my weekly musings

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Week 29: Intelligence

With the help of the Internet, this blog post is going to cover the reporting of results in a formal context using adverbial clauses. I have scoured the Net to find an article that reports results or research conducted. The title of the article is " Lack of sleep puts you at higher risk for colds, first experimental study finds". This is the link: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/09/lack-sleep-puts-you-higher-risk-colds-first-experimental-study-finds I will underline the examples related to reporting results, and highlight the adverbial clauses found as well as state its type. Lack of sleep puts you at higher risk for colds, first experimental study finds By Hanae Armitage Sep. 1, 2015 , 11:00 AM Moms and sleep researchers alike have stressed the importance of solid shuteye for years (adv. cl. time), especially when it comes to fighting off the common cold. Their stance is a sensible one— skimping on sleep weakens the body’s natural defense system,...

Week 28: Connecting words

Given that we've been going over academic language in texts, as well as linking devices, this blog post is going to be dedicated to those things. Firstly, I am going to link down below a piece of new where an academic topic is developed, and I will include all of the formal expressions in a list, so as not to clutter the post with a long text. Title of the article: Detached Mindfulness In Cognitive Therapy: A Metacognitive Analysis And Ten Techniques. Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10942-005-0018-6 Formal expressions in the text: (consider all of them quoted) information processing requirements the construct emerged from... a metacognitive state that facilitates chance in core underlying pathological processes ...has multiple components suspension of conceptual processing proliferate underpinnings abnormality Next, I found a reliable classification of linking devices from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/zaymamacita/essay-transi...

Week 27: Complaining

This blog post is dedicated to complaints in formal contexts and phrasal verbs. First and foremost, I looked for illustrated phrasal verb charts. I am going to add to this post the one that I found more useful, since it is constructed from the particle 'be', very common in English. Next, I am going to add a couple more that are from the same family: be above be along be around be in for be in on be on about be on to be upt o be cut for be there for be with When looking for a text on the Internet where a complaint is stated, I went on the following Oxford site, where three letter of complaint models were provided. Here is the link: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/writing-help/letters-of-complaint I chose the one about a faulty product, and the vocabulary useful for complaining is in bold. 8 Kennedy Circle Sydney NSW 2010 11 November, 2015 Customer Services Manager Evans Electrical Products 7 Swan Street Sydney ...

Week 26: Essay Writing

Essay writing is an essential part of any academic career, and especially in our degree, English Studies, as it involves a lot of essay writing. In today's blog I am going to provide some useful links to writing labs online and explain the difficulties I face when writing essays. First of all, let's see the best online writing labs (or OWLs) that are offered on the Internet. 1. The OWL at Purdue University: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html 2. Capital Community College's Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/index.htm 3. The Excelsior College OWL: https://owl.excelsior.edu/ 4. "Writing@CSU" (Colorado State University): https://writing.colostate.edu/ 5. HyperGrammar, a writing centre at the University of Ottawa in Canada: https://arts.uottawa.ca/writingcentre/en/hypergrammar Next, I am going to share the difficulties I face when writing essays. My biggest fear is experiencing a case of writer's block. ...

Week 25: Under the Weather with the Weather

Everybody seems to be talking about the weather these days, don't they? Well, global warming is indeed creeping up on us like a cloud of pollution or toxic fumes and people should be talking and doing something about it! Anyway, in today's blog post I am going to be sharing with you two news articles that I found on the Internet. Pay close attention to the parts that I highlighted, since it is useful vocabulary to know about the topic! The world is getting warmer. Whether the cause is human activity or natural variability —and the preponderance of evidence says it’s humans— thermometer readings all around the world have risen steadily since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. (Click on bullets above to step through the decades.) According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8° Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Tw...

Week 24: Natural Wonders

Oh, how wonderful the world is! I would just love to discover for myself all of the natural wonders that it has to offer! However, as my travel money is quite short as of this year, I will have to make do with searching for descriptive texts of well-known places online (that I will hopefully get to see with my own eyes in the future). Here is a descriptive text about the Grand Canyon, retrieved from: http://enjeloverything.blogspot.com/2010/06/grand-canyon-canyon-is-exceptionally.html I will underline and bold the expressions the expressions used to describe it. Next, I am going to add a few sentences of my own that could improve the text: The crimson orange and yellow colours swirl on the irreguar, immense walls of rock. The Grand canyon stretches a whopping 443 kilometres long and can encompass up to 29 kilometres of width. The flora and fauna found in this unpopulated sight vary from evergreens and desert plants, as well as rabbits, snakes, and even a couple of lone c...

