Recommended Reading for High School Students

Outside Reading Helps Students Expand Vocabulary, Explore Interests One the most important college admissions prep goals for 2014 that students can easily achieve is to expand their outside readings. Not only does reading help foster creativity, it expands students’ vocabularies (which is important for the SAT and ACT!) and helps them learn more about topics that interest them. Colleges are looking to build well-rounded classes made up of specialists, so becoming well-versed in a few areas of interest is important for applicants. Outside reading is one way to become an expert in a field of interest, or just a way to explore a new topic or activity to see if it is a good-fit for a particular student. Whether it’s to explore a new interest, learn more about a current one, or just for pleasure and relaxation, reading is a great activity for all students that will draw many long-term benefits. Here’s what to read if you’re interested in: English and Literature A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway The book describes Hemingway's apprenticeship as a young writer in Europe (especially in Paris) during the 1920s with his first wife, Hadley. The memoir consists of Hemingway's personal accounts, observations, and stories of his experience in 1920s Paris. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells From the twentieth century's first great practitioner of the novel of ideas comes a consummate masterpiece of science fiction about a man trapped in the terror of his own creation. Art and Art History History of Art by Anthony F. Janson and H.W. Janson With more than four million copies in print in 14 languages, History of Art has long been considered the indispensable art reference. Great Artistis: The Lives of 50 Painters Explored Through Their Work by Robert Cumming A benchmark for intelligent, engaging nonfiction, this superbly designed book is written and illustrated with a lushness that takes the breath away. Fifty double-page spreads cover artists from da Vinci and Rubens to Monet, Picasso, and Pollock. Engineering Engineering Ethics Blog Comments on current events with an engineering ethics angle. Progressive Engineer Magazine Progressive Engineer is an online magazine and information source covering all disciplines of engineering. They show the fun in engineering and the cool jobs engineers have. Business The Teen's Guide to Personal Finance by Joshua Holmberg and David Bruzzese From opening a bank account to investing in mutual funds, The Teen’s Guide to Personal Finance provides a sound foundation of financial knowledge upon which young adults can build realistic strategies to achieve financial independence. It illustrates basic but critical financial concepts, and is a must-read primer for all teens as they become more independent and more responsible for the financial choices they make. Becoming Financially Literate: The Basics You Never Learned in High School by Eric J. Weiss In this book you will learn the financial "nuts and bolts" necessary to achieving financial wellness. The book was written to fill the personal finance learning gap and includes topics such as: budgeting, insurance, taxes, using financial services, investing, understanding financial media, retirement planning and understanding how financial products are sold. Technology The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen In The Innovator’s Dilemma, author Clayton Christensen discusses how and why outstanding companies that do everything right can still lose their market leadership and fail. The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution by T.R. Reid This story chronicles how the electronics revolution began. The story shows the race to create the first integrated circuit, commonly known as a chip, which became the brains of everything electronic. These books and publications are a great place to start if you are looking to expand your library. For more suggested reading, check out our 2013 Summer Reading List, and continue to research other books and publications that match your interests! What’s on your outside reading list? Tell us in the comments below!

Why Are Some Schools No Longer Requiring Students to Complete the Optional SAT and ACT Essays

