Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: Paper Instructions:
In this essay, you will analyze a film, television, or web series adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. You are asked to discuss how the adaptation updates, challenges, or develops one of the novel’s major themes. Your essay should be organized around a single focused claim, and this claim should be supported by specific and relevant evidence from both Austen’s novel and the film/series adaptation. the movie and book of pride and prejudice and zombies
Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: Paper Instructions:
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: Paper Instructions:
The topic of paper 2 is logical fallacies. I would like you to find one fallacy in the media, prove that it is a fallacy, and explain the problem. It could be a political ad, a commercial, a print ad, a billboard, or nearly anything else. Be sure that you EXPLAIN which fallacy you are discussing and DEFINE it. You will also have to CITE the ad that you use.
PLEASE READ REQUIREMENTS BELOW!!!
Summary of Requirements •750-1,000 words of text (the body of the essay, not including the title, your name, or the Works Cited page) •Essays MUST USE 8th edition MLA format •Proper MLA format is expected, including proper use of in-text citations and a Works Cited page. •Use of at least one outside source (which can be the advertisement itself). You can use more than one source if you wish (to look up more in-depth definitions of the fallacies, for example). •Use of first person, second person, and contractions are NOT ACCEPTABLE. Avoid them. •Your essay must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file attachment.
Homer's Odyssey highlights the concepts of spiritual wellbeing as one of the undertone themes. This concept is perpetuated in various characters and pushed forward through the escapades and engagements narrated in the book. Thus, Homer isolates some vital values of civilized Greek communities to go along with spiritual wellbeing- home, society, hospitality, and reverence for the gods. Values such as hospitality, communities, and reverence for the gods define the variance between development and barbarism. The book does not only dwell on an adventure but morality and values tied to the ancient Greek communities. Therefore, the most important themes are hospitality, reverence for the gods, and loyalty.
Hospitality
Hospitality is a central value in Homer’s Odyssey as it reflects on societal and religious aspects. In ancient times, the only way families could survive was through rearing livestock and a bumper harvest. Communities formed good relations with each other to safeguard properties, livestock, and their harvest. Hence most people depended on hospitality to defend their livelihood. Additionally, traders would easily sell their products if they were hospitable to neighboring people (McLatchey, 2019). For example, King Menelaus invites Telemachus with open arms and caters to his every need. In simpler terms, hospitable values facilitate the providence of important services and form stronger relationships between people. The necessity of hospitality enables people to exchange pleasantries and business ideas.
It is vital to note that hospitality was not only demonstrated through long travels but the ability to maintain friendships between two or more people. Hospitality was prevalent due to numerous underlying reasons. During Homer's time, traveling was long and tiresome than in contemporary society. The ancient transportation mechanisms were boats and walking (McLatchey, 2019). Due to this, more time was spent on the road and before one arrived at their destination, they were exhausted. Therefore, offering a person food and clothing after long-distance travel was seen as an extended act of kindness and hospitality.
Reverence for the gods
In the context of Homer’s Odyssey gods are seen as smart and powerful. It would be prudent for other people to respect the gods as their fate was determined by the gods. Similarly, Odysseus is portrayed as intelligent as he could read the minds of humans. Thus, he was well-informed on human emotions and feelings. Through Odysseus, the reader can perceive the amount of respect the Greek people had toward their gods. The Greeks valued the dead and respected their traditions and religion. For example, as Odysseus travels through the spirit world, he does not silence dead voices, instead, he acknowledges the voices and does everything possible to respect their wishes. More so, Homer builds up a scenery where Odysseus recognizes human reverence towards the gods. Reverence is a form of debt humans have to pay to the gods. In one of the sceneries, Poseidon states the human beings are nothing without the gods. Poseidon's statement summarizes the need for gods in human societies and cements the relationship people have with gods (Thornton, 2015). Characters are successful whenever they worship gods. On the other hand, they fail when they disrespect the gods. For example, Zeus fights off Odysseus's people after they disobey him by consuming the cattle sun. In summary, humans have to depend on the gods for most things concerning their lives because the gods know better.
Loyalty
Ancient Greek communities relied on each other. Loyalty to close friends, communities and the gods are vital in the lives of ancient Greeks. Loyalty is a central value because it is perpetuated through Penelope and Odysseus. Penelope demonstrates devotion to Odysseus by patiently waiting for him for two decades (Liang, 2017). She never replaced Odysseus after confirming his death. Even so, she did not replace him until she had woven a shroud. Thus, the author makes use of the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus to bring out loyalty as a value. Odysseus deserves this type of loyalty because he risks his life for the sake of his own family.
The loyalty Odysseus has for his family keeps him going even in hard times. Even though portrays Odysseus as self-reliant, it is the dependence upon the gods that guides Odysseus throughout his tough journey (Liang, 2017). Odysseus overcomes all the challenges he encounters due to the loyalty he has towards his family. The challenges make him better and strengthen his bond with his family. In Homer's Odyssey loyalty enables the formation of a relationship between men and their fathers which in turn assists in creating dependence and the ability to assist each other. For example, Odysseus is devoted and fair to his team and even when his team disobeys him, he welcomes them back to his ship.
In conclusion, Homer's Odyssey entails loyalty to family, friends, and community. Hospitality reflects on both societal ad religious concepts. Families depend on their neighbors to protect their harvest and property. In terms of reverence, the Greek citizens respect gods for them to gain favor from the gods. Loyalty cements the relationship between family members. Loyalty forms part of the friendship experienced between two long distance friends.
References
Liang, M. (2017). The Making of Odysseus the Hero in Homer’s Odyssey. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 6(7), 42-48.
McLatchey, M. B. (2019). Odysseus’ Wounded Healer: New Insights on the Therapeutic Value of Veteran Responses to Homer’s Odyssey. Journal of Veterans Studies, 4(2).
Thornton, A. (2015). People and themes in Homer's Odyssey. Routledge.
