. The changes, while they do occur are gradual and slow and hence almost imperceptible. Over a span of centuries, however, their cumulative effect is appreciable. Shakespeare English is difficult for modern readers; Chaucer’s is almost is incomprehensible without formal instruction. The History of the English language: The origin During the Roman invasion, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. English belongs, in all its stages, to the Indo European family of languages, formerly called Indo-Germanic, and still earlier Aryan. Indo European is the name given to the set of linguistic forms from which nearly all European languages as well as those of Persia and very large part of India can be shewn to descend. The historians have used the word Indo-European because it merely suggests that the languages it comprises cover most of the Europe and India mark the length of its confines. The predominance and pioneering s of the position of the German Philologist English is one of the most important languages in the world today. More the an 350 million people in Great Britain are native speakers. In addition 150 million non-native speakers of English are there. English however is not spoken by large number of people in the world . Chinese, for instance spoken by more than 880 million people in China alone. Among the western languages English has the advantage in numbers. Spanish in spoken by about 210 million people. Russian is spoken about 200 million people Portuguese is spoken about 105 million people etc . Importance of a language is associated with political role played by the nations using it and their influence in the international affairs. Several reasons may be adduced for current importance and popularity of English. Historically the colonial expansion of the British Empire over which the sun never sets, was responsible for the imposition of the English on aspiring natives. Even after achieving independence many countries like Nigeria, India, Ghana continue to use English as official language for several reasons. The nature of the English language and its tolerance to change has made it very popular. One of the major assets of the English language is the mixed character or its vocabulary. English being the Germanic descent has many words from the Germanic languages viz, German Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Scandinavian, Swedish, Norwegian. It also shares a large number of words with the European languages derived from Latin viz,French Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Hence English seems very familiar to anyone who speaks a Germanic and Roman language. Instead of making new words chiefly by the combination of existing elements, English has shown the marked tendency to go outside its own linguistic resources and borrow from other languages. These words have been so well assimilated into English the no one ever remembers or recognizes that they have been borrowed. Any etymological dictionary will show that English has borrowed from almost every language of the world; Hebrew Arabic Hindi Tamil,Malay,WestAfrica,Chinese,Brazil etc. This is the reason why we call English a cosmopolitan vocabulary which is an asset to any language which seeks to attain international use. Modern linguists therefore accept the dynamic nature of language. One of their axioms is that there are no pure forms of language, for language, for languages keep changing all the time. If English had remained pure over the centuries, we should still be speaking the language of Chaucer. Throughout the history, the English language has accepted with comparative equanimity words from other languages with which it has been in contact. There have been periods in which speakers and writers have indulged in large-scale use of foreign words. In general, most people will agree that the foreign contribution to English has been useful. Some languages avoid as far as possible the use of alien terms; instead they substitute new words made up of native elements. English however, has always accepted foreign words. Many hundreds of words of non-English origin are now part and parcel of the English vocabulary, indistinguishable from the native stock except to those with some knowledge of etymology. Of all the world languages, English has probably the vocabulary which is the most copious, heterogeneous and varied, at the same time this also one of the reason that learning English as second language becomes difficult. All the people, with whom its speakers have come in contact during more than thirteen centuries of its growth, have left permanent marks on the language. Some of the contacts have been deep and lasting like Greek, French and Latin. A study of the history of the English language, therefore, unfolds the panorama of English history-both social and political. With an empire over which sun never sets, the English language has been particularly open to foreign influences. The Romans with whom the ancient Germanic tribes had dealings, the Romanized Britons, the Latin fathers of the church who were once eagerly studied the Danish and Norwegian invaders, the Norman French conquerors, the revival of ancient Latin and Greek classics at Renaissance, the Italian artists and men of letters of the 16th century the colonizing nations of the same century—all these have made their contributions to the English language. Arab mathematicians from Spain have enriched the language: so have American Redskins and Indian sepoys. The Italianate Englishman of Queen Elizabeth’s time of whom Shakespeare made fun and famous writers like Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift have left something of value in the English word—hoard. It is no doubt, that such statement might fairly be made about other language and their history; but what stands out so remarkably about English is the abundance, the unparalleled variety and the length of the time during which foreign influences have been effective. Further, no other language