The ‘Writing Break Blog’ on a New Website

 

Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized

I started blogging for the very first time in January 2019. It was on a Sunday afternoon, in Oxford. It was just a few days before starting the Drama Writing course. I remember that I was happy and nervous, at the same time – I’ve always loved writing dialogue and I was finally having the opportunity to learn to write it better. I was curious. I was excited. I couldn’t wait to get started!

I wanted to give my mind a break from this course excitement. And to do a blog was a great idea. In fact, it was an idea that I was having in mind for quite some time, but I never had the time to sit and do it. Maybe, it was then the time to start blogging. I’m happy and honored that the beautiful, historical, and highly academic city of Oxford inspired me to start blogging. 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted a writing blog. I wanted to … practice online writing essays, comments, reviews, and dialogues – categorized as ‘uncategorized’. J It is different to practice online rather than on paper. Only the idea that someone may be reading it and, as a writer, you are more attentive to the style, the word choice, clarity, etc. I loved it! 

Laura Lai's Homepage on https://lauralai.weebly.com/ 

However, the more I was writing, the more I wanted writing and the writer’s information in one place. Please, don't get me wrong! I loved blogging on BlogSpot! I think it’s a great free and user-friendly service. But no matter how much I liked it, it seemed that a website would be better. But what website? It’s obvious that I was looking for something similarly free and user-friendly. And I searched until I found a YouTube tutorial on Weebly.

Last month, I worked on making myself a website to include a Writing Blog. Obviously! I followed the steps, I chose some pictures, I personalized pictures, I posted them, and I waited for October 1^st, 2021 to continue blogging. In order to stress as strongly as I can that this new Writing Blog is a continuation of the Writing Break Blog I saved two movies from the Old Film Reviews: Hitchcock Series to review on the new blog. And it is just last week that I posted the review of the movie Notorious (1946).

In conclusion, I haven’t posted on this blog because I was working on a new website, equally free and user-friendly, to include a blog, too. The new Writing Blog is a continuation of this Writing Break Blog which was a great idea and a great experience born in Oxford.

            Thank you, Google, for this blog app! It was such a lovely experience that I’m already missing. Thank you for offering each blogger the opportunity to have a public platform to express their point of view. I’m committed to continuing my objective approach to the new blog.  In general, I don’t take sides, and I don’t close chapters that were a great experience. I, simply, leave them open. Consequently, I’m not closing this Writing Break Blog either. Maybe a future idea will need its own platform and this old blog will be just perfect. Who knows?!

            Last, but not least, you’re all welcome to visit the new website, comment, and inscribe your email address to be the first to know about book discounts, give away, and the back story of my books! 

The New Writing Blog on https://lauralai.weebly.com/writing-blog

Academic and Business Writing: The Time after the End of the Course

The Academic & Business Writing Certificate

photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/Uncategorized

Dear all,

it’s been two weeks since I finished the course on Academic and Business Writing. The first thing I did was to print my certificate. And the second was to frame it next to the one from Oxford and the one from Harvard. I’ve always loved writing. I’ve always used all opportunities to write. But I’ve never thought that I would actually have the opportunity to do something only for my writing skill. Even if it had occurred to me – which it never did – it would have never ever crossed my mind that I would take classes from specialists in drama writing from Oxford University, in rhetoric from Harvard, and in academic/business writing from Berkeley. To be honest, I’ve never even dreamed of it. What I used to think was that I would finish my doctoral thesis and that I would start teaching something somewhere. That’s all. As simple as that! I’m surprised that my writing skill had the honor and the privilege to be perfection by great specialists from the traditionally best world’s universities. J

Then I entered the household’s Easter preparations: a general cleaning and sorting-out process. It’s traditionally said that people should welcome this holiday – which is my favorite of all – with the houses, the yards and the souls clean (not necessarily in this order!). I consider it a good advice, it also makes sense because Easter is always in spring, and because spring usually comes after … usually long winters when it’s hard to work the yards, for example. And once every corner of the house is in order, we can concentrate on some Easter dishes – a creative and relaxing activity, which doesn’t mean that I’m a great chef that successfully and regularly cooks snake stake garnished with grasshopper antennas. J