I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy Book Review
I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy is an introspective book that shows and acts as a reminder of racism in Canada. The author outlines some racist encounters that he or his biracial children have experienced while living here. Chariandy reflects his life being the son of immigrants who descended from African slaves and South Asian workers. They survived through low-wage jobs but managed to raise their son through their sacrifices, shortages, and discrimination through their hard work and determination. Chariandy in his book reflects on racial discrimination, the history, and the vision for an improved future.
Chariandy was born in Canada, is married to a white woman but this is not reason enough for him not to experience discrimination. This is seen when he goes to fetch water and bumps into a nicely dresses white woman and when he hesitates out of being polite, she is irritated and starts explaining in a loud voice that she was born there and she belongs there. He counts his children lucky and privileged to attend a school that warns against discrimination and bullying as well as celebrates inclusion and diversity which is something he did not have. Chariandy’s daughter turns 13 during President Trump's inauguration and a week after he was inaugurated, he issued travel bans on Muslim countries and suspended refugee admissions, her daughter, and old enough to understand this was confusing and worried pointing out that as discrimination. She wonders if that could be possible in her country and poses the question to her dad who responds by telling her it could not since it’s the response she needs to hear at the moment. Despite him knowing that distressing racism and violent colonial acts existed in Canada, he sought to reassure her daughter that it could not happen in their country. Chariandy shares about a mosque that had been targeted when the locals decided to open its doors to provide emergency shelter and food for the homeless people during the cold season. (Chariandy, 2019). Chariandy posits that men of many backgrounds are compelled to wear different masks to hide their real self and intentions. Being singled out in a country, in lines, and at borders because of your religion and constantly been viewed as a threat and visibly being made a target are all signs of discrimination.
The immigrant communities have been seen to benefit from competitive nation-building developments. Nationalists require the support of immigrants for example in Quebec to win a vote on power and Ottawa needs the devotion of immigrants for its nation-building purposes (Banting, & Soroka, 2012). This shows how much change the nation has undergone as compared to Chariandy’s parent's history. It shows that things are changing for the better and immigrants are being recognized in the nation. The government has shown support for the immigrants and this implies that they will have an attachment to the country. The liberty and sense of belonging that Chariandy hopes for his daughter are likely to be fully accomplished.
In the book, Chariandy does not make excuses for racism but rather interrogates it, and focuses on the different ways it can affect a person and make them feel bad. He clearly understands the feeling and does not know how to explain to his daughter about the world when she whispers to him how bad the world is (Chariandy, 2019). His parents too were cautious in telling him about the story of their past and the horrors of slavery that they went through. Most of the immigrants persevered all sorts of discrimination. His father had to quit his job and be a factory worker because he was being paid fewer wages compared to the whites while performing the same duties. His parents were humiliated in public spaces, could not be attended to in restaurants, and were stared at while they were out in the public.
It is through their resilience and hard work that the nation saw their contribution to the country and introduced multiculturalism. Making multiculturalism an official policy in Canada has enabled a transition from the white settler colony to a multiracial ad multiethnic society (Thobani, 2007). The diverse cultures are now valued which has helped to solve the ethnic and cultural division and immigrants can now feel free to air their opinions and get an equal opportunity in the job sector. It has helped people like Chariandy who is the son of an immigrant have the liberty to share his story through his book. He has become an acknowledged writer despite his cultural background and has even been rewarded for it.
Unfortunately, people still ask Chariandy where he is from and when he responds to it they will not believe him. Just because he speaks differently and has his parent's accent makes people not believe that he is Canadian. Having a sense of belonging has been an issue for him and in the book he incorporates a few poems and quotes from other authors that are all focused around the theme of belonging. This is because it is complicated for him as well as confusing. After all, he has grown in Canada and knows it as his home despite his parents originating from Trinidad (Chariandy, 2019). He has never felt accepted or understood as simply Canadian who he is. By telling his daughter about his own race story, he hopes that he will nurture inside her, being a child of several ancestral backgrounds, a sense of identity and accountability that will balance the hurtful truths that existed in the past and the present as well. He is also optimistic that there will be possibilities for a more equitable and fair future.
To offer culturally diverse individuals a sense of identity which is one of the main issues in Chariandy’s book, Canada became part of the nation-building by the adoption of multiculturalism as a state policy. The citizenship and immigration policy was liberalized changing the pattern of immigration into the country (Thobani, 2007). When the country adopted multiculturalism, it enabled the nation to self-represent itself on a global stage as a nation that promotes racial and ethnic tolerance among the western nations. The move to redefining national identity signifies that the nation is committed to valuing cultural diversity. Recognition of the ethnic groups by the nation has brought a lot of contribution from them since they are given an equal participation opportunity.
Chariandy tells a story about his daughter intervenes when his brother is called by the n-word while in school. He is proud that his daughter shows her anger emotions and stand up for her brother because many black women are taught to be seen and not to be heard. He applauds his daughter for her quick ability to detect inequality in films and literature pointing out that she is better than he was. She helped his brother because he was hurt and therefore felt the urge to address that issues and therefore told the girl that whatever she had called her brother was not okay and should not be repeated (Chariandy, 2019). She at least was now old enough to understand what to be and not to be said and more so in the line of racism. The little girl did not understand the history of racism, discrimination, and using such words and how they make people feel. Chariandy is proud of his wife s well for her intelligence and being outspoken and terms it as being brave.
Chariandy has had his fair share of memories from being underestimated by teachers and taunted by classmates in school. He has been joked about, spat on, and all the other mean things a black child could go through. Chariandy had to play along with the people who joked about him so that they could not know that he was hurt because he feared that if they recognized his vulnerability, the insults and racism would escalate( Chariandy 2019). This made him grow a thick skin and play along despite him being hurt. Chariandy encourages her daughter by telling her that she is not responsible for the inequalities and injustices of this world. He continues to explain to her that she is neither solely nor uniquely responsible to fix them and the only thing she can do is learn from the story of their ancestry. She should respect and protect herself and should always see the beauty of other people.