Today’s high school student has the choice of either writing or skipping the essay on both the ACT and the SAT. Though many colleges don’t require students to submit an essay score, there are some that still do. This leaves many students wondering whether they should write the optional essay for the ACT and/or the SAT. It’s a good idea for students to find out if a college they are interested in requires an essay score for either of these two tests. This brings up the question: Why do some colleges require SAT and/or ACT essay scores while others don’t? Take a look at the reasons why many colleges consider the SAT and ACT essays optional for all of their applicants: Focusing on Other Scores Some school officials feel that the scores on other sections of the ACT and SAT serve to adequately represent a student’s suitability for college. For instance, a college may focus on a student’s scores in the Reading and Writing and Language sections of the SAT the Writing and Language section tests skills such as command of evidence, the proper use of words in context, and expression of ideas. Though a student isn’t actually writing in these sections, their answers can indicate an understanding of these skills. Furthermore, college admissions officials can look at the subscores for these sections to get an idea of a student’s specific skills. Other college officials get a clear picture of a student’s skills by looking at their scores on the Reading and English sections of the ACT. With all of these other scores at their fingertips, many college officials don’t see the need for an essay score on standardized tests. The Admissions Essay Many colleges consider the SAT and ACT essays optional because they prefer to focus on a student’s admissions essay. There are some colleges that prefer to set the topic for the essay instead of leaving it to the discretion of the SAT or ACT. They like to have control over what their applicants are writing about as well as the number of words they use. Furthermore, they want to give their applicants as much time as they need to craft their essays before turning them in with their applications. Consequently, students don’t have the added stress of finishing an essay within an allotted amount of time. School officials feel they can get a good indication of a student’s knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structure, creativity, and ability to express ideas by evaluating the person’s admissions essay. They don’t see the need to factor a second essay into their decision. High School Literature and English Classes Other school officials believe that looking at a high school student’s grades in English and Literature gives them enough information to determine whether the applicant would be a good fit at the college. They can see whether a student has taken on the challenge of increasingly difficult courses over their high school career. In addition, if a student has taken honors English classes throughout high school, that is a definite sign of someone with excellent reading and writing abilities. These colleges feel that they get a better indication of a student’s skills by looking at their coursework over a long period of time. Awards, Honors, and Recognition for Writing Often, colleges that don’t require students to do the essay on the ACT or the SAT look at whether a student earned any writing awards or honors during high school. For instance, one student’s application may note that they were recognized by a literary magazine for a poem they wrote. Another student may have received recognition from their school for an editorial they wrote for the local newspaper. Prizes and honors for writing endeavors can help convince college officials of a student’s writing abilities. At Veritas Prep, our professional instructors show students how to sharpen their essay-writing skills as well as prep for every other portion of the SAT and the ACT. We hire instructors who scored in the 99th percentile on both tests because we want our students to learn from the very best teachers! Our students have access to test-taking strategies that can simplify every question on both the ACT and the SAT. Contact Veritas Prep today and tell us how we can help you get into the college of your dreams. Do you still need help with your  college applications? We can help! Visit our  College Admissions  website and fill out our  FREE Profile Evaluation for personalized feedback on your unique background!  And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and  Twitter!

