jueves, 24 de noviembre de 2011

Compare and Contrast Essay

Compare and Contrast Essay
Topic: Growing up in a small town vs. growing up in a city.
Point by Point Arrangement
Introduction


Paragraph 2: First difference
  •    Different points of views
-Country
-City


Paragraph 3: Second difference
  •     Healthier lifestyle
-Country
-City


Paragraph 4: Third difference
  •      Less pollution
-Country
-City


Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Country Living vs. City Living


There are many countries in the world to live in. You can be from Spain or Brazil, from England or Mexico, but one thing all countries have in common is that they all have cities and towns. Choosing whether to live in a big city or a small town, can be quite difficult to do because of  the great differences they represent. In my opinion, I would not change living in a small town for any other place. In this essay I will mention the main differences between them, like the values that each place creates, their life styles and the pollution they have and why I support country living.
First of all, people in towns grow up with more values than people that who grow up in cities. Many factors support this, like Hoodie Baron mentions, “the fact that county people are more religious and more traditional affects the way they see things.”  However, this does not mean that people in cities lack values, it is just that country people are stricter in that aspect. Since everybody knows each other in small towns, it is quite easy for your parents to know if you are doing something wrong. Word get around if you are misbehaving, something that does not occur in cities. Since there are so many people it is quite difficult for everyone to know each other. That’s why we can say that country people grow up with more values because they are obligated to do the right things otherwise it is quite easy for them to be punished by their parents.
Secondly, people living in towns have a healthier lifestyle than those living in cities. In a town, sometimes it is hard to find processed foods due to le lack of stores. However, there may be no need of them since much of the food is organic and grown right there in town. On the other hand, in cities, organic food is hard to find. You can easily go to a store and buy processed food though. But all that canned food can have bad results in your health, and those forth people in towns get more nutrients from their organic food and are healthier.
Thirdly, in comparing the amount of pollution there is, a town has less. In towns everything is close by and you can easily walk from place to place. There is no need of cars and since there are less people that live there, that helps having a clean environment. On the contrary, in cities there are a lot of cars being used, and more cars means more carbon dioxide, which is the primary pollutant. The number of people living there is also very large which means there is more garbage being produced creating a contaminated environment.
As it was mentioned, there are a lot of differences between towns and cities. The most significant are the values that each city promotes, their lifestyle and the amount of pollution that you are exposed to.  But for me, there is something peaceful about towns. They are a safer place, where you can take a walk at night and see the stars clearly. A place, comments Hoddie Baron “you can go outside and greet every person you meet.” Nevertheless, whichever place you choose to live the important thing is that you are happy there. In my case I love small towns, like where I am from, and there is no better place for me.

Bibliografía

Baron, H. (2010). Tattler Extra. Obtenido de http://tattlerextra.org/2010/05/country-living-vs-city-living/
Glassvisage. (s.f.). Hub Pages . Recuperado el 2011, de http://glassvisage.hubpages.com/hub/Country-vs-City-Life



domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2011

Argumentative Essay

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
PATTERN 3
TOPIC: Doing homework is not useful for students’ academic achievement.

INTRODUCTION
Ø  Topic sentence and supporting ideas.

PARAGRAPH I
Ø  Homework is good practicing.
Ø  Argument

PARAGRAPH II
Ø  Homework raises student’s grade.
Ø  Argument

PARAGRAPH III
Ø  Students understand the topics given in class at home with the homework they are given.
Ø  Argument

CLOSURE
Ø  Summary of all the points

Doing homework is not useful for students’ academic achievement.

 

It’s eight in the evening and you just want to go to sleep to wake up fresh and early next morning, but you still have to finish those lesson plans for Microteaching. You’ve been working on your Composition paper all afternoon long and you still have to finish a reading for Psychology, do worksheet for Comparative Grammar and then study for tomorrow’s classes. Unless you stay up all night you never finish all the homework that teachers assign. As Kamala Nair mentions in her article Too Much Homework: Bad for Kids? “Students are enthusiastic about school -- until homework starts to take over, consuming their evenings and weekends.” So, don’t you think it’s just too much homework?


