Reflective essay

I learned in ENGLCOM or English Communication the usage of thesis statement, using reference, and using different kinds of pattern.

A thesis statement tells a reader on what to expect on the whole essay. Before taking up the ENGLCOM class, I was not aware that a thesis statement is important when writing an essay. I was not even so familiar with thesis statement. Only after ENGLCOM class that I realized that a thesis statement is important and needed when writing an essay.

When writing an essay, sources are necessary to be cited. It is important to cite sources because it makes the essay more informative and credible. It is also giving credit to the original writer of the article or phrases that you borrowed. It also makes your essay reliable because it gives enough evidence and information to prove an idea. After taking the class, I realized that an essay should be supported with enough evidences so it does not commit many fallacies and false information.

Rhetorical patterns have different forms to express a topic. They have their own style to represent information about a certain topic. The organization of an essay is based on what pattern is used. They are somewhat the interpreters of the thought and ideas of the writer. Each pattern has a unique way to introduce a topic. When a writer uses certain rhetorical pattern, the information and ideas are ordered in a way that it makes the essay coherent. It can also indicate what should the writer write.

Exit essay: Poverty

Poverty rate in the Philippines is quite high. In fact, the first six months of 2013 poverty rate in the Philippines was 24.9 percent slightly better than 27.9 percent in 2012 based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

There are a lot of Filipinos who are born less fortunate or in other words, poor. This is caused by the high unemployment rate in the Philippines. “The unemployment rate rose to 27.5 percent, or an estimated 12.1 million individuals, as 2.5 million Filipinos joined the ranks of the jobless between September and December, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found.”(Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2014) this is alarming considering that jobs should be readily available for our country men. People should be given equal opportunity to enjoy this paradise.

Some of the problems why there are a lot of poor in the Philippine are that people tend to have a lot of children thinking that they will get a miraculous child that will save their life. But it is really ironic because the more kids that you’ll be feeding, the more burden it will take you. For example the family is earning 12 thousand per month but the family has 6 kids in total, 12 thousand per month will not be enough for the family to survive given that they will be paying bills and the kids are going to school. Because of this, many kids are not given the opportunities to go to school. Lack of funds is the main reasons that are stopping them to go to school and enjoy life. Families should know that there is no assurance in having a lot of kids. Parents should be there to support and raise their kids well.

According to Abrugar (2011), poverty in the Philippines is also caused by corruption. Politicians are not using the fund given to them properly. Instead of using it to help the poor, they steal it and use it for their own luxury. The problem with these politicians is that they are greedy and they don’t even think that they are affecting the lives of their countrymen. Filipinos should help their fellow Filipinos.

The solution to lessen poverty rate in the Philippines is that the government should ensure stable jobs for Filipinos to support their family. Another solution is that parents should give proper education to their kids so that they would truly be the “pagasa ng pamilya”. Kids should have their rights to learn and be educated in school. They should not be forced to work in an early age. People should also be educated in casting their votes in elections. People should know the real intention why a particular politician is running. Politicians should accomplish their platforms in helping the poor not corrupting the taxes that people pay.

Health is wealth

Obesity is one of the problems that is present in almost all of the countries. Obesity occurs not only in adults but it also in children. Obesity can be one of the factors why heart disease occurs. It is one of the causes why heart disease is accelerating every year because it is also increasing. In the survey of DOST in 1993, 5.7 million Filipino adults are either obese or overweight. In United States, obesity rates increases through the years and the worst with this is that as early as the age of 2 to 5 years old children acquire this already, this survey was conducted by the state of obesity.org. The solution to this problem that I can see is people should be educated about the effect of eating too much. The school should give proper education about the health of the students. The portions of meals in food establishments should be reduce to improve the development of the health of each individual.

According to BCC Science (2014), people who is obese can acquire diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, indigestion, gallstones, etc. These are some of the examples of health risk that they can have. People can determine if they are obese by checking their BMI or Body Mass Index. This is computed by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. BMI less than 18.5 is underweight while BMI above 25 is considered overweight. BMI of 30-40 is considered obese, while above 40 is very obese.

