Essay Writing- a critical reflection

Throughout the semester-long course of English for Academic Purposes, I really enjoyed how Mr Morgan made every class interesting and interactive for students to learn every aspect of English. For me, I felt that my pronunciation has improved over weeks of communicating through the interactive activities. Nonetheless, I have learnt the various common errors by learning from each other in class.

In addition, the essay prompt practice was the experience in particular that made me realize a lot of my writing mistakes. After going the writing exercise, I realized that most of the time I did not connect my ideas in a proper and organized manner. Many a times, ideas enter abruptly within a paragraph without cohesive devices to provide the flow of language. Some of the many cohesive devices include however, in particular, eventually, consequence, further and in conclusion (Birmingham City University, 2011). With additional writing practices, I will be able to improve coherence in my writing by connecting my ideas fluently. Moreover, I still need to improve my structure and organization as some of the points do not have direct linkage with each other. Therefore, I should always ask myself about the relationship between the sentences as it is important to guide the reader in my writing.

In conclusion, I have to do more practice in academic writing and make frequent visits to the Writing and Communication Hub set up by the Centre of English Language Communication. With frequent consultations, I would be able to minimize mistakes and this will be a continuous learning journey for me in my university life.

References:

1.       Birmingham City University (2011). Study Guides: Writing. Centre of Academic Success. Retrieved from: http://library.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.33.htm

Essay Prompt (final)

Globalization involves the rapid spread of information and technology which forces countries to modernize quickly. This increases international trade and has led to the entry of foreign professionals and cheap foreign labour. Thus, the rise in cross-border interaction among people is caused by globalization and the pursuit for better lives. However, this phenomenon has resulted in the problem of income inequality. It is a growing problem in various regions in different ways and even affect developed countries such that, according to Cooke (2012), the United States has been labelled as “the most unequal advanced country”. Though achieving economic growth is essential for countries' development, governments have to intervene to strike a balance involving all layers in the community to curb income inequality. This problem could be mitigated by the involvement of the government in education funds and distribution of income.

 

Singapore, for example, has made rapid technological progress over the years. Consequently, the country faces difficulty balancing wages of the people due to high-income foreign talents investing in Singapore for technological research and importing low skilled labour. Hence, this widens the income gap further as the country progresses with globalization. This can be proven by an analysis on the Gini coefficient which is a statisical measure of income distribution. Based on the report by Singapore's Department of Statistics, the country's Gini coefficient rose to 0.478 in 2012, which is significantly higher than most of the developed countries (Salimat, 2013). Many analysts warned that the wide income gap would lead to social unrest and political challenges in Singapore (Ngerng, 2013).

 
          Kohut & Wike (2008) suggested that the government should help the poor communities. Considering this, one of the ways to curb income inequality is by funding education for families of low skilled labours. By developing arithmetic and language skills from a young age, the next generation of the poor communities will be able to advance to further education and improve their lives. In addition, these children will be able to develop social etiquette and communication skills that are essential for a healthy society. Furthermore, the government could provide grants for skill enhancement programs targeting low-skilled working adults. An example would be the Skills Upgrading Programme developed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency to helped workers "stay relevant in today's rapidly evovling economy" (Ministry of Manpower, 2013). With additional skills, these working adults will be able to hold important roles in their company and could get a pay rise. By funding education for low skilled workers could improve their income as increased knowledge would provide them with useful skills in this globalized world.  

More often the relationship between globalization and income inequality is that the wealthy society obtains most of the benefit (Archer, 2013). Hence, another way for government intervention is to restrain, regulate and redistribute income. The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has to be controlled by limiting growth of the highest income and raising the lowest wages. By taxing the rich, the country would be able to distribute income fairly. Singapore, for example, has no minimum wage requirement to encourage a competitive wage market for potential employees. However, the government has to encourage companies to provide pay rise for lower income workers so as to solve the problem of the widening income gap. Furthermore, this concept of distributing the wealth of the rich and paying higher wages for the lower skilled has to be regulated to ensure the fair-share of wealth including foreigners.

To conclude, governments have to intervene to curb income inequality. In a 2007 Pew poll published by Kohut & Wike, the majority of people agreed that the government could play a bigger role in providing assistance to the lower income and needy families. Moreover, by imposing higher tax on the highest income, it would help to ensure a fairer share of wealth whereas subsidies for the poorer community would lessen their financial burden. Extreme low wages for the uneducated and elderly are forcing some into a severe cycle of poverty. This will result in depression or mental stress on these communities as they struggle to earn a living. Therefore, imposing higher tax on the rich and funding of education and skills upgrading for lower income households could narrow the income gap.

