Before ENGLCOM, I usually don’t put sources in essays. In our ENGLCOM class, we were taught how to use APA style citation and how to use them in essays. Before I only put the link of the web pages after my essays but now, I learned how to cite sources using APA citation and the in-text citation.
I learned how to make an effective thesis statement. I thought that a thesis statement is only used in thesis and not in essays. I now know that thesis statements are required because it tells the readers the topic and the main idea of the essay.
One of my expectations in this subject was to expand my vocabulary. I have improved my it by writing essays and reading articles. I still need to improve my vocabulary to write better essays. My other expectation was to learn how to organize my ideas. Before writing our essays, we first make topic outlines so we know what to write in our essays. It also helps in organizing ideas.
The course helped me achieve my goals in English. One of my problems is that I do not read much. In this course, we are required to read articles because we need sources to write essays.
Euthanasia is another term for mercy killing. It is usually done by doctors to their patients who are terminally ill. Although euthanasia is done by doctors in certain situations to patients and is legal in some countries, euthanasia should not be practiced or be legalized because it devalues lives, it might become involuntary and doctors should cure and not kill.
According to the article “Euthanasia: Arguments Against Euthanasia”, people might think that death is better than being sick. They might think that death is the only solution to problems. People who support euthanasia say that it is done as self-defense. For example, a soldier is brutally wounded and might die if not treated immediately. Is partner decides to ask his consent for euthanasia to end his suffering. Killing for self-defense means that you kill to save another one’s life but in euthanasia, you do not save anyone’s life. Euthanasia devalues lives because it tells us that we can take our or someone’s life easily.
Euthanasia is done to a person with his consent. It is the decision of that person if he wants to do it. According to the article “Arguments Against Euthanasia”, people might decide to go for euthanasia because of emotional and psychological pressures. For example, a patient is suffering because of an illness and his doctor said to him that it is better for him to die. That person might go for it because he suffers too much and his doctor said that it is better. Murder is like the involuntary euthanasia. You take someone’s life without his consent. If euthanasia was legal, murderers would say that they killed a person because of euthanasia in their defense.
Doctors should try to save lives and not to end them. Even though their patients are hard to cure, they should still try and not make euthanasia an option. According to the article “Euthanasia: Arguments Against Euthanasia”, doctors should not decide as God. They do not have the right to decide whether their patients would live or die. As long as their patients are alive, there is a chance that they will be cured and that they will live.
Euthanasia should not be practiced because we all deserve to live; euthanasia is similar to murder and only God can take someone’s life. We all have the right to live. Death is not the solution to any problem. We still have chances to solve those problems while we are still alive.
Reference:
Arguments Against Euthanasia. Retrieved December 8, 2009, from Euthanasia website: http://www.euthanasia.com/argumentsagainsteuthanasia.html
Euthanasia: Arguments Against Euthanasia. Retrieved: December 8, 2009, from BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/against/against_1.shtml#h4
Reflection:
I did not find this hard to write because before writing this essay, we had a debate about this topic. I took some of the arguments that we used and I only need to expound them. I am satisfied with my outcome because I stated my stand and presented arguments to support it. I can improve this essay by discussing each arguments more and give more examples.
There are many calamities that we experience like storm, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The most common calamities that our country faces are storms and floods. According to PAGASA, flood is a natural hydrological phenomenon. The purpose of this essay is to enumerate and explain the causes of flood, which are tropical storms, global warming and tsunamis.
One of the causes of flood are tropical storms. According to the Forces of Nature website, storms get water from oceans and bring it towards land. Streams and rivers sometimes cannot handle the heavy rain so water overflows and produces flood. One of the reasons why we experience flood is ineffective drainage. Most drainage systems in the country cannot handle the amount of water because they are blocked due to the trashes of people throw on sidewalks. Two examples of storms that caused flood were Hurricane Camille in 1969 in Virginia and the recent Typhoon Ondoy.
The second cause of flood is Global Warming. According to the Forces of Nature website, Global Warming is the heat trapped in the earth’s atmosphere which slowly warms the earth. Global warming heats water from oceans and seas. It helps the water to evaporate faster. When a big amount of water vapor is in the atmosphere, it forms storms that causes flood on land. When the temperature of the earth increases, ice from the north and south pole would melt and it will cause the rising of the sea levels. If the seas levels rise, seas will overflow and it will cause flood on coastal areas.
The third cause of flood is tsunamis. According to the Forces of Nature website, one cause of tsunamis are high winds. High winds create waves that would hit beaches and shores. According to PAGASA, another cause of tsunamis are seismic activities. Examples are underwater volcanoes and earthquakes. When underwater volcanoes erupt or when earthquakes occur, they form tsunamis. Tsunamis are dangerous because they hit land with high speeds. Furthermore, as they approach the land, it slows down and gains height.
There are many causes of flood. Three of them are tropical storms, global warming and tsunamis. Some of the causes are natural but some are man-made like global warming. To avoid flood, we should throw our trashes in the right places to avoid the blocking of drainage and stop pollution in order to prevent worsening of global warming
References:
Flooding: Causes of Flood. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Forces of Nature website: http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/flooding/causesoffloods.shtml
Causes and Types of Floods. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from PAGASA website: http://kidlat.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/genmet/floods/cause_types.html
Reflection:
For me, it was not hard to write this essay because I used references. I only need to paraphrase the information and place it into my essay. I am satisfied with the outcome because the information in my essay is more reliable because I based it on the references I found. To improve my essay, I could research more on my topic to get more information.
As a student, I do research for school works. I research for thesis, experiments, projects and essays. Internet and books are used by us, students, and other people as references for their research. This essay aims to compare books and internet for research based on accessibility, speed and reliability.