The dish rehearsal baked on the cooker 

because the oven proved broken

photo edited by Laura Lai

It’s regular dishes that I can handle. I even tried a dish rehearsal, which usually needs baking, and on this occasion I’ve discovered that the oven broke. It was an old one, anyway. The positive side is that it happened on a Black Friday discounts period. I also tried new tastes: used with the sun flower halva, I’ve said to taste the sesame one… which tastes good… of sesame seeds! J I know that it’s sweet, I know that it’s a bit oily, I know that it might have some calories, and I do care about my line, but I don’t live my life on a scale neither do I weight every piece of food I want to swallow; first, because when you’re 174 centimetres tall the one or two kilos in plus or in minus are less evident… Second, when working more with the head instead of the body, nobody beheads you for the one or two kilos in plus or in minus. J

       But I had time for movies! You bet I did!!! And one of them is ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (1977) directed by Franco Zeffirelli. This is also one of those movies that I’ve seen several times. And this year again, because this is a masterpiece in every sense. I don’t have words to describe the every sense in which this movie is a masterpiece. The cast plays its roles outstandingly, the setting is perfect, the music is marvelous, and the recreation of the époque (outfit, habits, etc.) is wonderfully conveyed! Even some small roles were difficult to play, but played magnificently such as the role of the young man possessed by the devil. I’m impressed by the way each of the actors played and by Robert Powell (Jesus) who I’ve recently watched in a documentary movie in which he was visiting the places where they filmed the movie. It’s remarkable to have gathered such crowds, to dress and make them up to fit the times, to bring in many animals: lambs, sheep, donkeys, etc. Amazing!

From an artistic point of view, the scene of Lazarus’ resurrection is subtle and mystical: Jesus stays in front of the tomb, the stone was removed, behind him a large crowd, but the camera is behind this crowd at some point so that the viewer sees lots of shadows… and Jesus in front of the tomb. Furthermore, the scene when Mary is announced that she will conceive a son is the scene of the divine message that is differently depicted by film directors, but the way Zeffirelli chose to do it, it’s most probably the way I would do it, too. Mary ‘hears’ with her spirit the divine message of her child conception, and that of her relative who would conceive a son, too, before her, although much older than her. Her mysterious divine message was confirmed by reality and the way the director chose to arrange the sequences is absolutely terrific.

Pausing on some stones, 2021

Now, that things have been sorted-out, house is prepared to celebrate Easter and the few dishes to prepare are settled, I started to review the course. A revision after some time is a positive thing because while I study I don’t know what comes next. But when I get to the last course, I prefer to review it once more to have it all in my mind – the whole structure of it. And this way, the organized information settles better and longer in my mind.

       I loved participating at this course. And I’m thankful to the educational platform, edx, for the financial support to get my certificate and always be able to prove that I did participate to the course. But only I know how much heart I put into it! A certificate never tells, the result sometimes does, though. I’m thrilled that from all types of the academic and business writing genre, I could deepen one: the film review. And I loved to read and to challenge my opinions on different matters reading and replying on our virtual discussion forum.

       I had in mind to enroll to another course offered by Berkeley and taught by Dr. Maggie Sokolik. It’s about the AP English Literature & Composition – Part 3: Plays, but it’s going to be archived at the beginning of May. I checked the outline and I was hoping to be able to cover just the drama part, the first two weeks before the course gets archived… Indeed, I was considering audit enrolling, rather than the verified one.

To sum up, two weeks after the course I was mainly caught in household arrangements mainly to welcome the Easter holidays, and celebrations. I enjoyed the beautiful weather and took long walks to the park. Shall I remind you that I still love drinking a cup of coffee while sitting on the bench and thinking about what to write or the way to improve what I’ve already written? I also had time to watch movies, to write shortly, and to think more about writing. And when the time comes, I will sit and write… Now, it was time to celebrate that I accomplished this course with a precious 97 percent – a wonderful birthday present that I celebrated also during these last two weeks. 

Peace be with all of you! 

