KS Bull (issue 2) orders - Please follow link and respond!

Hi all,

Apologies for the very late notice. I'm taking orders for the new volume of KS Bull (RIJC's publication of expository essays) and the list needs to be submitted by tomorrow - can you please proceed to indicate your orders on this form? Nil replies are required.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Am9ilpq19UlDdEc5SnlheW1hU1l0Y0x6bjN4Q2VrMXc&hl=en

Highlighted cells indicate scholars, who have already placed their orders via Mr Kelvin Yap, so scholars do not need to respond to this.

I will close off editing tomorrow morning and submit the list, so please make your mark by tonight.

Some sample essay titles...

1. “Celebrities make the worst role models for today’s youth”. Comment.
2. Is investing in the arts every worthwhile? Discuss the question with reference to your country.
3. “To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to ensure bad government.” (Mark Twain) Do you agree?
4. “Globalisation makes the world a better place.” To what extent is this true today?
5. Is ambition always to be encouraged?
6. Should euthanasia be legalised in Singapore?
7. “More government intervention, not less.” Is this the best way to solve the problems we face in the world today?
8. “Countries have every right to respond with aggression when provoked.” Do you agree?
9. In your opinion, is your country doing enough to protect the environment?
10. “Foreign aid is ineffective and wasteful.” Is this true?
11. What is wrong with organ trading?
12. “Popular culture has destroyed the true meaning of love and marriage.” Do you agree?
13. “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” (Winston Churchill) To what extent do you agree?
14. “The book is dead. Long live the Internet.” Discuss.
15. “Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.” Comment.
16. “Ours is a nation of immigrants that should continue to welcome immigrants.” Discuss this in relation to Singapore.
17. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” How far is this statement a reflection of societal attitudes today?
18. “A study of history will only make us more pessimistic about the future of the human race.” Discuss.
19. “Religion divides rather than unites.” Discuss.
20. “New forms of media have made mainstream media redundant.” Discuss.
21. To what extent does technology enhance the arts?

Final reminder for competitions

A final reminder regarding the Youth Writers Award Asia 2010 - this is (probably) the final competition still running this year that will be counted for your competition participation. If you have yet to submit your entry, please submit it here.

If you have already participated in an English Language/Literature competition this year (and are able to provide evidence for this), you will not be required to submit an entry for this competition.

You can check here if I currently have a record of your competition participation. If you still have a copy of your entry, you may forward it to me and tell me which competition it was used for. Otherwise, if you'd submitted the entry via the school, please let me know which competition it was and I will check it against our records.

I will need this done by the end of September. Your competition participation (or lack thereof) will be submitted to the school at the end of the year, and it will be reflected in your APR.

Comprehension answer scheme

Hi all,

Here are the answers for the optional holiday assignment. If you have attempted it, you can evaluate yourself on how you have done. In addition, below is a short presentation with 2 alternative strategies you can use for paraphrasing.



Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions about this.

September break

Dear all,

It's finally the September break! Just 2 things.

1. Please remember that you need to participated in an English Language/Literature competition this year - the list of students who have (and have not) participated will be submitted to the school at the end of the year. You can check if I have recorded your participation here - just email me with the relevant details (and evidence, e.g. competition entry) if you've participated in something but I've not recorded it.
   
   If you've not participated in anything yet, the Youth Writers Awards Asia 2010 is still open (until 30 September), please do attempt it during the September holidays (or DMP period).
   
   
2. I've uploaded a comprehension assignment (optional) for you to attempt, I will share the answer scheme at the end of the holidays for you to check your answers against.
   

Summary answer scheme

Your class's answer key

Highlighted in yellow are the paraphrasing that we'd found questionable, but did not have the time to remedy. You should be able to give yourself a (rough) mark for your attempted summary with this guide.

For comparison, here's the version generated by the only class I'd managed to complete the exercise with - 3L's answer key

Debate preparation feedback

Hi all,

Would just like to seek your opinions on whether the pre-debate lessons were useful in helping you to prepare for your assessed debates. You may want to take a look at the lesson recaps to jog your memory on what'd happened.

Faced with having only 3-4 periods to work with, I'd opted to focus on debate preparation, getting you to make an argument on an issue and to counter each others' arguments via electronic media, and then attempting to get your teams working on generating arguments and pre-empting the opposing viewpoints in class.

Time constraints and technological hiccups aside, I was wondering if (from the students' point of view) you'd found this to be a fruitful exercise. Please take the time to respond to the quick survey below!

(If for some reason the embedded form doesn't load, you can do the survey here as well.)

Commentary 2 due W9 Thu

Hi all,

Just a gentle reminder that the second assessed commentary will be due in a week's time (Week 9 Thursday, 27 August). It is essentially the same exercise as the timed commentary you did in the computer laboratory last term, except that we have left the selection of topic completely to your own discretion.

Just a recap of what's required (slightly modified so you don't need to print it off your blog, don't worry if you've done that already though).

1. Choose one article on any social issue from the internet, newspaper or magazine. Cut out, print or make a photocopy of the article.
2. Write a commentary on the issue using Microsoft Word (Word limit: 600 words). Print this article.
3. Post the commentary on your personal English blog.
4. Submit, stapled together in this order
• ERP task sheet
• Printed commentary
• Article/Copy of article
  

Take note that to avoid the late penalty, you will need to have submitted the required documents as well as have uploaded it onto your blog. Your English blog should also be accessible to the general public.