It's Raining Feather at the Course on Academic and Business Writing

'It's raining feathers', photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/Uncategorized

It’s raining feathers! It was on March 8^th, 2021 that I enrolled in the course on Academic and Business Writing, generously offered by Berkeley, University of California. 

But three weeks of fun writing practice is already gone. There are still three more weeks to go. And one final written paper. It’s with curiosity, motivation, and lots of enthusiasm that I’m waiting for the following weeks. I’m also nervous about the final written paper that I want it … as perfect as possible. One thing I’m sure of: I put the 'keyboard feather' down and stop typing the moment I know that it’s the best I could do – as usual.

Midway through this great course, I allowed myself a short break. Saturday was a beautiful spring weather. I took a long walk, I reached a park, I enjoyed a coffee, I took a picture, and I edited the picture to tell you all: It’s raining feathers! 

I hope to see many of you in the virtual class!

#cwp2x #edx #Berkeley #writing #amblogging

 

Academic and Business Writing. Optional Pop-Up 3: Sciences vs. Humanities

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Comment

Some people believe that people in technical fields do not need to work on writing or reading much. Other people believe that studying humanities is a waste of time. Still, others believe that we should learn outside our comfort zone: English majors should learn some computer coding skills, and engineers should read Shakespeare. What is your opinion?

In the above opposition between sciences and humanities, there are three opinion streams where the first is a supposition, the second is a market observation, and the third is more of an advice.

By ‘science’ I mean here ‘technical fields’, meaning that I mean computer sciences, engineers, doctors, and other fields working with data and with numbers. It is due to the fact that their activity is more in the field of precise data that it may be – wrongly, I would say – assumed that they do not need to work on writing or reading much. There are two reasons why I disagree. First, to be a programmer, an engineer, a doctor, or a scientist in general, is the specialization one has chosen after having passed some educational levels that generally require both science and writing. It is in those pre-university years that each individual realizes what s/he has a calling for sciences or humanities. Once the individual is a specialist in sciences, it focuses more on the realm of their choice, but it is a supposition to believe that they do not need to read or write much. For example, a doctor is a scientist that needs to constantly read and update itself. Second, I disagree, because sometimes the calling for writing and reading in a scientist can be greater – actually screaming! – than the beloved science choice it once made. Such an example is Anton Checkhov, who was admitted to the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. He became a doctor, but his calling for reading and writing made him become one of the best playwrights and short storytellers ever. This is one example. One great example. And I am doubtful that this is the only example, especially since there are many scientists around the world, each of them with their character, personality, interests, hobbies, etc. A truly great variety of people among scientists!

The second opinion stream is based on the market observation that those having graduated from humanities wasted their time studying because jobs are scarce in this field. To be more specific, ‘humanities’ it is usually meant graduates mainly of literature, philosophy, and history (and related fields, such as political sciences). Those in this field play with words the way scientists play with numbers. I disagree with this market argument – otherwise a good argument – that because of this, youngsters should not waste their time and do something better, such as computer science that the market needs, that the future of the market requires, that you should study … or starve! J The main reason why I disagree is that I strongly believe that the progress of humanity so far relied on education. And by this, I mean education in general.

For many youngsters on this planet, education is more of a privilege than a right. But when the economical, social, or geographical barriers are broken and education becomes a possible reality, why should not let youngsters choose to study the questions that preoccupy them? Why should youngsters not be allowed to deepen a field that is appealing to them? Because the market says so? Education is a lifetime process, and the market is something flexible: each year demands something else, with programmers being a constant. But concepts like ‘market’, ‘market forecast’, and ‘computer programming’ are modern terms, and they appeared long after humanity studied grammar, philosophy, and scribes registered historical events. Therefore, humanities have never been a waste of time. It actually allowed the degree of evolution we are enjoying now. Why shall it be a waste of time from now on? ‘Because it is not a future job’ somebody would say. But many jobs have been lost doing a pandemic that nobody predicted. So, why not let people study what they are interested in, but truly – not superficially – study? And why does the market only tells? Can’t it also listen? J 

To my mind, there are jobs that require a precise background. There are science jobs that a candidate cannot learn in training for a few months. But there are other jobs – that the market needs – that can be learned after a short training. Many companies offer training at the beginning of employment to get acquainted with the staff and to the company. It goes from a company tour to a few weeks or months of training. Some employers start from the assumption that educated people are versatile. Therefore, I subscribe to the opinion stream that encourages education whatever makes people comfortable, because education, particularly grammar, philosophy, and history has been loooong beneficial for humanity.

The third opinion stream sounds more like a piece of advice. It encourages both scientists and humanists to leave their professional comfort zone in order for the scientist to read Shakespeare and for the humanists to learn some computer coding skills. I … agree with such a piece of advice for the fun of it, for some diversity in the daily activity routine, or to learn new skills, but, in general, I disagree with this third opinion stream, too.