Reference:

1. Kohut, A.,& Wike, R. (2008). Assessing Globalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration. Havard International Review.
2. Cooke, K. (Dec 20, 2012). The Unequal State of America: Why America is more unequal than most. Reuters. Retrieved from:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-equality-indiana-oecd-idUSBRE8BJ0J520121220
3. Salimat, S. (2013). Singapore's income inequality on the rise: Dept of Statistics. Yahoo! Singapore Finance. Retrieved from: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-income-inequality-rise-dept-135226813.html
4. Ngerng, R. (2013). Singapore has the highest income inequality compared to the OECD countries. Retrieved from: http://thehearttruths.com/2013/02/21/singapore-has-the-highest-income-inequality-compared-to-the-oecd-countries/
5. Ministry of Manpower. (2013). Skills Upgrading. Retrieved from: http://www.mom.gov.sg/skills-training-and-development/adult-and-continuing-education/skills-upgrading/Pages/skills-upgrading.aspx
6. Archer,D. (2013). Could America's wealth gap lead to a revolt? Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalearcher/2013/09/04/could-americas-wealth-gap-lead-to-a-revolt/ 

 

 

 

Essay Prompt Final Draft

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate (improve) the issue highlighted?

600 to 700-word essay for your tutor and classmates. 

The rise in cross-border interaction among people is caused by globalization and the pursuit for better lives. However, this phenomenon has resulted in the problem of income inequality. It is a growing problem in various regions in different ways and even affecting developed countries such as the United States being labelled “the most unequal advanced country”. Though advancing for economic growth is essential for the country’s development, governments have to intervene to strike a balance involving all layers in the community to curb income inequality. This problem could be mitigated by the involvement of the government in education funds and distribution of income.

Globalization involves the rapid spread of information and technology which forces countries to modernize quickly. This increases cross-border migration of people with countries integrating different cultures in the society. However, the increase in international trade through globalization has led to entry of foreign professionals and cheap foreign labour. Singapore, for example, has rapid technological progress over the years. The country faces difficulty balancing wages of the people due to high-income foreign talents venturing in Singapore for technological research and importing low skilled labour. Hence, this pushes the income gap further as the country progresses with globalization.

Kohut & Wike (2008) suggested that the government should help the poor communities. One of the ways to curb income inequality is funding of education for families of low skilled labours. By developing arithmetic and language skills from young, the next generation of the poor communities are able to advance to further education and improve their lives. In addition, these children will develop social etiquette and communication skills that are essential for a healthy society. Furthermore, the government could provide grants for skill enhancement programs targeting low-skilled working adults. With additional skills, these working adults will be holding bigger roles in their company and get a pay raise. By encouraging education for the low skilled workers through funding will improve their income as increased knowledge would provide them with skills useful in any company in this globalized world.

More often the relation between globalization and income inequality is the wealthy society getting most of the benefit. Hence, another way for government intervention is to restrain, regulate and redistribute income. The widening income gap between the rich and the poor has to be controlled by limiting growth of the highest income and raising the lowest wages. By taxing the rich, the country would be able to distribute income fairly. Singapore, for example, has no minimum wage requirement to encourage a competitive wage market for potential employees. However, the government has to encourage companies to provide pay raise for lower income workers so as to solve the problem of the widening income gap. Furthermore, this concept of limiting growth of the upper class and paying higher wage of the lower class has to be regulated to ensure the fair-share of the locals compared to foreign workers. Moreover, imposing tax for the rich and providing subsidies for the poor would help to reduce income inequality. By imposing higher tax on the highest income, it would help to ensure a fairer share of wealth whereas subsidies for the poorer community would lessen their financial burden.

To conclude, governments have to intervene in the situation to curb income inequality. In a 2007 Pew poll published by Kohut & Wike, majority of people agreed that the government could play a bigger role in providing assistance to the lower income and needy families. Other than what governments can do in terms of subsidizing and providing funds for the poor, employers could play an active role by showing more care and concern for the financial situation of their employees. Extreme low wages for the uneducated and elderly are forcing some into a severe cycle of poverty. This would result in depression or mental stress on these communities as they struggle for their everyday lives. Hence, employers could allocate higher amount of budget in providing financial assistance for lower income workers as well as upgrading courses for these employees.

Reference: Kohut, A., & Wike, R, 2008. Assessing Globalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration. Havard International Review.

Reader's Response to "Assessing Globalization"

In the article “Assessing Globalization", published by Harvard International Review in 2008, Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike from Pew Research Center analyzed how countries respond to globalization and the rising international trade. The article revolves around the economic, environmental, cultural, and immigration impacts of globalization. The authors expressed that "workers in poor countries have moved to cities in search of new jobs, while some in wealthier nations have lost jobs and moved overseas". A survey revealed that while Senegal, one of the world's poorest nation, have 98 percent of people willing to leave the country for better income, wealthy nations like Poland and Slovakia both have 96 and 94 percent of people respectively  willing to do so as well. However, this effect brought about another concern which is the immigration of people. Though poorer nations welcome multinationals, majority of people believed that immigrants will bring negative impacts to the country.

