Debate Week

So for our second last week of class, our lecturer gave us a fun task to do. What was the task? Read on to find out!

The first thing we did was to divide ourselves into two different groups: 1 and 2. Once we had all found our group members, the lecturer then explained what we were going to do.

We were going to be given a general topic and what we had to do was to was debate with one another based on the topic. My group was the proposition team and our statement was "single-sex education is more beneficial than co-ed education." Once we had our assigned titles, we were then told by the lecturer to find 4 or 5 main ideas to support the statement.

She also told us to make sure that each of our ideas was backed up by statistical evidence in order to make the debate more effective. There were six of us in a group so we divided the task so that each of us would have our own roles in the group. One person was to do introduction, the other four had to find the main ideas and the last was given the job of writing the conclusion.

It took our group a rough hour to collect all the information needed to start off the debate. After we were finished with the outline, we then wrote an entire essay from the points mentioned above. With the finished essay in hand, we gave it to the lecturer who marked it on the spot. She said overall we had done a good job and that our writing had improved since the first week we had been here (woah).

Proud of our finished work, we waited for the opposition team to complete theirs so the debate could begin. Fifteen minutes later, the two groups were poised to attack one another with the ideas we had.

The debate began and we realized that both groups had valid and logical reasoning behind their claims. It was harder for us to argue with one another seeing that we all had statistical evidence to support our points. In addition, we also used our knowledge and experience from our life to justify our reasoning as to why single-sex education was better than co-ed.

The debate barely ended but we had to stop because the time was up and class was over. We shook each other's hands and though there was no real winner or loser, I felt that I had gained some newfound confidence in my ability to speak out in class.

That is all for now. Adios!

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Reflections in Week 11

Guess who's been ill for the past week? That's right. Me.

I fell victim to a common cold which then developed into a fever and resulted in me missing three of my classes, including Effective Writing. While I was holed up in my room, high on the medicine provided by the clinic, the rest of the class were learning about persuasive writing.

Though I had missed the class, I had asked several friends to recount everything that had happened and they are as recorded below:

Firstly, the lecturer gave everyone sample essays on persuasive writing, which they were then asked to look through to understand how it was written. They then had to identify the thesis statements, topic sentences, main and supporting ideas, verbs, words that we did not know as well as the conclusions.

Next, once one person was done with their piece, they swapped for another and the cycle continued until all samples were analyzed in the class. I had a friend save a few of those essays so I could participate in the homework later (even though I was absent).

This strategy helped us as students to see how authors or writers branch out in their ideas. The use of transitions in the essays also showed us how one paragraph can be connected to the next smoothly. I was most interested to see how the conclusions were written because I am quite repetitive when it comes to drawing a conclusion. I use the same "in conclusion" to end my essay which can get pretty tiring. However, I noticed that there were actually different styles of how they can be written!

For example, I learned to use "overall" and "to conclude" instead! There were also one or two essays who simply used quotes from someone famous to end their writing which I found new and interesting. This, however, required me to dig a little and read about quotes that fit the context of my essays.

I have to go now but enjoy! Goodbye!

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E-learning Week

For Week 8, our faculty was part of the E-Learning program that the university was conducting. This meant that we could be at any part of the world and still participate in class as long as we logged into Spectrum during the class hours. Amazing, isn't it?

For this week, we were given the task to read a letter from a child to their parents, where they express their gratefulness to their parents after having babysat their kid sister.

After that, we had to write a letter where the roles were reversed, meaning now I had to play the part of the mother or father writing to their child. This was an interesting assignment because it asked me to write from the perspective of a parent, which I rarely think about.

This was a new style of writing, known as a narrative essay. A narrative essay tells the incidents that occur as though it has been narrated by someone, usually using the personal pronoun 'I'.

I wrote about a mother writing a letter to her son, whom she had given up after he was born. In the letter, she explains how she had had a tough life and it was only because she could not afford to raise her son that she finally decided to give him away. She also hopes that when her son reads this, he will try to forgive her for doing what she did.

We were also asked to read up on the rest of the class' letters and I found them all so wonderful. Each letter was written in its own way which I thought was amazing.

Before i go, here is a sample of the essay that I had written:

To my dearest son,

I hope that by the time you read this letter, you will have a family who looks after you and loves you the way I never could. I am writing this so you may at least understand why I had to give you away and how it was the hardest decision that I have ever made in my life. I know you might be feeling anger or frustration towards me and I want you to know that your feelings are perfectly understandable. I just hope that you can find it in your heart to read the contents of this letter and not judge me too harshly for my actions.

