Speech Next Week

      To me, the idea of speaking in front of the audience makes me nervous and scared. I think that most of the people aren’t too comfortable with going on stage and speaking in public since it’s one of people’s greatest fears. Speaking is a form of art, and how to speak well needs lots of practices because practice makes perfect. When seeing speakers that can attract their audience all the time and delivering their speeches fluently and smoothly, I admire these people. The reason that the audience aren’t bored by the speeches is speakers know their topics thoroughly and they enjoy sharing with their listeners.

        I feel differently when giving a presentation than having to put forth a persuasive argument since giving a presentation is harder. After coming up with persuasive arguments, the next important thing is how do you convince your audience. By thinking about this, we have to think about how will we do our presentations in a way that most of our audiences can be successfully persuaded. Maybe we have to provide some graphical data or interviews, which are logical appeals, to better convince our audience to believe in our arguments.

        Before speaking in front of people, my heart would just beat faster and faster, and I can’t control about this physical change. Thus, I will breathe more air in to soothe my nervousness, to calm myself down. Some people tend to talk quickly when on stage because they’re not mentally or emotionally prepared, and the audience would miss some points. I hope that when doing my speech next week, I will have appropriate speed so that my audience can clearly understand what am I talking about.

Your Opposition

      The topic of my persuasive speech is “Abolishing School Uniforms,” and I’m on the supporting side. There must be counter arguments in a persuasive speech so that speaker can show the audience what’s the best choice. My supporting arguments are that first, students can develop their own style and be unique through arranging clothes by themselves for many years. Second, students will be able to buy new clothes. Third, it’s our rights for choosing what to wear, and schools shouldn’t violate this free right.    Moreover, I think this arguments is the most important one.

The opposition to my persuasive arguments are that first, students should spend every second on studying rather than wasting time on thinking what to wear. In addition, this is especially important for seniors, who have to worry about college application and school work. Second, some students don’t have enough money to buy new clothes, so they can just stick with their old ones. By listing out these opposing arguments, I think I am able to anticipate how someone might try to counter what I say.

If I gave my persuasive argument as a speech, I think people in the audience might question about the credibility of it. Throughout the whole speech, I use emotional appeal more than the other two kinds, which are logical and ethical appeals. As for result, in order to prepare for their questions, I could provide some statistics or facts showing percentage of students want to abolish school uniforms is greater than that of keeping school uniforms.

Writing or Speaking

   Among the two different kinds of methods of delivering my argument, I think speaking is more effective than writing. I think audience would be less bored by speeches instead of essays. When seeing audience start to lose focus and can’t pay attention anymore, the speaker can kind of roll away from his or her subject and come up with remarks spontaneously that could grab audience’s heart again. But, if readers are bored by essays, they would just put them aside and never pick the papers up again. However, there are some disadvantages of speaking. Audience can’t remember all arguments that speakers have made, so we have to repeat our points over and over. Nevertheless, I still think speaking is easier than writing. By making speeches with changes in tone and great enthusiasm, we can arouse audience’s emotion and call action upon our listeners. If it’s the case of writing, there are only connotative words rather than a person speaking directly in front of you. As for result, the effect of writing would be less than that of speaking. Moreover, I prefer speaking because it can help gain confidence and learn how to speak clearly. When standing in front of a group of people, no matter large or small, people would get nervous naturally. Thus, they would talk really fast and make the audience hard to catch what their speeches are about. As for result, we have to learn the skill of pacing ourselves when standing in the front. We have to learn to speak slowly and clearly. Most importantly, we have to make our speeches flow smoothly, and organizing notes on flashcards really helps a lot. I like speaking better because we can learn different kinds of other skills while doing the preparation work and on stage.

Your Argument

   The topic of my persuasive speech is abolishing school uniforms, and I would characterize my arguments as more emotional because I use words that would rouse students’ feeling of banning school uniforms. As for result, there’s less logical and ethical appeals, so my arguments are less balanced. I didn’t use a lot of date for either supporting or defending my arguments, and I only use ethical appeal in the very end while saying it’s wrong for schools to tell us what to wear since we should have the rights for our clothing. My supporting arguments are that by choosing what we want to wear every day, we can create our unique style and develop skill of managing clothing. Moreover, our rights of choosing what to wear freely shouldn’t be violated. In addition, the best thing among all is that we can buy new clothes. My counter arguments are that students shouldn’t waste time on their outfit, especially for seniors who are under great stress of college application and heavy load of school work. Some students don’t have enough money to buy new clothes, so they would think that not having uniforms is inconvenient for them.

I think there is something about the subject of my argument that lends itself to one kind of appeal more than another. For example, I said that students can buy lots of new clothes if school uniforms are abolished, and I think this definitely appeals to their desires, which is emotion. In addition, the point of using time wisely and not having enough money are also emotional appeals.

