Which do you prefer, being in a large school or a small one ? (COMPARE & CONTRAST ESSAY)

 I prefer being in a small school.

    When I was in primary school, we had only about two hundred pupils in the school. I knew just about every teacher and pupil of the school. In fact, all of us knew each another and the school was like a huge family. The teachers  were like uncles and aunts. The schoolmates were friendly and we really had great times together.

    The atmosphere in school was terrific. We were small and we cared for each other. The headmaster was a kind man who knew how to look after children. He never had to cane anyone. The children  simply loved being in school. So, we never created any trouble.

    Now, I am in secondary school., This school has almost two thousands students. It is too large for my liking. Even after three years here, I only knows those in my class and some from other classes. The students are definitely  less friendly here. So are the teachers, whereas in my old  school the teachers  were like uncles and aunts, those here are just  like strangers we meet on the streets. I am not saying all the teachers are like that, but I say quite  a number of them do not seem  to be bothered  whether they knows us or not.

   As the school is divided into two sessions, those who came in the morning, do not know those who come in the afternoon at all. The teachers themselves do not know all their colleagues. How can we students know all our schoolmates? It is impossible. This sort of thing does nothing to bring about  a friendly atmosphere in the school. 

   Almost every month the headmaster  cane some students in public. I have never  seen such thing in my old school. I suspect the guilty students  are merely trying  to get some attention. They are sorely neglected. Most of these so-called 'naughty' brats come from the weaker class. I had on occasion, passed by these E and F classes. What do I see? Pandemonium- I do not any teacher  in the class and the students are left to their own devices. No wonder they break  chairs and tables and make trouble. Then they punished for their offences. In the first place who is responsible for their neglect? Fortunately, I am not in one of these classes. Otherwise, I would have been caned now. 

   When I had to leave primary school to come up to secondary, I felt  sad having to go  away from a place that I loved. I look forward  to the day when I can leave. That is how different the two schools are. The small school really  made me feel wanted  and I enjoyed being there. This huge monster of a school makes me unwanted  and I do not enjoy being  here.

Reflection Week 10

 This week,we learned on a topic writing style for commercial website. 

WRITE SUCCINCTLY.

1. Write clean,
2. Use active sentences. Crisps, snappy sentences attract and hold your readers’ attention.
3. Stay focused.
4. Be positive : Do not write negative statement. Positive means you write a positive statements. Do         not hit around the bush.

5. Trust the reader: Sometimes, it is distracting if there's too much info delivered .  No need to tell the reader every details , or else the reader will get fed-up.

6. Better sentence :  Give a simple sentence yet very clear.

Choose anglo-saxon  words:         ask    >      interrogate   >      question

                                                     Thin   >         spare       >       emaciated

7. Eliminate excess words – perhaps you can use bullets to make it interesting.

8. Remove redundancies. No Same meaning sentence.
     Eg;  past experience, begin to initiate, a burning fire, close proximity, earlier/previous, basic fundamental, free gift, same exact thing.

9.  Shorten inflated phrases  :-

                            On account of the fact …… because

                            All of sudden … suddenly

                            In order to… to

10. Keep verbs alive -Do not use passive voice, it's better to use active voice. Do not use  lifeless verbs and vital verbs.  Simpler one.

 11.  Adverb and adjective: very, very weak.  

11. Use a conventional style. :  Pedantic style:  it is better to make the words easier.

                                               -Use precise terms

                                               -use specific concrete nouns. 
                                                Time clock    >   chuckoo clock   >  fear >  dog .>   Chihuahua

                                               -use plain terms

                                               -avoid idioms, spell out acronyms, be wary of trendy terms. 
                                                 (follow the trend words)

                                                 EXAMPLE : Staycation (vacation at home)

12.  list items   :

                                              > use bullets    >use numbers for sequences.

                                              >Other guideline. Keep sentence short

                                              >Para short, chunk info, title n subtitle, set the  right tone

Reflection Week 9

         Ms. Amreet started the class with the important styles for informative websites. It is divided into three sections, which are technical, scientific and academic. For language students like us, we are more exposed with academic style. It is divided into two. First is qualitative, it is descriptive and takes time. While, quantitative is more to data and interpretation. One of the most important thing in academic style is when you do the list  of references, where you should be aware with APA style to cite the references. Last but not least, Ms. Amreet emphasized to the class that in academic writing, there is no bibliography. The differences between reference list and bibliography list is in reference you have to write with the APA style, while for bibliography, you can put anything.

The importance of water ( Informative Essay )

         Water is one of the most important things on earth. Every living thing needs water for its survival. Without water, plants, animals, microbes - everything, will perish. Our bodies are composed of about 75% water. so we are literally walking bags of water. Water allows our blood to flow through the blood vessels thus supplying the body with vital nutrients. also water allows waste water to be eliminated from the body via the excretory system. Our need for water becomes very apparent when we are thirsty. The taste are water going down the throat is something we all find so much pleasure in. We drink glasses of this precious transparent liquid everyday. it is vital to our life.

        The first civilisations of man started near rivers. The Nile, The Tigris  and Euphrates were where man began to establish themselves on the earth. In all parts of the world, the major rivers played a major part in the evolution of man.

       Water is used for drinking, washing, cleaning, and just about any activities we care to do. Without water, living is virtually impossible. Water covers about two thirds of the total surface of the earth. The vast expanse if seas and oceans has long been our major sources of food and means of travel. Millions of fishes live in the sea. they provide an abundant supply of valuable food. All of us has eaten fish, with the exceptions of those who do not eat meat. The majority of mankind will continue to eat fish.

