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Tag: Essay Writing

Karmic grade three

Published March 7, 2021

March 7, 2021

My favorite age was eight. There were twenty students in my third grade. Everyone was pretty friendly. The musical performance that year was Aladdin, and we had a young teacher.

Every other teacher had been far older. But, when the regular third grade teacher had taken half-a-year off, we studied with a long-term substitute. One gift I treasured for years was the paperback 1997 Guinness World Record book I received from her.

This year I got to revisit my favorite age and grade as a substitute teacher myself. I’ve been working as a push-in ESL substitute since, during the pandemic, the regional ESL teacher is not allowed to travel between schools. She has virtual lessons with the SLIFE student I have been brought in to help, but I provide additional help during ELA in the mornings.

I’m lucky because I get to work with a teacher who is in her final year before retirement. At the end of her 35-year career, she employs excellent classroom management and modern student-centered teaching methods. I couldn’t have been more fortunate.

I was struck by the fact that the teacher admitted that she still felt bad about having one day recently lost her temper with a student. She had said, “I just don’t know what to do with you.” Referring to a student who has the habit of distracting herself and others by talking out of turn.

I couldn’t believe such a composed and effective teacher could feel so bad that she’d worry much about something she had said in class. But, I understand how easy it is to worry about emotional events at work.

In my teaching career, do I want to worry about what happens in class when I am sixty and so close to retirement? Hardly, but it is likely to happen from time to time. I could only hope to be as successful as the great teacher I have been working with these past three months.

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Juice fast

Published February 28, 2021

February 28, 2021

Last summer I intentionally lost fifteen pounds. But, over the winter I lost focus put all the weight back on. After a long delay, my wife finally spent several hundred dollars on a high-quality juicing machine and tried out a 10-day juice diet.

I watched her try it, not really wanting to do it the first time. But, I’m now past the half-way mark on the diet myself. I’ve lost weight and look much slimmer.

The diet works. I don’t eat bread or rice. I don’t eat sugar or dairy. On some days, I had a couple snacks of meat or nuts. Besides the vegetable juice and fruit smoothies, I drink black coffee and water. How does it work? My gut is pretty much empty, but I’m not suffering as much as if I were on a strict fast.

In addition to the mental hurdle, the juice making process is quite labor intensive. Juicing takes way longer than regular cooking. It is more expensive than my normal diet. After ten days I will have eaten 30 kilos of fruit and vegetable, which would be impossible to consume if not for the juicing machine.

My main motivator to stick out the diet is the amazing example and dedication of my wife. I count a pound lost per day and infinite blessings from her.

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TOP Tips for TOEFL

Published February 27, 2021

Top tips for TOEFL

Reading and Listening

  • Get used to the computer-based test, especially the 10 question types for reading and listening.

Use TEDtalks for listening practice. TED.com is a great resource for three reasons:

  • It’s got lots, and lots of materials.
  • It’s free.
  • There’s an interactive transcript.

These three reasons make it the single best resource for learning in English on the Internet.

Speaking

  • Practice audio-recording your speaking with the strict time limit.
  • And learn to maximize the time in speaking.

Writing

  • Practice writing essays that follow the standard format for each type of writing.
  • And learn to touch-type so that you can write faster on the laptop, and thereby write a long and more accurate essay.

Grammar

  • For higher scores in writing and speaking, learn how to use complex sentence structures including dependent clauses, adjective clauses, and prepositional phrases.
  • Learn how to show the connections between your ideas by using linking and reference words.

Sleep quality and well-being

  • Understand that anxiety is normal when taking tests.
  • Sleep well every night of the week before your test.
  • This will be easier if you make time for 30-minutes of intense exercise every day.

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Essay writing riff

Published February 21, 2021

February 21, 2021

Essay writing…hmm. I’ve gotten stuck. The brainstorming time was supposed to help me focus my thoughts but it didn’t. Now what?

Time to start a body paragraph. Skip the topic sentence and just go for a reason. I need to pass this test. And, for my example… a high score is going to help me get into a better school. But, that’s not enough. I actually need to learn English!

How am I ever going to do that? TED.com … On the other hand, perhaps this paragraph should be about money. Scholarships! Sure… just write another perfect essay. But, that’s got to be about me, and what have I got to say that is going to really make my application stand out?

I’ve been writing a standard five-paragraph essay, and the best part is yet to come! The easy thing about writing an application essay is that it’s all about myself… j/k. What can I say about me? OMG, as if this essay hasn’t been challenging enough already!

Practice! I probably should stick to what I know. I could do a little research if I get stuck. But, the most important thing is just to get started. I’ll check my work when I’ve finished. All the spelling and punctuation has to be perfect. Is it long enough? Are my ideas well-connected? Have I used paragraphing adequately?

Yes! That means this is my last paragraph. And it only took me twenty-five minutes. So, just get started and let it flow!

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TOEFL iBT — Model Integrated Essay: Communal Online Encyclopedias

Published February 16, 2021

The reading provides three reasons why online encyclopedias are not as good as traditional encyclopedias. However, the professor in the lecture disagrees with the points in the reading for several reasons.

To begin, while the errors in online encyclopedias may number more than traditional encyclopedias, they are more easily corrected than published encyclopedias. Online documents are, in a sense, living documents. Editors can make revisions when new information comes out and incorporate these changes in real time.

Changes to online encyclopedias by hackers can happen. While this is a concern put forward in the reading, the lecturer handily counters by stating that editors monitor changes, and that crucial facts are protected within the website through read-only formatting. Whereas researchers may come upon altered information in online encyclopedias, these malicious attacks are prevented and corrected for by the editorial staff of the online encyclopedias.

Finally, the significance of information is questioned in the reading, but the lecturer again debunks the claim by explaining that traditional print encyclopedias have limited space, over which an editorial board judges what ought to be included. However, there is no limit to the space of online encyclopedias, and the diversity of views and information is the greatest advantage that the online version offers as it reflects the much broader interests of the public than published encyclopedias ever could.

(222 words)

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TOEFL iBT — Model Integrated Essay: Chaco Canyon

Published December 26, 2020

We read about the large stone structures, or “great houses,” in the Chaco Canyon and the three theories on which their existence is based. The professor in the lecture presents three reasons, one for each theory, as to why the origin of the large houses remains unknown.

The professor begins with the first theory on the structures as apartment buildings. The main flaw in this theory is that while there are indeed many rooms for a large number of inhabitants, there are relatively few fireplaces. If there had been residents, there would have had to have been enough fireplaces for each family.

The second theory proposes that the buildings stored corn. The lecturer explains that there were very few containers among the remains and little corn. Therefore, if these structures were for storage of maize, excavators would have found much more corn and many more ceramic containers.

Third and finally, the professor rebuts the proposal that this had been a ceremonial center. There are many remnants in addition to any possible religious artifacts, and the random distribution of the remains suggests just as likely that this was simply a trash heap.

(191 words)

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