The problem of communication Essay Example For Students

The problem of communication Essay Ever since God punished the people who wanted to build the Tower of Babel with the confusion of tongues in the time of old testament, people around the world have faced the problem of communication. When giving out a historical overview of second-language teaching in Second-Language Acquisition in Childhood, McLaughlin stated: As early as the third millennium B. C. , in what was probably the worlds first great civilization, the Sumerians had scribed devoted exclusively to education. When the country was conquered by the Akkadians in the last quarter of the third millennium, these scribes complied the oldest known bilingual dictionaries. Long continuous passages were translated from Sumerian into Akkadian, line by line. McLaughlin 2 It was since then that people started exploring the arts of language. For years, people have been arguing about the most appropriate methods to teach a second language L2. One question that teachers encounter in the classroom is the use of the learners native language L1. We will write a custom essay on The problem of communication specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now While a group of people think that teaching of the target language should involve no L1, another group of people consider L1 as a help to L2 teaching. Throughout the years, L2 teachers around the world have been analyzing the data they gathered for years along with their personal experiences to find out which approach of L2 teaching works best for teachers themselves. Those who are in favor of the Grammar-Translation method believe that L1 holds great significance in L2 teaching and learning. They teach grammar rules in the mother tongue of the learners as a basis of instruction. Methods such as the Natural Approach , the Silent Way , Total Physical Response , Audio-Lingual Method , and the Direct Method emphasize different concepts of language teaching and learning but followers of these methods all avoid L1 in the classroom. As the debate goes on, it is crucial for all the L2 teachers to first ponder on the goal of language teaching and then to decide what role they want L1 to play in their L2 classroom. For a L2 learner who lives in an environment where the target language is not used on a daily basis, such as English taught in Taiwan, exposure to L2 helps accomplish the goal of language learning, which is to communicate. The use of L1 in L2 classrooms is primarily based on the Grammar-Translation method which emerged in the nineteenth century. It stresses on the ability to read literature in L2, but to learn grammar rules and vocabulary in L1. In the classroom, teachers have authority while students follow instructions to learn what teachers know. Students learn by translating from one language to the other. Grammar is usually learned deductively on the basis of grammar rules and examples. Students memorize the rules, and then apply them to other examples. L1 provides keys to meanings in L2 and it is also used freely in class. Because of the nature of the grammar-translation method, reading and writing are primary skills but pronunciation and other speaking or listening skills are not emphasized or in many cases disregarded. In Taiwan, English is taught in junior high and senior high schools though some children start taking English classes when they are still in elementary school. In junior high and senior high schools, English is taught in Chinese mainly due to the problems of class management and class time. Teachers seem to always find it more efficient to go through the teaching materials in Chinese. They apply literally the grammar-translation method in class with the hope that the students will get good grades to enter a high school or a university. Students learn to read and write through the translation between Chinese and English. However, most of the parents and students often complain that such a teaching method leads them to become test machines who know only how to answer grammar questions or translation exercises on the test sheet but not to use English as a language. Another potential crisis facing these students is that too much stress on vocabulary, translation and the whole grammar structure blurs the most important part of language which is the idea it carries. Students depend so much on the translation of each single word, the structure of each sentence, and the formation of the language that they neglect the communicative message brought by the language. Language grows into a subject to learn, to be analyzed. It loses its function to be the bridge for people to convey their thoughts and feelings. Some of the L2 teachers who are not native speakers of the target language might find it easier to deal with the use of L1 than that of L2. That is, they are more comfortable with L1 than L2 so they choose to use L1 in their L2 classroom. It was an easy method for the teacher to use. Classes could be taught in the students native language with little teaching skill or foreign-language speaking skill needed by the instructor. Objectives were limited and attainable. Vocabulary lists, printed grammar rules, and sample sentences to translate, followed by reading selections, provided maximum control for teachers and students. Bowen 20 The teachers might even project the idea of being comfortable with L1 to their students. Because they feel that it is more comfortable using L1 in the L2 classroom, they think that it is also more comfortable for the students to learn L2 in L1. Anthea Tillyer, a teacher at City