東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Fall final writing assignment・後学期末作文

Hello!

How are you? Here is our fall semester final writing assignment (後学期の期末作文). 

Themes
Your choice of topics will be open! You have a choice to develop another topic from 
any one of the different themes we have covered over this semester since 
September: 

• Education & psychology
• Economics
• Engineering & biology 

About the choices 
Here are some notes about the choices of themes and topic ideas in them. 

For the final assignment, you can choose the theme that was most interesting to you and write another paper about a topic area in it. The only thing is that you do not write about 
the same thing you wrote about before – you must have a different topic area! 

For example, if you wrote about an educational system, choose something different about the theme of education – for example, a different approach to education such as Montessori schools, or the Steiner system of education, or within Japan, the terakoya, and how the system worked (did it have grades, or testing, or some kind of promotion to advanced learning based 
on a student’s ability, and so on).

Same with economics, or engineering and biology – as another example, if you wrote about Bitcoin, write about another cryptocurrency, arguing for or against its use based on its 
features. Or within engineering, write about another device or invention and how it works to show cause and effect. 

Some extra notes
Education:
For education, for example, you can write about an educational system in 
another country, a specific type of education - for example, science education, 
or a specific subject - such as math or chemistry. 

As for educational systems, one challenging and very interesting approach would be for you 
to choose two (2) educational systems and compare and contrast (比較対照して) 
them. If you choose this challenge, look for these points in your comparison and contrast:

Number of years in different levels of school (for example - how many years in elementary school, then junior high school or high school)

Requirements of students on different levels of schooling (for example - entrance exams if 
there are any, passing of certain subjects to advance to the next level of education, and so 
on)

Unique educational subjects or requirements in a certain country (for example - in Vietnam, university students, men and women alike, are required to do military training once a year. Some other countries require some kind of national service - often military, but sometimes 
non-military as part of entering into a higher level of education) 

Once again - you cannot write about what you did before! Write about something different than what you did. 

Economics:
For economics, many of you were very interested, and wrote very well, about new trends 
in economic activity such as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and their impact on economic activity. You can focus on another problem or controversy (問題、議論) with cryptocurrency, such as the possibility of collecting salaries in Bitcoin, or the level of security required to make safe transactions with cryptocurrency possible.  

You are not limited to cryptocurrency in terms of economic topics, but as a recent development it is a good example. 

Once again - you cannot write about what you did before! Write about something different than what you did. 

Engineering: For engineering, you could choose any device or invention from the past or present. It can be something invented and used in Japan, or around the world, invented elsewhere and brought into Japan, or invented in Japan and exported out into the world. If you choose this area, think of these points:

• What it is
• Who invented or first made it
• When it was first made (and sold or marketed)
• Who uses it (- or - who used it)
• What it is (or was) used for
• Very important - what it is (or was) made of (in terms of materials and parts)
• What impact you believe it has has on society or worldwide (including what personal impact it has had on you)
• Any other details you believe are worth noting (especially any materials properties such as tensile strength, with characteristics such as brittleness, elasticity, and so on

Once again - you cannot write about what you did before! Write about something different than what you did. 

Psychology & biology:
I will only note in a short way about psychology and biology as they are possibly a little less interesting overall for many of you - though you are free to write about topics with these themes as well. But in whatever you do with these themes - make sure once again that they are not the same as what you have done before. 

How much to write 

I would like you to write 5-6 paragraphs – but if you can go longer that would be great! I would like you to write as much as you can, and to push yourselves - many of you can now write to great length!

As I have said before, anything shorter than three (3) paragraphs will not be acceptable. Please remember that our time is tight - so you might not have the time to re-write. 

Deadline (締め切り) 

It will be January 20th, 2020 (1/20/20).

Now here are the board notes for our class on 12/16:

Good luck! I will look forward to reading your great writing – and please relax over the break for a job well done in your first year of university!

Image: By Masahiro Hayata from Tokyo, Japan - Alley, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9681059

東京理科大学 Listening & Speaking・Writing & Composition 1b: 12/9 board notes・12月9日のボードノート

Hello!

How are you? Here are the board notes for our classes on 12/9. Above are the board notes for the Listening & Speaking 1b class. 

Now below are the board notes for the Writing & Composition 1b class: 

See you next week!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved. 

東京理科大学 Listening & Speaking 1b: Fall final presentation assignment & Writing & Composition 1b: Writing assignment 5・後学期末プレゼンテーション・作文5

Hello!

How are you? This is a post for both the Listening & Speaking and Writing & Composition classes. 

For the Listening & Speaking class, this is our fall semester final presentation assignment. For Writing & Composition, this will be writing assignment 5 - the third (3rd) writing assignment for the fall semester. 