Biography of Marsden Hartley, American Painter

Marsden Hartley (1877-1943) was an American modernist painter. His embrace of Germany during World War I and the regionalist subject matter of his late-career work caused contemporary critics to dismiss the value of much of his painting. Today, Hartleys importance in the development of modernism and expressionism in American art is recognized. Fast Facts: Marsden Hartley Known For: PainterStyles: Modernism, Expressionism, RegionalismBorn: January 4, 1877 in Lewiston, MaineDied: September 2, 1943 in Ellsworth, MaineEducation: Cleveland Institute of ArtSelected Works: Portrait of a German Officer (1914), Handsome Drinks (1916), Lobster Fishermen (1941)Notable Quote: A reaction, to be pleasant, must be simple. Early Life and Career The youngest of nine children, Edmund Hartley spent his first years in Lewiston, Maine, and lost his mother at age 8. It was a profound event in his life, and he later said, I was to know complete isolation from that moment forward. A child of English immigrants, he looked to nature and the writing of transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau for comfort. The Hartley family split apart in the wake of the death of their mother. Edmund, who would later adopt Marsden, the surname of his stepmother, as his first name, was sent to live with his older sister in Auburn, Maine. After most of his family moved to Ohio, Hartley stayed behind to work in a shoe factory at age 15. A year later, Hartley rejoined his family and began studies at the Cleveland School of Art. One of the trustees of the institution recognized talent in the young student and gave Marsden a five-year stipend to study with the artist William Merritt Chase in New York at the National Academy of Design. Young American Modernists of 1911 including Marsden Hartley back left. Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain A close friendship with the seascape painter Albert Pinkham Ryder influenced the direction of Hartleys art. He embraced the creation of paintings as a spiritual experience. After meeting Ryder, Hartley created some of the most somber and dramatic works of his career. The Dark Mountain series shows nature as a powerful, brooding force. After spending three years back in Lewiston, Maine, teaching painting and immersing himself in nature, Hartley returned to New York City in 1909. There, he met photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and they quickly became friends. Hartley became part of a circle that included painter Charles Demuth and photographer Paul Strand. Stieglitz also encouraged Hartley to study the work of European modernists Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse. Career in Germany After Stieglitz arranged a successful exhibition for Hartley in New York in 1912, the young painter traveled to Europe for the first time. There, he met Gertrude Stein and her network of avant-garde artists and writers. Stein purchased four of his paintings, and Hartley soon met expressionist painter Wassily Kandinsky and members of the German expressionist painting group Der Blaue Reiter, including Franz Marc. The German artists, in particular, had a profound impact on Marsden Hartley. He soon embraced the expressionistic style. He moved to Berlin in 1913. Many researchers believe that Hartley soon developed a romantic relationship with Prussian army lieutenant Karl von Freyburg, the cousin of German sculptor Arnold Ronnebeck. German military uniforms and parades fascinated Hartley and found their way into his paintings. He wrote to Stieglitz, I have lived rather gayly in the Berlin fashion, with all that implies. Von Freyburg died in a battle in 1914, and Hartley painted Portrait of a German Officer in his honor. Due to the artists intense protection of his private life, few details are known about his relationship with von Freyburg. Himmel (1915). Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Himmel, painted in 1915, is an excellent example of both the style and subject matter of Hartleys painting while in Germany. The influence of the bold poster style of friend Charles Demuth is apparent. The word Himmel means heaven in German. The painting includes the world upright and then an upside-down Holle for hell. The statue in the lower right is Anthony Gunther, the Count of Oldenburg. Marsden Hartley returned to the United States in 1915 during World War I. Art patrons rejected much of his work due to the anti-German sentiment of the country during the war. They interpreted his subject matter as indicative of a pro-German bias. With historical and cultural distance, the German symbols and regalia are seen as more of a personal response to the loss of von Freyburg. Hartley responded to the rejection by traveling extensively to Maine, California, and Bermuda. Painter of Maine The next two decades of Marsden Hartleys life included short periods living in various locations around the world. He returned to New York in 1920 and then moved back to Berlin in 1921. In 1925, Hartley relocated to France for three years. After receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1932 to fund a year of painting outside of the United States, he moved to Mexico. One particular relocation, in the mid-1930s, had a profound impact on Marsden Hartleys late-career work. He lived in Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia, with the Mason family. The landscapes and family dynamic entranced Hartley. He was present for the tragic drowning death of the familys two sons and a cousin in 1936. Some art historians believe that Hartley had a romantic relationship with one of the sons. The emotion connected with the event resulted in a focus on still lifes and portraits. Lobster Fishermen (1941). Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain In 1941, Hartley returned to live in his home state of Maine. His health began to decline, but he was immensely productive in his final years. Hartley declared that he wanted to be the Painter of Maine. His painting of Lobster Fishermen shows a commonplace activity in Maine. The rugged brushstrokes and thick outlining of the human figures show the ongoing influence of German expressionism. Mount Katahdin, in the northern region of Maine, was a favorite landscape subject. He also painted solemn depictions of family religious occasions. During his lifetime, many art critics interpreted Hartleys late-career paintings that depict locker room and beach scenes with sometimes shirtless men in shorts and skimpy swim trunks as examples of a new pro-American allegiance in the artist. Today, most recognize them as a willingness on Hartleys part to more openly explore his homosexuality and feelings toward the men in his life. Marsden Hartley died quietly of heart failure in 1943. Writing Career In addition to his painting, Marsden Hartley left an extensive legacy of writing that included poems, essays, and short stories. He published the collection Twenty-Five Poems in 1923. The short story, Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy explores Hartleys experiences living with the Mason family in Nova Scotia. It mainly focuses on the grief Hartley experienced after the drowning of the Mason sons. Legacy Marsden Hartley was a key modernist in the 20th-century development of American painting. He created works influenced strongly by European expressionism. The style ultimately became total expressionist abstraction in the 1950s. Handsome Drinks (1916). Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Two aspects of Hartleys subject matter alienated him from many art scholars. First, was his embrace of German subject matter while the United States fought World War I against Germany. The second was Hartleys homoerotic references in his later work. Finally, his shift toward regionalist work in Maine caused some observers to question Hartleys overall seriousness as an artist. In more recent years, Marsden Hartleys reputation has grown. One clear sign of his influence on young artists was the 2015 show in New York at the Driscoll Babcock Galleries in which seven contemporary artists displayed paintings that responded to key works in Hartleys career. Sources Griffey, Randall R. Marsden Hartleys Maine. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017.Kornhauser, Elizabeth Mankin. Marsden Hartley: American Modernist. Yale University Press, 2003.