has so much copious and heterogeneous material. In historical linguistics the contribution of particular foreign language to another is referred to as borrowing . In common parlance, ‘borrowing’ means getting something form somebody on the understanding that it is to be returned. Luckily, this definition does not apply to words which are borrowed, never to be returned. Linguists wonder whether ‘stealing’ might be a more appropriate term for this phenomenon. As Haugen says† The borrowing takes place without the lender’s consent or even awareness and the borrower is under no obligation to repay the loan. One might as well call it stealing, were it is not the owner is deprived of nothing and feels no urge to recover his goods. The process might be called adoption, for the speaker does adopt element from a second language into its own. Even though English language has adopted variety of languages into it, the basic structure of the English language has not changed. English language’s basic structure is, it has fixed word order. Due to more than two hundred years of English rule, Tamil has borrowed copiously from English. Now these words are not recognized as foreign at all. One hears an uneducated Tamil speaker use words like office school, ticket, gate, bus etc. In fact, practically no one remembers the Tamil equivalent of these words. The problem arises for the second language learners only when they were asked to use the language or reproducing it. Tamil is Dravidian language spoken by more than 65 million people. It is the official language of Tamil nadu state in India and one of the official languages of Srilanka also. Large Tamil-speaking communities also reside in South Africa,Singapore, Malaysia and the other Indian ocean islands. The earliest Tamil inscriptions dates from 200B. C. The literature in the language have a 2,000-year history. There are 247 letters in the Tamil alphabet. The 247 letters in the Tamil alphabet can be divided into 12 vowels 18 consonants, 216 vowel consonants and 1 special letter. The vowel consonants are formed by combining the vowel letters and consonants letters. The vowel-consonants letters also have long and short sounds. The History of English is divided into three ages. Old English, Middle English and Modern English. There are 26 letters and 44 sounds, in that there 6 pure vowels and 18 diphthongs and 20 consonants in English language. Compared to Tamil language English has less number of letters ,but ironically language that has 247 letters(Tamil) has limited in terms of vocabulary, but English language that has 26 letters has million words. According THE HINDU newspaper which published an article duirng 2006, The department of Tamil language in the University of Madras has benn revising, enlarging and updating the Tamil lexicon. During 1924-39, the University of Madras had Published the Tamil Lexicon in seven volumes comprising 124,405 entries. Such a dictionary was pioneering venture in the pre-independence period. Prof. Vaiyapuri Pillai had played a huge role in the complication and publication. There have been persistent demands for updating and expanding the lexicon. The many social, political and technological changes in the six-decade period have direct bearing on the Tamil language. It is in this background that the Department of Tamil language of the Madras University had out forth its plan to revise enlarge and update the lexicon. The present Tamil lexicon, under preparation ,will come out in 10 volumes, comprising atleast 500,000 entries ,will be bilingual in nature and at the same time render the meaning chronologically. On top of the vast difference in the number of letters in their alphabet, the Tamil language also differs in many grammatical items compared to the English language. The earliest period of English was formerly called as ANGLO SAXON. The history of English language is divided into three main periods . They are old English (from earliest writings till 1100) Middle English extends from about 1100A. D- 1450A. D, from 1450A. D till date its Modern English. The English language is spoken or read by the largest number of people in the world, for historical, political and economic reasons. First and foremost feature of English language is its extraordinary receptive and adaptable heterogeneousness-the varied ease and readiness with which it has taken to itself material from almost everywhere in the world and has made the new elements of language its own. Throughout its history English has accepted with equinamity words from other languages with which it has been in contact. Foreign elements with ease and assimilated them all to its character. Though it is copiousness of vocabulary is outstanding. A second outstanding characteristic of English is simplicity of inflexion-the ease with which it indicates the relationship of words in a sentence with only the minimum of change in their shapes or variation of endings. A third quality of English is its relatively fixed-word order. An inflected language like Latin or Russian can afford to be fairly free in the arrangement of its words, since the inflexions show clearly the proper relationship in the sentence and ambiguity is unlikely. Of all world languages, English has probably the vocabulary which is most copious, heterogeneous and varied. All the peoples with whom its speakers have come into contact during more than thirteen centuries of the growth, have left permanent marks on the language. Some of the contacts have been deep and lasting like those of ancient Rome and France. Others have been casual like those of Spain or Czechoslovakia. During the Roman invasion, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. While the Roman soldiers in town used Latin, the Britons in the countryside spoke Celtic. Later this was replaced by English. The history of the English language in Britain begins with the settlement of the Angels, Saxons and Jutes in Brtian. These three tribes came from the plains near Schelswing