writingcyh

“A sense of the past is an essential [art of our identity. The past is in many respects a foreign country, but on the premise that travel broadens the mind, this is all the more reason to go there.” Adapted from Rosamond McKitterick, History and Its Audiences Assignment: Do we need knowledge of the past to fully understand the present? Present is built upon the past. In order to fully understand what is actually happening at present, we need the knowledge of the past, or else we may be misguided into believing things that may not represent the whole story. The example of Japan’s denial of her history can illustrate this statement. Some right-winged politicians in Japan still deny their invasion into neighbouring countries during the WWII. They dismiss any claims regarding the use of comfort women, the Nanjing Massacre despite concrete evidences presented by other countries. They even amend history textbooks for students in an attempt to hide these facts. If Japan’s next generation is not aware of this part of the history, they may criticize other nations for the allegations against their own country, which are false in their viewpoints because of the inaccurate descriptions of their textbooks. As a result, the students may misinterpret the current disputes regarding the responsibilities arose from WWII and fail to learn from the past as they do not have the knowledge of the past. Literature also provides another example to support the statement. In Animal Farm, Napoleon became the ruler of the farm after the overthrown of Mr. Jones, the farmer. He claimed that the animals were living in a better world under his administration than that in the past when the animals were often treated badly by Mr. Jones. However, many of the brutal acts done by Napoleon to strengthen his authority were covered up. Besides, many of the ‘ordinary’ animals had already forgotten the Mr. Jones’ era because of fading memory or Napoleon’s depiction of the past. Therefore, they failed to realize that their current living conditions were not any better. Their ignorance led them believe that Napoleon was a better ruler than a human, which was not true as Napoleon himself was seen comparable to other humans at the end of the book. We can understand many of the events happening right now without any knowledge of the past, but our understanding of the present might be flawed. We need to first understand the past so as to have a full picture of the present.

Question: Some students enjoy taking distance-learning courses on the computer or television. Other students would rather tall of their courses with a teacher in a classroom. Which of these options do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples in support of your opinion. My writing: Nowadays, a lot of distance-learning courses are offered on the Internet which attract many learners in different parts of the world. On the other hand, some people prefer the traditional ways of learning in classroom settings. I like the former, as it has many advantages that the traditional way of learning does not have. First, it is much more convenient and flexible to learn from taking a distance-learning course than to go and learn in a classroom. We can access to the online course with just a few clicks on our computer, and we can decide to view the lecture or tutorial videos whenever we like. On the contrary, we are required to go to a specific place at a specific time if we enroll in the traditional courses with teachers in classrooms. The time schedule may clash with other courses or our own schedule. In addition, if we miss some important points when viewing the lecture video, we can just pause the video and go back to the previous parts - something we cannot do in a classroom. Second, distance-learning courses offer more choices than traditional courses. We can have access to all the courses provided by different institutions across the globe. We can study physics with MIT Prof. Walter Lewin, or we can take other courses taught by renowned professors and teachers. But very often, we are only limited to specific choices of courses provided by our schools or community if we take the traditional courses. The courses that we would like to take may not be available, or the instructors may not suit our learning style or habit. Fortunately, all these problems can be solved by taking distance-learning courses as there are so many options available. It is unlikely that not a single course or instructor from all over the world appeals to us. Some people are concerned about the lack of interaction among students and teachers in distance-learning courses. However, this is not true. There are discussion forums in the course homepage and students can engage in discussions on the lastest materials covered, learning tips, assignment, etc. Sometimes, there are even video conference so that you can talk to the instructors or other students using your web-cam. The number of students who enroll in distance-learning courses is also higher than that of traditional classes, so there can be hundreds, thousands or even more learners who accompany you. The interaction will not be less than that of a classroom, especially when the class is small with only ten or twenty students. Distance-learning courses are becoming a trend because many features and advantages that are not found in traditional classes can be found in these convenient and flexible courses. As long as we adapt to this new mode of learning, we can definitely gain more than we have ever imagined. Any comments regarding the language, grammar, content, organization? And can someone give me an estimate score? thanks

Think carefully about the tissue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. “Everyone makes hundreds of simple, spontaneous decisions daily. When the issues are not morally complex and the stakes are small, our normal instincts are sufficient. The problem comes when we don’t distinguish between minor and potentially major issues that demand a much more careful approach. But even with significant consideration, it can be very difficult to choose between two options that seem equally valuable.” Adapted from Michael Josephson, Making Ethical Decisions Assignment: What two options are the most difficult to choose between? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. Everyone of us needs to make tons of decisions throughout our lives. Most of the decisions are easy to make, while a few of them require much more careful considerations. Choosing the university major is definitely the hardest decision to make, as very often people are faced with two options – the major that interests them but provides a less bright future, and the one that has a better future prospect yet is less interesting. The reasons for this are that people are concerned about money, social status and their own abilities. First, the major that we are interested in may require a larger sum of tuition but less financially rewarding in the long term than other option. Consider my own situation, I was wondering whether to study biochemistry or medicine (which is offered as an undergraduate course in my country) during my college application. Becoming a scientist and conducting research is my childhood dream, but being a doctor can enjoy a higher job security and salary. Besides, to study science in the best place in the world – the US, requires more than $50k a year, which is a couple times more expensive than to study medicine. This sad reality makes me wonder if I should pursue my dream as a scientist. Second, one option of college major may lead to a career that has a higher social status than the one people really interested in. Take studying law and literature as an example, the former is usually more respected by people, because professionals are usually perceived to be more successful. Those who study literature might be looked down by society, unless they become Nobel Laureates in the future. Given the potential low social status, people may find it hard to decide whether to do the things they enjoy or go and seek a higher social status, which is the concern of many people. Third, people may be uncertain of their abilities in more advanced study if they choose the major they are interested in. What we study in high schools is just introductory stuff, while the materials covered in college or even grad schools may require more natural talent. For instance, students who become fascinated by physics and aspire to become physicists after studying Newton’s Laws in high school may re-consider their ambitions again after they discover that many undergraduates fail to comprehend the more advanced theories in college. They doubt their own abilities may not be sufficient to handle the major they really like. Most people are told to choose the fields that are interested and passionate to study, but in reality the decision does not depend on one’s interests only. Therefore, when faced with the options of interests versus future prospects when applying for college, many people find that making the appropriate decision, which can have profound impacts on their latter lives, very difficult.