Now, teachers say homework is good for students because students get to practice what they learn in school. However, I think that it’s not necessary because you really do all the learning at school. Students spend seven hours in school each day, which means they spend thirty-five hours a week in school. I think that is enough time to practice everything that they have learned. They barely spend any time at home, and if they spend three to four hours on homework that leaves them barely any time to do other things.

Teachers also say that homework can help raise a student’s grade. However I think it actually lowers there grade. Students have seven periods and they pretty much have homework for all of them. Unless they don’t sleep all night, it’s impossible for them to finish all their homework on time. The next day in class they don’t turn in their homework and that makes their grade go down. If students didn’t have any homework their grade would not be affected.

Teachers also think that homework is good for students because if students don’t understand the topic al school, they will understand it at home, but I think they are wrong. If students do not understand at school, they are definitely not going to understand the topic at home. Their parents cannot help them because it has been years since they have not been to school and they do not remember how to do it. Students would just get frustrated, lose their interest of the subject, and fail that class. This is just what Alfie Kohn mentions in his article, Rethinking Homework, “The negative effects of homework are well known.  They include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities, and possible loss of interest in learning. Instead of homework I think it would be better for students to stay afterschool and ask their teachers. It would do them a lot better that getting all confused and frustrated at home, not learning anything and failing the subject.

So, as it was mentioned, homework can actually be a bad thing for students. It can lower their grades and make them fail their classes. Most importantly it can lower their confidence because they get frustrated and they think they are not capable of doing it. It is very important to take these aspects into consideration for the academic achievement of students.

References


Kohn, A. (2007, January/February ). Rethinking Homework. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rethinkinghomework.htm


Nair, K. (2011). Too Much Homework: Bad for Kids? Retrieved from http://www.parenting.com/article/too-much-homework-bad-for-

lunes, 24 de octubre de 2011

Descriptive Essay

OUTLINE
Introduction
  •  Idea of college life

Paragraph I
  • ·        Last day in my house/room

Paragraph II
  • ·        Arrival al new house

Paragraph III
  • ·        Saying goodbye

Conclusion
HOME SWEET HOME
            I had always thought about going to college since I was a child. The idea of moving out from my parents’ house and living in another state was very terrifying but appealing at the same time. Moving in with friends and starting a college life seemed very interesting to me. I never thought it would be a hard thing to do, but I was wrong.
            It was a Sunday afternoon before the first day of college and I was getting my suitcase ready with all the stuff I needed to take with me. It seemed that it was taking a lot longer than I thought it would, and the reason was because as I folded neatly every shirt, I would look around my room as if to memorize every detail in it. I stared at brick colored walls, the arched window, the cabinets which on its´ top contained many photo frames with pictures of me with my friends in my high school years and then I saw my bed. I couldn´t help to think of how much I was going to miss my bed once I was in my new home and I  stopped folding my shirt and jumped into my bed. I grabbed my pillow and set it under my head cradling my neck in a perfect way. It was soft and cozy and my bed shaped my body like knowing the exact spots that needed to be filled in. I laid there staring at the ceiling which contained glow in the dark stars that I had pasted in my early teens. I closed my eyes and started breathing evenly noticing the cinnamon apple smell my room had. I dozed of for a moment until I heard my mom calling me to bring my luggage downstairs, I quickly stood up and grabbed everything I needed and stuffed it into my suitcase. I grabbed it and before I stood out the door, I glanced back for a final look at my bedroom.
            We were now heading to Aguascalientes where the university that I was going to attend is located, and the whole way there I pretended to be asleep, I was not really in the mood to talk about anything. We finally arrived to the house where I was going to spend the next few years and as I stepped out of the car I realized the house was a dark green color. It was a two story house with a fence, the same color as the house, surrounding it, no plants or trees in the front, just the door. My dad took my luggage form the car and I reached into my pocket for the key with my mom by my side. I took the key out of my pocket and placed it in the key hole hoping it wouldn´t turn, but it did and I turned the knob to open the door. I was the first to step inside and as soon as I did that, my nose started sensing the smell. It was and old, rusty smell, like that one of antique, stored things. It was painted a strange, dark orange color. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen was very basic and there was not much furniture, just the dining table in the living room and my bed in one of the bedrooms. My mom followed me and looked around probably looking to see if it was a safe enough place for her first born to stay. My dad came in afterwards with my luggage and placed it down. There was not much left for them to do now, and that awkward, not knowing what to say silence began. It lasted just a few seconds before the hard part came.
            “Well, we have better get going, we do not want to drive at night,” I remember my dad saying. As soon as he said that, it seem that all my blood dropped to my legs and a depressing felling came to me. I had a knot in my throat, but I managed to stammer out an “ok.” I wanted to let my tears roll down my face, to hold them tight and tell them to take me with them. I wanted to scream,
            “Please, do not leave me here,” but I knew better than that and I held all that back and controlled myself. My dad was a very strong man that did not show his emotions at all, so he just hugged me and said goodbye. I hugged him back as his hug gave me comfort and helped me be a bit stronger, but I knew he would not be the problem. My mom and I have always been really close and when she hugged me, we both burst into tears. We shared that same horrible feeling of not knowing what was going to happen, a mixture of confusion and fear. We knew this was going to happen sooner or later and before she stopped hugging me I took a deep breath and smelled her sweet, homelike scent. I walked with them to the door and I waved goodbye. I saw them get into the car and in what seemed to me as a matter of seconds they drove away and were gone. I went back inside, locked the door and stared at the emptiness house that seemed to say,
            “Welcome, to the college life!”
            It has been more than a year now since that day and I am more used to living here. It has not been very easy but my roommates and I motivate each other. However, every time I go home and I come back, it is like I am living the same process over and over again. I now one day I will get used to it but it was nothing like I imagined it would be when I was younger. I could not wait to live by my own with no parents and now I can not wait to see them again every time I can. It has just taught me to enjoy my family’s company as much as I can!