            I think that the reason why I disagree relates to the way I understand the ‘comfort zone’. To my opinion, the comfort zone is not a place of honey and milk – as, sometimes, some misunderstand it and they ‘kindly’ and ‘eagerly’ recommend you to leave it. From a professional point of view, the comfort zone is the area in which a person is professional and can excel. Obviously, my puzzle is clearer now: why shall somebody leave an area in which it can be professional and excel in order to learn some skills in an area that is not appealing to it, in an area it cannot stand as a professional, in an area in which it may never excel and always stay mediocre? Unless is for some fun, for some diversity in their daily activities, etc. and this I can understand.

To sum up, I disagree with all three opinion streams. First, I disagree that those in technical fields do not read or write enough, because people are different and interests are different, and some may be part of book reading clubs, or others, like Anton Checkhov, be great writers, although a scientist. Second, I disagree that studying humanities is a ‘waste of time’, because I believe that people studied grammar, philosophy, and scribes registered historical events long before concepts like ‘job market forecast’ or ‘computer programmer’ appeared. I think that the deep study of the former allowed humanity’s progress. And, third, I disagree with the advice to leave the comfort zone – understood as the field of activity in which one excels – to acquire some skills that present no current or future professional utility, unless is for fun, for finding some answers, for some diversity in the daily routine… 

#cwp2x #writing #amblogging

Thinking about the Final Writing Project: Choice Considerations

 photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Essay 

It is said that beautiful things or happenings usually do not last long. So is with the fun of the Academic and Business Writing course. It is already the third week – some fun is gone – there are still three weeks to go – some more fun to come – and, then, the writing fun is over.

It is time to think of the final writing project. We are given time to think about how to write: academic or business style. We are given time to choose what to write: a statement of purpose, a cover letter, a movie/book review, a product review, or an essay about a social issue that is important to me. What shall I write?

This course’s professor, Dr. Sokolik, recommended we write the thing that is most appealing to us. From this point of view, the least appealing to me is the product review not necessarily because I do not have any product in mind, because if it was so, I could research a modern product and make it a review. I would practice this product review writing only for this course. And that would be it – I am not at all a good salesperson. I also do not like to be persuaded to buy something or to persuade others to buy things, because people know best their needs and their budgets. 

The first most appealing to me is the cover letter because it answers a need – my need as a job seeker. But … I do not think I will do it as a final project for the university; first, because it is just a few concise eye-catching sentences for a potential employer. Second, given my difficulties to get a job so far, I assume I will be practicing writing millions of such concise eye-catching sentences until a potential employer will contact me, if any. I do not think that I shall do that as a final paper for Berkeley. Third, I am a registered student for this course, I am interested in writing something that is at least 500 words – meaning, at least one page, one well-written page.

            This brings me to three last options – all appealing to me. It is about the statement of purpose, the movie/book review, or an essay about a personally preoccupying social issue. What is the most appealing to me of the three of them? 

Statements of purpose I wrote plenty so far. And many of them have been successful. I must have explained well my back-then academic career interest, and I must have explained well the way the further step was intertwined with the previous one, or the way a summer/winter school (or a conference) was linked to the step I was making! A statement of purpose is usually around 1000 to 1500 words (meaning two-three pages) and it sounds more appropriate for a final writing project. I could retake my Ph.D. statement of purpose.

            I remember that while I was writing my MA thesis on nationalism, I was coming across federalism as the reverse of the coin, and I was wondering if it was truly so. Then I had the chance of a one-year internship in Brussels in an organization on federalism that, in the end, proved to be a great mischance. This allowed me to understand federalism more, particularly the way Europeans were envisioning it and the way they were envisioning it in practice. I could also see the institutional supra-national dynamic getting towards a federal state just to copy the United States of America. Wondering about the theoretical fundamentals on which this new European whatever was building itself, I decided to apply for Ph.D. on this topic. I got accepted as an external student (meaning not working for the university doing research to advance the thesis) and on the Belgium educational law that allowed doctoral research as long as twelve years – still, a lot! At the end of my internship, I also got approved for a one-year non-profit book project at my initiative that was about explaining to youngsters the way European federalism looked at that moment. It was a great success, it was translated into at least ten European languages – I wrote it in English. But some youngsters from among the federalists could not mind their own business and started a war on a personal basis to fail my book project and my Ph.D. The former was a success, but for the latter, I got tired of working days and studying nights, especially since they were having lots of friends that they all had to pursue – from the social position they were – the personal war in which some engaged. And I was receiving letters to go there, to answer that, to come, to go, to interrupt yourself, to queue there, to stress, to tire, to exhaust and, in the end, to leave – which I did. I left convinced that I had to deal with a bunch of mean and stupid people – all of them with connections, but none of them with Ph.D. ambitions. But writing such a Ph.D. statement of purpose would bring back bad memories. Is it worth scratching on the old wound when I am having so much fun with this course on Academic and Business Writing? No! Absolutely not!