Reflect on Your Essay

      Recently in the College Research and Essay Writing class, we’re doing persuasive essay, and my topic is abolishing school uniforms. Throughout the process of composing a complete essay, I find what’s particularly easy is thinking about supporting arguments. What’s particularly hard is coming up with mild opposing point of views because I don’t want my supporting points fail to defend thus seem weak and can’t persuade my audience.

        Writing a persuasive essay better uses a combination of logical, emotional, and ethical appeals in body paragraphs. For me, the appeal that’s easiest to make is emotional, because I try to use connotative words that rouse people’s emotions. Also, the most difficult one to make is logical appeal since I don’t have lots of data, statistics, examples, or facts.

        When looking at opposing viewpoints, although they make sense, I still can’t change my position. So, my position didn’t really change at all. In the end, I believe my own arguments, and I have to do so. Nobody would want to listen to your essay and it loses the power to persuade if you don’t even believe in yourself.

        There’s no perfection for everything, so my essay does has some holes in my arguments that an opponent might be able to exploit. In my essay, there’s an opposing point saying that schools shouldn’t abolish uniforms because students would waste too much time on doing outfit, and seniors especially can’t have any time to waste. I think this argument is pretty strong, and it’s hard to refute it. Writing a persuasive essay allows me to learn to think about both sides of opinions, and the technique of using different kinds of appeals.

Reason Sits Firm

   Reasoning is by using facts and logic to persuade your audience into believing or doing something. Thus, using reasons is a logical appeal. Chasm is like large crack on the ground. By saying “not let the feelings burst away and hurry her to wild chasms,” the author was suggesting that reason, which was firm and wouldn’t need to worry about being defeated, didn’t allow feelings to take over. Heathens were non-Christians, but it also meant uncultured, wild people in the 18^th century. The author was trying to say that although wild emotions might run the things, it’s the logical judgment that had the final say in the end.

     In my opinion, I don’t really agree with the author’s point of view that reason eventually rules over emotion. I think it’s vice versa. I remembered one time I went shopping alone at my favorite store near the Mega 21 department store, and I bought nearly to $10,000. I had about ten new items because I hadn’t been there for about a month, and I didn’t want to lose any latest product, so I told the salesperson that I would like to have all new clothes, pants, and accessories. Although my wallet was already empty, I still had few more clothes that I hadn’t bought yet, so I rushed back home and asked my brother to lend me some money. Because of my feeling of wanting to have every latest product, my heart tells me to buy them all rather than stop buying. Thus, this is an example showing that for me, emotion usually rules over brain.

Persuade Me

    Three more months later I will officially be eighteen years old, and by that time I can finally drive car and ride motorcycle. After school ends in a month, my goal is to learn how to ride a motorcycle. I’m always jealous when seeing my friends riding their motorcycles and go to places wherever they want at any time. Not knowing how to ride a motorcycle limits my shopping area only within walking distances. However, the goal is not easy to achieve because my parents don’t even allow me to learn. They think riding a motorcycle is too dangerous, especially hearing that one of our nurse’s mom died due to a car accident. Moreover, I don’t know how to ride a bike, so it’s harder for me to learn motorcycle. Nevertheless, I’m trying hard to persuade my parents that they should let me learn how to ride a motorcycle.

    First, a motorcycle is more convenient than a car when buying food at traditional markets. If I drive a car to the markets, then I not only have to worry about where to park, but also need to concern whether it will be taken away by toll truck. Moreover, a motorcycle is easier than a car in finding parking place because by moving other motorcycles, there will always be spaces squeezed out. Second, when encountering heavy traffic, a motorcycle, can move freely between cars, which are stuck. Third, buying a motorcycle is way cheaper than buying a car. Seeing all these advantages of a motorcycle, I hope that my parents can change their minds and willing to let me learn.

Free Write!

     Today the basketball team practice is pretty relaxing because we only play 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 games. In addition, there isn’t any physical training afterwards. After the practice ends, it’s time to take pictures for the yearbook. Just few days ago, the seniors wore the gown and took the graduation pictures at the park across the school. Having the gown on makes me feel strongly that we’re going to graduate! Moreover, there’s a sense of sadness coming toward my heart. I can’t believe that three years have just gone so fast, and the seniors are going to depart the country and enter the new journey in life within two more months. As for result, I want to keep lots of memories of my last year at high school by asking Angel to take as many pictures for me as possible on the court today.

     The girls basketball team has three seniors, and I don’t whether the team will still exist next year, so I really cherish every practice time that I have with my teammates, with the coach. One more month later the seniors don’t have to come to school anymore. At first, this sounds pretty exciting. But, after thinking about it for a while, this is rather sad because we won’t be able to see our friends as often anymore. In the end of the group shots, the three seniors come up with many poses and ask Angel to help taking pictures. I think we spend about forty minutes on shooting the pictures, which is a long time. However, everything is worthy because this memory is so valuable and meaningful to us. Most importantly, we have to thank Angel for spending such a long time and taking pictures for us.