University of New York stated that the notion of making students comfortable by using L1 may be a case of comfort now, pay later. She pointed out that to learn a new language, one has to face a few moments of discomfort but the skilled teacher will use L2 to make students feel comfortable and not simply assume that the only way to reduce stress is to use L1. Tillyer Another English teacher at the University of Macau, Dick Tibbetts, also mentioned that: EFL students often have no exposure to English outside the classroom. No street conversation, no TV, no newspapers or magazines. This makes the exposure to English time in class that much more important. You just cannot spend too much of this valuable teaching time using L1. You also need to show that English is a real language, not a textbook subject, by giving classroom instructions in English. Tibbetts Marianna Scheffer, a teacher in Hawaii learned from her experience that: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦only the most minimal use of L1 can be justified in teaching L2. It would be easy to cater to students by providing them with the pleasing and understandable input of their own language, but it does not do them a favorÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦Students will not learn L2 until they actually commit to using it as a living language. Scheffer Teachers simply cannot use what they consider the effortless way in an L2 classroom. They are responsible for giving L2 students opportunities to understand that like learning any other thing, learning a language entails hard work and pain. However, they learn it faster and more efficiently only when they become comfortable with the target language. .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .postImageUrl , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:hover , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:visited , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:active { border:0!important; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:active , .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006 .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u03c215c7e41790c5047568f4699a6006:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Romeo And Juliet With Midsummer Nights Dream EssayA lot of L2 teaching methods have their different foci but all of them ask for the use of L2 in the classroom. Take the Direct Method for example, all four skills, reading, writing, speaking, listening, are worked on from the beginning but pronunciation is stressed especially. Followers of the Direct Method believe that sounds are basic and carry the melody of the language and that speech, not writing, is the basis of language. Translation is not used at all. L1 is considered a resource because of the overlap that is bound to exist between the two languages. Teachers might have some knowledge of the students L1 as an aid to the instructions but L1 is not used in class. With the Audio-Lingual Method, students learn through imitation and repetition and teachers provide good models. It emphasizes everyday speech. Such methods exercised with the use of L2 take care of the concept of communication we are looking for. David Nunan who has been doing research on language teaching methodology and learning strategies draws attention to one of the types of classroom action, which is teacher talk. In language classrooms it is particularly important because the medium is the message. The modifications which teachers make to their language, the questions they ask, the feedback they provide and the types of instructions and explanations they provide can all have an important bearing, not only on the effective management of the classroom, but also on the acquisition by learners of the target language Nunan 7. Students need to process the input they receive before they can produce output. If what they hear from the teachers is L1 most of the time, they are not getting enough input of L2 to be processed. Thus the expectation teachers have for the students output of L2 will be hard to be fulfilled. Though students in Taiwan are required to study English from junior high school, a lot of parents take their children to English classes when they are still in elementary school. As mentioned previously, parents are not satisfied with the English education their children are receiving at school. They find that cram schools with native speakers of English are a better environment for children to learn L2. One famous professor in the filed of TESOL field, Lily Fillmore, found that children who are successful in acquiring English interact directly and frequently with people who know the language well. qtd. In Bredekamp Such a situation results in the prosperity of the English cram schools with native speakers of English as instructors in Taiwan. Despite the expensive tuition, the parents are still willing to send their children to these cram schools because no matter how much progress their children have made, they all seem to be able to use English as a medium of communication, rather than a tool to get good grades. During the past few years, going to a place where the target language is used for a short period of time has become popular among the English learners in Taiwan. Students, as young as ten years old or even younger, are sent to the States by their parents to learn English during summer vacation or winter vacation. Myriam Met, a teacher at Montgomery County public school points out the function of a foreign language immersion program: Total immersion is the most effective way of developing