The movie/book review as well as the essay can stand for a final writing paper that is beautiful, culturally enriching and that does not bring back any kind of bad memories. Furthermore, in terms of length, they both can be 500 words – the essay even more. On one page, one can write a text that can be specific, can be formal, and in the right tone and the student can practice English, both vocabulary and grammar. It can count for a final writing paper for Berkeley, University of California. And they are both appealing to me.

            If Dr. Sokolik would be in front of me waiting for an answer today – even now! - on the topic I would choose for the final project, I would say that I take the movie review. First, because all my life I have been a movie lover – I love the way this art tells a story! As a child I could not know that behind the cinema way of telling a story, somebody writes it – I found out that later. And I love it. Second, I started reviewing for the ‘review' section of my Writing Blog old movies. I first check on Wikipedia for the most representative movies for a certain year, then I check on the American Film Academy’s website for the awarded ones, and, last, I check on YouTube those I can find. Sometimes I find also those rewarded, sometimes I only find those that was a public success. I review them adding a personal note – since it is for my blog. For example, I once came out with creative writing from a combination of Donald Trump’s visit to the Air Force graduation ceremony and the Top Gun movie. J

This Academic and Business Writing course is an opportunity to research more on the way to academically write a movie review and to continue my series of old movie reviews – that is now at the movies made in 1935, therefore awarded by the American Film Academy in 1936. It is a writing choice that is appealing to me. And so is the essay, but I do not have any topic that preoccupies my mind. What topics preoccupy you? I do not promise to develop it for the final writing paper, but I may develop it while I practice essay writing for my Writing Blog. At least, I would be happy to give it a try.

#cwp2x #writing #filmreview

My Morning Marginalia

'My Morning Marginalia', photo taken by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized 

This morning I’ve been a text engineer. After having studied the Academic and Business Writing course on note-taking and annotating, I said to myself to practice it a bit more. I also had a text in mind – not too long, not too short either, but just perfect. It is about Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech (March 4^th, 1865) that I saved from my previous course with edX, Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking. I cannot tell you how happy I am when I can build on previous courses and knowledge! And this was a great opportunity.

            But the speech was in pdf and in comparison to some other times when I could do my annotations in pdf, this time I discovered that I only have a pdf reader – no annotation possible. Ah! And I was so excited to analyze Lincoln’s speech the way I studied at both the rhetoric and the academic writing courses. I was planning to refer to some literary devices that I learned in the former course and to underline the main idea of each paragraph as I learned in the latter. But my plans were put on hold. Not for too long, though, because my desire to have fun practicing this text was… I’m telling you… huge.

            I googled – obviously! – for programs that transform a pdf into word. Thrilled to have found one – that I wrongly assumed that it was also free – I started working on it: I highlighted the main ideas, I encircled some figures of speech, I ticked, clicked and when I wanted to download I was asked for a fee.

            I was planning to transform the pdf file into a Word one with all those encircling and highlighting and whatever, and then to apply the ‘comment’ option available in Word so that all those signs have meaning for everybody. In the end, I could only take a picture of the online work I did this morning and that is the way my text engineering started and ended.

Now, I guess I had to explain in words what those underlining, highlighting, and encircling are. Actually, that is the way I critically read a text. I do not write texts at the top, bottom, or at margins of the original text. I only need to look at what I underlined, highlighted, encircled, ticked, or whatever, and I remember. It only means that I understand my own notes – which is good. It is very good!

            As a preview to the speech, Abraham Lincoln was the U.S. President from 1860-64 and he was elected for a second mandate, but he was assassinated on April 14^th, 1865 – one month after he held this second inaugural speech. His mandate coincided with the American Civil War (1861-65) between the slavery abolitionist North and the slavery defendant South – every time I think of this war, I remember the great classical movie ‘North and South’ (with Kristie Alley, Patrick Swayze, etc.) that I watched two or three times.

The speech of the second inaugural has five main paragraphs. In the first paragraph, the main idea is that this is a kind of an atypical speech and more of a ‘statement in detail of a course to be pursued’ – an idea that he developed in the following paragraphs that unfold outstandingly. I particularly loved this paragraph the musicality of it through short alliterations and assonances: ‘point and phrase’, ‘absorb the attention’, ‘engrosses energy’, and ‘with high hope for the future’.

            The second paragraph’s main idea is the civil war – the ‘course to be pursued’ from the first paragraph has, now, a concrete name. It starts with an ellipsis: ‘all dreaded it – all sought to avert it’. And the verbs of the entire paragraph continue this opposition of to dread and to seek. Those dreading it were ‘devoted to saving’, and those seeking it were ‘seeking to destroy’ or ‘seeking to dissolve the Union’ – the choice of verbs with ‘d’ and ‘s’ contribute to the continuation of word musicality in this second paragraph. There is also the verb ‘deprecate’(the war). The paragraph ends with ‘the war came’.