Based on the dictionary, internet is defined as a worldwide computer network that provides information on many subjects. Nowadays, people prefer to use the internet over books because it is more accessibly. You only need a computer and an internet provider. It is easier and faster to find your topic. You just have to type a certain keyword in any search engine and it will give you a list of websites that are related to your topic. However, one must be careful in choosing information on the internet because some websites are unreliable. Everyone can publish a website and write anything in it. Hence, people use internet for an easy and fast research.
On the other hand, book, as defined in the dictionary, is a piece of writing that contains information. Not a lot of people have plenty of books at home. Usually, researchers who use books go to libraries. Some people do not use books for research because it is hard to find the right one for your topic. It may take some time for you to find the right book because you have to browse books to find it. However, there are libraries that have websites where you can look for books online. Writers of books, like professors and scientists, are knowledgeable about what they write and there are many steps before you can publish a book so you can be sure that your source is reliable.
Both have advantages and disadvantages. Based on accessibility and speed, internet is better but books are more reliable. I prefer to use the internet rather than books because for me, it is more convenient.
Reflection: For me, it was not hard to write this essay because the topic that I chose was the same topic of one of my essays back in high school. I am satisfied with the outcome because I discussed both the pros and cons of both internet and books. To improve my essay, I could discuss more the difference of the two with each other and also their similarities.
My alarm clock rang and ended my peaceful sleep. As I opened my eyes, I saw darkness everywhere. No lights, no sun. As I lay on the bed, I felt cold and wanted to go back to sleep but the thought of having a memorable and exciting day awakened me and helped me get up from my comfortable position.
As I rose from my bed, my eyes felt heavy and I barely kept it open. I could hardly walk towards the bathroom. The cold water woke my sleepy mind. I walked out the bathroom awake and ready for the day. I hurriedly ate as I watched the time get closer and closer to our call time.
As I stepped out of the house, I heard birds chipping and dogs barking. I felt the cold breeze and smelled the flowers from our garden. I walked towards the car and sat on the front seat. As the driver turned on the loud and noisy engine, I turned on the radio to listen to relaxing music. While we traveled to Taft, my mind was full of thoughts of excitement of seeing my friends.
I arrived at school full of ROTC students. The sounds of the students talking and laughing overwhelmed the place. As I walked to our assigned place, I saw students talking with each other, fixing uniforms and preparing their things. We lined up and patiently waited for our turn to go inside the bus. As the bus took its route going to our destination, we joyfully sang songs and cracked jokes to entertain ourselves while waiting to get to our destination.
Just like the other ROTC days, we were beneath the how rays of the sun with no shade, but that did not stop us from enjoying the day. We were lined up as we toured the site. Everywhere we looked, we saw men in uniform doing their routine. We heard soldiers commanding other soldiers. The day went fast and we came down to our last activity, firing rifles. As we participated in the activity, we heard loud gun shots and saw smoke coming out of the rifles.
The day was full of fun and enjoyable activities; unfortunately, the sun was about to set. While I was going home, I recalled the things I have done during the day and hoped that my experience with my friends will happen again. The last ROTC day was a hot and tiring day but it was worth it.
Reflection: I did not find it hard to write this essay because I can still remember that day and I can easily describe it. I am not that satisfied with the outcome because I can still show my experience and not just tell it. To improve it I will always show and not tell. I will put more emotions into my essay.
According to the dictionary, college is a higher education institution, and it is the next step after high school. Every high school student should have already decided or at least have thought about where he or she wants to study for college so that he or she could prepare. One of the schools to choose from is De La Salle University. It is one of the best schools in the Philippines and one of the most prestigious schools in Metro Manila. This essay aims to help future applicants by informing them about the admission procedures of DLSU.
The first step is getting the application form. There are two ways on how you can get the application form. There are two ways on how you can get the application form: you could either get in from your school’s guidance counselor or from DLSU. Your school’s guidance counselor could get the application forms from DLSU and distribute it to you and your batch mates or you could personally go to DLSU and get the application forms. Filling out the application forms is the next step. Be careful in filling out the application forms because if you write wrong information, you might have problems applying. Aside from the application form, you also need to submit a photocopy of your birth certificate and a 2x2 picture. If you have all the requirements, you are now ready to submit them to the admissions office of DLSU.
After submitting the requirements, the admissions office will send you through mail your schedule which indicates the time and place of your entrance exam. One way to prepare for the exam is by attending summer review classes. It is usually taken during summer before fourth year high school. Some review classes continue until after summer, and even extends during the school year. If you were not able to attend summer classes, you could still prepare by self-studying and buying books intended for reviewing for entrance exams. The entrance exam my take up to three to four hours. If you fail the exam you should also apply to other colleges but if you pass, you will get a letter of acceptance which will contain the date for your picture taking, physical exam and LPEP.
When going to La Salle for your picture taking and physical check-up, you should go early to avoid lining up. It is done in one day so to avoid hassles, attend the date assigned to you.
Choosing a college is one of the hard decisions that high school students should have to make and one of the schools to choose from is De La Salle University. After reading this essay, you now know the steps on how to apply for DLSU, and you can now prepare for it by organizing you schedule and studying.
Reflection:
I did not find this essay hard to write because I already done this process and I know the steps well. I am satisfied with my outcome because I enumerated the steps in order and explained them properly. I could have improved my essay by giving more tips on how to make applying to DLSU easier.
Welcome to my blog. In this blog, you can see my essays in my ENGLCOM class. For me, writing is used to express one's self. Writing is significant because it helps students to enhance their language skills. By writing, students can expand their vocabulary and learn new words because they need to read articles and references in order to write essays. When teachers or classmates check their essays, they can correct the grammar so they would avoid making that mistake again.
