This is the video we watched in class but if you wanted to watch it again, here it is. It's a great video to ponder and think about how people work around you. I am interested in reading his book too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBmJay_qdNc
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
A quick reference -- General Mechanics of Writing
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h3fqefvqe8bjzvw/General%20Mechanics%20of%20Writing.docx?dl=0
This is a quick reference guide to writing. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.
***First Writing Assignment***
For your first writing
assignment, you can choose any topic that is of interest to you. You can choose something related to Units 1-2
if you need some guidance. Dreams can and does come true, however, in recent
years have that changed? Why or why not? You can also write about how the educational
system can limit the dreams that can have or anything related to achieving one’s
dreams. You should try to stay away from
writing about your own dreams as it makes for a less interesting read.
Remember to make sure your
introduction appeals to the reader by including a hook sentence, question, or
fact. Also, you should include a brief
background of the subject. Don’t assume
the reader knows anything when you write. And lastly, don’t forget to clearly
state your thesis, the focus of your paper.
Use font sizes between
10-12. Do not italicize, bold, underline,
or color your texts. Indent each paragraph. Refer to the writing technique sheet handed
out in class. Review the feedback you
received from your classmates and make necessary changes. Do not overly use “I” in your paper as it’s a
turn-off to the reader. And do not use single or double quotation marks for
emphasis as this is an incorrect use of quotation marks.
There’s no page limit to this
writing assignment but you should at least try to write a page. It’s really
difficult to defend your thesis in less than a page.
A sample writing assignment from past class--Cosmetic Surgery Trends
Korea is called the empire of cosmetic
surgery. Many people are willing to do cosmetic surgery for the purpose of
beauty, and it is even becoming one of the “graduation presents.” It is natural
that people want a beautiful appearance and want to overcome their appearance
complex, but the trend of cosmetic surgery is getting worse in Korea. People
are so imprudent to have the surgery without thinking why they really want to
do it. Some people even think that cosmetic surgery will change their whole
lives and dream of turning their lives around. This kind of blind faith in
cosmetic surgery may come from the appearance-oriented Korean society, the
effect of mass media, or a westernized standard of beauty. There might be other
reasons behind people’s faith in cosmetic surgery’s ability to create beauty,
but the one certain thing is cosmetic surgery is not the only option to choose.
According to the survey by Trend Monitor,
one in five women in Seoul have surgery, and we have to notice why especially
Koreans are crazy about cosmetic surgery. The first reason might be related to
the characteristics of Korea. Korea is one of the appearance-oriented
societies. That means appearance is competitive, and people cannot ignore the
importance of looks. Other countries might show this trend too, but the degree
of obsession with appearance is too much in Korea. Many Koreans suffer from an
inferiority complex and feel compelled to be beautiful. This obsession with
cosmetic surgery is sometimes seen as an indicator of poor-esteem. Koreans’
view of cosmetic surgery, such as “it’s not such a big deal anymore,” can be
very dangerous.
Since the opening of the twentieth
century, as mass media started to develop, media naturally started to affect
people’s lives in various ways. We can say that the effect of mass media is the
second reason for Korean’s craze of cosmetic surgery. The media shows many
celebrities who have good appearances, and people naturally think that their
appearance is the standard of beauty. This makes people follow them and have
the surgery. Psychologists say that media can affect people’s body esteem “by
becoming a reference point against which unfavourable body shape comparisons
are made.” This shows that people might use images projected by the media as
standards for comparison. It is so natural that people who are exposed to media’s
standard form a stereotype of beauty. That is to say, media makes people form
an ideal of standardized beauty and makes them think that it is the only
beauty, so they can justify themselves to have the surgery.
This bad influence of mass media might
form a westernized standard of beauty because celebrities who have the western
look appear in the media and make people think that their look is the standard
of beauty. This is the third reason of Koreans’ cosmetic surgery trend. Now,
many Koreans consider big eyes, a prominent nose, white skin and a small face as
components of beauty, and the combination of these components clearly show the western
look. It is totally different from Korean traditional beauty. In Korea, the
most common type of surgery is double-eyelid surgery, which creates an upper
eyelid with a crease from an eyelid that is naturally without a crease. Not
only does this surgery explain the inferiority complex of traditional Asians’
eyes, but also proves the desires to have big eyes like western people. The
selection criteria of Miss Korea is another example of a westernized standard
of beauty. There is no definite criteria for Miss Korea’s appearance, but the
elected Miss Korea shows that big eyes, a prominent nose and white skin is the
standard of beauty. It is a clear contradiction that Miss Korea, who represents
Korean traditional beauty, has to resemble western beauty. However, every
culture has their own ways of pursuing standardized beauty like “Chinese women’s
bound lotus feet, Padaung women’s elongated necks and western women’s
constricted waists.” It implys that other cultures also have standards of
beauty and want to follow them. It is a sad reality because this shows Koreans
are not the only people who lack confidence in their appearance and their
identity.
These three factors show why Koreans are
becoming crazy about cosmetic surgery. There might be other various reasons
other than the characteristics of appearance-oriented Korean society, effect of
mass media, or westernized standard of beauty. However, whatever the reason is,
having surgery without a clear reason is definitely a wrong choice and will
result in a lifetime of regret. Some might still argue that they have surgery
to overcome their appearance complex and gain confidence, but that is just an
excuse because it is quite clear that surgery is not the only way to get over
the complex. Cosmetic surgery cannot change the person by itself; it just gives
a little bit of change in a person’s appearance. That means inner change is the
only way to overcome one’s complex and way more important than outward appearance
change. It is not just a truism, but it is true. People just deny this truth
because they don’t have that much confidence to change their inner self.
However, the real and right way to get over the complex is the change of one’s own
mind, and this way will be the first step to change Korean society.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
***How to stress and create a rhythm with correct intonation***
Remember, we stress the CONTENT words, words in a sentence that carry most meaning. In terms of fried chicken, content words are the meat of the chicken, both dark and white meat.
We do not stress the FUNCTION words, words that act as a skeleton to hold the sentence together. And these are the bones of the chicken that holds the meat together.
•nouns
•verbs
•adjectives
•adverbs
•question words
•demonstratives (these, that those)
•negatives
We do not stress the FUNCTION words, words that act as a skeleton to hold the sentence together. And these are the bones of the chicken that holds the meat together.
•Prepositions
•pronouns
•articles (a, an, the)
•the verb “to be”
•conjunctions (and, but)
•auxiliaries (do, can, will, have,
etc.)
At C4 level, you should be fine tuning your speaking ability by practicing these as much as you can at home. In the class, I can only show you and it's up to you to practice them at home at your leisure.
Remember, practice makes perfect!! No pain no gain!!
Birds eat worms.
The birds eat worms.
The birds eat the worms.
The birds will eat the worms.
The birds will have eaten the worms.
Birds eat worms.
The birds eat worms.
The birds eat the worms.
The birds will eat the worms.
The birds will have eaten the worms.
***How to check your participation checks each day***
Checking participation is an honor system!
Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a great semester. Just as a reminder of how the participation scores will be collected at the end of the semester.
Each day, each student is eligible for one participation point if you volunteer for the following:
- To read in class
- To come up to the board to explain something
- Speaking up and sharing your thoughts and ideas
- Answering any questions asked in class
- Doing pair or group work as this is the minimum requirement and expectation in the class.
At the end of every class, it is the responsibility of the student to record their participation scoress on the attedance sheet. If for some reason you forget to check the participation point on the day, you CANNOT go back later to record your participatio points.
If you have any questions about how the pariticipation scores will be graded, please do not hesitate to ask me personally :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!
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