            The third paragraph is about the reason for this war: one-eighth of the population was black population. Its main idea is explicitly stated as follows: ‘…these slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of this war.’ This paragraph reveals the sides involved in the war: insurgents against the government. Personally, I consider the use of statistics in this paragraph more than just a device, but concrete information that speaks of the proportion of the black population in America in 1865.

            The fourth paragraph is about the magnitude and the duration of this war that neither party expected, nor anticipated, and prayers of neither were listened to, although both sides read the same Bible and pray to the same God (similarity) asking for His ‘aid’ or ‘assistance.'

            The fifth paragraph continues the idea of God. Lincoln gave thought to the ‘Almighty’s purpose’ for allowing this war. And it does that through two quotes: at the beginning of the paragraph alluding to Matthew 18:7, and at the end of the paragraph, alluding to Psalm 19:9. The ‘Psalms’ have perfect lyrics, and only by mentioning them Lincoln described music.

            The one-page historical and artistically written speech ends with the idea ‘let us finish the work we are in’, meaning the civil war. The way the passage was made from a paragraph on the Almighty God and biblical quotes to the main concluding idea is through three essential words: ‘no malice’, ‘clarity’, and faith. It also defines what ‘to finish’ means: to ‘bind up’, ‘to care’, and ‘to do’.

Returning to the course on Academic and Business Writing, I can tell that my notes confirmed the logical unfolding of the text, the outstanding organization of the thoughts on paper, and their artistic formulation that all confirm the main idea of a statement in detail of a civil war course involving insurgents and government to be pursued and that will end with God’s help. 

#cwp2x # writing #speech #Lincoln #amblogging 

 

Academic and Business Writing. Optional Pop-Up 2: Grammar and Vocabulary like Horse and Carriage

picture edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Essay

All language learning is about vocabulary and grammar. And these two, when learning a language, are like horse and carriage – you cannot have one without the other. When writing, spelling and grammar mistakes accompany the writer. This occurs also when the writer is more focused on the flow of ideas or the unfolding of the arguments, particularly when they unfold over several pages. It does not mean at all that the writer disconsiders the importance of grammar. Still, how important should grammar be?

Before attempting to give an answer, the first logical question is: what is grammar? Whose relevance are we approaching here? By ‘grammar’ it is meant ‘morphology’ – meaning the way words change, when verbs are conjugated or nouns decline in some languages, for example – and ‘syntax’ – meaning the way words are combined to form sentences and phrases.

Hommo sapiens sapiens use language to communicate, meaning words, and usually spoken words. Those of us who do not have a voice (like those who are deaf and dumb) use their hands and bodies to communicate. These are words expressed through gestures. Similarly to spoken language, one gesture may mean one word or may have several meanings. But knowing the signs for each word does not mean that the interpreter is communicating anything. By simply putting into signs every word the interpreter hears with the grammar it hears, does not mean that the interpreter is communicating. The sent message does not reach the receiver. The receiver can only recognize the signs for a word, such as the sign for ‘vaccine’ and guess that the interpreter may be ‘speaking’ about ‘vaccines’, but what the interpreter says about vaccines – meaning the message to be communicated – does not pass through because sign language has its own ‘unwritten’ grammar. The way to put the words into sign language is by practicing with ‘native speakers’, meaning with deaf that use this language. The message is understood when the deaf understands what it is told about exactly as we understand when we are spoken to.

But when we are spoken to, we may hear sentences such as: ‘Rome was not built in a day’, ‘Jane and Tom did London in one day.’ Both these sentences are short, correct, and all words are clear. What is it that we do not understand? We do not understand the way Jane and Tom could do London in one day. The meaning of the words becomes clearer if one knows all or most of the meanings of one word (or those we regularly use) – in this case, of the verb ‘to do’. Its sense is ‘to visit’ not to build London in one day. All words of a language constitute its vocabulary The dictionary is a book or, newly, an electronic device that has an inventory of all words in a language ordered alphabetically. 

Therefore, if both grammar and vocabulary are important, how can we balance the desire to write interesting, meaningful ideas with the need to be grammatically correct? The answer depends a lot on several factors. It depends on whether or not the writer writes in its native language. Then, the syntax should not be so problematic, and the spelling mistakes can be easily corrected by the computer. But when the writer writes in English as a foreign language, to be ‘grammatically correct’ depends first on the level of English. When the level is advanced, the writer does not make morphological mistakes (it theoretically knows the way a word becomes an adjective or an adverb, or makes an agreement between verb and subject).

            But even when the level is advanced, it is possible (actually, very possible) for the writer to make syntax mistakes. It seems that each language has its syntax, with the German language having the most particular one. German syntax requires that in a subordinate clause, the verb stays at the end of the sentence. Another particularity of this language is constituted by the so-called verbs with prefixes. When conjugated, the prefix and the verb separate, and the prefix is placed after the verb (for example, the verb ‘aufstehen’ (to wake up) is conjugated in the present tense as ‘ich stehe auf’). It is rightly assumed that syntax gets more challenging if one has a subordinate clause, with a verb with a prefix, and in a composed tense. These challenges are part of the beauty of studying a language even if making mistakes is unpleasant. A mistake becomes annoying only when it constantly repeats itself. And it is, humanly, forgiven when the mistake has never been explained and the writer persists in this ‘unknown’ mistake.