Let me start off with the beginning of the end. I was seventeen when I met your biological father; we were both in high school and just a few months away from graduating. We were in love, and we were the type of lovers that stirred jealousy in the hearts of anyone who was watching. “Look at them,” people would say. “They have the kind of love that lasts forever.” On graduation day, he got down on his knees and proposed in front of everyone! Imagine my shock that turned quickly into excitement and as I screamed ‘yes’ into the air, I did not think I had ever been happier in my life. That is-until you arrived. But we shall get to that later.

Accepting your father’s proposal was the easy part. The harder part was getting our parents to agree, which ended on a rather bad note. His father was a drunkard and his mother often fell victim to his drunken rages- and my parents who believed themselves to be more respectable than that could not accept your father into my family. So we left to start our own family. We were happy for a while but you must understand that life can turn horrible so fast, especially when you have no support from your family. In a few months, we were struggling to pay the rent and were desperate for money. And it was during those hard months did I find out about you. When I told your father I was pregnant, he was over the moon! Though our situation had become difficult, we promised that we would do whatever it took to raise you in a good home.

So we began to work day and night shifts, and we had become so focused in saving money that we forgot to speak to each other. We began to drift apart, only greeting one another when we came home from work before slumping into bed and falling asleep. One night, it had been a tiring day at the office and my pregnancy certainly did not help my condition. Your father and I got into a vicious argument and we hurt each other with the only weapon we had; words. In anger, I told him that he was no different from his own father and I watched the light in his eyes die out. He took the car keys and stormed out of the house in the middle of the night.

I wish I could say that I ran after him, and that I took his hand in mine and convinced him to come back. I wish that I’d apologized and waited there until he accepted it but most of all, I wish I had never let him go in the first place. But you see, the truth is, I let him go. I watched him grab the car keys from the counter and walk out the door. Your father never came home that night. The next day, I got a call from the hospital saying that my husband had been in an accident.

Your father went into a coma and I used up every last penny we had to try and save him. I practically lived in the streets because all our money was used to pay the hospital bills. I began to lose myself and I was so frightened that I would lose you too. I walked past a house constantly on the way to see your father-a lovely woman lived there but she was very lonely. She was rich and beautiful and kind- the mother every child deserved. The mother you deserved.

My son, you must understand, your father was not coming back. And I had no means of supporting either one of us alone. No one would give a heavily pregnant woman a job and there were times when I starved myself to get through the day.

When the day came when you had to be delivered, it was truly the happiest moment of my life. I felt as though someone had breathed life back into my lungs and for a single moment, I thought we were going to be okay. As I held you in my arms, I realized that I could never give you a good life. I could never shower you with gifts or keep you happy like I had dreamed. So I made the decision to give you away and let me tell you, it ripped my soul and heart to do so. I remember how you cried when I wrapped you in that little blanket and placed you into a basket. I remember how the cold air stung as I made my way to the doorstep of the big white house that is surely your home now. I remember how every cell in my body was screaming and begging me not to give you up. But I had to. I had to let you go because I loved you so much and wanted you to have a good future.

I am ending this letter now because I cannot bear the memories that have once again opened up the wound in my heart. I am still alive and well, if you care to know, and please know that I am always thinking of you every second. It may not mean much to you but I love you and I always will.

Goodbye.

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Dear Abby

Dear Abby, 

I am writing to you because I am in dire need of help. It has come to my realization that I have fallen in love with a man whose family, the Montagues, is in sworn enmity with mine, the Capulets. Isn't it absolutely horrible and wonderful at the same time? 

He was at the feast that Father had thrown for me and I must admit, the minute we locked eyes on each other something immediately clicked together. I could not look away! This is unfortunate seeing as the only reason we met was because this feast was where I was supposed to meet Paris, the man Father intends me to marry. Later, Romeo and I shared an intimate moment together and I swear, it feels as though I have met him before! The way he talks to me, and the way he glances at me, makes me feel special and I never want to love another man. He is perfect for me, just as I am perfect for him, Abby.

It wasn't hours later that I learned he was actually a Montague! By then, it was already too late to put a stop to our relationship. You see, I am torn because if I let him go then I will lose the love of my life forever. And if continue our secret relationship? Father will surely kill him. Oh Abby! What can I do?