jueves, 6 de octubre de 2011

Outline of the essay

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY
SIMPLY ME
LUZ MARIA ACOSTA ESPARZA
INTRODUCTION
·         Introduce readers to what the essay is going to be about and basic information about me. This includes:
Ø  Name
Ø  Birthday and place of birth
Ø  Age
Ø  Family members
Ø  Home town
BODY
·         Give readers important events of my life from an early age of childhood till now.
Ø  Childhood
Ø  Teenager
Ø  Becoming an adult
CONCLUSION
·         Summarize the information given before and conclude the essay. 

Corrected Essay

Simply Me
I’d like to say that I am famous writer or actress living in New York surrounded by fans and paparazzi. Having a famous name seen on billboards, newspapers or being heard on television. Living in a big house with shiny new cars and maids to do the housework.  However, that is just what I would like to say. Actually I am just a small town girl with no famous name and no shiny cars, but here is a bit about my life so far.
My name is Luz Maria Acosta Esparza and a young married couple by the names of Joel Acosta Luna and Maria de la Luz Esparza Acosta gave birth to me in Rome, Italy! Al right enough of that, I was actually born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico on April 22th of 1992. I was their first born child and they took me home to Villa Hidalgo, Jalisco. A year after I was born they took me to the United States but we came back to Mexico shortly after. We were a very happy family, but that did not last very long. My mother gave birth to a baby boy who is three and a half years younger than me whose name is Joel. Time passed and I started kindergarten, finished first grade, second grade and entering third grade is a traumatizing part of my life. 
            When I finished my second year of elementary school my parents decided to move for a period of time to the United States and to my surprise I was going to start my third grade in Phoenix, Arizona. So, on that August I went to a bilingual school and things seemed to flow very well. English was not much of a problem but because of my dads’ job, we had to moved.  We move to Fountain Hills, Arizona where I can almost affirm that I was the only Mexican in the entire school and being surrounded by non-Spanish speakers was a nightmare. I cried and cried because going to school was really horrible but it only took me that year to fully learn English. I started fourth grade there, but once again we had to move, this time to Valencia, California. In California, it was really different, in my school there were basically just Latin students, but I didn’t have to worry about that anymore, I already knew English. I finished my fourth grade year there but once again we had to move, now to Midway, Utah. There I saw snow for the first time and I really love the cold weather. We stayed there for about a year and a half, and then we went back to California but this time to Indio and I started my teenager years. There I made really good friends that I am still in contact with. We then moved to the once again nice, snowy and cold weather that I like, but this time to Colorado. I finished middle school there and yes, once again we moved and I started high school in Nampa, Idaho. However, we only stayed there for 6 months and then another big change in my life came. We were going to move back to Mexico.
            Another traumatizing change was going to happen in my life that I did not want. I wanted to stay in the United States and start taking classes so that I could study medicine once I finished high school. But you don’t always get what you want and my dad made us move to Mexico. I started my ninth grade year in a middle school near my house and I had a lot of trouble with my Spanish. However, I quickly made new friends that helped me out. My family made me my quinceanera and although it wasn’t what I expected I am really grateful that they did it.  A graduated from middle school and by that time I had lots of friends who taught me everything I needed to know about Villa Hidalgo. One of those friends is my now best friend Cecy. We have been friends ever since I move here to Mexico. I started high school and had lots of wonderful experiences in that stage of my life. I meet a certain special someone in my life now, my boyfriend Carlos. I graduated high school second of my class and was not so sure what career too chose. I wanted to be a doctor but I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to get into that career so I chose English language teaching. I did think about being a teacher, but I never thought of being an English teacher. However, this is the career that I am in now and I am going to do my best effort.
            Well, we have reached present day and this is what I am and have done so far in life and I am grateful for each and every thing. Now, in college I have met very wonderful people, ones who have become new best friends like Monica and Kellcy. I love being surrounded by people that care about me and being able to meet lots of new people too. For the future, I would like to finish my career and start a new one. Recently I have been seriously thinking in psychology, but I still have a few months to think about that. For now, I want to enjoy each and every moment of my life, enjoy the company of my family, friends and boyfriend. After all you are only nineteen once and I can see the twenties near. So, I may not be a famous writer living in New York but everything that I am, I love and that is simply me.   