Besides the German language that has these syntax rules – that are not difficult to understand logically – the other languages that most of us currently use (such as English, for example) do not have complicated syntax rules, but each language has its own syntax rules. However, the fact that the writer writes in English as a foreign language when daily uses another language, with another syntax, can influence the way the writer writes in English. When the writer speaks several languages and is familiar with several syntax rules, it may get more challenging.

            On the way to balance the logical flow of meaningful ideas and grammatical correctness, there are no rules. Exposure to the language in which the writer wants to write is the most important. Being surrounded by English when the writer wants to write in English increases vocabulary, increases capacity to think in English, and, consequently, the capacity to write syntactically correct sentences.

            And speaking of correct sentences, is the following sentence syntactically correct: ‘Of this fundamental work, this day is the anniversary?' Before anybody would think that it might have been written by a writer writing in English as a foreign language, it shall be mentioned that this hypothesis is ruled out. This is actually an art in a sentence! It is a rhetorical device called ‘hyperbaton’ – meaning a change from the ordinary syntax nature. How many of the writers writing in English as a foreign language would have the courage to use a hyperbaton with the risk to be called … all kinds of linguistically incompetent names?

In conclusion, although two times a 'sapiens' (a word that comes from Latin, sapientia means 'knowledge,' 'wisdom') when learning a language is about learning its vocabulary and its grammar. They both rely on each other so that the spoken message reaches its receivers. Vocabulary needs grammar and grammar uses words. In writing, spelling and grammar mistakes may occur, especially when the writer writes in a foreign language and it is firstly more preoccupied with the flaw of its meaningful ideas. It is at the second reading that the spelling and grammar mistakes can be corrected and the overall quality of the text improved. But when the writer makes grammar mistakes it is not because it is an idiot - it may speak more language than the accuser does. It may also be the fact that it was not sufficiently exposed to the language in which it is writing, or it may be doing it on purpose making a written art from a change in the syntax of a sentence.

#cwp2x #writing #essay #amblogging

Academy Awarded Cartoon for Academic Writing

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Review

I paused reviewing old movies for this Writing Blog in September 2020. I paused on It Happened One Night. – movie made in 1934 and awarded by the Academy in 1935. It is in February 2021 that I shortly returned to 1921, more precisely to the old movie The Kid, to celebrate 100 years since the first movie directed and produced by Charlie Chaplin.

            The course on Academic and Business Writing is also an opportunity to resume the series of reviewing old movies. For the academic writing exercise, I chose a cartoon awarded by the American Film Academy with an Oscar in 1936 in the section ‘short subject.' I chose an awarded cartoon for three reasons. First, because so far I have never reviewed a cartoon – although I love cartoons. Second, because of the given length of 150 to 250 words in which it might have been difficult to ‘squeeze’ the complex plot of a movie. And, third, a movie with kittens is the best choice since we had in the course an exercise with the picture of a kitten that gave each of the students lovely emotions. I loved the challenge of these exercises and the inspiration they gave me because I made film reviews before but never thought to play with formality or tone. 

1. ACADEMIC WRITING

• Original writing of a film review (short, formal, academic, objective) in 150 – 250 words.

The movie Three Orphan Kittens is an 8 – minute cartoon produced by Walt Disney. It was awarded an Oscar by the American Film Academy in 1936. It is the story of three little cats thrown in somebody’s yard on a cold evening of a snowy winter. The kittens found their way into the house where they have first-time experiences in the kitchen and in the toy room where they made a big mess playing with both food (the pie, the salt, and the milk bottle) and toys (balls, dolls, and others).

The movie engages the viewers from the first seconds with beautiful winter scenery and the three little characters that are thrown over a fence in the deep snow inviting them to follow the unfolding of their story. If the scenery is engaging, the characters are cute and their experiences beget laughter. It is a relaxing and funny cartoon. Enjoy it! (152 words)

• Formality change of the original text (informal and humorous)

The Three Orphan Kittens is a Disney cartoon that was awarded an Oscar in 1936. It’s the story of three kittens – it’s like seeing three little Toms, but no Jerry! – thrown in somebody’s yard, in an evening, and in a winter with heavy snow. They got into the house where they made a mess both in the kitchen – playing with the cake, the salt, and the milk bottle – and in the toy room. The scenery is engaging, and the characters are cute and fun. The overall cartoon is short: it’s about eight minutes. It’s nice and funny. I honestly don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t like it. Have fun watching it, guys!