Social media has a great effect on why Filipinos are getting obese at a very young age. According to The Manila Doctors Hospital written in Interaction (2013), “In the age of the internet, Twitter, and Facebook, obesity will continue to rise due to the lack of physical activity with increase of unhealthy eating patterns—high intake of French fries, burgers, pizza, sweetened beverages, junk foods.”  In the world of technology nowadays, children lack physical activities due to video games and internet that is readily accessible in their house. This is one of the causes why children gain weight easily. Fast foods are also one of the causes why people are growing horizontally. Fast foods offer meals that contain a lot of oil and fats that is dangerous to our health. Heart disease is common to acquire in fast food chains because of cholesterol that they offer. According to Soriano and Guerrero (2010), obese people usually have high levels of bad LDL cholesterol and low levels of good HDL cholesterol. Respiratory problem is also common to obese people because it makes the lungs work harder. Base on the same article of Soriano and Guerrero (2010), obese people have a high possibility to acquire asthma. Later on, this might also cause stroke. Stroke is caused by the arteries that supplies blood to the brain then it gets blocked and results to stroke. Obese people are prone to stroke because they  usually have high cholesterol and blood pressure.

Obese kids also undergo a lot of struggle with emotional stability. According to healthychildren.org (2013), self-esteem is affected when a child is obese. Obese kids have a low self-esteem compared to their thinner friends. These kids are prone to teasing or bullying inside the school. Obese kids may also suffer from depression and stress eating. Depression is vital when kids feel that they don’t belong to the group. The Healthychildren.org (2013), would describe this as “different and outcast”. This is hard for the kids to be known as different because it breaks the heart of an innocent kid. With this feeling of being outcast, kids tend to have stress eating than being motivated to lose weight. They tend to seek their comfort in foods. According to Gardner (2012), the performance of these kids in school is also affected. In fact “studies have variously found that obese students ­­ and especially girls ­­ tend to have lower test scores than their slimmer peers, are more likely to be held back a grade, and are less likely to go on to college.” Grades and confidence are affected by physical appearance. In conclusion parents should show there out most love for their kids for them not to feel that they lack something. The support that parents can show will make a lot of difference to boost the confidence of the kid.

There are a lot of solutions or ways that an obese can lose weight. One of these is eating more meals that usual. However, eating more than 3 times a day and still losing weight despite the more amount of food you intake is questionable. In a study conducted by Mohr (2013), eating six smaller meals are more beneficial because sugar levels and hormones will be stabilize moreover you will feel more full. Regular intake of food will cause the metabolism to work more efficiently. Digestion is more efficient when there is a regular intake of food. Another solution that is proposed by Hart (2013) is that children taught how to grow vegetable. Kids tend to eat vegetable when they are part of the process of planting.

In addition, school should also educate the kids on how to prepare nutritious meals. It should be part of the curriculum to lessen the obesity rates.  Martinac (2014) suggested that physical exercise should be an everyday routine. Small exercises like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking the car at the far end of a store’s lot to get more steps these things would have a great impact to our system in the long run. Kids are also encouraged to play outside after school instead of just playing video games or watching TV at home.

In conclusion health should be given a priority before it’s too late to regret it. Kieth Martin, the world’s fattest man, is an example of a man who regrets the entire calorie intake that he made during his younger years. He gained weight until he reached 980 pounds. According to Sazon (2014), after Keith was confined in his house for almost 10 years and being bedridden for years he decided to switch his lifestyle to healthier one. Keith tried to lose weight and undergone surgery to lose more weight. The surgery is successful but in October 2013 he was back to the hospital because of pneumonia. This might be cured if and only if he decided earlier before it’s too late. The society needs to learn from this story. People should be educated to lessen the obesity death rate.

References

The Manila Doctors Hospital. (2013, November 15). HEALTHY LIVING | More obese Filipinos due to social media, fast- food meals. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Interaksyon.com: http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/healthy-living-more-obese-filipinos-due-to-social-media-fast-food-meals

HealthyChildren.org. (2013, November 5). The Emotional Toll of Obesity. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health­issues/conditions/obesity/Pages/The­Emotional­Toll­of­Obesity.aspx

Gardner, A. (2012, June 14). Does obesity affect school performance? Retrieved December 7, 2014, from CNN.com: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/14/health/obesity­affect­school­performance/