Spring Break

        During the Spring Break, the seniors and the 8^th graders all went to Bali Club Med for the graduation trip. As soon as I got to Bali, I could feel the heat coming toward me, so I started to sweat. The enjoyable time in Bali was memorable and fun and we tried lots of activities. For sea activities, we did snorkeling, wind surfing, sailing, parachute. While doing snorkeling, our group was lucky because the weather was well, and we got a chance to see lots of fishes. Wind surfing, probably the hardest thing that I tried of this trip, made my muscle grow. It was so difficult to get balance on the sea, and I think I only stayed about 0.5 seconds while standing on the board. When doing parachute, I saw the beauty of Bali while high on the sky and I was impressed. Other than those sea activities, we also did rafting, which was extremely interesting. I shouted to motivate my group to get ahead of others and although I nearly lost my voice, we still got the second place.

At night, the seniors didn’t just go back to bed and sleep. Rather, we played in the swimming pool at midnight with drinks and enjoying the sky, which was so clear that we could see stars. Besides swimming, we also played badminton, basketball at night, and I never had this kind of experience before. Not only the drinks are nice, but also the food. The buffet was amazing, and it served international food, which contained both Asian and Western kind. In addition than the main course, the desserts were really delicious that everyone missed them when we got back to Taiwan.

Other than missing these fun activities, we also missed the G.O.s there. They were so passionate that they sometimes would come and eat with us. Moreover, they could sing and dance well, which could be seen at shows every night. Not only they can entertain the audience, but also everyone can speak at least 3 different kinds of languages. The last night in Bali everyone was hyper, and it was funny that most of the seniors played majong for the whole night. I was drinking crazily that I got drunk and needed others to get me back into my room. After arriving at Taiwan, I bet all the seniors must feel that we want to go back to the great vacation time in Bali Club Med.

Unconvincing Argument

   We may encounter many arguments, however, not all of the arguments have the abilities to convince us successfully. I think that reasons that make an argument unconvincing could be lacking of evidences and appeals. When someone is trying to “sell me something,” I could feel that he or she is not talking truthfully and he or she just keep on talking to see whether he or she has chances to let me buy his or her products.

    I remembered an instance when I was shopping at downtown, a person came to me and asked me whether I want to buy his handmade bag, which cost $150. Moreover, he told me that the money was for fundraising his university’s club. At that point, I directly told myself that I refused to buy the bag not only because it was too expensive which made me feel I was cheated, but also the person was talking insincerely. When I looked through his eyes, he seemed unconfident, which made his attempt at persuasion not work on me. In addition, he just kept on rambling without having any pause. I think he was just trying to make consumers had no time to think, yet he failed.

    I also had experience of convincing someone but were unsuccessful, which was the time when I was doing on street toothbrush selling for Eden Charity. Even though my feel were sore and my back was totally wet, me and Caroline only sold forty something toothbrushes out of 100 ones. I realized that the art of talking is high class, and it was so difficult to make people move. Moreover, Caroline sold most of the toothbrushes, and I was impressed. The reason I think I was unsuccessful was I didn’t talk proudly about my subject and I should be more confident to show all kinds of benefits and the purpose for selling toothbrushes.

       

Evaluating an Argument

   I don’t believe in everything I read or hear because I think people should be skeptical. We should doubt things rather than putting in all our trust, or else we would only result in getting deceived easily. Throughout our lives, we have heard about lots of things, and everyone determines what and what not to believe by own standard. For me, when encountering statements that are too boastful, exaggerated, or beyond normal human capabilities, I choose not to believe until my eyes really see what happened.

    In evaluating the effectiveness of an attempt at persuasion, I generally go on a “gut” instinct about an argument. To me, feeling matters more than logic, so it’s the emotion that’s guiding me rather than the brain. When hearing upon arguments, I would first see whether an argument fits my taste. If I like an argument, then I would go into the process of breaking it down and thinking about its reason to make sure it has good and strong support that wouldn’t be defeated easily. After digesting all arguments that I like, I would go back to other arguments that I didn’t pick at first. Then, I would think about these arguments and check if their reasoning is firm enough. In the end, I would compare and contrast between arguments I prefer and don’t prefer, and this is the time when logic comes in. My brain would then help me to determine what’s believable or trustworthy and what’s not.

    Knowing how to evaluate an argument can help me to construct one of my own because by tearing down the argument piece by piece, I would then know what are the supportive points and reasons that defense well. In addition, I would know what to avoid in order not to get ruthless attacks over and over.