• Tone change of the original text (sad and pessimistic)

The movie Three Orphan Kittens is an 8 – minute cartoon produced by Walt Disney. It was awarded an Oscar by the American Film Academy in 1936. It is the story of three unfortunate little cats deprived of their mother’s love thrown in somebody’s yard on a cold evening of a heavily snowy winter. Scared and confused they walk through deep snow to get into the house where it was warm. But because they were so young, they experienced for the first time the cakes, the salt they found on a table, and the milk bottle. The kittens experienced for the first time toys such as the ball and the doll. They created a mess both in the kitchen and in the toy room. They were caught by the maid and I let you all discover if the three orphan kittens ended up in the snow again. The only way to discover whether the kittens had a tragic end is by watching the movie here.

    2. BUSINESS WRITING

• Official writing of an email to a colleague whose office is nicer and more private in order for her to lend her office for one hour for an important meeting (formal and polite request) 

Dear Mrs. Anna Smith,

my email concerns the visit of the delegation from Berkeley to our institute scheduled for March 22^nd, 2021. Considering the importance of this meeting for our institute and the fact that your office is nicer and more private, would you please be so kind to lend it to me for one hour on Monday?

Thank you for letting me know a convenient time for you to make the office switch so that I can communicate the meeting time to the Berkeley delegation!

Sincerely yours,

Laura Lai

• Formality change (we are friends, and we often socialize)

Dear Anna,

I think I told you that on Monday our institute gets the visits of a delegation from Berkeley and I’m in charge of it. Would you mind switching offices for one hour on Monday? Your office is nicer and more private than mine. Please! Please! Please! If yes, tell me at what time is convenient for you to work in my office so that I can tell the delegation the right meeting hour.

Best,

Laura 

[ANNA. ‘I’m not thrilled to visit you in your small, dark, and noisy office, let alone work in it for an hour that sounds like an eternity to me. You can close your office for one hour. I’ll use the Wi-Fi from the lobby.]

• Tone change (imagine that with this co-worker you had problems and disagreements in the past; you asked once and she didn’t answer; write her again, polite but with a more insisting tone)

Hi, Anna!

I’m sorry that my email interrupts again you from working, but I need to remind you about the visit of the delegation from Berkeley to our institute scheduled for March 22^nd, 2021 (not 2022!). That’s next Monday! And I would like to remind you that today is Thursday.

I know that we had misunderstandings and disagreements in the past. But that’s personal and between the two of us. This visit concerns the institute in which we both work. I think I don’t have to explain to you the importance of this visit for the entire institute. In this sense, lending me your office for one hour would also be your contribution to our guests feeling comfortable during the meeting. This is what I previously meant by ‘teamwork’ but, obviously, we have different definitions of this concept!

Looking forward to your reply!

Laura

PS: Tomorrow morning I have a meeting with the director of the institute on this issue that I’m very willing to cancel if I get the right answer from you! J

[ANNA. ‘I’m sorry that I haven’t seen your previous email. It was in the spam folder. You may cancel the meeting with the director. I’ll work from home on Monday.

LAURA. Thank you for wishing me good luck with the delegation from Berkeley!

ANNA. I was about to! 

LAURA. Yeah, sure! When the cat will lay eggs, right?]

#cwp2x #writing #amblogging

My German Language Experience and Experiment. From First Words to Manuscript

 photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized

Today, I eagerly started studying the Academic and Business Writing course material for week two. And I came across an article that asked the following question: If there was one method for learning vocabulary that you’d recommend to the world, which one would that be? I am not in a position to recommend anybody anything, especially to the world. But I can share my German language experience and the experiment I took.

The readers who regularly read this Writing Blog know that I mentioned, at some point, that I was looking for a sponsor to publish an original piece of work in German with the Swiss Literature Society (Die Schweitzer Literaturgesellschaft) and that I had difficulties in finding a sponsor – I still do. I think I have never told the story behind this manuscript in German because the story happened before this blog was created.

            The German language is as beautiful as any other foreign language. Indeed, it has the reputation to be more complicated than other languages, but all arguments about German being complicated pales in comparison to Chinese, Hindi, Russian, etc. – languages whose alphabet is also different than the Latin alphabet most of us are used with. What makes German look complicated are the long words in its vocabulary and its complex grammar. These did not scare me because they were both logical: I understood German grammar logically and the long words in German can be fun because they are two or three words put together to form a new one. To me, it was great because I could not wait to put together any word I wanted to create my words… eventually a new German language! J

A few years ago I started to learn German by myself on an old laptop, with an excellent Internet connection and free language websites. The experiment consisted of not learning anything by heart, but by practice. French, English, and Italian are all languages that I speak fluently as foreign languages whose words and grammar I learned. German, I wanted to learn it my way! I cannot tell if there is anything I learned by heart in German – maybe verbs’ endings – but I can tell that I practiced daily, I practiced long and I practiced committed to getting to the advanced level.

            The websites I used were grammar and vocabulary language websites. Their exercises were those that ask to fill up the blanks with the right form. I also used video websites with short videos followed by questions. After a couple of months of constant practice, of copying from screen to copybook the correct sentences in German, I got the confidence to start practicing German in writing. But what to write about? And in German!