Hart, M. (2013, March 15). A Natural Solution to the Obesity Epidemic. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from huffingtonpost.ca: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-mike-hart/canada-obesity-epidemic_b_2883807.html

Martinac, P. (2014, March 22). Solutions for Obesity in America. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from livingstrong.com: http://www.livestrong.com/article/342134-solutions-for-obesity-in-america/

MOHR, C. (2013, January 9). 3 meals vs. 6 meals daily – What’s Best for Fat Loss. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from menshealth.com: http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/3-meals-vs-6-meals-daily-whats-best-for-fat-loss

Sazon, J. (2014, December 6). World’s fattest man died at 44 due to pneumonia. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from kickerdaily.com: http://kickerdaily.com/worlds­fattest­man­died­at­44­due­to­pneumonia/

BBC SCIENCE (2014, June 18). What are the health risks of obesity? Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21702372

Soriano J. & Guerrero G. (2010, November 4). The Effects of Fast Food on Society. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from blogspot.com: http://fastfoodonsociety.blogspot.com/2010/11/fast-food-obesity-is-prevalent-in-u.html

Yee, G. A. (2014, November). FNRI DIGEST. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from fnri.dost.sov.ph: http://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=714

Commitment Comes with Dedication

Commitment, as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, is the willingness to give your time and energy to something that you believe in or a promise or firm decision to do something (L#1). It is a pledge or undertaking that each individual takes. Commitment for me is something that we had pledged to finish and give our best to. Commitment is mostly exhibited through marriage between couples, friendship between friends, and students towards excellence.

“Marriage involves a bold choice.” is a statement found in an article by Hoertdoerfer and Ungar. If a man proposes that a woman be his girlfriend, he is taking a step towards commitment, a choice that should absolutely be affirmative. After years of being in a relationship, the man would then have to decide whether or not he is up to take their relationship to the next step, marriage. Entering a marriage comes with great responsibility and requires full commitment not only from the man but from his woman as well. A lot of marriages fail, because the husband or wife is not willing to give full commitment to the other. When this happens, the people involved tend to get rid of the emptiness through things such as drinking, gambling, or having an affair. As Kellerman said, “What’s good in your marriage comes from the promises that you’ve already kept, the promise to honor each other, to laugh together, to stand by each other in good times and bad” (2002). The commitment that was made in front of the altar should remain intact even if hardships come. Like in the blog of Peralta, the couple that he had interviewed had already been married for 40 years. And through the last 10 years of their marriage, the husband had suffered from four strokes. Even so, the wife kept her vows. She thoroughly put her vows into practice. Given that this couple had undergone 4 trials in their forty years of marriage, they managed to keep the commitment alive. This couple believed that the vow that they had made at the altar is a lifetime contract between them and God. No matter what circumstance may be met along the way, the commitment must remain

Friends should be loyal to each other all the time. Friendship will only last if people remain loyal to each other. For example, a group of friends may share issues to each other that are confidential due to involving other people outside the circle. No matter what the circumstance may be, it should be kept within the circle. Friends should be there in times of need. A friend is someone you can run to if you needs something. Friends should continue their journey as friends even if they are entering different seasons in their lives. “Good friends are like stars…You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.”(unknown) After graduating from high school, my friends and I had different plans of where to study. Now, even if we do not go to the same school, we still find the time to catch up and update each other on where we are in our lives. There should be no secrets going on between friends. Marlene Dietrich once said, “It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.” True friends can be contacted anytime of the day. In the paper of Fuller, he talked about being loyal to a friend. He talked about loyalty between friends. He once told his friend about a situation. His friend kept the secret, and it showed how loyal his friend was to him. “Some people break promises for the pleasure of breaking them” so sad that other people tend to take friendship lightly. Friends should be a forever thing.

As a student we are also committed to excel in class. It is a responsibility that we need to fulfill as part of our payment to our parents’ hard work. Part of excelling in class is passing all the requirements and doing our best in all the things that is expected for us. According to Oblinger, “We all must commit to learning” (2010). As a student, we are committed into lifelong learning. It does not mean that learning comes to a stop once we graduate. We should continue to study and learn things that we are unfamiliar with. Ting once said that during his medical studies, he came to a point wherein he called it as “Medical Academic Dryness”. He described it as a condition wherein he sees everything as a routine and neglects to improve in the field of academics. We as a student tend to have this feeling if we do not want what we are doing or studying. But never the less should we do our best in whatever field. He ended his article with the phrase, “To study well is the least we do and as a student this is our major task right now.”