Holstein in North Germany. They had to encounter varying degrees of hostility from the Celts. For mutual protection the tribes combined into small kingdoms. The most important among these were: Northumbria, Mercia. East Anglia, Wessex, Sussex, Essex and Kent. Under King Alfred Wessex enjoyed the leadership in learning. The English language of today reflects many centuries of developments. The political and social history of England has exerted a considerable impact on the language. The Christianizing of Britain in 597 brought English into contact with Latin civilization and many Latin words were added to the English vocabulary. Then the Scandinavian invasion resulted in considerable two people and their languages. For two centuries after the Norman Conquest English remained the language of the lower classes. When English once more gained importance, it had been considerably changed from what it was in 1066. In a similar way the Hundred Years War, the rise of an important middle class, the Renaissance the development of the British empire, the growth of commerce and industry, science and literature have all contributed to make the English language what it is today. In short the English language reflects in its entire development the political, social and cultural history of the English people.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein :: essays research papers

The Hobbit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book began with Biblo Baggins smoking a pipe after breakfast. This is one of his favorite things to do and he feels good in doing it. He is middle-aged, and lives in a burrow in the ground. One morning Gandalf, a wizard stops by to talk with Biblo. He tells Biblo that he is looking for someone to go on an adventure with him. Although Biblo is tempted he decides not to go, but invites Gandalf for tea the next morning. The next day Biblo hears his doorbell and he remembers inviting Gandalf for tea, but instead of finding the wizard at the door, he finds 13 dwarves. Thorin son of the dwarf king starts to make a plan on how to regain the treasure stolen by the dragon Smaug. Biblo is shocked that these plans involve him. He then realizes that Gandalf has tricked him by writing on his door that he was a burglar looking for an exciting job. With all the talk of quests and glory Biblo decides to join the group on their adventure. Gandalf reveals a key and a map of th eir journey to the Lonely Mountain. It is there, that Smaug guards the treasure of Thorin's ancestors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The journey begins and the group meets at the Green Dragon Inn. From there they travel into the Lone-lands. As heavy rains begin to fall, Biblo sees that Gandalf is missing. When it starts to pour they stop to investigate a light. Their Biblo finds three trolls grumbling about food. Biblo decides to live up to title of burglar and tries to pickpocket one of the trolls. However they quickly catch him. The dwarfs see what's going on and try to save Biblo but all of them except Thorin are caught. Thorin creates a plan to free them but fails. Gandalf returns and keeps the trolls attention till dawn, and then they turn into stone. The group takes the two swords and a knife that the trolls were carrying.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The travelers come across the Secret Valley. There they stop at Elrond's Last Homely House. Elrond tells them the only way to use the key that Thorin has is to wait where the thrush knocks and the setting sun will shine up on the keyhole. The next morning the group heads toward the Misty Mountains. A storm has caused them to look for shelter in a cave.

Old Spice Marketing

Old Spice is an exceptional brand founded on a rich history. It has succeeded in transforming itself from a brand that was more focused towards my generation’s grandparents to a new millennium sensation for younger crowds to utilize by using the market penetration product strategy. Proctor and Gamble currently owns the Old Spice brand and takes up a considerable amount of the men’s grooming market segment. Old Spice is still managing to maintain a competitive advantage and is growing toward its peak in its product life cycle with little product attributes that differentiate themselves from their competitors.Proctor and Gamble is currently expanding Old Spice’s product mix and maintains competitive pricing. Old Spice’s brand is promoted a highly rated advertising strategy and distributes its products intensively to retailers and wholesalers. The creator of Old Spice is George Schultz. He was introduced to the grooming market when he was 19 years old by work ing as a salesman for his father, William Schultz. William’s company, Schulton Company, in the Bronx, New York in the mid 1930s. Schulton Company, originally named the Lightfoot Schultz Company, was formed in the 1920s and sold soap and toiletries.William Schultz came to the conclusion that he would never become wealthy selling a private label product during the Depression and decided to search for a product that he could trademark and capture the public eye. He met with Enid Edson, an artist, and searched for label designs through intensive research. It was only soon after when William Schultz developed the first Old Spice product. It was a female fragrance that was developed â€Å"from a memory of a rose jar his mother kept in the house, a combination of roses, cloves, herbs, and other spices, and called his new line of toiletries Early American Old Spice for Women. While this was happening, George Schultz pursued his chemical engineering degree while continuing to make mo ney from being a salesman for Schulton. He became the plant manager shortly after and moved Schulton to its current site in Clifton in 1946. William Schultz passed away in 1950 and George Schultz was selected as president of Schulton and continued to build the company. Proctor and Gamble then bought Old Spice in 1990. Old Spice market segmentation is now targeted towards the younger generation, typically ages fifteen and up, who are intending the look their best and smell genuinely masculine.Also, the brand is reaching out to females who want their partners to have masculine-scented grooming products. There are currently three lines of the Old Spice brand: High Endurance, Classic, and Red Zone. High Endurance is the basic line, Classic contains the original scent of Old Spice, and Red Zone is the higher-end of the brand line. This allows for market segmentation to be split even more towards the older crowd who enjoy the original scent of Old Spice, and also to those who enjoy the ne wer variety of scents. In 2011, Proctor and Gamble held 43% of the men’s grooming industry’s sales and currently selling at $66. 