Opinion v Thought

   Recently, the two hottest international news are Japan’s devastating earthquake and the bloody rebel in Libya. Upon seeing the rebellion in Libya, this event reminds me of the current opinion exists that runs the world: most of the terrorists are from Middle East Asia. No matter in reality or in films, people from regions of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, or Pakistan are always portrayed as terrorists. The United States of America, which is the strongest country among the world, is the hero that wants to stop the spreading of terrorism.

    Because of the great strength that the United States has, it has become the target of terrorist attacks. Speaking of terrorist attacks, the event of September 11 attacks has to be mentioned since it’s probably the most critical one that ever happened in the history of the States. The September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda hijackers who intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. As for result, everyone on planes and many others working in the buildings were killed.

    Most of the terrorist attacks that aim at the United States are from organizations such as the Taliban or al-Qaeda, which are located in Middle East Asia. I think this is why people would have the opinion that there could almost be an equal sign drown between people from Middle East Asia and terrorists. Although this opinion angers people from Middle East Asia, I think it sounds since seeing from past records, there is a stronger potential for people in Middle East Asia becoming terrorists.

Getting What You Want

   I am a person who loves shopping, especially for shoes. Moreover, I’m probably the one who has the most pairs of shoes in our family. I have so many shoes that nurses at our house often asks me whether I have shoes for them. I remembered when I was in elementary school, one of my dreams was to collect all brands of shoes. Throughout 5 or 6 years of hard working, I finally possess almost every brand of shoes. However, there are many new brands coming out every year, so my effort of collecting has to last eternally. Other than having all brands of shoes, I want to have different kinds of colors of shoes so that I can distinguish from others.

    I remembered the time when I wanted a pair of gray shoes very badly that every day I could only think of it. Whenever my thought was struck by it, I could hardly concentrate and work. Despite already having about 18 pairs of shoes, I told my mom that I was crazy about the gray shoes. I convinced her to let me have what I wanted by saying that I dreamed for it every night and promised her that I would listen to her on every matter. I used the technique of emotion to move her because it’s easier than using logic. Humans are irrational animals, so we couldn’t always think in terms of reasons, and this is why sometimes our minds don’t follow our brains because we are affected by emotion. Nevertheless, I think that the best way of persuasion is using both logic and emotion. But for me, I think emotion works the best for me because I seldom come up with firm reasons to stand for my points.

Persuasion Examples

According to the definition from dictionary, coercion is use of force or intimidation to obtain compliance, and persuasion is the state or fact of being convinced. I think the difference between the two terms is that one is forcing you to do something, which you’re unwilling to do, and the other one is trying to change your mind via telling you to do other things. I draw the line between being forced to do something and being persuaded into doing it by determining whether the things we’re doing follow our heart, and whether our mind is willing to do these things.

        School bully is an example of coercion because the bullies force you to surrender all of your precious possessions, and they beat you up in the bathroom if you don’t listen to them. Moreover, they threaten you for becoming prostitutes if you don’t buy drugs from them. All of these evil forces make good students fall and become corrupted.

        When buying things, some people might constantly change their minds because of other people’s suggestions. I remembered the experience in which I went shopping with my parents for buying a new schoolbag. At first, I wasn’t going to buy the one I’m using now, but I changed my thought because my mom successfully persuaded me that the one I’m using now is more suitable for me since it has a bag for me to put water and it’s bigger. These two points attracted me, so I decided to buy the one that my mom thought was better.

Real Questions

        Throughout our lives, it’s unavoidable that we face lots of questions. Some questions just come into our mind without our notices, and some questions form after we thoroughly think over. Sometimes, we might think wrongly that our questions are solved when our minds stop being annoyed by them. However, these questions aren’t real ones. According to the quotation, the real questions are the ones that interest our minds and motivate us want to keep researching and discovering deeper.

        When learning about Earth Science in middle school, I remembered I always had lots of questions while the teacher was lecturing. Why was Earth the most suitable place for humans to live? How did the universe first form? Where did ancient animals and plants go? How did the first generation species develop their body systems or their skills? These questions make me wonder a lot about the mysterious world that we live in, thus I would want to give an specific answer to each of these interesting questions. Nonetheless, it’s impossible to give definite terms to them because these questions are too broad, thus there are too many elements contained.

        These questions wouldn’t bore me at all, rather, they excite me. At that time, my favorite class was Earth Science because it made me want to explore more about this world, and I could feel my heart beat was always beating hard on my chest since I was really focused and into the subject.