viernes, 30 de septiembre de 2011

Simply Me :D

Simply Me
I’d like to say that I’m famous writer or actress living in New York surrounded by fans and paparazzi. Having a famous name seen on billboards, news papers or being heard on television. Living in a big house with shiny new cars and maids to do the house work.  However, that is just what I’d like to say. Actually I’m just a small town girl with no famous name and no shiny cars, but here is a bit about my life so far.
My name is Luz Maria Acosta Esparza and a young couple by the names of Joel Acosta Luna and Maria de la Luz Esparza Acosta gave birth to me in Rome, Italy! Al right enough of that, I was actually born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico on April 22th of 1992. I was their first born child and they took me home to Villa Hidalgo, Jalisco. A year after I was born they took me to the United States but we came back to Mexico shortly after. We were a very happy family, but that didn’t last very long. My mother gave birth to a baby boy who is three and a half years smaller than me whose name is Joel. Time passed and I started kindergarten, finished first grade, second grade and entering third grade is a traumatizing part of my life. 
            When I finished my second year of elementary school my parents decided to move for a period of time to the United States and to my surprise I was going to start my third grade in Phoenix, Arizona. So on that August I went to a bilingual school and things seemed to flow very well. English wasn’t much of a problem but because of my dad’s job, we had to move.  We move to Fountain Hills, Arizona where I can almost affirm that I was the only Mexican in the entire school and being surrounded by non Spanish speakers was a nightmare. I cried and cried because going to school was really horrible but it only took me that year to fully learn English. I started fourth grade there, but once again we had to move, this time to Valencia, California. In California, it was really different, in my school there were basically just Latin students, but I didn’t have to worry about that anymore, I already knew English. I finished my fourth grade year there but once again we had to move, know to Midway, Utah. There I saw snow for the first time and I really love the cold weather. We stayed there for about a year and a half, and then we went back to California but this time to Indio and I started my teenager years. There I made really good friends that I am still in contact with. We then moved to the once again nice, snowy and cold weather that I like but this time of Colorado. I finished middle school there and yes, once again we moved and I started high school in Nampa, Idaho. However, we only stayed there for 6 months and then another big change in my life came. We were going to move back to Mexico.
            Another traumatizing change was going to happen in my life that I didn’t want. I wanted to stay in the United States and start taking classes so that I could study medicine once I finished high school. But you don’t always get what you want and my dad made us move to Mexico. I started my ninth grade year in a middle school near my house and I had a lot of trouble with my Spanish. However, I quickly made new friends that helped me out. My family made me my quinceanera and although it wasn’t what I expected I am really grateful that they did it.  A graduated from middle school and by that time I had lots of friends who taught me everything I needed to know about Villa Hidalgo. One of those friends is my now best friend Cecy. We have been friends ever since I move here to Mexico. I started high school and had lots of wonderful experiences in that stage of my life. I meet a certain special someone in my life now, my boyfriend Carlos. I graduated high school second of my class and was not so sure what career too chose. I wanted to be a doctor but I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to get into that career so I choose English language teaching. I did think about being a teacher, but I never taught of being an English teacher. However, this is the career that I am in now and I am going to do my best effort.