47 per share.Throughout the previous years Proctor and Gamble has been consistent with the market trend, including the economic downturn. However, Proctor and Gamble has been staying ahead of the market price per share by a large margin. Old Spice’s product brand has evolved little over time. Its label has a consistent nautical theme to it. Its logo started off with a sailing vessel as a trademark. The original ships used on their products were the Grand Turk and the Friendship. In 1992, these tall ships were replaced with a yacht, giving the brand a more modern feel. Today, Old Spice uses the original tall ship theme that it originally used.Old Spice is involved in a wide brand extension as well. Starting off with aftershave lotion and shaving soap, the brand has extended to deodorant sticks, body wash, body spray, and other male groo ming products. As stated before, Old Spice was originally designed for women, but now is predominantly a male brand. It is amazing how successful Old Spice has been even though it has little product attributes that give them a sustainable competitive advantage. One of its product attributes include the distinctive red appearance that the brand has consistently kept since it was first developed.When you are in a men’s grooming section and you see the red products, you know that it is Old Spice. Also, it has developed a wide variety of different scents in the 2000s. Other than that, Old Spice has relied heavily on their advertising method that I will elaborate on later in this paper. I would argue that the products’ life cycle is currently in between the growth and maturity stage. Old Spice has been able to maintain its competitive brand since the early 1900s and continues to dominate the men’s grooming segment.The Old Spice brand is presently attempting to expand its product mix. This directly represents their product strategy. They are focusing on market penetration and diversification. Market penetration is defined as â€Å"finding new customers for existing products. † Diversification in terms of marketing is defined as â€Å"developing new products and cultivating new markets. Old Spice is diversifying their products and potentially reaching out to new customers by doing so. From the Old Spice website, you can buy products that are not directly related to the male grooming market segment.One product that caught my attention was the deodorant protector. I am not quite sure why someone would need a deodorant protector, but maybe it is a way to show that the Old Spice product is valuable and a prized possession. The next product that caught my attention was a shirt with the famous â€Å"I’m on a horse† quote spoken by Isaiah Mustafa in an Old Spice commercial. This product mix shows that Old Spice is taking risks in e xpanding their product selection and is willing to reach into other product lines. Product development of Old Spice dates back from 1937 to today.In 1937, Old Spice’s first product, a female fragrance, was introduced and the first male products, a shaving soap and aftershave lotion was developed one year later in 1938. The product appearance is consistent with the nautical theme as seen with the buoy-shaped bottle and clipper ship logo on the front. Also, the brand kept its cursive Old Spice logo that signifies its historical lasting. After Old Spice was bought by Proctor and Gamble in 1990, the tall ship logo that Old Spice kept prevalent throughout the 20th century was modified to a yacht logo in February of 1992.Throughout the early 2000s, Old Spice has introduced various new scents, such as: After Hours, Komodo, Matterhorn, Aqua Reef, Swagger, Fiji, Cyprus, and many more. In 2008, the Old Spice brand decided to reintroduce its original scent to reach back to the brandâ₠¬â„¢s origin. This is shown by a a quote on the back of some Old Spice products that read, â€Å"The original. If you’re grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist. They also replaced the glass buoy-shaped bottles to plastic for durability and replaced the gray stoppers with red ones to be consistent with the red theme that Old Spice is known for.Proctor and Gamble has continued to keep Old Spice competitive in the male grooming market segment. The price of Old Spice products is either equal to or just slightly above its main competitors. Some of its closest important include Degree, Axe, Right Guard, Dial, Dove, Olay, and Nivea. In Wal-Mart, Old Spice deodorant typically sales for around $3. 97. This price gives them an advantage by providing the psychological factor to their consumers that Old Spice is a top brand product since it costs more than its primary competitors. Degree deodorant sales for $3. 87, Axe for $3. 47, and Right Guard for $3. 