Week 23: Persuasion

Knowing persuading vocabulary in English can come in very handy in many situations. Spaniards are known to be persuasive and insistent. Therefore, it is useful to apply our nature in our second language. However, keep in mind that you must not cross the line or it will seem impolite. The blog English of Expressing has many useful phrases to express persuasion. I found it to be particularly useful since it is more colloquial, day-to-day vocabulary. (The underlined link will take you direcly to the particular post dedicated to persuasion). Here are the ones that stood out to me the most: Come on, give it a try. Believe me, you’ll have fun. Don’t be a spoilsport. (I have personally also heard the term party-pooper and I prefer it) It will be fun, I’m sure. You’ll enjoy it. Go. You won’t regret it. This is once in your lifetime, don’t waste it. It’s your only chance, try it. Would it be possible...

Week 22: Narrative Essay Writing

In sights of our second writing hand-in, I have decided to further explore the narrative essay conventions on the Internet. The top two websites that I found on the topic were: 1. https://essayinfo.com/essays/narrative-essay/ 2. https://literarydevices.net/narrative-essay/ The main characteristics that I retreived about narrative essays are the following: they are written in 1st person but can also be written in 3rd. they include plenty of sensory details, usually that are not abstract. as they are stories, they have to include a setting, characters, climax and ending. they are usually about a personal experience. dialogue can be employed showcases lessons or morals of the story In addition, the main differences between a descriptive essay and a narrative essay is that the latter has a more structured plot. However, both of them share the characteristic of being vividly descriptive. ... Regarding my English improvements this week, I reckon that this was not...

Week 21: Telling The Truth

I am positive that absolutely everyone hates liars, even those who lie hate to be lied to. In order to combat this common issue, you can do some research so as to catch the next lie someone tells you. I looked at links on the characteristics of liars, and I am going to share the top ten ones that I found in my own words: Ask what is unexpected to see how the person reacts to it, even their microexpressions, which is a concealed emotion that lasts less than a second. Look for changes in behaviour: if a person that is normally anxious but now looks calm, or viceversa, chances are that they are lying. Pay attention to your intuition, which might be telling you something. Do not ignore your 'gut feeling'! Contradictions in utterances are great direct-tellers of lies. A sense of unease in the speaker, such as infrequent eye contact, sweating or anxiety Too much detail means that they have thought out what they were going to say, or even rehearsed it previously. If they ...

Week 20: Rave Reviews

I love cinema, so reviews are something I am accustomed to reading to see if other viewers share my point of view or have reacted the same way to a specific film. This time around, I searched the web for a review on The Favourite. Here is the link: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/30/the-favourite-review-olivia-colman-emma-stone-rachel-weisz-yorgos-lanthimos (last accessed 1/03/2019) Regarding the structure of this review, it has 8 paragraphs, although the 8th one can hardly be considered one, since it is just one long sentence, almost like a closing statement. Anyway, it does not seem to have a strict, extremely thought-out structure, but rather a more flowing one. In regards to the language employed, it is very formal. Exquisite vocabulary is used, which enhances the review-style and the expressions used are far from colloquial (e.g. preposterously, bewigged, vociferous opposition, riddled, interloper, vantage, pathos, cantankerousness, angst... ) ...

Week 19: Descriptive essays

Regarding the differences between descriptive, narrative and discursive essays, I have indeed searched the web to find the key. However, since blogger does not have the option to insert a chart, I have found some really great ones online that include the essential information. I will insert them below: Next, I found a brief sample of a descriptive essay. Instead of copying and pasting it, since its far too long, find the link below: https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/descriptive/my-room-descriptive-essay.html As one can see, its main characteristics are vivid imagery, sensory adjectives describing a plethora of smells, sights, sounds, feelings etc. and meticulously placed details that enable a clear depiction of the subject of the essay, in this case, a bedroom. The language is concise and straightforward but still descriptive so that the impression given to the reader is like a photograph or picture in their head. There is nothing abstract mentioned, but rath...

Week 18: Who We Are

Hey guys! In today's post I'm going to focus on body idioms and inversions. Since I loved the body idioms that we've discovered in class this week so much, I scoured the web for 5 more expressions. to stand or stick out like a sore thumb : someone or something is being obvious, noticeable or easily recognized as different from the group. to do something in a heartbeat : to do something right away if you have the chance. to catch somebody's eye : to attract someone's attention or be attractive enough to be noticed. to the bone : as completely as possible. In Spanish it would be something like 'hasta los huesos'. have two left feet : to be awkward or clumsy with one's feet. The marvelous website I found all of these idioms on is https://sharmskee.com/funny-body-parts-idioms-list/ . It has fifty body idioms! Plus, all of them are so interesting. I love it! More web-browsing ahead! Next, I looked at some websites where inversions are ...

Week 17: In my view

Trending topics are constantly discussed all over the news, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms. The average member of any social media is bombarded with a plethora of opinions on a daily basis. I usually keep quiet most of the time, choosing to be left out of the discussion. Nevertheless, today I would like to state my opinion on a trending topic I found on The Today Show's website. It states that a Trulia survey found that now, more married couples have roommates. This is due to the fact that they have to deal with increasing real estate pricing. Data-wise, the rate of married couples living with a roommate has doubled since 1995, both for homeowners and renters. It seems to me that reversing the rise in housing costs is a bit out of our reach. It is a matter of economy that most of us have to combat by adapting ourselves to reality. In my opinion, taking on a roommate is not the worst idea ever. I feel that financial strain is one of the worst things a couple can go throu...