P.S. Also during these two weeks it was my name day, and not in the same day with my birthday – another reason to celebrate! J

 

OTHER LINKS:

‘Ben-Hur’: From Silent Movie to Animation & to Sound Movie (I)

https://writingbreaklauralai.blogspot.com/2019/05/ben-hur-from-silent-movie-to-animation_31.html

‘Ben-Hur’: From Silent Movie to Animation & to Sound Movie (II)

https://writingbreaklauralai.blogspot.com/2019/05/ben-hur-from-silent-movie-to-animation_1.html

‘Ben-Hur’: From Silent Movie to Animation & to Sound Movie (III)

https://writingbreaklauralai.blogspot.com/2019/05/ben-hur-from-silent-movie-to-animation.html

#cwp2x #Easter #filmreview #Zeffirelli #BenHur

Academic and Business Writing Course. Last Homework: On Text Revision

photo edited by Laura Lai 

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized 

This is the last homework. It is the end of the course on Academic and Business Writing. It was great to have practiced both English and writing on given topics. And the writing was practiced on topics that were so diverse! I equally loved all of them – no favorites.

            This course was my third online course. My online study adventure started in 2019 with the course on Drama Writing – a four-month course provided by the University of Oxford. I did not know what to expect from an online course, but I was prepared to study drama and eager to write it. And I enrolled looking for a drama writing road map. I could not compare it to anything I experienced before, as I have always studied in class – not in virtual classes. I found it more difficult online than in class when the teacher can be interrupted at any time to be asked a question or to clarify an issue. But it is not so difficult if the course is well organized and well structured by the instructor.

The online class is about self-discipline, is about motivation, is about making it a high priority for your daily schedule, and is about studying more than meeting peers, having a chat, having a walk, or having a coffee together. I found my road map, I found my confidence, and I found out the greatest advantage of the online course: it is self-paced. I study constantly, organized, daily, and weekly, but once during this course, I had to relocate from one country to another. The online course allowed me to finish the readings for one week before the end of the week, start the readings for the next one when my laptop was on, and pack when it was off. I announced to the tutor that for two days of the week I could not be on the virtual discussion forum (which was highly interactive) as I was changing planes, trains, and buses. The course was self-paced and me being organized on the second day, in the evening, I was already in the virtual class for a few hours, getting back my study rhythm as if I did not even relocate the day before.

            In the process of perfecting my writing skills and in order to practice my English, in 2020 I enrolled in the course Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking – provided by Harvard University. Although I knew what online study meant, I was still nervous. I was nervous because I was not 18 years old anymore as I was when I first entered university, I was facing material coming from the best university in the world (for the 2021 world university ranking, click here) and I wanted to assimilate it all. I have learned that my thirst for knowledge is now as it was back then when I was 18. And I laughed when I remembered that then I could only go to the best university in the country and that, now, I am taking a course from the best in the world. The fact that I wanted to learn from the best is the same now as it was when I was 18. Indeed, I also do not have the impression that I changed in comparison to the way I have always been. And April 22^nd is my next birthday – I do not think that I will change, because I am curious to know, I want to understand, because I want to apply what I know and what I understand. If I want to make a difference? Why shall I? I may be the difference itself! J

            The course on Academic and Business Writing – provided by Berkeley, University of California is the third step in my process of improving my writing and practicing English. It is the course I am about to end, and like all courses, I am sorry that it is about to end. I was eager to start learning the course material of another great world university. I would have enrolled anyway, but I was feeling sorry that I would never be able to prove to anybody and in any professional context that I studied it. The day the online platform EdX approved my financial request was a great day. EdX made my day! J

            In Oxford University’s terms, some of us are ‘lifelong learners’ and we never know enough. I will never will. The most recent podcast for ‘curious minds’ is about the long tradition of what we call nowadays ‘online learning.' It started in the 19^th century with ‘tutorial classes’ with writing essays about political and economical issues of those times and it became in the 20th century a 'permanent national necessity’:

 

‘The continuing education of adults was of vital importance to the nation’s welfare and security. Citizens needed the intellectual tools to weigh the evidence and critically reflect on political claims…’ 

It is said that people turn to tutorial classes mainly ‘to change the trajectory of life’. Therefore, it is great that such platforms exist. I look at it as an academic platform of excellence. My experience with it was great and I will return to it every time I need to perfect a skill or acquire new professional ones. 

Until then I need to finish this course. And I have one last homework, on text revision. How do I go about revisions? In this course, I learned different techniques for revisions and editing, but before this course, I was traditionally reading and re-reading the text several times, both in my mind and aloud; I was leaving it aside for shorter or longer periods of time and reading it again. Sometimes I was also recording myself to hear the way it sounds.