2. Right G uard and Degree brands are geared more toward the athlete hygienic market while Old Spice reaches out to not only that, but also toward men who just want to smell good. The Gillette brand is a competitive product with Old Spice but is owned by Proctor and Gamble and contributes to Proctor and Gamble’s total market share. Old Spice distributes its products through an intensive distribution process. This process requires â€Å"the manufacturer to gain exposure through as many wholesalers and retailers as possible. † Some retailers that Old Spice distributes to are Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, and ShopRite.Wholesaler distribution includes convenience stores like CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and small â€Å"mom and pop stores. † Old Spice is considered to be a product that many men need and is pushed through the market. Since Old Spice are a part of Proctor and Gamble, their products can be shipped out with other Proctor and Gamble products. This results in a ver y cost-effective distribution method for Proctor and Gamble. However, Old Spice may be involved with some difficulty when their business partners become resistant and slows down the distribution process, creating a thin line between partners and competitors.They become resistant because they may expect more of a profit from Proctor and Gamble since the company is so successful. Old Spice should consider distributing products on their own to reduce these conflicts and clear congestion in the distribution process. Old Spice packaging is in both gift sets and per unit that dates back to 1938. The original gift set packaging were cardboard boxes protected with lithograph thin wood veneer made by the Hull Pottery Company. The packaging had printed on it the ship Grand Turk, Mount Vernon, Brig Experiment, Friendship, and Recovery.The first major change in the gift set packaging was in 1955, replacing the wood-colored box with a solid red and giving the tall ship a more contemporary look b y whitening the sails and blackening the hull. Shortly after, in 1963 a gold compass was imprinted on the red gift set box and remained this way until 1970. Ten years later the gift set cover consisted of a series of copies of large traditional clipper ships that include the Hamilton, Wesley, Salem, and Birmingham. In 1977, four different gift set cover designs were introduced that included a collection of watercolor prints.These prints were of scenic harbors, such as the New Orleans Harbor, San Francisco Harbor, Savannah Harbor, and Mystic Harbor. Then, in the 1980s, the gift set packaging top was covered with a modern print of the products inside the package. Today, the Old Spice gift set maintains the print of products inside the package or contains a see through cover so the consumers can view the products themselves. The package remains red, the words remain cursive, but the red is a darker shade than the well-known bright red. Individual packaging per Old Spice product were fo r the original after-shave and cologne in the early 1940s.The box was wrapped in dark red paper and the glass bottles were white and buoy-shaped to display the nautical image that Old Spice portrays. The Old Spice logo consisted of cursive letters with the words â€Å"Early American† above â€Å"Old Spice† and had had scrollwork surrounding the lettering. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the scrollwork was removed and the Old Spice letters were made larger. Today, the Old Spice individual packaging varies but has a consistent nautical theme that aims toward various consumers. Old Spice boosted its popularity and sales by a large margin when they launched the â€Å"Smell like a man, man† campaign in July of 2010.It was a commercial starring Isaiah Mustafa that immediately reached out to women by starting the video with â€Å"Hello, ladies. † He then continued convincing women that their man can smell like he is good looking by saying, â€Å"Look at your man. Now back at me. Now back at your man. Now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies’ scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. † The commercial ended with Mustafa obviously stating, â€Å"I’m on a horse† while sitting backwards on one. This video gained mass amounts of attention and had more than 6. million views on YouTube in just one day! This campaign was also promoted by creating a bathroom set with Mustafa, also known as the â€Å"Spice Man,† standing with just a towel on. Fans could then send the Spice Man questions on from Facebook and Twitter and four writers rapidly crafted responses to those questions that the Spice Man then answered with. There were 65 of these response videos uploaded and drew up to over 5. 2 million views on YouTube. In conclusion, Old Spice is a widely successful brand that was founded on a rich history during the Great Depression.Since then, the brand managed to reach millions of consumers to become one of the most popular male grooming products on the market today. They did so with little modifications to product packaging and appearance. Proctor and Gamble was a huge factor in Old Spice’s success and continues to lead Old Spice through it’s growth stage in its product life. Their intensive distribution strategy and competitive pricing puts them on top and helps Old Spice maintain about 43% of the men’s grooming market. Old Spice’s nautical theme is strong, confident, and masculine.Like the product says, â€Å"If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist. † Works Cited Berner, Robert. â€Å"Old Spice's Extreme Makeover. †Ã‚  Businessweek. com. Bloomberg Businessweek, 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . Cover, John C. Proctor and Gamble: A Marketing Technique. 1967. Print. Newman, Andrew A. â€Å"Old Spice Argues That Real Men Smell Good. †Ã‚  Nytimes. com. New York Times. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Old Spice. †Ã‚  Old Spice.Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Old Spice Collectibles. †Ã‚  Old Spice Collectibles. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . â€Å"PG: Summary for Procter ; Gamble Company (The) – Yahoo! Finance. †Ã‚  Yahoo! Finance. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Procter ; Gamble. †Ã‚  PG. com Home: Sustainability, Company, Brands. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Proctor and Gamble. †Ã‚  United States American History. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. .