Logic v Emotion

Although this quotation is short, it’s sending a powerful message. It makes me feel that pollution is a serious and severe issue, and people have to find ways to deal with it. Moreover, as the environment gets harmed, it could never go back to the way it used to be in the past. I can find the negative connotative word “evil” in this quotation, which associates me to have the idea of that pollution is really bad, just like the fiendish demon is doing hurtful and harmful things. Humans shouldn’t think that they can get away from pollution because eventually the toxic elements build up in the food chain, thus humans are getting the most amount of toxic. A small action which we spray a kind of anti-virus thing on grass, the process of pollution starts. The cow would eat the grass, and in the end humans would eat the cow. When going one stage up further in the food chain, there will always be 10% loss. We not only absorb the energy, but also the harmful stuffs.

        I think Carson mainly uses emotional appeal since her words are so strong and so powerful. The first part of the quotation, which contains the word “evil,” is definitely an emotional appeal because it makes people arouse strong feelings such as feeling regret or sin. I think the second part of the quotation, where the word “irreversible” is also an emotional appeal because people finally understand how bad and how serious the situation is.

Effecting Change

     Although words are less powerful than visual images, they can create the same meaningful and profound effect as actions do. I think that writing can be used to bring about change by spotting out problems and help providing solutions. In the American Revolutionary War, the 13 colonies collaborated with each other and wrote the Declaration of Independence to oppose the Great Britain. The 13 colonies felt treated unfairly and without justice by the British Empire since they were being taxed on almost everything, including tea, letter, house, etc. Moreover, the 13 colonies didn’t have any representation in England’s Parliament, so they think that what the British had done to them was more unforgivable. Thus, the Declaration of Independence was founded and the Great Britain gave up its claims to America. The successful independence was not only a significant event for the United States, but also to the whole world because it inspired other countries to rise up and fight for their own rights.

     Another important event that happened in the American history is the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were all prominent characters in the event. The “I Had a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. was a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement. When he delivered the speech, people’s emotions were stirred up, and they felt that they shouldn’t be oppressed and treated in a belittled way anymore. They realized that it was time for them to urge all the black people to strive for their rights, and they let the white people see their strong demands. Again, the Blacks finally got to be treated equally, without racial discrimination. From these two historical events, I can see that writing’s role ignored in bringing about social changes.

Decent Writing

   I think her quote means that nobody can write out good books without trusting how knowledgeable their readers are, and I agree that what she said is always true. Instead of underestimating audience’s intelligence or capacity to absorb information, writers can also overestimate. Sometimes when describing chemical processes or how natural events take place, writers don’t include too much scientific information because they assume that their readers already know about this. However, without the essential and necessary information, it’s like a puzzle or riddle set in readers’ mind and can never be solved unless being provided with writers’ keys.

    I have had many experiences of having too much or too complicated information dumped on my by a speaker, and this happened most often in the AP Calculus AB class. For most of the time, I could follow the teacher and digest what she just taught as long as we’re not in a rush. But, when the teacher is under the pressure of teaching certain chapters within a limited amount of time, she would try to squeeze as many information as possible while using up the whole class period.

   I’m not a math person, so my head would start to feel dizzy, I would become nervous and lose track, and I couldn’t absorb anymore information as the teacher begins to teach such a great amount of materials. Moreover, what’s even worse is that my thoughts would all be mixed up and I would forget what the teacher taught 30 minutes ago. At this time, I could only take down notes with no thinking, and then review about everything when my brain has gained fresh air. Toward the teacher, this action would make me feel that she’s too hurry. If only minority of the class gets what’s going on, then the teacher should teach again, but clearer and slower.

Change of Heart

   As we get older and learn more and more stuffs from school, our mind would enter to a higher and deeper level. As for result, we would think differently and solve things after more consideration when facing same events. I think that my writing in this class has changed my ideas about my attitude toward basketball. For the significance experience college application essay, my topic is about basketball because it’s probably the only thing that I’m most passionate about and has the strongest feeling. As the training of this season becomes more harsh and tiring, I once would have the thought of quitting the team. However, I never do so because I would remember my essay every time I have that notion.

   In the essay, I wrote that I joined the girls basketball team when I was in grade six, but I quitted after several months since I couldn’t handle the exhausting practices anymore. Seeing all my other teammates who stayed had such great skills, and I didn’t, I learned from this experience that I shouldn’t give up easily. Rather, I should stand up and fight against all challenges coming to me. Again, I join the girls basketball team after six years, and this time I would act more mature. No matter how hard the practices have become, I would tell myself to keep going because I don’t want to be regretted when I look back to this time after ten years. I know that I have to endure all kinds of hardships to prove that my heart has grown stronger and fearless, and I have learned from mistakes.