By telling this story, Chariandy acknowledges how their ancestors bravely and creatively overcome racial violence and this can only be understood by telling about the past and focusing on the origin of prejudices. The book shows the concern a father has towards her daughter and the challenges she might face and some of which might include some that he has faced. History is changing and her daughter will not probably face the acts of racism that he went through. The government’s recognition of immigrants and inclusion in nation-building projects is enough proof that they have been recognized and can contribute to the nation. It is also evident from the posters in her daughter’s school warning against discrimination and bullying as well as celebrating inclusion and diversity.
References
Banting, K., & Soroka, S. (2012). Minority nationalism and immigrant integration in Canada.
Nations and Nationalism, 18(1), 156-176.
Chariandy, D. (2019). I've Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter. McClelland &
Stewart
Thobani, S. (2007). Exalted subjects: Studies in the making of race and nation in Canada.
Plagiarism is using or presenting another author’s work or concepts without acknowledging them. Printed or unpublished content, whether documents, published or digitalized forms all fall under plagiarism definition. Plagiarism might be intended or unintended (Ferrero et al., 2017). Under the examination guidelines, intentional or untended plagiarism is a punishable offence. There are different types of plagiarism- verbatim, cut and paste, paraphrasing without giving the author credit. One of the most ignored forms of plagiarism is inaccurate citations. Hence citations should always be accurate.
How Effective Writing Mechanisms Assist In Preventing Plagiarism
Whenever a writer applies or uses the idea of another author, then it is only right for the writer to acknowledge the work or opinion of the original author. Apart from quoting or citing an idea, an author needs to paraphrase another author's concepts or ideas into his or her own words. However, paraphrasing can quickly become plagiarism if inappropriately carried out. Besides presenting another person's opinion, one can make use of his or her ideas so that plagiarism can be prevented altogether (Al-Bayed et al., 2018). Also, one needs to understand the context of the main ideas from the source. Comprehending the main ideas helps in isolating the main idea and using the correct words and phrases to explain the underlying issues uniquely. Subsequently, there are some ideas which do not need citing such as experimental outcomes one gathered from specific research or standard information, well known in the public domain. Lastly, using plagiarism checker can help an author isolate original ideas from plagiarized ones. A plagiarism checker detects and then highlights areas plagiarism by the author. In the end, the author can remove the plagiarized sections and remain only with the recommended sites.
References
Al-Bayed, M. H., & Abu-Naser, S. S. (2018). Intelligent Multi-Language Plagiarism Detection System.
Ferrero, J., Agnes, F., Besacier, L., & Schwab, D. (2017). Usingword embedding for cross-language plagiarism detection. arXiv preprint arXiv:1702.03082.
Thesis statement: International relations theory which is branched into constructivism and the English theory helps to understand the past behavior of the state as well as predict the future state behavior.
Comparison between constructivism and the English school
Resemble in terms of their commonality in the social extents of universal life.
Constructivism does not show the process the system uses whereas the English school does.
The approach of Constructivism to the study of international politics
Places its focus on norm concepts, structure improvement, and the association between actors and the structures.
Focuses on rational and consistent constructivism
International politics thrives due to the existence of interacting.
The approach of the English school to the study of international politics
Accounts for international relations that consists of history and theory, power and morality, agency and structure.
Focuses on historical understanding and values
Similarities between the two theories
Both repute the inter-state mandate as an essential social domain.
Both see norms and associations as terms of common values and knowledge.
Base their work on history, agency, and social interactions and relationships.
Differences between the two theories
They view actors and forces differently.
Roots of both theories differ.
How the two theories would view the Problem of enforcing the building of the international human rights regime.
Constructivism theory would explore the problem through the process of interaction.
The English school theory would focus on the historical understanding.
They would focus on the impact of between pluralists and solidarists.
Conclusion
International relations is branched into constructivism and the English theory.
The two theories help to analyze international relations.
Introduction
International relations theory is the study of international relations that tries to provide a conceptual framework in which international relations can be analyzed. Types of theories that help in the analysis include constructivism and the English school. The two theories see norms and associations as terms of common values and knowledge. International relations theory which is branched into constructivism and the English theory helps to understand the past behavior of the state as well as predict future state behavior.
Constructivism and English school have striking resemblances in terms of their commonality in the social extents of universal life. The English school is known as the approach of international associations that suggests the existence of a society that is made up of states. The society of states comes from the interaction of states that are more alike in terms of the political systems, whereby they can agree on norms, structures and values. Constructivism on the other hand fails to show the process the system uses (Fierke 2016). It explains the way structures and forces that are in the system are socially established by actors. The two theories are similar in regards to the inter-state which establishes states as an agency and makes them follow its policies. The differences occur in the way each of them views the works of the actors and forces.
Constructivism places its concerns with realists and liberalists in terms of the anarchism and the international structure. It places its focus on norm concepts, structure improvement, and the association between actors and the structures. Constructivism describes the international system as the way the forces and structures in the system are socially improved by actors (Fierke, 2016). The structures shape the identity of the actor through imagination, communication, and constraint. It also focuses on the way identity impacts actions among actors and the way rules shape the behavior of an actor. There are two types of constructivism, the rationalist constructivism who accepts the rational actor but views rationality as social interaction. The interaction between the social structure and an individual is significant for constructivism and rationalism. The way an actor develops concepts of what is rational will be influenced by the interaction with other actors that share common values and norms. Consistent constructivism focuses on the role of a language as a social activity that gives meaning to reality. International relations deals with particular forms that are related to history, culture, and politics and are as a result of the human interrelations with the general world. Constructivists have emphasized the general aspect of the international associations and showed the influence and importance of norms, policies, and language. Constructivists believe that international politics thrives due to the existence of interacting. Actors are the determiners in the process of interaction with other people and this results in bringing historically, culturally, and politically different certainties to life. Therefore international associations are social developments and not the existence of human action independency. States and other actors function through interactions with the world and not as individuals. Constructivism should be used to evaluate the change of significant aspects such as norms, and ideas among others as they transform from a certain period to a different one.