Get Research Experience to Get Into Graduate School

Applicants to graduate school encounter fierce competition for admission and funding in todays competitive market. How can you increase your odds of acceptance, and better yet, funding? Get research experience by assisting a faculty member to conduct his or her research. As a research assistant, youll have an exciting opportunity to do the research rather than just read about it -- and get important experience that will make you stand out in the graduate admissions pile. Why Become a Research Assistant? Aside from the thrill of generating new knowledge, assisting a professor with research provides many other valuable opportunities including: Gaining skills and knowledge that arent easily learned in the classroomWorking one-on-one with a faculty memberExposure to methods and techniques that will help you complete your research and dissertation.Get writing and public speaking practice by submitting papers to professional conferences and journalsDevelop a mentoring relationship with a faculty memberGet outstanding letters of recommendation Engaging in research is a worthwhile experience, regardless of whether you choose to attend graduate school, because it provides you with the opportunity to think, organize information, and demonstrate your commitment, reliability, and capacity for research. What Does a Research Assistant Do? What will be expected of you as a research assistant? Your experience will vary by the faculty member, project, and discipline. Some assistants might administer surveys, maintain and operate lab equipment, or care for animals. Others might code and enter data, make photocopies, or write literature reviews. What general tasks can you expect? Collect data by administering surveys, interviews, or running research protocolsScore, code, and enter data into a spreadsheet or statistical analysis programConduct general library research including literature searches, making copies of articles, and ordering unavailable articles and books through interlibrary loanDevelop new research ideasUse computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheet, scheduling, and statistical analysis programsAssist in preparing submissions for local or regional conferences and, if accepted, work on a poster or oral presentations for professional conferencesAssist faculty in preparing a manuscript to submit the results of your collaborative research to a scientific journal So, youre convinced of the value of research experience to your  graduate school application. Now what? How Do You Get Involved as a Research Assistant?   First and foremost, you should perform well in class, and be motivated and visible in your department. Let the faculty know that youre interested in getting involved in research. Approach faculty during office hours and ask for leads on who might be looking for  research assistants. When you find a faculty member who is looking for an assistant, carefully and honestly describe what you can offer (computer skills, Internet skills, statistical skills, and the number of hours per week youre available). Let the faculty member know that youre willing to work hard (be honest!). Ask about specific requirements such as the duration of the project, what your responsibilities will be, and the length of commitment (a semester or a year?). Remember that while you might not find anyone working on a project that you find fascinating, you will obtain excellent experience; besides your interests most likely will change as you gain more experience and education. Benefits for Faculty Youre now aware that there are many benefits to getting involved in research. Did you know that there are benefits for faculty too? They get a hardworking student to do some labor-intensive parts of research. Faculty often depend on students to further their research programs. Many  faculty  members  have ideas for studies that they dont have time to conduct --  motivated students  can pick up projects and help to further  faculty research programs. If you develop a relationship with a faculty member, you might be able to help him or her conduct a project that may otherwise remain shelved for lack of time. Involving undergraduates in research also offers the opportunity for faculty to witness a students professional growth, which can be quite rewarding. As you can see, student-professor research relationships offer benefits to all involved; however, the commitment to become a research assistant is a big one. Its your responsibility to ensure that aspects of the research project get done. The faculty member will count on you to get it done right. Your performance here can give faculty members lots of good things to write in letters of recommendation. If you complete tasks competently, you might be asked to take on more responsibility and you will earn excellent letters of recommendation. However, there is a positive payoff from conducting research with faculty only if you perform competent work consistently. If you dont take the commitment seriously, are unreliable, or make repeated mistakes, your relationship with the faculty member will suffer (as will your recommendation). If you decide to work with a faculty member on his or her research, treat it as a primary responsibility -- and reap the rewards.