Presentation day

I was not expecting that we would have to do any presentation in a composition class, but I guess I was wrong. A presentation can be a bit challenging, especially when you have are timed and you have to go on the first day. I will be resenting on the same subject that I wrote about in my research paper. With all the research and books I have read, I feel very confident to present on front of the whole classroom.
After several presentation on my personal counter, I am still a little anxious before a presentation. But over the time I have developed tricks that help me relax and stay focus on the work I have to do. The first one is preparation I spend time rehearsing in front of a mirror over and over ahead of the presentation. While on the scene, primo I focus on the message that I have to deliver rather than my personal feelings at the moment, telling myself that it is more important than my person. Segundo, I blur my eyes so that everyone looks blurry and I can focus on their eyes or I look over people’s head instead of looking in their eyes. For now I am focusing on the content of the presentation.

My research paper

I choose to write my research paper about the international aid to third world countries. As I started looking for books and doing my research, I realized that the topic I choose was very broad. It encompasses many sections that lead to many other subjects that could constitute entire dissertations on their own. I was a fervent supporter for more aid to third world countries from Rich countries. I must admit that I was ignorant of the way things work and the outcome of over sixty years of aid dependence for third world countries, Africa in particular.
In 60 years more than a trillion of dollars have been sent to Africa alone from donor countries with nothing to show for. The money has been funneled through major organizations: the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank; as well as many others form of assistance. Not every type of assistance is bad; even though it is said that Aid creates more problems than it actually solve. I could not talk about the subject in its whole complexity as it touches many countries and the subjects are too complex to deal with in 6 pages. I decided to talk about the Congo alone.

Quotations and citations

Quotations and citations are a writer best friend. Most of the times things we write about come from ideas that we have been exposed to; very seldom we come up with our own ideas or concepts. Most of the time we grab other people’s ideas, assimilate them and sometimes make it our own and use it to the point where there is little to no distinction between what is ours or what we borrow from others. Which is fine, as it shows to others our level of culture. However, we need to be careful not to succumb to plagiarism. Plagiarism as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Plagiarism is considered as academic dishonesty in within Academia or Academic fraud. Offenders may face disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination of employment according to the extent of their crime or the domain in which they are operating. One can fall into plagiarism on purpose or by omission. The best way to keep one from falling into the trap is, to always give credit to the source of our ideas through the use of quotations or citations.

More in our Arsenals

This week we gain new materials to add to our arsenal as rhetors. The information came from a man named Aristotle. According to him there are two types of proofs in rhetoric. There are proofs that are invented by the rhetor himself, that he calls Intrinsic and proofs that are a made up of empirical evidences such as data, testimonies and other sources of information that do not include the rhetor himself as source that he calls Extrinsic. As a reminder for those who do not know who Aristotle was or have only a fuzzy idea of this character, I will give a very brief description of the individual. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived between 384 BC and 322 BC. He is considered to be one of the creators of modern Western philosophy; his writings are still subject of interest in several domains until today. He treated subjects extending from physical sciences to social sciences and other area of great interest. Aristotle was Alexander the Great’s master and Plato’s student.
We also learned that Ancient rhetors did rely on testimonies as sources only after careful scrutiny, that the credibility of the person giving the account had as much importance as the testimony itself. Nowadays, rhetors classify witnesses into two categories: Community Authority and the Proximate Authorities. The first one are given authority based on their position in the community when the second type gains its authority from the closeness with the subject debated. When it comes to use of Data rhetors have to make sure that they come from reputable and qualified sources.

surviving

I will say that week two had started ok. I had few setbacks but I hope that it will not hinder my chances of getting out of this course with an A. I worked hard, read the entire chapter 3 at least two times just to have a good understanding of the concepts discussed in it.
I learned about the stasis theory and contrary arguments.
As well as all the four questions that were defined by the ancient rhetoricians that helped them find the point of an issue. These questions are: conjecture, definition, quality, policy.
We had our second debate of the semester in the beginning of week two. The procedure was a little different from what we are used to.
To begging with, the class was divided in two according to whether one was for or against the application of death penalty. We all picked sides and we actually ended up defending the opposite side of what we stood for at the beginning. It was a very interesting experience. By the end of the week we all had brought the rough draft of the second paper and we had constituted small groups to discuss its content with the small groups that we constituted. The final paper has to be turned in on Monday.

English class for a non native speaker

I was born and raised in Democratic Republic of Congo, move to the United States five years ago.
For those who don't know where or what the Congo is, The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country on the African continent. It has a population of more than sixty five million souls divided in more or less two hundred different tribes. It is one of the most potentially rich countries on hearth potentially, but paradox ally figures between the poorest on the globe. The official language of the land is French- a heritage of the Belgian colonization-follow by four national languages that are spoke in different part of the country.



I spoke French for all the years spent in school there. I was first introduced to English through Michael Jackson Music and became and became a fan, not only of his music but also of his language. I took classes in high school and tried to translate his songs through the years.
It turned out to be very helpful when I came in the United States.
I never took English as second language classes; however I have always done ok with my English classes.
Last semester I took a world literature class and I had a B in it. It was very challenging because I was always a little apprehensive about writing in English especially knowing that many people would end up reading it.
I must admit that it has been a stumbling block on my road to a better writing.
Now I decided to let go of my fears and get the most out of this class.

The Soccer World Cup is over.

Soccer is the sport king in the world today.
The soccer world cup is an event that has been widely celebrated in the world since it's first edition in nineteen thirty.
The nineteenth edition of this world fest took place in South Africa this year, from June 11Th to July 11Th.
The cup is disputed within 16 teams competing against each in three rounds to determine who is going to participate in the final match. The games were played in ten different stadiums, in 9 different cities all over South Africa. It ws the first time that an african nation hosted the event.
For the opening,
It was one month of euphoria in South Africa, teams representing the best in the business went to South Africa to face each other in a frenzy that is only equal to the sound of their supporters vuvuzelas. The Vuvuzela this was on of the stars of this world cup, the plastic monotone horn was the emblem of this world cup, for some it was to blame for some teams bad performances.


Over seven hundred million people watched the cup from their TV at home, when an estimated . Here in the United States the most culminatingday was when team USA faced the black stars of Ghana a veteran team of the African continent. It was a very good game but unfortunately for team USA the experience of the Guinean team allowed them to win the game at the great disappointment of American fans.

What is most singular about this edition, it was the first time that an European team wins the final outside of Europe. Spain won the final for the first time of its history winning against Nethereland.The world cup has seen the emergence of new heroes, some the best players didn't live up to their fan's expectations.
What can i say? it's the world cup with all it's surprises.
Now everybody goes back to trainining and more preparation for another rendez-vous in four years.