The English school seeks to move away from the traditional debate between realism and liberalism and purports to give an account of international relations that consists of history and theory, power and morality, agency and structure. It is known as the theory that outlines the existence of a society that is made up of states in the system (Dunne, 2016). The existence of a society occurs when several states that share the same interests and values create a society because they believe they are ruled by the same set of rules by the way they relate to each other. The English school is more concerned with forming a body of public proposals about the national political structure by states, other areas, individuals, organizations, and the wider society of mankind. This approach emphasizes the importance of having a historical understanding for example in matters such as the law and power. Historical understanding generates different priorities and ideas. There is no escape from values in the English school because values help to select topics to be studied and this will have an impact on the political process. Values are significant in international relations because it is of the utmost significance to develop a form of society that is organized and fair. Despite the English school attributing agency to states, they also trust the notion that true agents in the society are the people of power who deliberate and act in place of the state and other establishments. The English school offers a different way of learning about international interrelations which are based on past and current structures. It is also steered by ethical issues about how adequate the existing interstate mandate is. The collective works of the English school are based on history, morals, and agency.
Constructivism and the English school both repute the inter-state mandate as an essential social domain that founds states as agents and influences them to follow its policies. They both see norms and associations as terms of common values and knowledge. They both consider states as the key actors and they are as human beings too (Fierke, 2016). In both, there exists a society of states who by the consciousness of having shared interests and knowledge establish a society because they believe that they are put together by the common values. In both approaches, they base their work on history, agency, and social interactions and relationships. They both focus and discuss the role of society and any kind of society has been socially constructed. They both promote the sense of common orientation and cross-examine the significance of international society (Dunne, 2016). The English school and constructivism share some commonality in terms of their interest in state identity, the nature of governance of the international society, and the adaptable forms of life under the anarchy.
There is a difference in the way the English school and constructivism view actors and forces (Fierke, 2016). The English school comprehends that states, norms, and values that shape and determine the way they behave is in existence whereas the constructivists strive to demonstrate how the values and norms result from being developed by actors and forces. The English school does not know about the practice of socialization which is used by constructivists to explain how social facts are developed (Dunne, 2016). In this case, the English school describes what is and what could be whereas the constructivists demonstrate the way these notions transform and why the transformations occur. The English school is not able to give justifications for the critical factors that form its theory while the constructivists can justify and give explanations about why the features can develop. The roots of both theories are different because constructivism comes out from the values of knowledge. The English school on the other hand comes from the theory of politics, history, and international rule.
A constructivist theory would explore the problem through the process of interaction. It would explore how actors engage with each other, their definition of themselves and other people, and how it would help curb the problem (Fierke, 2016). The English school theory would explore the problem by first getting a historical background about the issue. Constructivists and the English theorists will benefit from working together due to their internal conflicts between pluralists and solidarists (Dunne, 2016). The pluralists argue that in the universal society, the institutional charter is pushed towards the freedom of states and maintaining order. Pluralist’s rules and norms make available a structure of coexistence that is founded on the mutual recognition of states and legally equal members of the society. Pluralism states that states should have equal rights despite their capabilities. The solidarists assume that the range for the universal society is big and embraces common values with respect to the association between states and the people living there. It is defined as the combined implementation of universal policies and the protection of human rights. By working together, each theory could learn from the other and use the lessons to reinforce their internal strategies and hence be able to comprehend better the problem, what it entails and the way forward. Both theories will be guided by agency, social interactions, and relationships.
Conclusion
International relations theory is branched into constructivism and the English theory that helps to analyze international relations. The two theories resemble in terms of their commonality in the social extents of universal life. They also differ in the way each of them views the works of the actors and forces. Constructivism is more concerned with realists and liberalists in terms of the anarchism and the international structure. The English school on the other hand focuses on historical understanding and values. Both theories are similar in how they repute the inter-state mandate as an essential social domain and differ in the way they view actors and forces. In terms of the Problem of enforcing the building of the international human rights regime, the constructivist would explore the problem through social interactions whereas the English theory would focus on the historical understanding. Both of the theories would explore the impact between pluralists and solidarists.
Reading and writing are important literacy skills. Writing is a learning tool that allows students to reflect on what has been learned. Thus, writing is a thought process in that students use thoughts to record what he or she understands. To write effectively, students need writing skills-these skills will enable the students to focus on the subject area, and write authentic and meaningful information. Reading is important as it allows students to acquire knowledge. Reading also enhances concentration, sharpens analytical thinking, and above all, improves writing skills. There is a reciprocal relationship between reading and writing in that students construct and communicate meaning from what has been taught. I faced challenges in literacy skills. In high school, I had weaknesses in reading and writing, and I have experienced the same weakness in college. However, my instructor has worked strategically to solve my problems. The strategic competence has changed by changed my attitudes and perceptions toward writing in that I have gained academic literacy skills and I have improved my reading and writing.
At the beginning of this semester, I had trouble in reading and writing. First, I realized that reading and writing in college are seen as basic skills that students cannot do without. Instructors emphasize reading and writing since these are elements where students can access knowledge. In writing, I can say that I was not good in this area simply because I lacked the necessary strategies. I did not know that writing is a process that needs to be organized systematically. My major problem was in the text organization. I could not detect the main idea nor the subordinate ideas that support it. Because I was unable to recognize the relevant information, it means recalling the information was also a challenge. Despite the fundamental relevance of these literacy skills, I had trouble in readings. Yes, I read but I could not read critically or in other words, I could not remember what I read.
Another challenge that I experienced at the begging of the semester and that made my reading and writing difficult is that I lacked knowledge about the reading and writing process. I very well know that reading and writing are part of the curriculum but I could not understand the text simply because I lacked background knowledge. For example, I lacked reading skills such as decoding. I could read a series of texts but after completion, I could not remember what I have read nor apply the knowledge gained. When it comes to witting, I was unprepared. I lacked analytical skills, planning skills, writing strategies, writing mechanism, and more. As a result of the lack of background knowledge, I was subjected to awkward grammar, weak arguments, and others.