            The organization (in my mind) of a so-called ‘journal’ took me some time, but I was seeing it coming with the progress I was making daily with my language practice. Taking randomly a quote from my exercises I was developing it into a short text about myself as a former political science student, a film and coffee lover, a museum visitor, and a conference organizer, about writing and learning German.

After half a year of writing this journal, I had the opportunity of a German summer school in Vienna (Austria). It was July 2017, and there were hundreds of students in the yard of the University of Vienna – Foreign Languages Center. An examination was taking place so that the specialists to divide us into classes according to our level of German. I was scheduled for the afternoon. I still remember how nervous I was that day because that day was the first time I spoke to somebody in German. And this first time had to be to an experienced language professor, a German native speaker, and at the university level. It could not look scarier to me who improved listening comprehension by watching movies in German but had practiced speaking German only by reading out loud the texts and by commenting in German to the computer screen to whatever sentence in German I had the words to comment upon. The exam went fine, and I got to an advanced class. Then I was hoping to be in a class with others much better than me so that I can learn by interacting with them. All other courses I did in Vienna were for the advanced level and my journal continued.

When I stopped writing at it, I began editing it the way I was having in mind at the beginning when I could not do much because my vocabulary was limited. Then, there were lots of things that were put there for the sake of practicing the language and the time was to remove all the redundant things and gave it a shape. The shape of a manuscript. 

It was a great honor to have been accepted to the advanced level. And it was a great honor to receive positive feedback from the Swiss Literature Society to publish this manuscript. The fact that I cannot afford it is not a surprise for me. I hope I will … one day. Nowadays, I practice becoming a writer, and once in a while, I return to German through the websites I used on my laptop or to the mobile phone app to practice it as one of my favorite puzzles.

#cwp2x #writing #amblogging #English #German

Academic and Business Writing. Optional: Pop-Up 1

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/Uncategorized 

It has happened before to hear people telling me: ‘Ah, but writing is easy!’ Writing is easy when someone needs to take a pen and write a note: ‘I’m in the shopping mall.’ This is easy to write. But when one needs to comply with the writing style’s demands, when one needs to employ literary devices and make out of writing art, writing becomes difficult. 

I wouldn’t have taken such a challenge if I thought writing is easy! When lots of consideration is given to the written word, writing is not easy. On this blog, I mainly write essays, comments, and reviews. Outside this blog, I mainly write plays and children’s books. At the course Academic and Business Writing, generously offered by Berkeley (University of California) free of charge, we’re asked to explain, narrate, describe, compare, discuss, etc. And so is the case with today’s optional writing.

What company or business is having the greatest impact in the world today, either positive or negative? Explain your response.

From my point of view, the coal mining industry has one of the greatest negative impacts in the world today. Coal is an underground fossil that is extracted and burned to generate energy. The extraction of coal affects land topography, may cause earthquakes (ex. Saar region, Germany), destroys soil and vegetation, destroys and displaces wildlife, and affects human health by causing lung and heart diseases. The burning of coal releases a considerable number of chemicals into the air causing air pollution (ex. Mpumalanga region in South Africa). Therefore, the coal mining industry is considered to be the largest contributor to the man-made increase of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.

However, the quick closure of the approximately 110 million mines around the world would be a human disaster, too. Their closure does not affect only the millions of miners working in this industry, but a number that is at least three times more than the number of miners – considering that each is married and has one child. Having in sight their closure for the long run should provide governments with the necessary time to develop in those mining regions alternative industries for future former miners and their families to work.

How do you think email has affected communication? Do you hate it? Love it? Explain your response.

I think that electronic mail, or shortly, the ‘email’, had a positive impact on communication by making it more rapid, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly. The email operates across a network of computers allowing simultaneous mailing to many receivers (in ‘Cc’) and it allows sending a considerable pile of papers (such as a manuscript) free of charge (as ‘attachment’) – saving both paper and money. The regular post would first weigh the pile of paper and then the stamp’s value would be accordingly. Similarly to regular mail, the email allows also the ‘delivery notification’ – a free-of-charge service that confirms that the receiver read the email. I think of email as an efficient upgrade to regular mail, as well as a great alternative to it.

#cwp2x #writing #amblogging

Academic and Business Writing: Week 1

photo edited by Laura Lai

 

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized

On March 8^th, 2021 I have enrolled in the course Academic and Business Writing provided by Berkeley, University of California. The reasons why I enrolled in this course are: to improve my writing skills, practice my English and expand my English vocabulary, and learn more about proofreading, editing, and punctuation. Assignments are diverse, but one of the assignments concerns answering a set of questions regarding writing that can be answered directly on the blog. My Writing Blog is a great place to post such an assignment! And I will do so in the following weeks. Here are my answers for this week's journal-type of assignment:

Write a paragraph about what type of writing you typically do.