            Well, we have reached present day and this is what I am and have done so far in life and I am grateful for each and every thing. Now, in college I have met very wonderful people, ones who have become new best friends like Monica and Kellcy. I love being surrounded by people that care about me and being able to meet lots of new people too. For the future, I would like to finish my career and star a new one. Recently I have been seriously thinking in psychology, but I still have a few months to think about that. For now, I want to enjoy each and every moment of my life, enjoy the company of my family, friends and boyfriend. After all you are only nineteen once and I can see the twenties near. So, I may not be a famous writer living in New York but everything that I am, I love and that is simply me.   

Resume

RESUME

Luz Maria Acosta Esparza
Zacatecas #62, Colonia Buenos Aires, Villa Hidalgo, Jalisco 4725
(495) 107-3468                                          luz-14-22@hotmail.com

Position Sought: Chief of the English language department.

Experience:        Chief of the Language Department
                                (August 2016- June2020)
                                Universidad Autonoma de Aguscalientes
                                Aguascalietes, Aguascalientes.
·         Established the B.A in ELT as internationally certified.
·         Made significant changes to syllabus.

Education:           Masters Degree in Translation (Princeton University)     
B.A in English Language Teaching 2014
GPA 3.9

Activities:            Investigation on learning strategies for ESL and EFL students.
                                Volunteer work on tutoring students problems in English.

References:        Indio Middle School                                                       Rocky Mountain Middle School
James Brown                                                                     Paul Hatch
Principal                                                                               Principal
Indio Middle School                                                        1st Av. Heber, Colorado. 38767
101 Drive Midway, Utah. 34258





Curriculum Vitae

Ciclo escolar 2010-2014
Licenciatura en Enseñanza del Inglés
                                                                                                                                                                



Profesional Profile

B.A in English Language Teaching- Currently cursing the 3rd semester of the B.A. Passionate in teaching and in the English culture.

Skills

Oral Skills.    Knowledge in public speaking and body language thanks to the class of Microteaching and 7 years of school in the United States.
                       
Tolerant.       Developed tolerance skills thanks to the knowledge given to me by my parents                     all humans have different ideas and that those ideas have to be respected.

Interest in Lecture. Great reading skills thanks to the many book read.

Creative.       Great imagination and capacity to create innovating classes.
                          
Education

(1998-2004) Four Peaks Elementary School
                         G.P.A 3.5
(2004-2007) Indio Middle School.
 Variety of certificates awarded, including attendance, academic        excellence, citizenship, etc.
G.P.A 3.8

(2007-2010) Preparatoria Regional Lagos de Moreno Modulo Villa Hidalgo Jalisco.
                        Second highest grade point average.
                        G.P.A 9.4
(2010-2014) Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes. Licenciatura en Enseñaza del  
                           Inglés
                             
Social Service
Participated in giving English classes to children at an elementary school, in order for them to acquire the language at an early age.