foreign language proficiency. The intensity of the immersion experience coupled with the amount of exposure to the foreign language assures that students have the necessary language skills to deal with the curriculum in the upper elementary grades. Met Bill Snyder, a graduate student of TEFL program at Bilkent University in Turkey also pointes out one crucial advantage of an immersion: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦no language is a direct translation of any other, and if you really want to get the feel of the target language, you have to learn the target language in the target language. An immersion atmosphere usually shows that is possible to use the targe t language as a vehicle of communication with all its frustrations rather than an object of study. Snyder Looking at the learning path of English I have traveled on, I had an experience of a six-week immersion in English that totally changed my life. I started taking English lessons at the age of nine. In class, I did not speak much because I thought I spoke really terrible English. I still remember being embarrassed when being asked to read a passage or a sentence or two. I did not like English much at that time and I was always reluctant to go to the classes. At the age of about eleven, I went to a different English class. Because of the previous classes I had, and because I knew vocabulary such as blackboard or classroom, I could probably surpass everyone in class when it comes to grammar and spelling. But still, I did not speak much English. In fact, I even had problems pronouncing my own English name, Catherine. In the summer of 1992, some time before my elementary school graduation, my mother knew from one of the teachers at school that a professor from the States was visiting the Teachers College in my hometown. He was arranging a homestay program, hoping to bring back some students to the States to spend the summer in Kokomo, Indiana. My mother signed me up and sent me onto the flight along with 12 kids to Indiana to spend the summer. Each of us was assigned an American family to stay with. From about 8 A. M to noon, we had classes at a church and learned vocabulary and grammar. Since the teachers were Americans and they did not speak any Chinese, the only way to communicate with them was to speak English though a lot of body language was used. In the afternoon, we were taken to the town to visit the library, the city hall, the fire department, the supermarket, and to use the vocabulary we learned in the morning. Even though I did not speak much English during the six-week period, when I came back from the States to attend junior high school, to my surprise, I found that not only did I have more confidence in using English to convey my thoughts and feelings, but also my accent had changed. Moreover, I have ever since then realized that English is a living language. During the six-week program, I seem to have undergone a process of language acquisition. For some of the linguists, we acquire L1 but we learn L2. However, Stephen Krashen, who is a very famous professor at the University of Southern California believes that L2 can be acquired. According to Krashen, there are two independent systems of second language performance: the acquired system and the learned system. The acquired system or acquisition is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language natural communication in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act. .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .postImageUrl , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:hover , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:visited , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:active { border:0!important; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:active , .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8 .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u169dd389fadacde79a8729f17c395ee8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Artificial Intelligence EssayThe learned system or learning is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. According to Krashen learning is less important than acquisition. SchÃÆ'ƒÂ ¼tz The concept of second language acquisition can be supported by other linguists such as Chomsky, who suggested that children had an innate Language Acquisition Device LAD Lyon 14. Krashen once said: Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language natural communication in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding. qtd. In SchÃÆ'ƒÂ ¼tz Holzman in his The Language of Children raises a notion of whole language for second-language acquisition. He noted that it is called whole language because listening, talking, reading, and writing are undertaken as they are naturally needed to address the students goals. All aspects of language are viewed as acquired rather than as separate skills Holzman 224. Second language acquisition is possible only under the circumstances when L2 is instructed naturally like the way we acquire L1. When we acquire L1, we do not use another language as the medium. By the same token, to create a natural environment of L2 learning, we do not necessarily need L1 to be the medium. One possible perspective to approach the problem of whether to use L1 or L2 is to look at the ultimate goal of learning and teaching a second language. Are students learning a second language to pass exams, to get good grades, or to be able to communicate with people who speak the language they are learning? Are teachers teaching a second language to accumulate