Modernist Painting By Clement Greenberg - 1325 Words

In his essay, â€Å"Modernist Painting† (1960), Clement Greenberg seeks to lay principles for evaluating the progression of art to modern painting. Greenberg makes a lot of evaluations and assessments about modern paintings that are credible and can be held to a high standard. Despite his best efforts, some of his assertions are shrouded in generalizations and lack the necessary premises to be established as entirely objective and affirmative. Greenberg claims that the Old Masters created space one could imagine walking into and experience, but modern painters, on the other hand, create space only accessible to the visual senses, eye. His observations regarding these â€Å"Old Masters† is undeniable for the most part, but his assertions on modern paintings brings up a lot of controversy. To question Greenberg, one must first understand how the representation of depth of space evolved over time. The full range of this evolution cannot be mapped in this essay, thus only relevant and specific ones will be discussed. Dating back to the 16th century, the Renaissance painters saw a heightening of perspective painting. By imitating how distant and close objects appear to the eye, the optical illusion of space is created by a geometric representation of unfolding space. Rafael’s Marriage of the Virgin, 1504 (fig.1) is a prominent paragon to reflect on regarding this technique. With defined lines and patterns leading to the doorway of the background building, Rafael gives the audience a senseShow MoreRelatedClement Greenberg Modernist Painting1062 Words   |  5 PagesClement Greenberg, â€Å"Modernist Painting† In his text entitled â€Å"Modernist Painting†, Greenberg focuses on the development of painting between the 14th and 19th century and emphasizes on what distinguishes Modernist painting from previous forms of painting, particularly those of the Old Masters. 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Mary Anne stated in her article Conceptual Art that Modernism had historically unfolded and artists began to work outside of painting frames...artists moved from morphological questions to questions about the production of meaning and value and what makes a particular object or practice into art. It might not be easy to clearly define Conceptual Art because Conceptual Art couldRead MoreAn Overview of Postmodernism Essay2180 Words   |  9 Pagescharacteristic of postmodernism. There was a preference for a type of work that shifted away from the traditional use of elements and formats and dissolved the barriers between them, bringing into art items that had nothing to do with traditional sculpting or painting materials. In the critical sense, the beginnings of postmodernism are placed in the mid 1970’s when it started being mentioned under this name and used in critical and philosophical discussions . Artists and writers were conscious on their belonging