Do I choose love over my family? Does that make me a bad person? I truly wish there was a way out of this mess that I find myself trapped in. 

I hope you can help me through this difficult time, Abby. Thank you.

Yours truly,
Juliet.

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Online Shopping

Good morning! 

In class we learned about online shopping, mainly the advantages and disadvantages that came with it. We discussed about the kinds of things we have or would like to buy online such as clothing, skin products or shoes.

I have never shopped online before because my debit card is pretty much useless and most stores don't accept it. I could always get a card that works but the prospect of going to the bank and queuing up in line does not interest me in the slightest. So for now, I will just scroll through the online stores, add possible products to my cart and then exit the window and do some real shopping!

However, if my card did work and I could try to shop online, I might actually get obsessed with it. This is because online shops offer a bigger variety of items than what you might find at a regular store. Despite the expensive shipping fees, I think that the quality of the items more than make up for it.

If I shopped online, the first store I would hit is probably a clothing shop. They offer a lot of designs and I'd probably find myself hitting "buy" for every shirt and hoodie I see. Next, I would probably buy myself some nice shoes seeing as mine are practically worn out. Not only do online shops offer unique shoes, but they also have a wider range of colors available. You could even put in a request for a specific design or color and they will have it custom made for you in just under a week!

In the last hour of the class, we were all divided into groups and were given specific topics to write about. 

We had to come up with a simple chart that had all our main ideas and supporting ideas. These main ideas had to be written as simple as possible while the supporting ideas were made up of explanations for the main point as well as evidence to support the point made. There were five of us in a group so we split ourselves into doing 

• Introduction
• Body
• Main Idea 1 + Supporting Idea 1
• Main Idea 2 + Supporting Idea 2
• Main Idea 3 + Supporting Idea 3
• Conclusion

From there, we constructed our final essay. My group's essay title was 3 ways companies attract consumers, and here's how our end piece looked like:

And of course our essay, done by each member:

Three Ways Companies Attract Consumers

Introduction: Chelsea

       A consumer is a purchaser of a good or service in retail or organization that uses economic services or commodities. Consumer is one of the most important character in a business category because in economic systems, consumers are utilities expressed in the decision to trade or not.   They can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and they can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer. Which is why it is important to attract more consumers when it comes to business. There are a few ways to attract more consumers such as provide creative advertisements, have sales and promotions during festive seasons so that the sales can be boosted up rapidly. Besides that, it is also vital to provide good services to consumers. It is important to attract consumers and it is even more important to maintain the sale hence the customers will stay loyal to your products.  

Main Idea 1: Stefanie

The first way companies can attract consumers is through the use of advertisements. The word advertisement, according to the Oxford English Dictionary means “a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.” Hence, companies need to come up with the perfect advertisement that is suitable with its targeted group of potential customers. For example, if a company sells adult-diapers, it makes no sense if they were to advertise it to mothers with babies who need children-diapers instead. Another way for companies to come up with an attractive advertisement is to ensure that they are produced in such a creative way, the human mind is unable to forget it. Let’s take a look at McDonalds, one of the most popular fast food chains in the world. They have their own customized branding. If we see a large red sign with a giant yellow “M” on it, we will automatically know that the fast food chain is McDonalds. This is because McDonalds has successfully incorporated bright colours, a brilliant design and a catchy slogan as their brand. However, companies need to be aware that certain advertisements will cause the potential consumers to feel irritated, especially if they appear all the time and in all places. A good example is the Google App “Vungle” and “Karaoke on Mobile.” They are among the most advertised mobile phone game and they are basically on all sites. Advertisement repetition causes clients to feel annoyed and pressured, which they will go all the way to avoid buying or using that particular service of game. Hence, it is important that companies establish their own unique advertisement that isn’t forced upon its clients.

Main Idea 2: Raeesah

In addition, yet another technique companies use to draw consumers into buying their products is by providing them with good service. These companies or stores hire employees after doing thorough background checks to be certain that they are certified to promote their products to the customers. The workers are always on call, whether at the store or online, and are ready to solve any problems or inconvenience faces by the consumers. There are times when the customers have certain questions about the product they are about to purchase, therefore the workers should always be there to provide them with an explanation so as to not leave them confused. The workers should also be trained to practice a healthy work ethic, as this is important to maintain a good relationship between the company and the consumers. For example, when a customer walks into the store, they should be greeted with a smile and a thank you before they leave. Furthermore, every company should have a basic idea or knowledge about who their clients are as well as their preferences so that it is easier to influence them into buying the products. Through these measures, the company ensures that the consumers are satisfied enough with the service and goods that are provided at the particular store or company and almost certainly guarantees a second return from them.