            Reading aloud allows one finding a better word, and a better structure for the sentence, it helps hear its rhythm, and it also allows one to work on the punctuation or to edit some typos and/or some grammar mistakes (e.g. subject-verb agreement and plurals). To me, this works great, because I usually think long before I write a play, for example. I research. The topic unfolds first in my mind. I write an outline to point out certain things. Then I sit and write, and I let the story take me on the writing adventure. I cannot write it all at once, but when I resume, I usually do not have to reread what I wrote because I am writing down a story that is already unfolding in my mind and I know where I stopped.

When the first draft is finished I start reading and rereading. I do that on screen and on paper. Sometimes when the paper is too long, and in order not to stay long in front of the computer, I print and correct it on paper. But every corrected typo or every improved sentence structure is usually improved according to the level of English one has. That is the reason why the language must be constantly improved: so that each and every time an author revises its text or edits its grammar and punctuation to do it with a pair of fresh eyes and better skills.

In terms of text revision, there is also the possibility to ask somebody to read your text and make improvement suggestions. Personally, I do not use this method much unless it is in an educational format and the instructor needs to read and give feedback. There are a few reasons why I do not necessarily use this text revision method. First, it is about time availability. In general, people live a busy life and they may be too busy to find the time to read something they enjoy rather than to read others’ writings and give feedback. And if they are so busy, I am not sure they will read attentively, maybe just by obligation and on a diagonal. Second, it also depends on what an author is writing. I focus on a particular type of drama that is not much explored. I do not know the way the audience will react to this type of genre called ‘single-issue-drama’. This type of drama combines perfectly my political science background with my love of writing, particularly dialogues. Why not write in this genre? But reading to an audience like a reading club may be ‘torture’ for the members who love other genres and a significant time investment on my side to explain every step I made to combine the topic with art.

Third, even experienced authors recommend prudence when getting feedback. They usually recommend taking into account only those opinions that matter to you, or people who are involved in your writing process, etc. (for more information, please read the article here or my series of comments on it that I posted on the ‘Writing Blog’ in November and December, 2020). Quentin Tarantino, who is both a film director and a film writer, summarized it into three simple words with a profound meaning ‘defend your art.' 

To summarize, the course Academic and Business Writing is the third online course I take. With the first course, I learned what online learning meant. With the second course, I discovered that although not 18 years old anymore, my thirst for knowledge is as high as then, and that my interest to learn from the best is the same. And with the third course, I learned the importance of constantly improving one’s language skills. By approving my financial request, the online educational platform EdX helped me to be able to prove in any professional context these new skills.

            The last homework for this course requires insights into our ways to revise a text. I traditionally use the reading and re-reading of a text maaaaany times and after shorter or longer periods of time, in my mind and aloud. This allows for finding better words and elementary text editing (e.g. correct punctuation, missed plurals, or subject-verb agreement). 

#cwp2X #edx #Oxford #Harvard #Berkeley #writing #revising #amblogging

Reflecting On the Final Writing Paper. Alfred Hitchcock: 'The 39 Steps'

 

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized 

After having written an essay as the homework for the ‘Academic and Business Writing’ course – Week 4 on writing difficulties, posted it on my Writing Blog and some excerpts on the virtual class’ discussion forum, after having read it with lots of interest and having replied to some of my classmates, I was preparing myself for the optional homework. But wait! One of the check questions was: ‘I wrote about my final writing project in my journal’ or ‘I didn’t have time.’ Actually, this caught me by surprise. I did not know that I had to. Now that I know, guess what? I make time! J

 

WHO?/WHAT?        For the final writing paper, I had to choose among several types of writing formats belonging to the academic or business genre. One of the choices was ‘movie or book review’. Theoretically, it belongs to general/academic writing. And I have decided to review the movie The 39 Steps (1935) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This movie was considered by film critics as the best adaptation of the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchnan (1915). Although my focus will be on the movie review, I want to make a short parallel to the book as well – a kind of two-in-one review. J

 

WHY?                    First, this movie was an excellent choice for a review of an old movie made in 1935. I started long ago reviewing old movies for the ‘review’ section of this Writing Blog. And I reached the year 1935. For each year, I watch as much as I can from among those awarded or not by the American Film Academy, from among the blockbusters, etc.