However, my reading and writing have changed. My attitudes and perceptions toward reading and writing have been influenced by the appropriate approaches that the instructor has used. My instructor has made reading and writing meaningful. First, I have been introduced to the reading process including pre-reading. There was a gap in my reading ability but I have achieved the reading skills. I have realized that reading is an activity and now I can identify an effective strategy. For example, when reading, I use simple exercises such as pre-reading-this helps me understand a particular text, thinks about the situation, gain background knowledge, and understands the central theme. I also do an exercise known as post-reading. I conduct deeper analysis to ensure that the text content is well organized. My instructors have tried anything they could to ensure that I develop an interest in reading and writing. I have also improved my writing in that at the beginning of the semester, my essay was full of grammar errors and I usually scored lower marks. My instructors always gave me a bad impression and I got low grades. I can say that my knowledge in writing has not only improved my grades but I enjoy readings. My instructor does not discover complexities but my essay is well organized. I have learned that good writing has a focus, clear ideas, and coherence. Since I know I am better at reading and writing, I will use these ideas to be more successful in reading and writing in the future. Today, reading and writing are more pleasurable than in the past.
Conclusion
Reading and writing are indistinguishable-meaning; one should improve in both reading and writing. At the beginning of the semester, I could write and read to complete the assignment. I lacked basic skills and I ended up using inefficient strategies. Lack of comprehension hindered me from understanding the text and nor could I get the main idea. However, my instructors take corrective actions to engage me in reading and writing activities. I no longer struggle with reading and writing since my instructors have facilitated learning through employing the pedagogic approach and socio-affective strategies. Personally speaking, reading and writing were difficult to me simply because I lacked literacy skills. However, efforts from my instructors have solved my problems.
Language development is the process where babies learn to understand how to communicate during their early childhood. It starts when a fetus begins to recognize the sounds of speech and speech patterns. Language development is a process that babies learn how to distinguish speech sounds and engage in babbling.
The twins in this video are babbling which is a stage in child development whereby the infants repeat consonants sounds. The babbling sounds like a real conversation taking place with the way pauses are made giving each other the chance to speak. They wait for one to finish babbling and neither of them interrupts the other. The babbling expresses that the twins really understand what the other one is saying and they even have a moment of laughter. Their body movements as they babble, how they stress whatever they are babbling about brings out a picture of a real conversation. There is eye contact involved as the babbling continues which shows the seriousness of the conversation.
They respond to each other using gestures for example when they shake the head which seems like they are emphasizing the conversation. The tone of their voices as they continue babbling creates emotion in the conversation they are having. The rising and lowering of their pitches give a sign that they are debating about something. The rhythm they have in the conversation and knowing when to interject makes it sound like a truly understood language.
The twins babbling communication makes one believe that they are having a real conversation. From their body language, tones and expressions show a real debate happening. They do not interrupt each other when babbling and each one of them knows when to pause for the other one to speak. This shows that language development in babies is fascinating.
Grammar is the arrangement of words to form a complete sentence. It involves using nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, and tenses among others. Communication is the act of exchanging or relaying information by writing, speaking or using any other means of communication. For a sentence to be well understood, correct grammar has to be used.
According to Wren & Martin (2018), grammar helps us to arrange and organize words that make sense to construct a sentence. There are different types of sentences, those that ask questions and are known as interrogative sentences. Assertive and declarative sentences make statements. The ones that show requests and commands are called imperative sentences. Sentences that express feelings are called exclamatory sentences. In making a sentence, we must have a subject to talk about and something to say about the subject. There has to be a phrase and a clause in a sentence which are parts of a sentence and terms used in grammar. In Ted-Ed lessons, the use of the correct phrases and clauses is clear. A clause is a group of words that contain a subject and a verb whereas a phrase does not contain the two. For a sentence to be understood and information communicated, these correct rules have to be used.
Grammar includes standard and non-standard usage. Woods (2015) explains that standard is the one regarded as proper grammar just as the Ted-Ed lessons teach. It uses the correct patterns and structure in speech and writing. The non-standard is the use of bad grammar and slang and is mostly used in our conversations but should be avoided in every way possible mostly where formal communication is taking place. Communicating formally involves exchanging information officially using correct grammar structures and patterns. Communication that is done casually is known as informal communication. It is mostly based on relationships such as peers, family or friends. It deviates from the use of correct structures and rules and therefore cannot be used in official situations.
According to Padhye (2017), words in a sentence are divided into classes that govern the use of grammar. If you understand and know how to use the parts of speech then it becomes easy to understand and speak correctly and be understood just like the lessons from Ted-Ed. A noun is a naming word used to name someone or something and is divided into common nouns and proper nouns. Pronouns are words used in place of a noun. They are divided into seven classes which are, possessive, personal, interrogative, demonstrative, relative, reflexive and quantitative pronouns. Adjectives are words that describe a thing or a person and gives more information about a noun or a pronoun. The types of adjectives are possessive, descriptive, interrogative, demonstrative, qualitative and quantitative adjectives. A verb is a doing word and expresses an action. There are finite, non-finite, action and state verbs. An adverb is a word that gives more information about an adjective, place, time, or a phrase. A preposition is a word that is placed before a noun or a pronoun to show position, time, or method. A conjunction is a joining word that joins phrases, words, and sentences. The three types of conjunctions are, coordinating, correlative and subordinating conjunctions. An interjection is a word that expresses a sudden feeling. These parts of speech help in writing and reading using correct grammar, making communication effective.
According to Reddy C. (2016), grammar is a communication tool containing structures that help in making communication precise. This is an effective lesson from Ted-Ed on the structures of grammar. The use of capital letters, punctuation marks, correct spelling and the right parts of speech makes written communication easy. Without these structures, communication could be hard and misunderstood, conveying the wrong message. Grammar is important in every form of communication. Communication enables us to express ourselves in a manner that we are understood hence the importance of using correct grammar. Grammar increases the accuracy of thinking. The grammatical rules enable a person to think and communicate logically. In communication, if you cannot write properly then the information relayed will not be accurate.