Rwanda And Belgium Rwanda - 977 Words

Rwanda and Belgium When atrocities take place in the world, society tends to forget and move on without proper historical reasoning, this is what took place in Rwanda. Before the colonization by Germany and Belgium, Rwanda was divided into two prominent groups. The elite Tutsi, and the Hutu, who were peasant farmers. Due to competition, greed, and envy every European Nation wanted to divide and conquer Africa for themselves. Germany and Belgium did not take into consideration the different tribes when they agreed to divide Rwanda up for natural resources and profit. The greed of Belgium and long standing rivalry between two tribes steered a once prosperous Kingdom into turmoil. The colonization of Rwanda is one of the many precursors that†¦show more content†¦Even though there was already a system in place that was already quite unequal, the relationship between the two were civil, until the 19th century (Haperen 120). Racial tensions increased and colonialization intensified the distinction b etween the two both racially and economically. The colonization of Rwanda began in 1884 at the Berlin Colonial Conference. The territory of Rwanda was given to Germany. â€Å"The German Government set up military post in Rwanda beginning in 1891 and introduced civil administration in 1907 (Newbury, 257).† The Germans did not take direct control of the territory, instead colonial rule via local leaders was instituted. The colonial perception on Africans were based on racist and ignorant views (Haperen 99). The Hamitic Hypothesis was then brought into the picture. This Hypothesis suggests that everything of value in Sub Saharan Africa was brought by the Hamites, â€Å"a people inherently superior to the native populations† (Sanders). The Tutsi were then chosen because their Caucasoid qualities are more European than The Hutus. The Germans choose Tutsi over the Hutu primarily because of skin color, size of the nose and eye color. They were given power because these qualities showed that they were more intelligent and m ore fit to rule. The goal was to pick the ethnic group that looked more white. This continued to fuel theShow MoreRelatedThe Genocide Of The Rwandan Genocide1307 Words   |  6 Pagesinhabitants of Rwanda were the Twa that were eventually displaced by the Hutu peoples living in the Congo River basin during the tenth century. About five hundred years later, the Tutsi arrived from the north, conquered the Hutu, and ruled them through an elaborate feudal system – Tutsi kings, or mwamis, governed the elite who, in turn, governed the Hutu serfs. This system remained intact for hundreds of years and reached its peak in the middle to late 19th century (â€Å"Rwanda†). Until 1880, Rwanda was governedRead MoreRwandan Genocide : Behind The Media s Eyes1088 Words   |  5 PagesAbsolutely. If Rwanda hadn’t been under Belgian rule, and if western countries would have sent troops in to help, the genocide could ve been avoided. There was no light shed on the genocide by the western media. The media twisted and contorted the reality of the genocide. While Western media claimed that Tutsis were victims of genocide, they failed to identify the true victim of the genocide. Hutus and Tutsis were able to live peacefully until they were under Belgian Control. In 1916 Belgium colonizedRead MoreInternational Community Is Culpable For The Rwandan Genocide1376 Words   |  6 Pages Considering the horrific nature of this genocide and the vast number of victims, there is a question whether the international community is culpable for the Rwandan genocide; specifically, the role of its key players, the US, the UN, France and Belgium. I will argue that the international community is culpable and focus on three reasons for this inaction. A subsequent question is; what responsibilities do global actors have in preventing such atrocities? I feel that every country is responsibleRead MoreGenocides And Genocides Of Genocides987 Words   |  4 Pageshousehold tools and homemade weapons—machetes, hoes, and hammers. Genocides are commonly overlooked throughout many countries. Africa has had many genocides and wars occurring over the past century. The most known genocides are ones that occurred in Rwanda and Darfur. Researchers have found that most genocides show the same patterns and key elements. As different genocides of Africa have occurred, the causes of genocides, along with the role modern countries play in Africa’s genocides have been discoveredRead MoreDr. Morris s Hotel Rwanda1067 Words   |  5 PagesHotel Rwanda The Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994 between the two prevalent ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. Hotel Rwanda documents the plight of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, who opens his hotel as a shelter for the Tutsi people during the Rwandan genocide, saving thousands of lives in the processes. Through bribes Rusesabagina was able to keep thousands of Tutsi people from death. Like many other African states, Rwanda was colonized by a European superpower, Belgium. ThereforeRead MoreTaking a Look at the Rwandan Genocide1016 Words   |  4 PagesTutsis, against each other. There has been a long, thick tension between the two for many years going back to when Belgium owned a colonial state known as Rwanda-Burundi. Rwanda and Burundi had two main ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis. While the Hutus were greater in population, the Belgians favored the Tutsis for their physical advantages such as lighter skin. The Belgium military encouraged bureaucracy throughout the state and insisted the Tutsis have more power than the Hutus. This createdRead MoreU.s. Foreign Policy : The Game Of Plausible Deniability1625 Words   |  7 PagesDeniability As I previously stated in the â€Å"U.S. Foreign Policy† section of my paper, the U.S. was spread across the globe in several conflicts. The U.S. had forces in Haiti, Somalia, the Balkans, and the middle East, so when the bloodshed began in Rwanda, the U.S. was not eager to extend it resources to another battle. John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights stated, â€Å"Bosnia was in one of its real crisis modes. The Europeans didn’t want to authorize American air strikes for fearRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide Began On April 6Th 1994 Culminating1370 Words   |  6 Pagestheir responsibilities were ignored. Although there was clear evidence of atrocities in Rwanda, the international community chose to downplay the significance of the reports. A case has been made over the years, that the genocide could have been stopped by earlier intervention from the international communities. In early 1994, General Romeo Dallaire, commander of UNAMIR(United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) asked repeatedly for more troops, but his request was not conveyed to the council.[4]Read MoreThe Tutsi And Tutsi People843 Words   |  4 PagesThe Hutu and Tutsi people have been struggling to live together for many years. From 1959 to 1994 the Hutu and Tutsi people of Burundi and Rwanda have been bondaged together by major events that have let to the Burundi and Rwanda Genocides. But there’s more to just the Genocides than what meets the eye. In order to understand what happened in the Rwanda genocide I must talk about Burundi and the Belgian rule. Hutu and Tutsi have lived in the same area for centuries and share the same language, religionsRead MoreThe Rwanda Genocide808 Words   |  3 PagesApril 7, 1994 marked the beginning of one hundred days of massacre that left over 800,000 thousand dead and Rwanda divided by a scare that to this day they are trying to heal. The source of this internal struggle can be traced back to the segregation and favoritism established by Belgium when they received Rwanda after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. At the time the Rwandan population was 14% Tutsi, 1%Twa, and 85% Hutus; the Belgian’s showed preferential treatment to the Tutsi, who