Themes

For both classes, here are your choice of topics. You can choose one (1) of these: 

• A currency, or unique, non-capitalistic economic system from another country or period of history
• Key mistakes or accidents involving engineering (in any kind of engineering, such as chemical, electrical, or mechanical engineering)
• Principles (原理) of biology or biochemistry
• Explaining details and use of a chemical compound or a medicine

Deadlines (締め切り) 
For Listening & Speaking:

Your presentation day will be on December 23rd (12/23), so you have three (3) weeks to prepare. 

For Writing & Composition:
It will be on December 16th (12/16), so you have two (2) weeks to prepare. 

Guidelines 
For Listening & Speaking:

1. Prepare a summary (要約) about the topic you want to present on. The summary will be due for check on December 16th (12/16). 

As we did before with the mid-term presentations, you will evaluate your classmates' presentations in groups.

2. Be ready for me to review your progress on 12/16 and for you to practice your presentation in-class. You can practice with me and/or other groups of students.

* This is very important! You don't have to have the presentation 100% finished - but you have to have enough content so you can practice!

3. Finalize your presentation outside of class and be ready to present on December 23rd!

For Writing & Composition:
Have a rough draft ready to read aloud to your classmates next week on December 9th (12/9). I will give you time in class to work on it - but it must be finished and handed in on December 16th (12/16). 

* This is very important! I will immediately show you the final presentation assignment on 12/16 - so you need to have writing assignment 5 finished and handed in so you can start on the final writing assignment! 

Now here are the board notes for our classes on 12/2. The first set of notes are for Listening & Speaking 1b:

Now here is Writing & Composition 1b:

Good luck to all of you! See you next week!

Image: By photo credited to the firm Levy & fils by this site. (It is credited to a photographer "Kuhn" by another publisher [1].) - the source was not disclosed by its uploader., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=710925/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.

東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Cause & effect・原因結果

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at some basic cause and effect (原因結果). While I know you understand the idea of cause and effect, practicing how to write this in English can always help you. 

Before we begin, here are the board notes for our class on 11/11:

Special note: Once again - I am very sorry I gave you a longer and more difficult reading than what you could do. その難しすぎるの読んでことは申し訳すみませんでした。

So now let's step back a little to look at some cause and effect!

Activity 1

1. Look at these sentences. In your notebooks, write the effect (what happens) and the cause (why it happened), then share what you wrote to your classmates.  

a. He went to the convenience store because he needed some food.
Effect: (What happened?)
Cause: (Why did it happen?)

b. She could only eat a little soup because she was feeling sick.
Effect: 
Cause: 

c. The mother was very quiet because the baby was sleeping.
Effect: 
Cause: 

d. The man bought a vacuum cleaner because he wanted to clean the house.
Effect: 
Cause: 

e. The driver stopped the car because the traffic signal turned red.
Effect: 
Cause: 

f. The student raised his hand because he had a question.
Effect: 
Cause: 

2. Now look at these sentences. What is the effect, and what is the cause? Choose two (2) of these to do!

a. Metal corrodes because of contact with air.
What's the effect? What's the cause? 

b. He was vomiting this morning because he got drunk last night.
What's the effect? What's the cause? 

c. Yellow chromate ion solution becomes red because of change in the acid-base composition.
What's the effect? What's the cause? 

d. She couldn't sleep because she had drunk too much coffee in the afternoon.
What's the effect? What's the cause? 

Activity 2/homework
Watch this video about photosynthesis (光合成). It will show more about what the cause and effect process is about. 

If you go to YouTube at this link, you can turn on Japanese subtitles (字幕) if you need them. 

As you watch, make notes about each step in the process of photosynthesis. 

Watch the video as many times as you want or need. What are the causes - and effects - in this process? 

When you are finished, write this process in your own words based on your notes about the video. Read aloud to your classmates based on what you watched. 

Now here are the board notes for our class on 11/18:

Enjoy the festival! See you in two weeks!

Images: Top - by aussiegall - [1], CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4428411/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the video. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). 
Uploaded for classroom use only.

東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Accidents of chemical engineering - the case of LSD・化学工学、研究の過失「LSDについて」

Hello!

How are you? To go with our reading today about the accidental discovery of LSD, here is a video of a famous song that many people felt was about LSD - the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Before we begin, however, as a review, here are the board notes for our class on 11/4: 

Now let's look at, and listen to, the song!

The Beatles themselves said that it was not about LSD, or any drugs at all. But the lyrics to the song have the imagery to them that fit in part with what Albert Hoffman had said were his experiences with LSD when he began experimenting with it in the 1940s.

In the U.S., Britain, and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, LSD became a popular drug amongst hippies and many other young people, and influenced the popular music of the time. The concert poster at the top was typical of the time for its psychedelic imagery - the kind many people connected with LSD use.

While many believed that LSD was not harmful, the experiences of many young people at the time showed that it could be very harmful - especially in young people who might already have had delicate mental health. 