Reddy C. (2016) states that the use of good grammar saves time. If a person can communicate effectively, the message is delivered fast and accurately. Good grammar reduces confusion either in speaking or in writing and makes translation for the recipient easy. For employees, good communication skills enable you to get noticed by your seniors and give you a chance for promotion. Good grammar use clears the message being delivered. If the communication language is unclear which could be caused by the use of poor grammar then the message is not understood. This leads to unclear messages to the recipient. Correct grammar changes the way other people perceive you. It makes a good impression and earns you respect. In the workplace, for example, it makes you maintain a level of professionalism. Ted-Ed lessons show that poor grammar can make people look down on you. Grammar is also important in the digital world. The credibility of people sharing information digitally can be questioned by readers or listeners when communication is not made clear. People will stop viewing your content and even unsubscribe from your links and channels.
In the Ted-Ed lessons about speech, in the business world, communication is very important. This is to ensure that there is an understanding between the seller and the buyer. In such cases, good grammar is vital because the correct information needs to be delivered and avoid any room that could lead to confusion. Most companies want employees with good communication skills so that they can have a good reputation and enable the business to be successful. It will also enable the customers to gain trust in the company if the description of a product is well understood. Marketers should also have good communication skills that make customers attracted to a product and this means using correct grammar. Reddy C. (2016) advocates for the use of the language regularly to improve on grammar. The more you practice it the more you become better at it. Other effective ways to improve on grammar are, writing and reading more, listening and practicing and going through a course.
Communication is a key part of our everyday life. It is defined as a process that people use to share information and come to a consensus. Another definition is an activity where information is exchanged from one person to another through human mediums who interact within a shared context. It is a process of transmitting and receiving messages. Through communication with one another, we maintain personal relationships and social networks. Thompson (2018), states that we need to have high-level communications skills that enable us to exceed our everyday capabilities. As the lessons from Ted-Ed teach, to avoid miscommunication we have to learn the skills of good communication. Every communication must have two messages at the same time. The basic message is the message being delivered and the other message is how we want the recipient to receive the basic message. Communication involves interaction which can sometimes go wrong due to misunderstanding and people having different perspectives on the message.
Ted-Ed gives effective lessons of communication models. In some models of these models, there are three elements involved. Thompson (2018) explains in detail that there is the one transmitting the message, the one receiving it and in between is the two is one referred to as noise. The noise element includes any factors that interfere with communication. Noise elements include distractions, technical problems, and emotional issues. They tamper with the information being delivered and therefore the process of communication is made impossible. This means that the wrong message will reach the recipient.
Taylor (2015) states that communication is not just the use of words but includes how you express it, for example, the tone of your voice. Communication includes the intention of sending the message. It also includes when you are delivering the message, for example when arguing. There are hindrances to effective communication which include lack of concentration. Not paying attention when talking to a person, for example using your mobile phone can hinder effective communication. Ted-Ed lessons explain to us how distractions can cause confusion and misunderstanding. Judging a person when talking could make you not listen or consider their opinions.
According to Taylor (2015), effective skills that make communication possible include, listening. Listening more than you speak enables you to grasp as much information as needed. You should avoid making interruptions in a conversation. Lessons from Ted-Ed about being actively involved and giving feedback both in verbal and non- verbal communication are effective. Being short, clear and precise makes the message be passed and understood easily. Summarizing and clarifying what you have heard makes you a good listener and you can get the message. Sharing the feelings of the other person helps you to understand their message. Feedback is giving your insights or thoughts about a message and it is always good to provide feedback to make communication effective. Developing trust and harmonious relationships built on honesty and integrity enables communication to be efficient. Being in the moment during communication makes you reliable and it contributes to great and resourceful communication.
Krause (2018) explains the reasons why good grammar is important in communication. One of the three categories in grammar are purists, these are prescriptivists. These are people who know, appreciate and accept the rules of grammar. They believe that the rules govern the correct usage and not using the rules makes the content wrong. Purists have an eye for detail when it comes to good grammar. The other category includes rebels also known as descriptivists. These are people who care about how the language is used and do not care about the rules that govern it. They are not too much into detail so long as communication happens. The third category is of people who do not know or care about the rules of grammar or cannot keep up with them. Ted-Ed lessons are effective in teaching about descriptivism and prescriptivism.
According to Krause (2018), your spelling, grammar and punctuations are a representation of yourself to the world. Lessons from Ted-Ed are effective in communication is the act of understanding and being understood. It gives the recipient the message of attention to detail and command. Poor grammar makes you look careless and affects your credibility. People make judgments on your capability based on your grammar. Communication is a skill that we use to make sense of information, find solutions and entertain one another. Good grammar represents the power and effectiveness of words.
Conclusion
Communication and grammar go hand in hand. The correct grammatical use enhances effective communication. Poor grammar leads to misunderstood information and could sometimes bring conflicts between people. Ted-Ed lessons from the videos teach us that the correct use of grammar makes information become easily and well understood. Some rules must be followed in grammar for it to be correct. Proper grammar helps you communicate effectively and get what you want easily because the message is transmitted clearly.
References
Krause M. (2018). Good grammar is (still) important and here’s why: www.clearvoice.com
Taylor J. (2015). 9 effective communication skills: www.habitsforwellbeing.com
Thompson, N. (2018). Effective Communication: A Guide for the People Professions: London:
Palgrave
Padhye S.S. (2017). English, grammar and writing skills: Notion press
Reddy C. (2016) why is grammar important in communication: content.wisestep.com
Wren P.C, Martin H. (2018), High school English grammar & composition. New Delhi : Blackie
elt Books, an imprint of S.Chand Publishing,
Woods, G. (2015). Basic English Grammar For Dummies - US (For Dummies (Language &
How are linguistic differences used in social differentiation and social organization processes among the people in the Sinosphere?