Understanding

   I’m a person usually with no defined goals, however, the situation changes when on the basketball court. When playing basketball games, I know clearly what my heart wants, which is first performing successfully what Mr. Li expects us to do and second winning the game. I believe these things are not just my wants, rather, the whole team would feel the same way and understand me. But, these are just the things that I hope for to happen. In reality, we always do badly for the first and second periods because we’re not getting used to the places where the games take place, which are new for us. Also, our brains are not warmed up even though our bodies are, so we couldn’t think carefully on courts, thus doing lots of rush actions. Because of our nervousness, uncertainty, unsureness, the opponent teams can always get many points since we’re not fully ready as they are. As for result, we’re always getting way behind the opponent teams in the third period, and I don’t like the feeling of chasing after the other teams because we’re under such great pressure and our physical strength definitely goes down, so we’re playing would only be even worse, not to mention we’re amateurs.

     Today, we have a game against Pen-Shi High School, and I hope that we can learn from past experiences. As soon as we get to the court, everyone needs to be ready to play, and each person’s brain should be able to think clearly. This season, our trainings move to a different direction, which is more of physical training. Mr. Li has devoted so much effort into the team, and we should show the other school what we got to let the coach feel satisfied.

Author’s Due

   I think the quotation above means that let the authors write without the pressure of their due, which is time, so that they can write out things of better quality. An essay written today would definitely be different if it was written 50 or 100 years ago because circumstances, situations, and views on the world have changed. One of the most significant events that happened throughout the human history is the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution replaces manual power with machines, causes emergence of factories, advances urbanization, etc. During the first phases of the Industrial Revolution, the writings would be about the flying economy, the enriching factory owners. As time goes by, the writings would concern more about the negative effects it causes, which are pollution and child labors. People’s value change after such a long time, thus they focus on different aspects of the events.

    Similarly, an essay written today would be different about 50 or 100 years in the future. Nowadays, lots of things that people imagine might all come true in the future, such as having robots to work for us, contacting with aliens, living on other planets, going to schools with only E-books, etc. These aren’t just merely far reaching dreams that humans have. Rather, these are events that might take place in the future. Today, people’s writings might full of guesses and wonders. However, the writings would be declaring what are actually seen, which are the facts, in the future.

Careful Consideration

  In my interpretation, I would explain the quotation as if people think too much, too carefully, then they would be unwilling to change because they’re afraid. Change is sometimes good, but sometimes it’s also bad. Change is good when a better outcome is achieved. I remembered I used to be 65 kilograms, which was too fat, so I decided to change. During summer, I went to the fitness center every day and spent the whole morning there doing as many exercise as I could. After the two months harsh training, I lost 10 kilograms, and I was excited about it. This was a sign of good change because my body gets healthier.  

   However, there are times when change should be avoided. I remembered one time I went shopping that I bought more than I expected. On that day, I was going to buy one pair of shoes only, but I bought three pairs of shoes in the end because I kept changing my mind when seeing all those stylish shoes. I think I should persist on what I want rather than changing mind since my wallet became empty after I got the three new shoes.

   This quotation could be used in revising written work. Every time when people read an essay, they will feel differently, thus there would always be changes need to be done. Nonetheless, I think it’s not really necessary to change every single time. There are things better be left alone so that the essay can still have some sense of originality.

Time and Knowledge

    I think he meant that the writer tells or informs the readers about what he’s trying to say in the shortest time. Also, people gain knowledge from reading books, thus the writer is able to give his reader the most knowledge. I agree with his statement that writer gives readers the most knowledge in the least time. Generally, I don’t think writers follow this advice. One of the exceptions is Harry Potter, in which the writer uses a lot of adjectives for description, thus adding much length to the novels. If these unnecessary information were left out, the novels would be only about twenty pages long rather than hundreds of pages.

     My topic for the causal analysis essay is “what causes global warming,” which is a very broad one. In order not to bore my readers and send them message that I want to say in the shortest time, I should just have the most central ideas. Rather than writing all causes and effects that global warming have, which might compose a wikipedia, I should list out main causes. I don’t want to write a long scientific essay that makes my audience yawn, so I should always think about the quotation when doing the writing. I have to pick what are the most important knowledge I want to let my audience know in the shortest time, which is in just reading my essay.

Holiday Reality

   During the Chinese Lunar New Year break, there were things that I did in reality that were like my plan. Also, there were things that I actually did different from my plan. Before the break started, I planned to go to restaurants in Taipei, go shopping, get red envelopes, play majong, watch TV, go to KTV, and eat and drink a lot. These things were like what I actually did during the one week holiday. I went to several restaurants with my family while we were in Taipei for two days; I bought three new shoes, five new clothes, and a very expensive new pants during the break; I got four red envelopes in total, and among the four, my grandma gave me the largest amount of money, which was six thousand dollars; I played six majong games, which took place in my house, my grandma’s house, and my brother’s friend’s house; I went to sing with my brother and his friend, thus I had lots of chances to get the microphone; I ate so much that I gained two kilograms over the break.

    Things I did that were different from how I expected was playing bowling. Moreover, my family didn’t go outside the country, didn’t visit the Flora Expo, didn’t go to Hualien for attending aboriginal rituals, and I didn’t stay up all night for three days.