American Culture Between The 1920 S - 2083 Words

Ever since Thomas Edison invented the Kinetiscope in 1894, films have been reaching its way to the heart of American culture. Since the roaring twenties, where the United States began to see the first movie theaters to the 1960’s, where films are officially a source of leisure and escape from reality. Films influenced American culture between the 1920’s through 1960’s by becoming an increasingly popular form of leisure for years to come while causing scandals, riots, and movements about films or about the idea of films in general by displaying issues in society such as racism, forming a need for censorship laws. Films have also provided a fantasy world for their audiences by showing a film about someone in their perfect life using ethical†¦show more content†¦An example of a talkie is the film, â€Å"Bright Eyes.† In 1934, Shirley Temple starred in the film as a young girl who lost her father to a plane crash. The film is a comedy, yet audiences w ere able to relate to the young girl as she finds her way through custody battles and more (Document 3). This was also the beginning of movie theaters. Movie theaters began to take the streets between 1900-1920, where people would pay between five to seven cents to watch around an hour and a half film (Document 1). There were a variety of ways to watch films, such as drive-in movie theaters. In drive-in movie theaters, the viewer would drive into a lot with a big screen and watch the film from their car. However, these were very popular in the 1950’s as apposed to the roaring twenties (Document 6). By 1920, such men had been replaced by teams of specialists. Another significant change was the relocation of the industry from the east coast of the United States to Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles in southern California. A third important trend was the emergence of several film studios that came to dominate production and distribution during the interwar era. By 1930, the str uctures and formulae of modern commercial motion pictures had been