First and foremost, I write dialogues. I’ve always loved to write dialogues and I thought to take the challenge and combine my pleasure to write dialogues with my political science background and write a particular type of drama called ‘single issue drama’ that puts more accent on the debate than on the characters. But when I write for this Writing Blog, I stick to writing essays, comments, and reviews on topics from politics, culture, and sports. All other writings (such as creative writings) that cannot be classified as essays, comments, or reviews, I classify them as ‘uncategorized’.

In another paragraph, write what you think about writing. Do you enjoy it? Dread it?

I love writing. I’ve always enjoyed doing the different compositions I was supposed to for school. Then I enjoyed dissertations. Nowadays, I write across a range of genres (dramatic and epic), across a range of styles, and across a range of audiences (adults and children). But writing is one thing – a lovely thing I constantly improve. Self-publishing your work is another thing – a complex thing I am still learning. The way the reading public will apprehend a less approached type of drama as the single issue drama is … I would not say that I ‘dread’ (with the sense of ‘fear’), but it makes me curious. Hopefully, it will be a positive reaction!

Finally, write another paragraph about what area of writing you need to improve most. Do you want to be a better essay writer? A more creative writer? A good business writer?

The reason why I work on being a complex writer is that different ideas can be expressed better in different formats. My blog and my writing motto are that ‘one drop of ink may make one million think’, but I would like to know different writing styles so that I can pick the right one for the drop of an idea I have. I enrolled in this course to take the best of it in all aspects of writing it offers. Yes, I want to write even better essays! There are topics that can become clearer when expressed as essays. Yes, I want to be a more creative writer! Usually, a writer is creative; exercises can challenge this creativity to practice it, I am not sure about increasing it, but if it is possible, why not? And yes, I want to be a good business writer! It is great to sound professional when the circumstances ask for it!

#cwp2x #writing #amblogging

Film Review: Shackleton’s Captain – The Famous Antarctic Expedition

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Review

Director: Leanne Pooley

On a Novel by John Thomson

With the support of New Zealand on Air’s Platinium Fund

The movie Shackleton’s Captain – The Famous Antarctic Expedition is a documentary movie that reenacts the epic story of the expedition of the British explorer, Ernest Shackleton, and his crew to Antarctica (1914-16). The story is told retrospectively (London, 1926) by Frank Worsely – the photographer of the expedition – to a group of guests, possibly former donors. 

After two previous visits to Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton settled an ambitious goal: to get to Antarctica and to cross the white continent. In order to reach his goal, the 40 – year old British explorer, with Irish origins, bought the most solid ship for that time, brought it from Norway to England, and rechristened it: ‘Endurance’. Designed for hunting cruses, Endurance was modified so that it can successfully carry all the twenty-seven crew members and their belongings, approximately fifty Canadian sleigh dogs, and a cat.

This expedition started in August 1914 and everything went fine until the crew was sixty miles far from the Antarctic shore. It is there that the Endurance got stuck in ice packs on the Wendell Sea. The crew was stuck for months on the ship, then the ship went down and the crew lived on a floating ice pack carried by currents until Shackleton decided to risk and reach the uninhabited Elephant Island, from where he and the other five members would risk again and venture to reach the South Georgia Island to get support and return to the Elephant Island to bring back the rest of the crew.

The moment the Endurance got stuck in the ice pack, the situation for the crew went from bad to worse. Surrounded by death in all its forms (i.e. darkness, coldness, hunger, sea dangers, mountaineering without any experience, etc.) the unendurable endurance brought to light Shackleton’s leadership skills, as well as his sense of geographical orientation on the sea, on the darkness and without a map – a soaked map that one might want to check in darkness, with frozen hands and body, weakened after days of hunger and without sleep does not help as much as an innate sense of geographical orientation.

This also brought to light … the luck as a divine blessing he had. Shackleton and two other crew members arrived on the wrong side of the island. And they decided to cross the South Georgia Island on foot, through snow without any mountaineering experience and without many resources. He used to say that in this venture, it seemed that there was a fourth man next to them, ‘like a spirit’, that gave them strength and courage. Facing such an angry and determined Death, that spirit must have been an even more powerful spirit than Death!

This documentary movie alternates real photos and great quality original videos of both the crew and the ship, the story is correlated with testimonies of researchers and the enactment of the story by a group of talented actors helps visualize better all the hardships the crew had been through.

            Shackleton himself, as well as history, refers to this expedition as a ‘successful failure’ because it did not reach its expedition goal, but it had a happy end. I think that the term ‘successful failure’ is a beautiful rhetorical device (an oxymoron) that summarizes in general terms this entire expedition. But I believe that although Shackleton’s noble goal was to discover Antarctica, for science, for history, and for his country, this expedition was a quest to discover himself; to discover his human and other skills in relation to his men and to divinity – skills, he might have had a clue that he had, but that we have never known about them if they were not tested to such an unendurable human limit. My God, what a limit! And from this point of view, this expedition was absolutely no failure, but a tremendously great success. What do you think?

Enjoy the movie!