I agree with the statement of "average citizens are more apprehensive about globalization" (Kohut & Wike, 2008) especially in the case of mass global migration of people. After all, compared to political elites, we are the ones facing the issues in the community. In the case of immigration issues, the average citizens in the community are the ones facing the direct impacts.

One of the problems with the increase in immigrant population from underdeveloped countries is the rise in social ills. These include increase in crime rates, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. I can personally relate to this as these situations occur in my home country where there is influx of low-skilled foreign workers. Crime rates are on the rise with countless cases of snatch theft and robbery trends spreading across the country. Even with such severity, law enforcers are still unable to resolve these issues affected by foreign workers. The sense of insecurity would eventually jeopardize the country's unity as people lose trust in each other.
 
Social ills arise with economic inequality as well. Singapore is the best example for income inequality. Due to the dependence of low-cost foreign workers, the top financial hub in Asia has the highest Gini coefficient of 0.478 in 2012 (“Here are 6”, 2013), which is considered to be at a dangerous level. Though social ills in Singapore remains low, the possibility of the occurrence should not be taken lightly.

On the other hand, the immigration of people from richer nations might cause stress on local infrastructures. Singapore, for example, faces this issue to support the growing population under the challenge of land scarcity. As immigrants seek housing as well, there will be competition between the locals and immigrants. This would cause the sense of injustice when a foreigner is able to obtain better housing compared to a local of the same income status.

In conclusion, I think immigration issues will bring negative impacts to a country and should be better controlled in this globalized world. Governments should regulate these issues through proper policies to protect and secure the livelihood of the local people.


Reference: Kohut, A., & Wike, R, 2008. Assessing Globalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration. Havard International Review.

Here are 6 ugly facts about Singaporeans' income. (2013, March 27). Singapore Business Review. Retrieved from: http://sbr.com.sg/economy/news/here-are-6-ugly-facts-about-singaporeans-incomes

Edited version of "Summary on The Double Edge of Globalization "

Globalization has made the connections of the world more evident as news and information are spread within seconds. However, it also means that the reaction is faster than before. The comprehensive global trade is often blamed for exhausting the world's resources in response to global consumerism. Often the blame lies with the economy drivers, mostly multinational companies, that invest in countries with low environmental regulations. The accusation has been invalid as studies have shown that foreign companies are more likely to pollute lesser than the local companies. Hence, governance at local levels is not efficient in promoting conservation.

Globalization-driven consumption leads to more pollution not only in the polluted country itself but globally as well. A researcher found air-borne chemical pollutants in New England and traced them back to Chinese factories. Still, there is evidence that with global governance, the impact of the chain effects of globalized industries and consumption will be reduced. The Montreal Protocol is a model example of how global efforts can reverse the trend of an environmental problem. Nothing can be more effective than the determination and political will to overcome adversities (Chanda, 2007).

 

 

Summary on The Double Edge of Globalization

Globalization has made the connections of the world more evident as news and information are spread within seconds. However, it also means that the reaction is faster than before. The comprehensive global trade is often blamed for exhausting the world for its resources. Often the blame lies with the economy drivers, mostly multinational companies, that invest in countries with low environmental regulations.  The accusation has been argued as studies have shown that foreign companies are more likely to pollute lesser than the locals. Hence, governance at local levels is not efficient in promoting conservation. Globalization-driven consumption leads to more pollution not only in the polluted country itself but globally as well. A researcher found air-borne chemical pollutants in New England and traced them back to Chinese factories.  Still, there is evidence that with global governance, the impact of the chain effects of globalized industries and consumption will be reduced. The Montreal Protocol is a model example of how global efforts can reverse the trend of an environmental problem. Nothing can be more effective than the determination and political will to overcome adversities (Chanda, 2007).

(182 words)

Malaysia Drops English Language Teaching

Based on the article on 10th June 2009 (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/10/malaysia-tefl)

Summary based  on:

-Logic behind the project
-Practical problems
-Cultural issues
-benefit to Singapore
-Reasons for continuing programme

By the 1970s, Malaysia phased out English-medium teaching as a move to boost the Malay identity and reducing the influence of their colonial past. However, naionalist and authoritarian Prime MInister Dr Mahathir argued that Malaysians need to be proficient in the language of trade and technology to compete with nations in the region. In the current situation, due to the inadequacy of educators to conduct Maths and Science classes in English, the Malaysian government decided to abolish the six-year long plan. It was found that majority of teachers do not teach the class entirely in English, especially in rural areas where Bahasa Malay is preferred. In addition, students' academic achievement showed a slight decline in results for the national exams. The education minister pointed out that instead of English as a medium of instruction, focus would be shifted towards increasing number of hours for English language lessons. Though many oppose the decision, having competent English teachers is a major concern as well. Many expressed their views that Malaysia will fall short to close neighbor Singapore. Being an English-speaking city state, Singapore is a fine example on the use of the global language for economic success.

(194 words)

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http://singlish.wikispaces.com/Introduction+to+Singlish