In conclusion, commitment can be seen in our daily lives. First, we should be sure of the commitment that we are entering. If one needs to study for it before committing into something then do so because committing is a sacred act. We should be sure before entering it, because it is impractical to commit if you are not sure with what circumstance you are entering with. It is hard to commit if you do not know what you are entering. You should be aware of the commitment that you are entering before considering to commit. Before entering marriage, one should know the commitment he is dealing with. Friends should know the commitment they have to each other. As a student, we also should know that we need to do our best in everything we do and excel in every craft we made. One must remember to first decide before committing to something, because there is no turning back once you have decided. To sum up my paper with the quote by Paul Meyer “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”

Sources

Commitment. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from cambridge.org: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/commitment

Dietrich, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from Good Reads : http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/459689.Marlene_Dietrich

Hazlitt, W. (n.d.). Retrieved Novemenber 15, 2014, from thinkexist.com: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/some_people_break_promises_for_the_pleasure_of/179503.html

Hoertdoerfer, P., & Ungar, L. (n.d). Let’s Talk About Marriage and Committed Relationships. Taking It Home: Families and Faith, 4,7.

Meyer, P. J. (n.d.). Retrieved november 11, 2014, from Brainy Quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pauljmeye393225.html

Oblinger, D. (2010, October 7). A Commitment to Learning: Attention, Engagement, and the Next Generation. Retrieved from educause.edu: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/commitment-learning-attention-engagement-and-next-generation

Peralta, R. (2009, August 24). A living example of commitment. Retrieved from WordPress.com: http://rjperalta.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/a-living-example-of-commitment/

Renée Fuller, P. (2002). Loyalty and Commitment – the Meaning of Friendship . Retrieved from ballstickbird.com: http://www.ballstickbird.com/articles/a24_loyalty.html

Ting, F. (2013, September 23). TO STUDY, AND TO STUDY WELL, IS THE LEAST THAT WE CAN DO. Retrieved from fredting.com: http://fredting.com/2013/09/23/to-study-and-to-study-well-is-the-least-that-we-can-do/

unknown. (n.d.). Retrieved november 15, 2014, from scrapbook.com: http://www.scrapbook.com/quotes/doc/11868.html

Entry Essay

Kids should dream

            I am lucky to be able to go to school and eat three times or more a day. But every time I commute home I always see these unprivileged kids asking for money. They might be born poor but I don’t think that they should also die poor. They should be given equal opportunities just like us.

These kids may not be born rich, but they should not be treated differently by the society. The society tends to look down at them and judge them by the way they act, but these kids are uneducated people unlike us. These kids need our attention and care. These kids might also be going some issues in their life. We as an educated people should help these kids.

Someday I want to help these kids with their needs as a child or person. I want them to know that it is not the end of the world when your born poor. I want them to continue dreaming and give them hope even in the hopeless situation it may seem.

Objectives

Englcom Objectives

ENGLCOM or ENGLISH COMMUNICATION is a course that equips freshmen students with the necessary academic reading and writing skills needed to become multi-literate and autonomous learners, and engaged citizens in the 21^st century. This course is anchored on transformative as well as self-directed learning frameworks.

E- Portfolio Objectives

1. Collect, store, and manage written outputs electronically
2. Develop a sense of authorship
3. Showcase mastery of various genres and of writing process
4. Evaluate and reflect on writing performance holistically
5. Monitor progress
6. Improve understanding of oneself
7. Recognize the gaps in one’s current knowledge and skills

Greetings !!!

Welcome to my blog. I am Madeleine Si currently taking up English Communication (ENGLCOM) this term. These are some of the entries that I have written this term. For my extended definition essay I tried to explain the definition and gave some information about commitment. People should fully decide before committing into something. For my problem solution essay I discussed the topic of obesity. On how the obesity rate is increasing every year and how disturbing this is to the society. Some other essays are also included in this blog. It also gives an impression on how I developed my writing skills from the Entry Essay to the Exit and Reflective Essay.

Enjoy reading!!!