Financial Ratios and Analysis

Question: Discuss about the Financial Ratios and Analysis. Answer: Introduction: Diva Designs is fashionable cloths brand for the women, and making more profit from their business and developing a better accounting system, a new accountant is appointed along with a new accounting system of Saasu is implemented before the month of December. Now in this report all the analysis of accounts in Diva Designs is evaluated along with recommendations (Foster, 2008). Findings: Joining as an accountant in Diva Designs, in order to make the accounting system for better functioning Saasu system is implements for performing the all process related to accounting for the organization. According to the records of the month of December 2016, this is the first working month after implementing the new accounting system, the payable accounts by the company is an amount of $ 34,210 and the accounts receivable by the company is $ 14,663. Now for the profit and loss summary of Diva Designs in the month of December 2016, total income of the month is an amount of $ 40,681.30 to be exact, and the cost of sales of the products throughout the month is $ 28,338, along with the total expenses of the whole month is $ 11,150 (Financial Analysis Hub, 2015). Analysis: Net income is the amount after subtracting cost of goods sold (COGS), expenses and taxes from sales amount. Now for the analysis of the accounts of the whole month, after finding the total income and sales cost of the products, the gross profit is $ 12,343.30, and after deducting the expenses of the month from this amount, the net profit of December 2016 is an amount of $ 1,193.30. Therefore, according to the ratio analysis, Net Profit Margin is defined as the calculated percentage, which is left after subtracting all the expenses from the amount of sales. Gross profit margin reflects the financial health of the company. It is the amount of money, which is left after the deductions of cost of goods sold (COGS). The gross profit margin of December is 0.30, along with the net profit margin, which stand 0.03 at the end of the month. According to the analysis it can be found that the net income and the net profit margin, both of them are calculated as the positive number, therefore it ca n be said that Diva Designs is serving to their customers and getting profit by their business (Axel, 2013). Particulars Gross Profit Wedding Gown 58.44% Midis 30.34% Pencil Dresses 19.83% Tunic Dresses 73.50% Table 1 Splash Table Source: Self-Developed According to the splash table, Tunic Dresses are the most profitable items in the month of December 2016 as per the sales in the outlets of Diva Designs. Recommendations: After performing all the task of analysis on doing business in the month of December, the knowledge regarding profitability while doing the business can be acquired. Now, as being the newly appointed accountant of Diva Designs, the recommendation has to be made after the analysis. Now, five more than important recommendations are hereby followed one after another in order to increase the profitability of the company (Foster, 2008). Management authorities of any retail business nowadays are not just setting the prices of their products according to the calculation of manufacturing cost and earning revenues from them, which is known as Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). However, they more focused on satisfying a customer first in order to make business relationships with them by transforming as a regular customer. Therefore, the strategies are set up pricing policy of the products are must affordable to the customers, which can make an increment in sales as well. It means the pricing policy must be re-evaluated by giving values to their customers. For examples, the marketers can apply premium rates on selling costs for those items, which are there for one time use like costumes for grooms as gowns for wedding. In the other hand, the authority must apply the discount on the products according to their sales count, otherwise; it can be a cause of boomerang (Alex and Patrick, 2015). One of the most tested method of improve the profitability is continuous evaluation of the total cost of the product individually until it will be handed over to the customer. The retailer must make a reduction as possible without compromising with the quality of the product to maintain the brand image of the organization. When it comes to staff turnover, the authority must recruit staffs as few as possible considering the needs of the company to reduce the staff payment costs. Apart from these, with the addition of consignments the profit of Diva Designs can be improved as having the traditional vendor, they will do sourcing of the items in just a single way to the desired location. However, adding the options for consignment, sending clothes to the outlets from the production firm is much cost effective in nature for the retailer (Courtney and John, 2014). Attracting customers with new deals as occasional offers can increase the sell for Diva Designs, which can increase the profitability. In order to portray a good brand image in the customer customers mind the authority must focus on the issue of on time delivery of the ordered products. Along with this, reducing the issues regarding payments functions while ordering of buying particular products is must maintain the good will of the company as well. Therefore, all these actions will help the fashionable women cloth retailer named Diva Designs to become the customers first choice brand, and making a positive effect, application of these actions while doing the business will make an improvement in profitability of Diva Designs (Courtney and John, 2014). All the above processes, which are described as the ways for the improvement of profitability in Diva Designs, these will help in decision-making process of the company as well. From the above ways, the process of applying discounts of certain products get much easier along with staff recruiting process for the organization gain more profit (Fabozzi and Drake, 2012). Conclusion: In order to conclude the whole report, it can be said that, as per the analysis, net income and the net profit margin, both of them are calculated as the positive number, therefore it can be said that Diva Designs is serving to their customers and getting profit by their business. Even though, some areas can be more improved as well, for that the recommendations are provided in order to improve the profitability of Diva Designs in future (Fabozzi and Drake, 2012). The Account system has different types of account both for the customers along with for the existing employees. The account is of Open Account, Check Transition, Deposit Cash, Withdraw cash. There are also broker, Stock exchange centre along with third party those who are directly involved in the system. References Alex, S., Patrick, K. (2015). An Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis. Kindle Edition accessed January 8, 2017 from Amazon.com Axel, T. (2013). Balance Sheet Basics: From Confusion to Comfort in Under 30 Pages. Kindle Edition accessed January 8, 2017 from Amazon.com Courtney, Q., John, G. (2014). Financial Ratios and Analysis: Including the Accounting Illustrated Glossary (Accounting Play). Kindle Edition accessed January 8, 2017 from Amazon.com Fabozzi, F., and Drake, P. (2012). Analysis of Financial Statements. San Francisco: Wiley. Foster, G. (2008). Financial Statement Analysis. London: Pearson Education. Financial Analysis Hub. (2015). Top Financial Analysis Ratios: A useful reference guide of over 60 financial ratios you need to know! Kindle Edition accessed January 8, 2017 from Amazon.com