         The rivers, seas and oceans provide man with an important means of travel. In ancient times, man explored the earth via the sea. The British, Protuguese, Spanish, Dutch and other all reached the less developed world in their ships. They conquered or colonised what they discovered. Much of what we are today, influenced by the travellers who came over the seas in their ships long ago. Today the waterways of the world are still of major importance to mankind. Huge oil tankers, container ship and others ply these routes. In fact many of the sea routes are overcrowded.

        When there is shortage of water such as when there is a drought, then we know how terrible the consequences can be.  Plants, animals and human beings perish. The affected land becomes parched and dry. Nothing grows. In the midst of the Sahara Desert where there is very little rain, there is also very little life. Mostly, we get sand and more sand. no man can live there.

        People who live near  or around  deserts know the value of water. They know how precious  it is and they  take great care using it. We, who live in  a land where water is plentiful, think nothing of standing under the shower for half an hour. Those who live in arid  areas do not such a luxury. They cannot afford to waste water like we do. As long as there is life on this planet, water will be here. Without it, life as we know it is impossible. Thus it is beneficial for us to know  how important  water is. We ought not to waste it or pollute it by any means. Water is just too precious.

A trip by car ( Narrative Essay )

   

  We started at 7 a.m in the morning. It was Sunday and the traffic in Kuala Lumpur was minimal. From our home in Petaling Jaya it took us a mere fifteen minutes before we reached the toll plaza at Kepong. My father gave 50 cent to the girl manning one of the booths and we continued on our way up north. We were actually going to visit my mother's parents in Ipoh. I sat at the back of the car with my younger sister while my parents  sat in front.

        The scene after the toll plaza was quite different from what we saw in K.L. High-rise buildings gave way to tall limestone hills. My father mentioned that Batu Caves was somewhere on our right as we passed by the Selayang wholesale market. indeed we could see outcrops  of limestones and signs indicating the direction to Batu Caves. Swiftly we passed Selayang and entered a twisty section of road that led us past Templer Park and to Rawang. All the time the red morning sun shone on our right-hand side lighting up the beautiful scenery of the countryside. Rawang was just a small town but there were signs of impending progress. Anyhow we carried on past the town and further north. my father said that the road was normally congested. Fortunately, we chose sunday so we moved along relatively  fast.

         It was not often that we travelled along this road so we had plenty of new things to see. I noticed the names of the small towns we passed by. There were  Serendah, Kerling, Batang Kali, Kalumpang and others whose names I have forgotten. All were practically one-street towns and and wondered what it was like to live in one of them. At about 9 o'clock we reached  Tanjong Malim. We did  not actually  enter it because the main  road bypassed the town. Still I could see the town from a distance as we passed the traffic lights near the town. We had just entered the state of Perak. Tanjong Malim to Slim River, the next town , was very quick. The traffic was not heavy and my father made short work of the short stretch, but he made sure he kept  within the speed  limit of 90 km/h. Sure enough, his caution  was a good thing for along the road we could see some cars  who were stopped by the police. They obviously had been speeding.

         After Slim River, I felt sleepy and my interest  in the scenery decreased. So I took a short nap. When I awoke my father  had stopped the car to buy some jambu at Bidor. After eating the fruit, I felt revitalised  and took a renewed interest  in the surroundings.

          We then passed by Tapah, Kampar, and some other smaller places before we finally came within sight of Ipoh. Traffic conditions worsened as we entered the town, but it was  Sunday it was not too bad. Ipoh was a big town, not unlike K.L, but there were very few  high-risebuildings. Anyhow we were there  for a purpose  and after a short while travelling on the streets of Ipoh we arrived at my grandparents' place. I looked at the clock in the car. It read 10.45 a.m.

Reflection week 8

       On Monday, Ms. Amreet asked us to find and explore any appropriate and inappropriate websites, three respectively and find out why you stated that it is appropriate or vice versa. After all found the website, Ms. Amreet asked anyone to tell the class about our findings and discuss it together with everyone. First, penny juice, it is inappropriate because

       On Wednesday, Ms. Amreet asked us to sit in our group and discuss about our digital story-telling. Me and my group members started our discussion among group members about the appropriate field or site that can be used to produce our digital story-telling. It was quite hard to find site that really can support the needs for our story. After considered few of sites, then, we decided to use scratch.com. Then, we proceed with the storyline, characters, characteristics, and also the script. Ms. Amreet asked the group leader to come in front and show the group progress.  

Reflection week 7

     This week, Ms. Amreet began the class with the personal  style for writing in multimedia. The uses of LINGO. Lingo is an short-form such as LOL and emoticons, such as J.

It is appropriate to use it for messaging or chatting, but inappropriate for web writing, for example blog post as it is considered as assignment (academic purposes). Next, definitely do not use swear words and do not being gender bias,  you use they/their. One of the most important thing to pay attention is grammar rules. Never end a sentence  with preposition. Example: where are you from?. Typing full for assignments. Do not use short-form. 

Example: Sally & I went to the movies.

                 Mom baked a cake for Jeff & me.

       Also, be careful with malaproprisms (same pronunciation with different meaning). Example: effect vs affect.  Last but not least, make sure use the correct punctuation. Make sure recheck these things  before sending assignment.