Week 16: Language

Hey there! I'm back! Did you miss me? I know I did! In today's blog post I'm going to be talking about languages. Did you know that there are many maps available on the Internet that conveniently showcase which languages are spoken throughout the globe? Here is one of them so that you can get a closer look: To be honest, I am a bit of a language enthusiast myself. Apart from English and Spanish, I have quite a good base of Italian thanks to university, and a very rusty German from my high school days. However, a language that I have been dying to explore and the only one left on my "must learn" list is French. It has been a goal of mine since getting acquainted with French cinema, and especially after watching one of my favourite movies of all time, Blue is the warmest colour in the original version. Listening to the stunning French actresses' exquisite pronunciation made me want to be able to speak French too. I also love Brigitte Bardot's ...

That's all folks!

Well, we have reached the end of this term's blog. It seems like I was starting it just the other day! All in all, it was a wonderful experience which I would like to comment on. The positive aspects of blogging are plenty. Firstly, I loved that the prompts we were given for each post were not restrictive at all. That meant that we could let our creative juices flow and it was definitely a breath of fresh air from all of the heavily structured variations in this subject as well as in others. Moreover, the topics we had to write about were interesting, up-to-date and innovative. In other words, I did not feel as if the prompts were boring or repetitive. Additionally, the fact that it is in blog format enabled me to write more comfortably and freely, as my preferred method of writing is, in fact, online or in some sort of word processor. It way more aesthetically pleasing and you can conveniently add photos and links. Lastly, the fact that we had to include a section at the end of e...

Colours

This week has been all about colour, and given that I found the topic very interesting, I took it into my own hands and searched the web to find out its other meanings. The article I chose focuses on home decor, a topic which fascinates me. It is called Room Colour and How it Affects Your Mood ( https://freshome.com/room-color-and-how-it-affects-your-mood/ last accessed 18/12/2018) . I agree with the information included in the article and found it really useful. Coming from a home whose walls are painted entirely white, it was interesting to learn about other potential options and how they would change the emotions that my apartment sparks. However, I would not dare to paint my living room walls red, no matter the high level of energy it seemingly stimulates, since it seems too daring and almost the opposite of stylish. By contrast, yellow is just as bright and vibrant of a colour as red, but it seems like a less risky choice. Additionally, I agree with the article's empha...

Making Decisions

Today I want to write a review on one of my favourite films of 2018. An Incredible Film is Born One of the best feelings in the world appear when you are watching a film without any expectations and are consequently blown away by it. In fact, that is what I experienced when seeing A Star is Born for the first time. I adored getting lost in the film, almost being engulfed by the story. The actors, music, and set worked together marvelously to absorb the viewers and take them into the story, making them feel each emotion as if it was their own. Indeed, I cried three times throughout its duration (something out of the ordinary!), and they were tears of pure emotion, happiness and sadness at once. What's more, my criteria for an outstanding film is if it makes me cry out of sheer sentiment, as I enjoy being moved by films. Two true stars share the leading roles, Bradley Cooper, who is also the director, and Lady Gaga, the world-renowed popstar who shares a ver...

The Fashion Show

Since this week has been about researching for our upcoming Erasmus, (for which we can start applying now), I have decided to choose an interview centered around this experience, in order to get more insight. I got it from the following website: https://uclhistory.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/an-interview-with-an-erasmus-student/ and I am going to report it below: In this interview, Thomas Garcin, from Paris, is asked various questions regarding his experience at UCL, or University College London. He said he chose to study history at UCL in part by chance and in part because he wanted to experience the essence of London which he had been told about. Secondly, he was asked about what he had enjoyed the most about studying at UCL History. He stated that he had looked forward to discovering the British methods and viewpoints on history. He also gushed about how enriching it was to see a different perspective on the British Empire and Western political thought, and how the UCL experi...

You live and you learn

After looking at some online ads regarding studying abroad opportunities, I have found a couple websites that are helpful if one wants to carry out that exciting experience. I am going to analyse them, taking into account the convenience of getting involved in each one. The first website is Euro Centres , specialising in language-learning courses in 6 continents! It has many professional features, offering a plethora of languages to learn. This website is fit for someone who wants to go abroad but not to necessarily continue a university degree. Other advantages, such as listing the price of the experience before-hand and guaranteeing it stays that way, is useful in order to set up an economic plan accordingly. The next website I found, GoAbroad , takes the typical summer abroad to another level. This programme, lasting just a month, boasts an itinerary of 14 cities to choose from, in Asia and Europe. Students learn new things by taking classes while they travel. Hav...