Dr Edwin assigned us to read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela's and I feel the tense he’s going through at that time. To me, besides his personal problems, this leader is dedicated in freeing his people. I believe what he said in his autobiography because he didn’t use phrase such as “I think…” or “I believe…” as these phrases might cause readers to feel some biasness in the statement he provides.
Looking at this man’s effort makes me think; are there still leaders like this? Who are not corrupted? I mean Mandela is not a saint either but he was good enough not to accept the offer of long pants the jail officer gave him. If he did, he will be a hypocrite which to me a lot of leaders in the world know are…most leaders nowadays always say things that don’t meant…as example, Bush’s government are saying to the world they are trying to gain peace in the world but at the same time they are the ones starting wars, where’s the peace in that I wonder.
Writing an autobiography whether it’s written by ourselves or someone else is always an interesting way to share our experience and if it is not altered in any way, readers will have a glimpse of what really happens to us. Especially when it comes to celebrities, everyone wants to know about their lives but usually what we get in the news or tabloid are usually exaggerated from the real thing. Thus, autobiographies are a good way to be honest (in a way). As for autobiography like Mandela’s, there are a lot that we can learn from it. Besides understanding what his life as a person, we can also learn what he went through and learn form it so it won’t happen again in the future.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Other's Position Paper presentation
We had just ended one of our class position paper presentations. Actually, from all the presentation, I only managed to store in 10% into my mind. I noticed that most of the time I am focusing on the style of presenting. And I do find some weak points from the presentation.
First of all, I think those who put in too many words in each slide are a bit overwhelming. I noticed that they ended up reading line by line from every slide. And I must say that it's a bit boring.
Next, I noticed that every presenter is just like talking to Mr. Omid in their presentation. There were no eye contacts with the whole class. Then, I begin wondering whether we are practicing skill of presenting or are we just reporting our assignment to Mr. Omid? No wonder I noticed that only half of the class is listening to the presentations. In my opinion, we should keep eye contact with everyone in the class. Maybe presenters can allow audience to ask question. I think this can make each and every presentation more interesting.
In short, I do find the presentation very beneficial to me. I get the chances to recall some of the literary text we had done before. And it is also quite education to listen to the way they analyse their works.
First of all, I think those who put in too many words in each slide are a bit overwhelming. I noticed that they ended up reading line by line from every slide. And I must say that it's a bit boring.
Next, I noticed that every presenter is just like talking to Mr. Omid in their presentation. There were no eye contacts with the whole class. Then, I begin wondering whether we are practicing skill of presenting or are we just reporting our assignment to Mr. Omid? No wonder I noticed that only half of the class is listening to the presentations. In my opinion, we should keep eye contact with everyone in the class. Maybe presenters can allow audience to ask question. I think this can make each and every presentation more interesting.
In short, I do find the presentation very beneficial to me. I get the chances to recall some of the literary text we had done before. And it is also quite education to listen to the way they analyse their works.
1st meeting with Dr. Arshad
I’m so lucky that I got Dr. Arshad for supervisor, as told by the seniors; he was not fussy and easy to work with. In our first meeting, he told us the guidelines of preparing the research paper, and to my surprise, he only wants us to write 3 points. Yes! Then, he asked us, what we want to write. Honestly, I just simply said, because I didn’t have idea. So, I just said to Dr. Arshad that I want to write on feminism using MLIE texts. Dr. Arshad approves on my topic.
The Passionate Shepherd to his love Vs The Nymph’s Reply
I think these poems are very interesting in terms of the way of it was presented. I love the way Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh using the archaic language. The usage of ‘thee’ and ‘thy’ make the poem sound classic for me.
Besides, I think the way these two poems are presented is very creative, realistic and humorous. This poem is different from others poem in the way where Christopher Marlowe did not use natural element to compare with his love. Instead, he mentioned things he really can do for his love. He tried to use concrete things to persuade his love. And he managed to beautify every simple thing with fantastic descriptions and words.
However, Sir Walter Raleigh managed to reject the shepherd’s love in a very poetic manner. It is very enjoyable and humorous to read the way the girl criticize the materials from the shepherd. I love the way he described how those things could not last. Moreover, I think the girl from “The Nymph” is more sincere and true towards the matter of love. I think one of the reasons she rejected the shepherd maybe was due to the shepherd strong emphasis towards material fulfillment.