Other Information

Languages:
                        Spanish: mother tongue.
English: Advanced level of English because of 7 years of study in the United   
  States.

Luz Maria Acosta Esparza
April 22, 1992
Villa Hidalgo Jalisco

Cell Phone #: 495-108-3468
luz-14-22@hotmail.com



                       
          


Memorandum

MEMORANDUM
To: All Teaching Staff
From: Vice Principal
Date: September 4, 2011
Subject: Meeting Arrangement
________________________________________________________
To all teaching staff we want to inform you about the way we have organized the meetings due to the coming holiday week. Since we will work only Monday thru Wednesday and we will not have school on Thursday and Friday the meeting have been scheduled for the days that we will have classes. The meetings will take place the following days:
Monday September 5th: 1st and 2nd semester teachers at1:00 p.m.
Tuesday September 6th: 4th and 5th semester teachers at 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday September 7th: 5th and 6th semester teachers at 4:00 p.m.
Please attend to the meeting at the corresponding time. All meetings will take place in room 12. If there are any questions please come by to my office during business hours and I will solve any doubts.
Thank you.

Reference Letter

Reference Letter
C&R Designing Company
North Av. #23
Los Angeles, California 45576

August 21, 2011

Cecilia Ruvalcaba Gonzales
Manager
Fashion Creations
Miami, Florida 76211

To whom it may concern:

Miss Monica Edith Ramirez Cruz worked as a Supervisor and Designer of C&R Designing Company from April 12th 2008 to August 17th 2011. Miss Ramirez performed her job with professionalism and was capable of creating innovative designs that improved our company’s income. Her responsibilities consisted in supervising other employee’s work, correcting their designs and the creation more complex designs.

In the time of her employment, Miss Ramirez showed to be a very responsible, inventive, and dependable employee who showed to have good organization and supervising skills. She also demonstrated good sense of partnership because she assisted other employees when they needed help. Miss Ramirez’s punctuality is very impressive, not one day did she arrive late.

I have no doubt that Miss Ramirez can execute any job in your company as she did in our company. She exceeded our expectation of her in the time she was our employee do to the fact that she has many skills that are very essential in any organization.

Miss Ramirez will be greatly missed in our company by all of the staff, since we will be losing a great employee. However, she will make a great addition to your company. I you have any doubts regarding Miss Ramirez don’t hesitate and give me a call and I will answer any questions you might have.

Sincerely,
Luz Maria Acosta Esparza
Manager

Forma E-mail

Subject: Rescheduling of meeting
Dear Miss Ramirez,
My name is Luz Maria Acosta Esparza and I am in charge of organizing the staff meeting regarding the change of syllabus for first semester. I am writing to inform you that the meeting has been postponed until further notice.
The reason the meeting was postponed was because of the unconformities with the time it was scheduled. Please let me know at what time it would be convenient for you to assist to the meeting. I will let you know the new date and time of the meeting as soon as I receive all the staff’s e-mails and see what time is more suitable for all.
Sorry for the inconvenience and I await your response.
Thanks and regards,
Luz Maria Acosta Esparza,
Organizer of the meeting
UAA

Thank You Note

Thank You Notes
September 7th, 2011
Dear Kellcy,
          Thank you so much for the Christmas present you gave me! I absolutely loved the dress. It will come in handy for many special occasions. I can’t wait to try it on and have everyone see how lovely it makes me look. It’s my favorite color and it will match well with the slippers I have.
Thank you again for your gift. Hope you are well.
                                                                                                     Love,

                                                                                           Luz Maria Acosta


September 8th, 2011
Dear Monica,
          I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate that you helped me decorate my boyfriend’s gift. It would have taken me twice as long if you wouldn’t have helped me. With your help, the gift looked amazing! You came up with really creative ideas that I would have never thought of. I’m sure he is going to love it!
          If there is anything that you need help with, don’t hesitate on letting me know and I will lend you a hand. Thank you so much for being a great friend!
Sincerely,

Luz Maria Acosta