LSD became an example of a discovery in science that later became important in the cultural history of the late 20th century in many Western countries - but for the wrong reasons. 

Activity/homework
Listen to this song. Listen to it as many times as you want or need. You do not have to understand what they mean - because the lyrics really do not make a logical story at all. But what do you think of it? What imagery do you get from the song that you find fantastic or impactful? How do you think it might fit with what Albert Hoffman's experience with LSD was? 

Make some notes about this and bring them in next week to share. 

See you then!

Images: Top - screenshot of original image taken from https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/11/our-favorite-concert-posters.html/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.

I do not own the rights to the original image. Screenshot taken and uploaded for classroom use only. 

Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the musical composition or the video. Uploaded for classroom purposes only. 

東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Link for basic writing rules・基本的な書きのルール

Hello!

How are you? As support for our latest writing assignment, here is a link to a new blog page I have created for all of you about some formatting and stylistic rules for academic writing. 

Go to this link here to see the page. Review it as many times as you need, as from here on I will be looking more closely at points on formatting, style, and voice (態) in your writing assignments. 

Look especially at the formatting rules on connecting short sentences to make longer sentences, as some of you still sometimes tend to write shorter sentences and do not connect them together to make longer statements when I see you can! 

I would like all of you to also look especially at the style rules about names of people and places, plus the rule on voice (態). These are very important!

From here on, I will look more strictly for how well you are connecting sentences and how well you follow the stylistic rules for names and places, plus the kind of voice you use, in your writing. 

I will keep updating and improving the blog pages for support on points of writing. 

Good luck! See you next week!

Image: By Andreariverac - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26140236

東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Writing assignment 2・作文2

Hello!

How are you? Here is our 2nd writing assignment for this semester - writing an argumentative composition about an economic issue. 

Theme
Our theme, as mentioned, is on economics. There are many different topics within economics you could write on that are based on the "Money and Trade" chapter in the speaking and listening textbook, though you are not limited to the textbook - you can bring in ideas of your own about economic activity and what you think, and could argue, about them. 

But if you need ideas for topics, here are some you could explore. You can choose one (1) of these as a basis for an argument: 

• The case for a stronger (-or- weaker) yen
• Advantages (-or- disadvantages) of a unified currency such as the euro
• Benefits (-or- problems) of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin
• Positive (-or- negative) effects of a cashless society (no paper money or coins) 
• Positive (-or- negative) effects of new electronic payment schemes (such as payment of goods and services with QR codes) 
• Problems (-or- opportunities) with barter for low-income people

Deadline (締め切り)

It will be on November 11th (11/11). You have two (2) week(s) to prepare. You should have a rough draft (下書き) for next week (11/4), then have your final draft ready on 11/11.

*NOTE: I know that some of you have a laptop computer or tablet, but not all of you do. So if you have your own computer or laptop, work on your final drafts, and bring your computer or laptop with you, with a USB, to class next week on 6/24. 

If you don't have your own computer, bring a USB with you. Outside of class before next week, you should work on your writing on a campus computer, and save your Word file on your USB.

Your final draft for 10/28 will be typed on Word, and should be at least 4- 5 paragraphs (段落) long - but if you can go longer, try for it! I encourage you to go longer and build your writing and take your ideas out further as much as you can. 

Anything shorter than four (4) paragraphs will not be acceptable. I may ask you to re-write if you bring in less writing than what the assignment asks for. 

Please also do not write line-by-line sentences. Remember that you are writing paragraphs (段落), not lists of sentences. I will also ask you to re-write if you hand in a paper that has only lists of sentences on it. 

I will review with you guidelines in class on 10/21 about Word formatting for your final drafts.

Guidelines

Prepare a rough draft about the topic you want to write on. I will give you some time to do some research, and begin writing, in class.

Important note:

The rough and final drafts should have: 

• A short introduction showing what your topic is
• The topic, with some background, then focus on details or important points about it to a thesis statement on what you will argue for (-or- against)
• Your argument about it, with details and ideas or theories that have been shown about the economic point and the issues about it  

Things to think about:
In the case of economic issues, exchange of money and goods alone are not the only things that are important. Things such as class (階級), social standing, employment (仕事、雇用) and/or politics all have some impact or another on economic activity. 

2. Be ready with your rough draft next week to read aloud to your classmates, and discuss your topics and research. Getting your classmates' reactions is important, and can help you to deepen your ideas. 

* This is very important! You don't have to have your rough draft 100% finished - but you have to have enough content so you can read aloud and discuss your writing! Do not come in with only 1-2 sentences!

3. Based on the readings and any feedback you get from your classmates, then finalize your rough drafts outside of class into final drafts, and be ready to hand in on the deadline day on 11/11!  

NEW - here are the board notes for our class on 10/28:

See you next time!

Image: By Open Source - http://bitaddress.org, MIT, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30066474/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.