Critical reflection draft 2

Throughout the course of English for Academic, we have to come up with several drafts before submitting essay assignments. When I posted my drafts on my blog, my peers and tutor would give suggestions about how to improve my writings. At the same time, I have to give my peers advice on how they can further develop their essays. We have to read peers' writings very carefully to spot any mistakes in the essays. Some components we are looking out for in the essays are grammar, spelling, sentence structure and organisation. We also point out ideas that can be better conveyed to the readers. Our English proficiency hence plays a key role when we are giving feedback to peers' writings. For example, I have poor knowledge about grammar and I would miss several grammar mistakes while reviewing my peers' essays.
I was very embarrassed to leave comments for my peers initially. I felt that my English proficiency was not as good as them. However,  after receiving feedback from my peers and giving them suggestions, I felt more comfortable doing so. When my peers and tutor identified flaws in my writings, I learned from those mistakes and improved my writings. Also,  they gave me new insights about the topics of my essays such that I could include new ideas from different perspectives into my composition. On the other hand, I always refer back to my own writings when I spotted mistakes in my peers' drafts. This helps me to reinforce my learning.
Upon completion of this course, I look back to my previous writings and regret that I did not take up this course earlier. As a social science student, I always have tons of essay assignments. In the future semesters, I will probably find a few friends who are taking same modules as me to give feedback for each other's drafts like what we have done in this course. This will definitely help my friends and I to improve our writings and hopefully obtain better grades for our assignments.

Self Evaluation for Presentation

My presentation about sexting successfully attracted the audience's attention at the beginning. The language use was fluent and grammatically sound. My pronunciation was quite clear and I avoided using fillers. I was quite confident and comfortable while giving the presentation. My presentation was not too short and did not exceed the time limit.
My volume was loud enough that everyone in the room could hear me. The pace was not too fast that my peers could follow. I had a firm and fix stand while talking to the class. I made necessary eye contact and not too awkwardly staring at my peers.
I thought that the flow of the presentation is quite logic, the development of argument was not abrupt. However, due to too many sub points toward the end of the presentation, audience was confused. Also, I could incorporate the surveyed I did during the start of the presentation to my argument.
Overall, I am quite satisfied with my performance :)

Critical Reflection

Peers and tutor would give feedbacks when we posted our essay drafts on our blogs. Before we submit an essay assignment, we had to share our drafts on our blogs. Peers and tutor would leave comments on my drafts to advice for improvements. I have to give feedbacks to peers’ essay drafts as well.

We had to read our peers’ essays very carefully in order to spot any mistakes in the essays.Some elements we are looking out for in the essays are grammar, structure, spelling and organisation. We also point out if the authors’ ideas were not well conveyed. Our English proficiency plays a key role when we are giving feedback to our peers. For example, since my grammar was not excellent, I would missed several grammar mistakes when I review my peers’ drafts.

Initially, I was very embarrassed to leave comments for my peers because I felt that my English was not as good as them. However, after giving and receiving a few feedbacks, I get used to leaving comments. It is a good practice to give feedbacks to our peers as this spurs our own learning. While reading through peers’ essays, we actually reinforce our learning by identifying others’ mistakes. When I spotted a mistake in my peer’s composition, I would recall if I made the same mistake in my writing. I became more conscious of making common errors in my essays. On the other hand, my peers and tutor could always identify flaws in my drafts. I learned from those mistakes and improved my writings. Also, when others gave me feedbacks, I could gain new insights that I never thought of and include those ideas into my paper.

As a social science student, I always have tons of essay assignments. I will probably find a few friends who are taking same modules as me to give feedbacks on each other’s drafts like what we have done in English for Academic classes. This will helps my friends and I to improve our writings and hopefully achieve better grades for the assignments. 

(344 words)

Problem solution essay draft 3

Social media makes information more accessible to Internet users. Almost all information goes online nowadays and Internet users gain access to it instantly. This indeed brings great convenience to the Internet users. However, social media also allows illegal material to circulate more quickly and further. Messages are brought to inappropriate audience without proper censorship. To make things worse, teenagers are not passively exposed to pornography online today. They are actively exchanging sexually explicit photos of themselves, a phenomenon known as sexting (Siewert, 2015). Sexting among juveniles is considered as child pornography, which is illegal in United State of America. Parents and authorities in USA face great challenge to monitor what teenage children send and receive through social media today.