fortune, to complete the work they are assigned, or to introduce a concept of communication to the students? Even though it is a fact that most of the junior high and senior high school students in Taiwan are under a great deal of pressure to earn good grades, it is still crucial for the teachers to stress a healthier attitude towards language learning. A language is not only a subject like mathematics or science, it is a form of art with which people with different tongues convey their thoughts, feelings, cultures, and their life styles. As some scholars in the field of cultural studies might say that word is the death of real, sometimes a language does not seem to be so dependable as it appears. That is, the language that we receive or produce does not always promise the function we wish. This explains why people encounter misunderstandings through languages and why there are so many unexplainable aspects in each language. However, it is yet the magic that we use to break down the barriers between people of different life styles and cultures. With this purpose, the learning of languages does stand out to be distinct from all other studying we do at school. While teachers might have to run through a certain amount of teaching materials within a short period of time, using L1 helps complete the activities at a rapid rate. Nevertheless, it does not cater to the ultimate goal of language learning; the most significant part of language learning, which is the concept of communicative competence is thus erased. Keeping the notion in mind, the teachers should be asking themselves a question: What am I going to accomplish in the language classroom? To be done with the teaching materials within a period of time appointed? Or to help students achieve the goal of language learning? Being said that it is worth trying to use L2 in a L2 classroom, however, L1 does hold its value under the following circumstances. Just like a doctor treats his or her patients, or like most of the other vocations, a teaching job requires not only technical skills and professional knowledge, it also requires that teachers be aware of the students emotional needs. As we go through a process of therapy conducted by an experienced doctor, he or she should be taking our feelings into consideration along with our physical condition to facilitate the treatment. A doctor who knows only how to treat disease, to prescribe medicine is but an artisan. A doctor who knows also how to console patients with soft words counts a real doctor. This concept also applies to a teacher. As we learn something, we inevitably have to encounter some degree of emotional frustration. For example, a student might be coming to the class with a stomachache and the pain irritates him so much that he is not able to concentrate in class. Another student might be coming to the class with a depressed mood because of some kind of family problem happened the night before. Still another student might be coming to the class with a special personality that makes him too shy to try anything in class. A language teacher will need to take heed of the feelings of his or her students throughout the learning process. In this kind of case, L1 might be needed to comfort the students since everyone seems to be more comfortable to describe their sickness or frustrations in their mother tongue. Piaget explored the development of childrens language learning and he said: language was a reflection of thought and not a shaper of thoughts. Piaget He believed that language is a series of assimilations which accelerates the proofs of cognitive development. It would be unreasonable for us to treat language learning as learning of any other subjects. We are not producing translation machines of a second language. The ultimate goal for us to achieve is to use the language as a real language, to use it to exchange thoughts, feelings with others. Taking reality and ideal both into consideration, no one should go to extremes in the debate of the use of L1 or L2. However, if we clarify the goal we want to reach in the L2 classroom, the decision should not be too hard to make. Since school-aged students usually cannot choose what to learn or how they would like to be taught at school, no matter how tough a reality they need to deal with, the teachers should always keep the ultimate goal of teaching and learning in mind so that the students will not be deprived of the opportunity to true learning. They should always know by hearts that when they are with the students in the classroom, they are introducing a concept of communication to the students; they are focusing on the communicative competence of the students. Moreover, they also bear the responsibility to acquaint their students with a healthier learning attitude towards language learning, which is to be able to communicate with people who speak the language they are learning. If all of these notions come first in language teaching and learning, the teachers will realize that it is worth trying to use L2 in their L2 classrooms to fulfill the goal.

Sample Application Essay for College Admissions

