A Good Start (Cover Letter)

An aspiring writer, that's what I am. For a long time now, I had a dream of being able to write a book but I was too afraid of failing to try it. It wasn't until a few months ago that I started taking ENGLCOM, a class that involves writing. It wasn't the kind of writing that I wanted but it was still writing. At first, I was horrible at it, taking too long to finish one work. But it was my want to become a writer that drove me to be able to gradually overcome this weakness. It may not be a lot but it is a good start.

This blog is where I post the finished works that I did in ENGLCOM. It may not be perfect since I'm still just a beginner, but I have confidence that it would be worth taking your time to read.

Enjoy.

The Risk They Take (Documentary Analysis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv-Zvs8kAVY

Journalists, as most would know, are the people behind the scenes who write about the current news. They are the ones who keep the people informed of the current happenings. What most people do not realize is the fact that they take a huge risk in doing their job.

            The video "Journalists risk their lives reporting in the Philippines" by Mark Litke was filmed in Mindanao of the Philippines. It was made to tell the people that journalists in the Philippines are not safe. They are being threatened and killed for what they do. Despite this fact, these people, with full knowledge of the dangers they would face, risk their lives just to bring truth and justice to people. Some journalists would even say they are not afraid to die if it would mean that they can become of good use to others. That, by itself, would make them worthy of being called heroes.

A Memorable Experience (Reflective Essay)

When I learned that I was going to take a reading and writing class, I was excited because I had just started to take interest in writing. The only problem that I had was the fact that I was clueless and inexperienced in the field of writing. This is why this became one of the classes that I looked forward to until I learned that it was about academic writing. It was very disappointing to me because the type of writing that I wanted to learn was more on fiction than in academic.

            At first, I thought that academic writing, from the word academic, was writing about lessons that were taught in schools but after a series of lectures, I learned that it wasn't like that at all. From what I understood, it was more about how to organize your thoughts in a smooth flowing manner and write it in a way that the readers may understand what you want to convey to them. I was taught how to make an essay with proper citations and using different types of outlines and writing patterns. I didn't like making outlines at first since it took away a lot of time to make one and to follow it. More than once, I thought of how useless this was since it actually made writing become harder. It became a problem to me since I was repeatedly getting writer's block that it became hard for me to finish my works, especially when I was writing an argumentative essay. Though after a lot of practicing, I gradually became used to it and started to finish my works faster. When I did, I realized that making outlines actually helps me not only in writing but also in the way my mind works. Now, my mind unconsciously organizes my thoughts in a more understandable way. Another problem I encountered was using transitional phrases or words that would help the readers see the connection of the ideas in my essays. It was a hard thing for me to do since I got so used to writing without them. After a lot of constant reminders from my professor, I became used to using transitions. Lastly, I had so little knowledge about the current news in the world, which made it hard for me to write because we were required to make and essay about a social issue more than once. To solve my problem, I started reading and watching news and became more aware of what was happening in the world.

            Looking at my entry and exit essay, I've noticed how the latter was more comprehensible than the first one. It was more organized. This is all thanks to the series of essay writing that pushed me to improve in writing.

            After thinking of what came out from taking this subject, I realized that despite the fact that I had a lot of practices in this subject, I know that I still have a long way to go in the field of writing. This subject has inspired me to write more. Now that it is ending, I'm thinking of joining writing workshops so that one day, I would be able to write an article that would be worth reading. I'm happy that I got to take this subject. It gave me a memorable experience that I would never forget.

Don't Do Piracy (Exit Essay)

People from all over the world do piracy. Piracy is taking someone else's work and reproducing it as their own or without the consent or permission of the owner. As it is doing injustice to the owners who worked hard to produce, piracy was made illegal. The usual products that people pirate are music and videos.

            Why do people practice piracy? The most common reason they would have is that pirated products come out as cheaper than the original products. Another reason is that it is easier to obtain pirated products since it is found almost everywhere. Original products are harder to hunt down since there is a limit in their production which may result for it to only be sold in one place. You would have to get it shipped to be able to obtain it. Piracy is also a good business in terms of profitability since a lot of people would buy it for its cheapness but in doing this, you are taking the risk of getting caught by the people with authority. It was made illegal for a reason.

            There are three different types of piracy that I am aware of. First is called "Physical Piracy". It is done by producing and distributing copies of recordings without the owner's permission. For example, you obtained an original copy of a limited edition music album. Since you knew that it was limited, you reproduced copies of it and either sold it or gave it to other people. This is piracy since you reproduced and distribution copies of the album without the consent of the owner.

            Another type of piracy is called "Counterfeits". It is like "Physical Piracy" but instead of merely reproducing and distributing copies of the product, you make it look identical to the original one. For instance, you made copies of the recordings in the album. You do not stop after copying the recordings. You would make it look exactly like the original product from its case to the print on the CD. People do this in order to sell it at a higher price by claiming that it is original.

            The last type is called "Bootlegs". This is done by recording live performances of artists without permission from the producers or the artists themselves or recording the movie that is being shown in the cinema.

            Personally, I think that piracy should not be practiced and it was right to make it illegal. As what the actor Asa Butterfield would say, "Don't do piracy. Piracy's a crime.". After all, the owners gave their effort to produce their works. It would do them injustice if we get their works and call it as our own or making a profit out of it when we didn't even give effort to make it.