According to Siewert, teenagers make use of instant communication function of social media to send nude photos of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend in the United State of America (USA). They innocently believe that their photos would stay private, but their photos might circulate among their peers or even spread to online pornography websites. Many youngsters do not know that sending or owning sexually explicit photos of anyone under the age of eighteen is considered as child pornography, which is criminal. Jaffe (2015) mentions in his article that some teenagers post sexually explicit photos of themselves on social media, such as Instagram, to attract attention. Predators then make use of direct message to ask for more sexually explicit photos from them. These teenagers are at high risk of sexual harassment.

A current solution to underage sexting is that juveniles may face five years mandatory sentences upon receipt, distribution and production of child pornography in the USA (Child Pornography Sentences, n.d.). Most teenagers do not know the consequences of child pornography and many think that it is “no big deal” since most peers are doing it. However, criminalizing all the innocent teenagers does not solve the problem. Siewert mentions in her article that some states take alternative approaches to penalize teenagers who engage in child pornography. For example, in Texas first time offenders are sentenced to community supervision upon completion of a sexting education course. Elsewhere, minors are sentenced to serve community-service projects to raise awareness of sexting. Indeed, they should be given a second chance to understand the aftereffect of sexting and child pornography. 

The measures that have been done so far are mostly punitive. This will only prevent teenagers from repeating the same act, but not prevent their peers from committing the same crime. This is because teenagers tend to take the risk, thinking that they will not be caught for sexting. Preventive measures that focus on school education program should be adopted to complement punitive measures. The purpose of an education program is to change the cognition of teenagers who think that sexting is not a serious act. These education programs should serve to educate teenagers about various consequences of sexting. Also, authorities like social media sites and parents should practice censorship to the minors. By doing so, the number of first time offenders would be greatly reduced.

An alternative solution is that law enforcement in the United States works closely with high schools in the USA to come up with educational programs that serve to alert students about various consequences of sexting and child pornography. Teenagers may take the risk of sending photos of themselves to their girlfriends or boyfriends thinking that they will not be caught for it. However, they have to understand that legal issues are not the only problems they may face for sexting. The educational program should inform them the risk of their photos being spread to others or even online websites. This may leads to blackmails or sexual assault. These minors are exposing themselves to unknown risks. Some real life examples of blackmails or sexual harassment can be presented during the education program to deter teenagers from sexting. 

In addition, online social media like Facebook and Instagram should practice censorship more strictly to those who are under the age of eighteen. Once inappropriate photos of minors are detected, social media should have the right to inform guardians of the minors. Social media should also alert teenagers when they receive a friend or follower request from an ambiguous individual. This is to protect them from predators of child pornography online. Furthermore, guardians should conduct impromptu check of their minors’ phones and computers to make sure that they do not own sexually explicit photos of themselves and their peers. Parents can also place the chargers in their rooms such that teenagers will not have access to phones and electronic devices during bedtime (How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do, n. d.). Some may argue that the privacy of minors is being compromised and their human rights are infringed. However, when teenagers cannot make right decisions for themselves, their legal representatives should have the right to protect them from jeopardy. 

In conclusion, US courts should continue to penalize teenagers who misuse social media as a medium for sexting and child pornography. At the same time, law enforcement and schools could complement punitive measures by providing preventive education programs. Authorities practice necessary censorship to the minors to protect them from illegal acts. These measures work together to make social media a conducive space for sharing. 

(886 words)

Child Pornography Sentences. (n.d.). Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Retrieved from http://famm.org/affected-families/child-pornography-sentences/

How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do. (n.d.). Reputation.com. Retrieved from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-prevent-teenagers-sexting-and-protect-them-other-teens-who-do

Jaffe, A. (27 February 2015). The disturbing ways some teens are using Instagram. Identities Mic. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/111304/the-disturbing-way-teens-are-really-using-instagram

Stewart, S. (22 February 2015). Sapping nude images spells danger for teems. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/21/swapping-nude-images-spells-trouble-teens/23824495/

Problem solution essay

Social media makes information more accessible to Internet users. Almost all information went online nowadays and Internet users gain access to them instantly. This indeed brings great convenience to the human race. However, social media also makes illegal material circulates quicker and further. Messages are brought to inappropriate audience without proper censorship. To make things worse, teenagers are not passively exposed to pornography online today, they are actively exchanging inappropriate photos of themselves, a phenomenon know as sexting (Siewert, 2015). Parents face great challenge to monitor what their teenage children send and receive through social media.

