Summary Draft 1

Levi (2012) categorised various areas whereby social media is not widely used in his article, “Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous?”. He categorised these locations into a few main areas: areas where their native language is not supported by the more developed social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) and areas where internet is not widely made available. However, he asserted his point that the problem with native language is aided by the presence of second languages or pre-colonial languages that are spoken in some areas. Also, these languages are omitted at times, due to political complications that it brings.

Word count: 98

References:

Levi, D. (2012, July 24). Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.etondigital.com/where-isnt-social-media-ubiquitous/

PARAPHRASING & SUMMARISING

A3

1) Ans: Crystal (1997) suggests that Latin became a recognised language due to the dominance of the Romans.

2) Ans: Butler (2004) suggested that the new reactors would be more efficient working at extreme temperature. They should also be more environmentally friendly, cost effective and meltdown-proof with simple safety function, if to convince the general population.

B2

Ans: Yearly Profit Forecast

B3

1) Ans: Income gap in most countries are tabulated from the standard of living and well-being of the individuals in the society.

2) Ans: A language becomes recognised due to the strength and dominance of the people speaking it.

C1

1) Ans: argue, believe, claim, imply, insist, note, observe, say, state, suggest, find

2) Ans: suggest, believe, find, note, observe

C2

Summary: Children conceived via assisted reproductive technology are more likely to be plagued with obesity, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes later in life

Author: Moisse

Date: 2010

C3

1) Ans: Lester (1076) asserts that students should only make a limited amount of notes in direct quotation in order to help minimise the amount of quotes used .

2) Ans: Purdue Online Writing Lab (2013) claims that while the first half of the year has been profitable, the next six months are not expected to be as lucrative.

Credits: Charmaine & Sue Anne

My English Language Learning Journey

I was not raised in  an English speaking family. My parents hardly spoke any English to me up till today. I had always thought English was not as important as what it was made out to be. Back in primary school, I never took a particular interest in languages, both mother tongue and English. Me mentality was simple, speaking was all that mattered. I was quick to dismiss the what was taught and had not taken anything significant in classes.

It was the same when i was in secondary school. Although the rigour of writing was greater then, I had the same thoughts on language. I did not feel that language will serve me in any way in the future. I simply brushed it aside, thinking that it was a waste of time. Indeed, it was a regrettable decision.

Junior college days pinched me the hardest. Struggling with an average grasp of English, I was never a good writer. It affected my grades and I was not able to get the hang of writing a good essay. Practice helped, but I could not afford too much practice. I personally feel that my writing stagnated at that point up till now. Although last semester gave me an avenue for practicing, it was minimal. Looking back, I definitely feel there are various avenues to  improve on, mainly effort and understanding the importance of English as a language. I feel that speaking eloquently does not always help in my writing and practice would definitely be a better bet.