Main Idea 3: Fazrini

Another way that companies use to attract consumers is by doing sales promotions. Sales promotions are where the products of the company will be sold with lower price, especially during festival seasons, compared to the usual days and it is definitely a good strategy set by the companies because consumers are easily attracted by the cheap products. Not only that, it is very important for companies to come out with the right techniques of selling their products which means the sales promotions should also include the discounts and benefits for the consumers who decided to register as a member. For example, Padini Concept Store will have year-end sales every year and they also have membership card which provide 30% discounts for their members during their birthday month.  Hence, sales promotions can be very effective and will definitely boost company sales.

Conclusion: Athirah

Anticipating the needs of current and future customer is critical to business success. “If you take care of the customer, profits will come”. No matter how great the product or service, the business will not make any money unless customers are willing to buy them. No customers, no business. Advertisements, services, and sales are the most effective ways to attract customers and be the medium to meet the customer needs.  

Cool right? That's all for now! Bye!

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Book Review

After two days of intense reading, I finally completed the book, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. The best thing about this book was how it managed to keep me hooked right from the first chapter to the very end, and even left me wanting more.

This story was written by Barrie, and whose characters seem as if they've been based off of real life people who had been close to the author. Barrie's older brother had died in a tragic accident and that had upset his mother greatly, making her believe that her late son was still very much young and alive in her mind. It could be from here that Barrie came up with the concept of Peter Pan, a boy who could never grow old.

The story of Peter Pan is more of the fantasy genre, where a young boy who is able to fly brings a few mortal children back to his home in Neverland where everything is left to the imagination. A story like this ignites our imagination, and can spark that longing inside all of us to become children all over again. Of course the novel has its antagonist, Captain Hook, whose only aim is to kill Peter Pan. Upon closer thought, Hook could actually represent reality itself, of which it tries to kill the idea of Peter Pan, thus waking us up from this dream world.

There are also other characters like Wendy, who would tell Peter and the Lost Boys (other boys who lived in Neverland alongside Peter) stories that had happy endings. In a way, these characters were all metaphors that we could relate to and that was a concept I found interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story and I hope that someday I can find another book that can make me happy, sad, angry and joyful at the same time.

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How I Feel I Can I Improve My Writing

Previously on this blog-

Nah. Just kidding. 

Today I'm going to talk about how I feel I can improve my writing, which to be honest is not at the level it should be at. My writing skills are quite weak so the first step in becoming a better writer is, obviously, to read more books. I rarely find the time to pick a book up and read, mainly because my schedule is packed for this semester.

However, I am taking a course on Critical Reading and I think it can help me tremendously in improving my writing style as well as enrich my vocabulary. This is because the course strictly works on making you think about the types of words and the meanings they carry in context of the sentences. By analyzing these things, I am able to use them as a sort of reference for my writings in this class.

The next step in improving my writing is to practice writing and take more grammar exercises online. I have come to notice that my grammar is on shaky grounds, and more often than not I find myself confusing between the tenses which can be a huge problem, especially when I am writing my essay. Mixing up my tenses can cause the reader who is going through my work to be confused and thus, the message I am trying to convey cannot be reached. Furthermore, the incorrect use of punctuation in grammar can also cause confusion and frenzy among the readers. 

For instance:

Of course what they mean to say is that the toilet is only for the disabled, elderly, pregnant or children but because of the absence of the commas, the sign makes it sounds as though the toilet was specifically made for a disabled, elderly and pregnant child! Haha!

Back to reality, I did some online research and I found that another way to improve my writing is to never settle on a first draft. Usually, a person will write the first version of their essay and send it in straight away without revising certain parts of it. Next, you should always proofread your work before handing it over to your teachers or lecturers. A brief skim over the words you've written should be good enough to detect any spelling errors you might have made the first time around.

I have also made a promise to myself to find a fixed time to blog. So from now on I will be blogging at night. I hope I can try to maintain a constant time of which I make my posts.

See you next week! Bye!

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