                                 Second, I made this choice because I am a great lover of cinema art. I have always loved the way this art tells a story. I was a child when going with other children to the cinema. I was so passionate that in the pupils’ summer holidays, I was going in the morning to the cinema because the ticket was free for pupils. I watched Hollywood and Bollywood movies, Chinese, Russian, Western, etc. And I loved them all!

 

                                Third, when I was 12 or 14 I had the chance to follow on the national television program a series of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies broadcasted weekly. And I was fascinated by this director: by the way he conveys the message of the movie and by the psychoanalysis scenes. I am a Sign Language speaker and I do not know if it is because of Sign Language that I have always understood certain cognitive processes behind the movement – I think so – and I have understood those psychoanalysis scenes of Hitchcock as speaking my mind, although it went straight to my heart.

 

                                Fourth, I made this choice because in this ‘Academic and Business Writing’ course  I am learning lots and useful things about writing in English. But by the end of it, I want to have deepened one format. I thought it would be the essay, but I see that it is going to be the review. I use this course opportunity to read and learn more about film reviews.

 

WHERE?               Once my final review is done, it will be posted on the course’s website and subject to peer analysis. I intend to post it on my Writing Blog, too, in the ‘review’ section two-three weeks after this course will end – let us consider it as the last post for the month of April. I think it is wiser to wait until after the course ends and it is a great decision to leave it as the last post for April, especially since I intend to continue reviewing movies the entire month of May.

 

WHEN?/ HOW?      But with less than two weeks to go until the end of this course, last week I have already taken the time to watch the movie and read the book so that my review draft to be as close to completion as possible. And the draft was submitted. This gives me time to enjoy optional homework, start a new studying week, and watch again the movie to improve the first film review draft for a better final written paper.

 

Now, that I have also written about my final written paper in my journal that I keep on my Writing Blog, I cannot wait to check ‘I wrote about my final paper in my journal.’ And to continue my writing journey with the course on Academic and Business Writing! J 

#cw2p #edx #FilmReview #AlfredHitchcock #writing #amblogging

April Fools’ Day? No Fools’ Day for Academic and Business Writing!

 photo edited by Laura Lai

by Laura Lai/ Uncategorized 

Write a message to borrow money (to buy books) from:

• a parent or a close relative;
• your brother, sister, or best friend;
• school’s financial department aid. 

If it looks like a joke on April Fools’ Day, I am telling you that it is not. It is a short exercise of formality, tone, and, most important, taking into account the audience of the message.

Message 1: Mom, we need to buy books for the school’s library. I need to contribute $20.

Message 2: Tom, would you borrow me $20 til next month? We’re buying books for the school’s library.

Message 3:

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I am writing this letter to require financial aid to purchase five English dictionaries for the school’s library.

There are thirty pupils studying English in the 8^th grade and there is only one dictionary that is available for all. Our initiative to collect the necessary sum of money to purchase the five dictionaries failed, as most of the parents cannot afford them. Consequently, I turn to the Financial Department to support our initiative for this year’s pupils and for the future ones that will study English and that will be in need of a good English dictionary.

Please feel free to contact me shall you have questions or shall you need more information. 

Respectfully,

Margaret Smith – English teacher, 8A class

In terms of formality, the first two messages are less formal than the third one – the last message is the most formal of all. I would argue that the first message is also on a more familiar tone (‘mom, we need to buy books … I need to contribute’), in comparison to the second one (‘Tom, would you borrow me…’). The third message is formal and in a neutral tone. It informs the Financial Department that there is a class need for dictionaries, that pupils’ initiative failed, and that they need the support of this department. 

Furthermore, the first two sentences are more informal, they are also shorter in formulating the request, while the third message is the longest, it is an official written request, looking or borrowing some elements from the cover letter format. 

They are all different because each of the messages took into account the audience it is addressing to. Usually, familiarity with the person(s) one is addressing, goes hand in hand with a more informal and direct approach. When addressing itself to an institution, a department of an institution (as in this case when the teacher addresses herself to Mrs. Jones from the financial department), or an unknown audience, the style is more formal, more explicative, and there is room left for other eventual questions that may arise. However, I think that whatever the audience, the formulation and the tone must always be polite.

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

 

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 

 

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