Holiday Plans

    Today is the last school day and also the last class before the Chinese Lunar New Year break. This time, the holiday is especially meaningful and important to our family because the whole family of five people could eventually gather together, which we haven’t done so for several years. As for result, I’m hoping to do something special during the one week holiday with my family. I would like to go to Flora Expo since this world-wide famous exposition is in Taipei, Taiwan, which is not far away from us.

   Also, I would like to go to Hualian and participate in aboriginal rituals because I once saw on the TV that these ceremonies were fun, and people even didn’t sleep for whole three days. I want to have this kind of crazy experience, too. In addition, I should learn more about the aboriginal culture, which is part of the Taiwanese society. Although I’ve been to KTV for many times, I’ve never been there with my family. In order to make the break special, I’m hoping to go to KTV with my parents and brothers and sing until I’m out of voice. Another big event would definitely be playing our traditional game-majong. Everyone in my family must know how to play majong, and I hope I can be an expert on it after the lunar new year. These are just my hopes, but if they really did take place in reality, I believe I would be thrilled and cheerful.

A Writer’s Material

   The quotation from John Gardner suggests about the topics that writers choose are the ones writers are interested in. I believe that people wouldn’t write something they’re lacking interest of because that would be a waste of time also meaningless. If writers write about materials that they don’t care at all, the essay wouldn’t be unique since writers fail to put their own ideas and feelings into the work. Thus, I think John Gardner’s quotation is pretty true. In addition, this advice can definitely help me to choose a topic for the next assignment-writing a causal analysis essay.

    I’m not a scientific fan, so I think my essay would combine both scientific and non-scientific approaches. I’m pretty concerned about the environment that humans are living now, so I might write about global warming. Moreover, global warming is a great topic not only because lots of causes contribute to this severe effect, but also global warming causes other natural disasters. In addition, I can reflect my own feeling and I believe I would have a lot to say because I really care about it.

    I can also write about ordinary, simple stuffs, and this can generate from observing people on streets. Why do people want to violate traffic rule? (walking when it’s red light; driving over speed limit; talking on the phone while driving….) Why do people listen to music when they’re doing art work? Why do people buy so many things during on sale time? All these topics can get to the psychology part, which is under scientific category again. No matter how ordinary things that one write, they can always revolve back into science, which is closely connected to our lives.

Choosing a Topic

   People learn about Biology, Physics, and Chemistry because these three basic scientific subjects are of great relation to our lives. Science itself is not only fun, but it also allows us to explore more about this world. In addition, by acquiring more scientific knowledge, we’ll be able to understand natural phenomena better and explain them more clearly. Natural phenomena happened every day in our lives; they range from small, microscopic thing such as the formation of water drop to large, macroscopic thing such as the moving of Earth’s crust. By paying more attention to things around us, we would find out that science and nature are too close to be separated.

    There are several phenomena that I think would be interesting to write about, such as “why do breads expand? what cause them to have such an effect?” “how does hot air balloon stay in air? What supports the balloon?” “why are green plants important to us?” “why are there earthquakes, tsunamis?” “why would water stay on our skin?” “what is the process of making alcohol?” “why is the climate getting weird all over the world?” “why are there so many kinds of people on Earth? what traits distinguish one from another?” People’s curiousness has no end. Thus, we would always be interested in science because we want to develop more in the world.

Focus on Effects

    The single action of cutting down trees isn’t as simple as one thinks; it could result in many severe effects. Trees are important for all species, especially human beings because they do photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of converting carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Moreover, it uses carbon dioxide and water to release oxygen as a waste product. Oxygen is vital for all aerobic life on Earth-nearly all species depend on oxygen as a source of energy either directly or indirectly. Photosynthesis can be further divided into two reactions: light reactions and light-independent reactions. In the light reactions, one molecule of the pigment chlorophyll absorbs one photon and loses one electron; in the light-independent reactions, the enzyme captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and enters the Calvin Cycle, which releases three-carbon sugars, and are later combined to form sucrose and starch. With more trees being cut down, the natural balance would be broken, and Earth would eventually become a planet no longer for human to live. With less trees to absorb our carbon dioxide, global warming would only become more serious, and human have to find other planets to live, which isn’t an easy thing. Everything, including technology, societies, development, etc, would only have to start all over again once natural disasters occur more often.