Sample Application Essay for College Admissions The sample application essay below was written by Felicity for personal essay option #4 of the pre-2013 Common Application: Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. With the current Common Application, the essay could work well for essay option #1  that asks students to share a story about something that is central to their identity. Note that Felicitys essay is from before the Common Application implemented the current 650-word length limit. Felicitys College Application Essay PorkopolisIn the South, where I grew up, pork is a vegetable. Actually, it’s used as a â€Å"seasoning,† but so commonly that it’s almost impossible to find salad without bacon, greens without fatback, white beans free of pinkish shreds of ham. It was difficult for me, then, when I decided to become a vegetarian. The decision itself, made for the usual reasons of health, ethics and ecological conservation, was easy; putting it into practice, however, was another matter. At every restaurant, every school lunch, every church potluck, every family gathering, there was meat- in the entrà ©e, the sides, the condiments. I suspected even innocent-seeming pie crusts of secretly harboring lard.Eventually I worked out a system: I brought my own lunches to school, asked servers about the broth used in the soup of the day, avoided the usual suspects of beans and greens. This system worked well enough in public, but at home, I faced the challenge of respecting my parents and harmoniously sharing meals with them. They were excellent cooks, both of them, and I had always enjoyed the country-fried steaks, burgers and ribs they’d served to me for so many years- how could I now say â€Å"no† to those delicacies without angering or inconveniencing them, or, worse, hurting their feelings?I couldn’t. And so, I backslid. I’d manage to live a pure, meatless life for a few weeks, subsisting on pasta and salads. Then, Dad would grill an especially juicy teriyaki-marinated flank steak, look at me hopefully, and offer a slice- and I would accept. I’d mend my ways, steam rice and stir-fry snow peas with mushrooms . . . and crumble at the first whiff of the Thanksgiving turkey roasting in the oven and the proud smile on my mother’s face. My noble goals, it seemed, were doomed.But then, I found a role model, one who demonstrated to me that I could live without meat and still be a functioning member of society, eschew my parents ’ pork chops and fried chicken without giving offense. I wish I could say that I was inspired by one of history’s great artists like Leonardo da Vinci, or a leader and inventor like Benjamin Franklin, but no. My inspiration was Lisa Simpson.Let me pause here to acknowledge how absurd it is to be inspired by an animated sitcom character, albeit one as smart and together as Lisa. Yet it was the very absurdity of feeling, somehow, moved by Lisa’s resolve and strength of character, her refusal to compromise her beliefs, that convinced me I could follow her example. In the pivotal episode, Lisa is tortured by visions of the lamb whose chops provide her family’s dinner. â€Å"Please, Lisa, don’t eat me!† the imaginary lamb implores her. She is moved by ethics, yet almost breaks her resolution when Homer prepares a pig roast and is hurt by his daughter’s refusal to partake. Like me, Lisa is torn between her convictions and her fear of disapp ointing her father (not to mention the undeniable deliciousness of pork). But she manages to explain her beliefs to Homer and show him that her rejection of meat is not a rejection of him- that she can share his table and his love while still living according to her principles.Again, I admit- as inspirations go, this one is a little ridiculous. No imaginary lamb-conscience spoke to me, and unlike Lisa, I was not able to celebrate my vegetarian lifestyle by triumphantly singing with Quickie-Mart manager Apu and guest stars Paul and Linda McCartney. But seeing the very obstacles that stymied me being overcome by a yellow-skinned, spiky-haired caricature was so silly that my difficulties, too, seemed silly. â€Å"Well heck,† I thought, â€Å"if Lisa Simpson- a cartoon character, for heaven’s sake- can stick to her guns, then so can I.†So I did. I told my parents that I had decided to really commit myself to vegetarianism, that this was not a passing phase, that I was not judging or seeking to convert them, but that this was simply something I had decided for myself. They agreed, perhaps a bit patronizingly, but as the months went on and I continued to forego the chicken in my fajitas and the sausage gravy on my biscuits, they became more supportive. We worked together on compromise. I took on a larger role in preparing the meals, and reminded them to please use vegetable stock in the potato soup and to reserve a separate pot of plain spaghetti sauce before adding the ground beef. When we attended a potluck, we made sure that one of the dishes we brought was a meatless entrà ©e, so that I would be guaranteed at least one edible dish at the pork-laden table.I did not tell my parents, or anyone else, that Lisa Simpson had helped me say no, forever, to eating meat. Doing so would cast the decision, one that many teenagers passionately make for a few months and then abandon, in the light of well-intentioned immaturity. But Lisa did help me live a more healthy, ethical, and ecologically sound life- to say no to pork, in all its guises. Critique of Felicitys College Admissions Essay Overall, Felicity has written an excellent essay for her Common Application. She does, however, take a few risks that could backfire. The comments below examine the essays many strengths as well as a few of the potential problems. The Essay Topic Felicity has certainly avoided some of the worst essay topics, but when students are asked to write about a fictional or historical figure for an application essay, admissions officers expect to find an essay on one of the likely suspects like Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, or Albert Einstein. For fiction and art, applicants tend to think big- a Jane Austen heroine, a Monet painting, a Rodin sculpture, a Beethoven symphony. So what are we to make of an essay that focuses on a seemingly trivial cartoon character like Lisa Simpson? Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. Its tedious reading through thousands of college applications, so anything that jumps out as unusual can be a good thing. At the same time, the essay cant be so quirky or superficial that it fails to reveal the writers skills and character. Felicity takes a risk in her essay by focusing on a rather silly fictional role model. However, she handles her topic well. She acknowledges the strangeness of her focus, and at the same time she produces an essay that really isnt about Lisa Simpson. The essay is about Felicity, and it succeeds in showing her depth of character, her inner conflicts and her personal convictions. The Essay Title Titles can be difficult which is why many applicants skip them. Dont. A  good title  can grab your readers attention and make him or her eager to read your essay.   Porkopolis doesnt make clear what the essay is about,   but the strange title still manages to make us curious and pull us into the essay. In fact, the titles strength is also its weakness. What exactly does porkopolis mean?. Will this essay be about pigs, or is it about a metropolis with too much pork-barrel spending? Also, the title doesnt tell us what character or work of art Felicity will be discussing. We want to read the essay to understand the title, but some readers might appreciate a little more information in the title. The Tone of Felicitys Essay Among the essential writing tips  for a winning essay is the inclusion of  a little humor to keep the essay fun and engaging. Felicity manages humor with wonderful effect. At no point is her essay shallow or flip, but her catalog of southern pork dishes and introduction of Lisa Simpson are likely to receive a chuckle from her reader. The essays humor, however, is balanced with a serious discussion of a challenge Felicity faced in her life. Despite the choice of Lisa Simpson as a role model, Felicity comes across as a thoughtful and caring person who struggles to mesh the needs of others with her own convictions. An Assessment of the Writing Felicitys essay is from before the current 650-word limit on Common Application essays. At about 850 words, the essay would need to lose 200 words to comply with the new guidelines. When it was written, however, Felicitys essay was a good length, particularly because theres no obvious fluff or digression. Also, Felicity is clearly a strong writer. The prose is graceful and fluid. The mastery of style and language marks Felicity as a writer who would be capable of performing well at the countrys  top colleges  and  universities. Felicity grabs our attention with her humorous first sentence, and the essay holds our interest throughout because of the shifts between the serious and the whimsical, the personal and the universal, the real and the fictional. The sentences mirror these shifts as Felicity moves between short and long phrases, and simple and complex sentence structures. There are most likely strict grammarians who would object to Felicitys liberal use of the dash and her lack of the word and to introduce the final items in some of her lists. Also, someone might take issue with her use of conjunctions (and, yet, but) as transitional words at the beginnings of sentences. Most readers, however, will view Felicity as a dexterous, creative, and talented writer. Any breaking of the rules in her writing works to create a positive rhetorical effect. Final Thoughts on Felicitys Application Essay Like most good essays, Felicitys is not without risk. She could run up against an admissions officer who thinks the choice of Lisa Simpson trivializes the purpose of the personal essay. However, a careful reader will quickly recognize that Felicitys essay is  not trivial. Sure, Felicity may be grounded in popular culture, but she emerges from the essay as a writer who loves her family but is not afraid to stand up for her own convictions. She is caring and thoughtful, playful and serious, inward and outward looking. In short, she sounds like a great person to invite to join ones campus community.

Defending Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Defending Slavery - Essay Example Despite this, opinions regarding slavery varied widely, and the abolition of slavery purely on moral grounds was argued against especially in the Southern states of the US, since slavery had become part of the economic, social, cultural and political life of the South (Chapter 12). For the most part, it was suggested that slavery was part an established way of life in the South. Slaves, it was claimed, were treated well, in most households, and even when slaves were not necessary labor on vast sugar or cotton plantations, they were being taken care of by the white, civilized society of the South. The fact that the two races – whites and blacks – existed together but were so different was used to justify the institution of slavery: â€Å"†¦ distinguished by color †¦ other physical differences, as well as intellectual †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Calhoun, 1837). In the stereotypical argument of the Colonizer, or in this case, the slave-owner, it was argued that the â€Å"s uperior† race had a responsibility to educate, look after and protect the â€Å"inferior† other races. Calhoun (1837) goes further than even this to claim that it was better to be a slave in the South than a poor worker in Europe.