Finally, I love the way these poems are presented. The only weird feeling I got from reading these poems is where “The Nymph’s Reply” was written by a male author. It is just a bit weird to read the rejection of a girl from the point of view of a male author.
Besides, I think the way these two poems are presented is very creative, realistic and humorous. This poem is different from others poem in the way where Christopher Marlowe did not use natural element to compare with his love. Instead, he mentioned things he really can do for his love. He tried to use concrete things to persuade his love. And he managed to beautify every simple thing with fantastic descriptions and words.
However, Sir Walter Raleigh managed to reject the shepherd’s love in a very poetic manner. It is very enjoyable and humorous to read the way the girl criticize the materials from the shepherd. I love the way he described how those things could not last. Moreover, I think the girl from “The Nymph” is more sincere and true towards the matter of love. I think one of the reasons she rejected the shepherd maybe was due to the shepherd strong emphasis towards material fulfillment.
Finally, I love the way these poems are presented. The only weird feeling I got from reading these poems is where “The Nymph’s Reply” was written by a male author. It is just a bit weird to read the rejection of a girl from the point of view of a male author.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Presenting my position paper..grrr..
I present my position paper and what’s more I’m the last person for today’s tutorial (4th March 2009). I feel happy that it is finally my turn to present even though I’m deadly nervous during the presentation. Actually, I'm not really prepared to present on that day, but friends advice me, to just present it, and get over it. So, I just stand there, and present it. I felt so relieved.
Process of writing the position paper..
Ok...approving my thesis statement stage is over and now its the writing part...
As i chose to work on MLIE texts, thus its so little that I can get from the internet about this story, which can help me. So, i need to work it on all by myself.
As this assignment requires me to be critical with my stand and supporting arguments, I had to read the text several times. At a certain point, I think I’d already mastered the story hehe…it seems to me creating a good statement was already hard, supporting the statement requires me to triple the effort. It was even harder. It might be easy to just talk about it but when it’s written, I have to make my arguments as strong as possible to make sure the people reading my paper will also agree with what I’m saying...i wonder how hard it will be doing my research paper then??
As i chose to work on MLIE texts, thus its so little that I can get from the internet about this story, which can help me. So, i need to work it on all by myself.
As this assignment requires me to be critical with my stand and supporting arguments, I had to read the text several times. At a certain point, I think I’d already mastered the story hehe…it seems to me creating a good statement was already hard, supporting the statement requires me to triple the effort. It was even harder. It might be easy to just talk about it but when it’s written, I have to make my arguments as strong as possible to make sure the people reading my paper will also agree with what I’m saying...i wonder how hard it will be doing my research paper then??
Sunday, February 15, 2009
thesis statement is hard!
Basically in my understanding, position paper is a paper worth debating a topic on...thus, to make it debatable, a good topic is essential. Since i've learned MLIE in IPTI, i'm so into the MLIE texts, because i think, our Malaysian English writers are damn talented. Therefore, i've decided to work on MLIE text, plus, Dr.Edwin recommend us to choose MLIE texs because there are more familiar to us.
So, as i flipped through my MLIE file, I decided to work on "Sara and the wedding" by Karim Raslan. I chose this story because I'm so interested on how the author has artfully interwoven believable characters, settings, and situations in the short story.
Sara and the Wedding. Sara and the Wedding delves on how unmarried women are portrayed in a typical traditional Malay community.
Now,choosing a story is one thing, and to create a thesis statement is another difficult. After scratching my head tons of times, i've come out with one thesis statement, which is; Sara’s self worth is measured by physical beauty, age, marital status and sexual attraction. I hope Mr.Omid will approve it.
So, as i flipped through my MLIE file, I decided to work on "Sara and the wedding" by Karim Raslan. I chose this story because I'm so interested on how the author has artfully interwoven believable characters, settings, and situations in the short story.
Sara and the Wedding. Sara and the Wedding delves on how unmarried women are portrayed in a typical traditional Malay community.
Now,choosing a story is one thing, and to create a thesis statement is another difficult. After scratching my head tons of times, i've come out with one thesis statement, which is; Sara’s self worth is measured by physical beauty, age, marital status and sexual attraction. I hope Mr.Omid will approve it.
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