Focus on Causes

    The effect of getting drunk results from many causes such as own desire, peer pressure, dancing music, playing drinking games, drink too fast, drink mix alcohols, helping others to drink. When those never drink before have chances to drink for the first time, they would try to drink all kinds of alcohols because of freshness and wanting to test how much can they drink while not being drink. Peer pressure is the one that teenagers face the most, and we always do things that might contradict our conscience because we don’t want to be embarrassed and looked down. As for result, when friends tell us to drink, we would do so such that the fun atmosphere wouldn’t be destroyed. Some people can’t dance, can’t be totally relaxed without drinking, so they have to force themselves to drink in order to enjoy the music. Playing drinking games is one of the easiest ways to get drunk because when people have to drink whenever they lose, and the drinks are always of high percentage. Drinking too fast and drinking mix alcohols are two taboos for drinking, so people will definitely get drunk when doing these bans. Helping friends to drink can also get drunk because one’s drinking capacity has a limit, and once the limit is passed, then one enters the state of being drunk.

Causal Chain

   Once a causal chain starts, there will never be an ending to it. The story will only keep going and get longer unless being brought to an end. Here is an example of the causal chain: I gained confidence and bought many new clothes and pants because I lost weight. I lost weight because I went to the fitness center during summer. I went to the fitness center because my dad said I was too unhealthy and sent me there. The coach helped me to design a series of exercising and dieting programs because my mom asked him to do so. Mom asked him to do so because she wanted to see some results after paying so much money. Mom paid so much because I worked out at the fitness center of the Ambassador Hotel. I worked out at the Ambassador Hotel because mom was a member of the fitness center there.

     Here is another example of the causal chain: I stayed after school every day because I could do homework with friends. I did homework with friends because it was a more productive and faster way. It was a more productive and faster way because people exchanged their ideas. People exchanged their ideas because they had different opinions. People had different opinions because their thoughts weren’t the same. Nobody had same thoughts because everyone was unique. Everyone was unique and special because we were born this way.

Lightning

   In the photograph which is shown on page 712 in the textbook, I see a striking image of a lightning. There is definitely a cause and effect relationship shown in the photo. In addition, more than one example of this relationships can be found. The friction between hot air and cold air combine with chemical reaction cause the lightning, which hits the tallest tree on the ground, thus causing the smoke and the tree to burn.

   In this picture, the color is strongly contrasted: the sharp bright light from the lightning compared to the rest of the empty space which is dark blue. When first looking at this photo, my eyes are drawn to the lightning because it’s the only focused and clear image. It’s the one that stands out most, which results in my attention being first paid at it. Only when looking closer at the image, I can see there are other things, such as: trees, houses, and fencing. Other than this technique, there is also the usage of relative sizes of objects in this photograph. In proportion, the huge lightning is contrary to the small houses. Also, the photographer uses the empty space to imply the endless power of the lightning.

What I think

   I interpret the quotation as “if you don’t write down what are your thoughts, then you wouldn’t be able to know what are you thinking about.” Human brain’s thinking process is fast, complex, instant. Sometimes, if we don’t jot down our ideas, we would forget them the next moment. In the AP European class, we take notes of everything Mr. Jones said. Although he talks pretty slow, there are always lots of materials we need to copy down, so I have to write fast. Sometimes, I would have questions about stories he talks about, but I don’t have enough time to ask him. If I don’t write down what I’m going to ask, it takes me a long time and much effort for trying to remember my questions. What’s even worse is that after thinking for so hard, I still can’t retrieve my memory.     I think that writing definitely helps me to clarify and understand my own thoughts. Sometimes, what we think in our brain as reasonable might seem not logical anymore after we write them down. When solving math problems, I go through all my thoughts and think that I can get the solution. However, when I start writing the steps down, I get stuck and can’t move on anymore. Thus, it’s important to see our thoughts.

Winter Break

       Although I don’t have lots of parties during the two weeks winter break, it’s still memorable. In the first week, I spend most of my time doing homework. The only big event is the Alumni Party, and I meet lots of old friends again. I hear from graduated students talk about their experiences in universities, chat with friends, and enjoy the delicious food.

        My second week is busier than the first week because I’m starting to do the college online application stuff and there is a New Years Eve Party. I come to school several days to discuss with Ms. Pamela about the college application information, and she lists out lots of things that I have to do before she leave for college visit. Also, she hopes I can send out everything before January 10.

        The New Years Eve Party is special because it’s my first time celebrating new years eve at friend’s house. The party takes place at Antony’s house, which is near Mirama shopping mall. I spend the whole day of December 31 in Taipei, and I go shopping and eating. I buy 5 pants and 3 jackets at the Wu-Feng Po shopping center, which is famous for its variety and cheapness. At night, I go to Shih-Lin night market and have lots of famous Taiwanese food.

        Antony’s house has a great view of seeing the fireworks from both Taipei 101 and Mirama. However, we lost enjoying Mirama’s fireworks because we are focusing on that of Taipei 101. When we rush to the back balcony and are ready to see Mirama’s firework, it’s already done, which is kind of a pity. I really want to see how is Mirama’s firework like, and I would have run back and forth all the time if I could.