Linguistic differences are used in many areas including political and economic practices. It is important to note that when the linguistic differences are used to create social differences and social organization, the minority population is impacted especially on areas of cultural identity. For example, Zhou has changed the linguistic landscape by implementing new policies and practices that support the use of Putonghua/Hanyu (official speech) (Beckett H & Postiglione, 2013). Note that minorities are affected in that their rights are ignored and they find challenges in learning literacy education. Therefore, linguistic differences bring social differentiation in that China uses Putonghua as the national language but all ethnic groups are discriminated against their education and economic rights. Minority population experience language and identity loss, and social displacement (Beckett & Postiglione, 2013). A minority language is not included in the education system. There is evidence that the linguistic differences creates a social difference and social organizations where the Chinese use Hanyu to benefit economically whereas minorities are gradually marginalized. The minority has been positioned in ethnic autonomous regions where they suffer from poverty due to a lack of economic and educational benefits. The autonomy law provides language rights to minority population but Zhou's implements new policies and practices that support state rights and ignores individual rights and therefore minority population is denied their language rights (Beckett & Postiglione, 2013). Even though ethnic minorities have lived in the country for many years, China uses language or linguistic differences to build boundaries and create socio-political environments.
Language ideology is the basis for nation building simply because the language developed in China and therefore it should be promoted in minority areas (Zhou, 2012). Zhou believes that the Soviet model promotes relationships between the Chinese language (Hanyu) and minority language ( lingua franca). He also use the Chinese model which states that Hanyu is the central language though it should not restrict one from becoming a citizen (Zhou, 2012). However, the monolingual policy, which is mainstreamed in many areas including education, has brought social differences and social organizations in that ethnic cultures experience challenges in accessing education and expressing their cultural life. Note that language plays a significant role in promoting survival (Zhou, 2012). However, minority right to use their language has been violated and this leads to poor academic achievement, anger, among other things that affect their lives.
What other axes of identification (other than language?) affect the social organization in the Sinosphere?
Other than language, the Sinosphere uses economic and political legitimacy. Note that China does not only use language ideology to create social differences but the Communist Party of China has established political identity and social goals, which have resulted in income disparity, unequal economic development, high rate of unemployment, environmental pollution, and corruption (Wu, 2008). This indicates that the Communist Party of China has political authority and has created a new ruling ideology of ‘Xiaokang'. The political orders has transformed the political system and resulted in a legitimacy crisis. The crisis occurs because different political systems want to show their legitimacy. In general, the new ideology that focuses on economic development has given the Communist Party of China a commanding role (Wu, 2008). Note that people are expected to offer reasoned viewed towards a political order. However, China uses top-down rhetoric which means that the new order and social goals are not articulated but rather the Communist Party of China employs it’s imperative role to justify the political order (Wu, 2008). In other words, China has a centralized power to regulate the economy and to create regulations and policies.
Response
I agree with these answers regarding the question that linguistic differences create social differentiation and social groups in that China creates a social hierarchy through valuing its language and culture. For example, Zhou proposed a language ideology that stated that all citizens should use Hanyu/ Putonghua as the national language. This means that the minority citizens will be restricted from exercising their rights such as the use of the first language (Beckett & Postiglione, 2013). It also means that minorities are discriminated and minority students will not succeed academically due to language barriers. Even though the PRC supports multilingual education to promote harmony, the over 50 ethnic groups face challenges in accessing multilingual education. Note that China has the political power to maintain its identity and culture, and the language decisions are influenced by political and social ideology. Therefore, the ethnic groups continue to experience language boundaries whereas China focuses on power and hierarchy to create social and political stability. I believe that linguistic differences result in social differences where the minority population is alienated and restricting from creating cultural identity. China becomes the dominant culture since the language favor its ways of life including language, religion, beliefs, and other traditions. Note that the dominant group that uses the standard language creates a social class where the minority groups are alienated and their linguistic forms are not recognized (Beckett & Postiglione, 2013).
Language is not the only source of social differences and social groups but also other things such as religion, political elements, ethnic and cultural beliefs belong to the Chinese culture. These things create misunderstandings and conflict since the minority population is not allowed to express them. I also believe that the language barrier is the root cause of all other axes of identification in that language barrier creates a border where there is no knowledge sharing and the dominant culture value its social norms and values (Wu, 2008). Minorities do not access education and economic benefit yet language is the only means where the minority can access education and other benefits.
Reference
Beckett H. G., & Postiglione G.A. (2013). China’s assimilationist language policy : the impact on
indigenous/minority literacy and social harmony. Routledge.
Wu, D. D. (2008). Discourses of cultural China in the globalizing age. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University
Press.
Zhou, M. (2012). Historical review of the PRC’s minority/indigenous language policy and practice:
Best Strategies to Teach Writing, Spelling and Grammar to Elementary Students
One of the most important things to understand about writing is that it is a process. This is not a skill that you develop and perfect immediately. There are very few people that can begin writing at the top of the page and write continuously, until they finish at bottom of the page without stopping to correct some mistakes. There are five steps in the writing process.
Prewriting is the first step and it is what helps the students to come up with ideas on what they want to write about. Prewriting ensures that students do not make simultaneous decisions about language and content as they are writing (Davin & Donato, 2013). There are various ways that students cab encouraged to come up with writing ideas, one activity that can be used is brainstorming. In this strategy, the students can be encouraged to come up with a list of potential examples for a given topic. This is an activity that the students can engage in as an entire class or in small groups. There should be no restrictions for the students; they should be allowed to be as creative as they can (Davin & Donato, 2013). Free writing is another activity that can be used to help the students come up with content for their writing. The teacher should in this case teach the students to write down all the thoughts on the topic that they have. Once completed, the students should then go back and read what they wrote down and decide on the best ideas for the writing activity. A journalistic question is another strategy that can be used to help students come up with ideas to write about. This is where questions are used including; why, what, when, where, who and how to help understand writing ideas better. After writing the questions down, the teacher should encourage the students to answer them after which they should go back and organize their thoughts while they prepare for writing (Davin & Donato, 2013).
Drafting, this is the second step in the writing process and it is where the students use the ideas they crafted in the first stage to write rough draft writing. This allows the students to organize their ideas into actual sentences, grammar and punctuation is not really considered in this stage (Davin & Donato, 2013). The teacher can at this stage help the students by engaging then individually as they write, offering suggestions and praises as they observe the areas that the students have difficulty in.
Revising and editing is the next writing step where the teacher shows the student how to make changes in various areas to make their writing more coherent and clear. The teacher can teach the students the importance of rereading their work more than once to see whether it conveys their desired message (Davin & Donato, 2013). The students can read their work aloud to their peers to help understand the required revisions. This will greatly help the students to develop greater language proficiency as they work together with their peer when revising their work.
Rewriting is the fourth step in the writing process, where all the corrections being made in the first draft are made. At this point students have to be extra careful as they have to ensure that they consider all changes made to come up with a fine paper.
The last step is the publishing. This is where the students get to write their final copy that has been fully corrected. The teacher can appreciate the work of the students by publishing it in the school magazine or hanging it in class or in the school bulletin board (Davin & Donato, 2013). This will not only motivate the students to write more but it will also encourage other students to improve on their writing so that they can be appreciated.
The six traits of writing
This is an effective writing teaching method that has been incorporated by many teachers in their classrooms. In this model, six characteristics are used to help in defining quality writing including;
Ideas; this refers to the main idea and also the content of the writing. In this section, a writer is expected to come up with the details of the writing that are both informative and it should necessarily contain details that are already known to their readers (Jones, 2016). To help students think critically and come up with the right topic content in their writing, a teacher could come up with an activity for instance use of photographs where by the students explain what they think is happening in each of the photos. Doing this will help the students learn to pay attention to details and differentiate what is important and what is not while writing. The teacher could also read a poem and have the students discuss a real life connection that they have to the poem. The teacher should teach the students to always consider what the message of their writing is, whether all the details have been included and whether the message is clear.
Organization; this is all about ensuring that the content is focused. This is where the students should ensure that their writing can easily be understood in order to accomplish successful communication (Jones, 2016). This is all about coming up with catching hook that gives the readers a reason to care about the topic. The writing should include supporting details in concrete paragraphs, with each of them having a transition that allows the order to be sensible. The teacher should in this case teach the students the concept of organization in their writing. The teacher can do this by first teaching the students various sections of a writing including, introduction, body paragraphs and conclusions. She can then go ahead and read them a story which will help them understand how the various sections are incorporated in a writing. To help understand the importance of organisation in writing, the teacher can jumble a list of directions and then request the students to rearrange them in order. In this section, students should always consider how they begin and end their writing to ensure it is in order.
Voice; this is all about how the writer brings out their work to life, their passions and feelings of the topic. It is the personal tone that the writer uses in their work while trying to fit their work in the right genre (Jones, 2016). The teacher can teach the students about voice in writing by reading stories from one author after which they can all try and find the similarities in the two stories in regard to the tone. The teacher should teach the students to identify their personal tones in regard to how they feel about their chosen topics. They should always ask ensure that their work sound like them and that the readers understand their feelings when they read their work without straining too much.
Word choice; this refers to the vocabularies that the writer chose to use to convey meaning. Writers should always choose their words very carefully to ensure that their ideas are expanded (Jones, 2016). Words that are used in writing should move and at the same time enlighten the readers; metaphors, similes and other figurative language should be used to enrich the content of the writing. The teacher could teach the students on word choice by creating a list of words and another one of better word to use. The teacher in this case can help the students to make use of new words in place of the commonly used words in their writing. The teacher can ask the students to practice using the new words that they learn by forming sentences using them. This will help the students to incorporate the new vocabularies in their writing.
Sentence Fluency; this is how words and phrases flow through the text. If a similar pattern is followed over time, it becomes monotonous (Jones, 2016). A good illustration of this is writing where every paragraph begins with the word ‘The’. A fluent writing is one that has rhythm and does not have awkward word patterns that make it boring. Fluency can be taught to the students using acrostic poem, the teacher can write a short essay on the board with the student’s help. While doing this, the teacher can consequently ask the students to read the line of the poems out loud to determine if they are easy to read and if they make sense. During this activity, the teacher can teach the students to write complete sentences and how to begin sentences differently to avoid monotony.
Conventions; this is all about the mechanical correctness including spelling, grammar and punctuation in a writing. It is important for students to apply the correct spelling rules, to always use correct punctuation, use correct verb tenses and demonstrate paragraph organization in their writing. Teaching conventions is not easy and the best strategy to use is to teach them independently. A teacher should for instance introduce character, setting, plot and conflict when teaching narratives. All these are elements that need to be taught together to help students understand how to write a narrative. This same case applies when the teacher is teaching grammar, the teacher should always ensure that with every concept taught, the students are provided with an immediate way that they apply their grammar lesson to a writing assignment. The teacher should ensure that they assess every grammar element that they teach to ensure that the students follow it in all their writing. The stricter the teacher is, the more keen the students will be in ensuring that they correctly spell, punctuate and write complete sentences. Conventions are the determinants of a good or poor writer.
Teaching Spelling
Teaching spelling can be challenging, but if fun teaching strategies are incorporated, it becomes enjoyable and less tedious. One mistake that is made when teaching spelling is concentrating on memorization. People forget that different letters can produce different sounds in different words. When teaching spelling, the teacher should focus on teaching the students the sounds and not the letter names.
Words with similar spellings patterns should be grouped together and a list made like in the picture above (Child1st Publications, 2016). The teacher can create a word list with words that have sound long ‘I’. Children’s brains work best using patterns, grouping the chosen words in a column help the children to understand and actually see what the words have in common (Child1st Publications, 2016). In the word list, the sounds that the words have in common can be highlighted using a bright colour. The teacher can have the students construct sentences where they use as many words with the highlighted sound as possible. This will help the students to always remember different sounds without having to memorize them.
References
Child1st Publications. (2016). How to Teach Spelling So Kids Will Remember. Retrieved
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