According to Siewert, teenagers make use of instant communication function of social media to send nude photos of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend in the United State of America (USA). They innocently believe that their photos would stay private, but their photos actually circulate among their peers or even spread to online pornography websites. Many youngsters do not know that sending or owning sexually explicit photos of anyone under the age of eighteen is considered as child pornography, which is criminal. Jaffe (2015) also mentions in his article that some teenagers post photos of themselves on social media, such as Instagram, to attract attention. Predators then make use of direct message to ask for more sexually explicit photos from them. These teenagers are at high risk of sexual harassment.

Juvenile may face five years mandatory sentences upon receipt, distribution and production of child pornography in the USA (Child Pornography Sentences, n.d.). Most teenagers do not know the consequences of child pornography and many think that it is no big deal since most peers are doing it. However, criminalizing all the innocent teenagers does not solve the problem. Siewert mentions in her article that some states take alternative approaches to penalize teenagers who engaged in child pornography. For example, in Texas minors who caught for sexting for the first time would be sentenced to community supervision upon completion of sexting education course. Elsewhere, minors are sentenced to serve community-service projects to raise awareness of sexting. Indeed, they should be given a second chance to understand the aftereffect of sexting and child pornography. 

The measures that have been done so far are mostly punitive. This will only prevent teenagers from repeating the same act, but not preventing their peers from committing the same crime. This is because teenagers tend to take the risk, thinking that they will not be caught for sexting. Preventive measures that focus on school education program should be adopted to complement punitive measures. The purpose of education program is to change the cognition of teenagers who think that sexting is not a big deal. These education programs should serve to educate teenagers about various consequences of sexting. Also, authorities like social media sites and parents should practice censorship to the minors. By doing so, the number of first time offenders would be greatly reduced.

Law enforcement in the United States should work closely with high schools in the USA to come up with educational programs that serve to alert students about various consequences of sexting and child pornography. Teenagers may take the risk of sending photos of themselves to their girlfriends or boyfriends thinking that they will not be caught for it. However, they have to understand that legal issues are not the only problems they may face for sexting. The educational program should inform them the risk of their photos being spread to others or even online websites. This may leads to blackmails or sexual assault. These minors are exposing themselves to unknown risks. Some real life examples of blackmails or sexual harassment can be presented during the education program to deter teenagers from sexting. 

In addition, online social media like Facebook and Instagram should practice censorship more strictly to those who are under the age of eighteen. Once inappropriate photos of minors are detected, social media should have the right to inform guardians of the minors. Social media should also alert teenagers when they have friend or follower request from an ambiguous individual. This is to protect them form predators of child pornography online. Guardians should conduct impromptu check of their minors’ phones and computers to make sure that they do not own sexually explicit photos of themselves and their peers. Parents can also place the chargers in their rooms such that teenagers will not have access to phones and electronic devices during bedtime (How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do, n. d.). Some may argue that the privacy of minors is being compromised and their human rights are infringed. However, when teenagers cannot make right decisions for themselves, their legal representatives should have the right to protect them from jeopardy. 

In conclusion, US courts should continue to penalize teenagers who misuse social media as a medium for sexting and child pornography. At the same time, law enforcement and schools complement punitive measures by providing preventive education programs. Authorities practice necessary censorship to the minors to protect them from illegal acts. These all sum together to allow social media to provide a conducive space for sharing. 

(830 words)

Child Pornography Sentences. (n.d.). Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Retrieved from http://famm.org/affected-families/child-pornography-sentences/

How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do. (n.d.). Reputation.com. Retrieved from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-prevent-teenagers-sexting-and-protect-them-other-teens-who-do

Jaffe, A. (27 February 2015). The disturbing ways some teens are using Instagram. Identities Mic. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/111304/the-disturbing-way-teens-are-really-using-instagram

Stewart, S. (22 February 2015). Sapping nude images spells danger for teems. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/21/swapping-nude-images-spells-trouble-teens/23824495/

Problem solution essay draft 2

Social media makes information more accessible to Internet users. Almost all information went online nowadays and Internet users gain access to them instantly. This indeed brings great convenience to the human race. However, social media also makes illegal material circulates quicker and further. Messages are brought to inappropriate audience without proper censorship. To make things worse, teenagers are not passively exposed to pornography online today, they are actively exchanging inappropriate photos of themselves, a phenomenon know as sexting (Siewert, 2015). Parents face great challenge to monitor what their teenage children send and receive through social media.

According to Siewert, teenagers make use of instant communication function of social media to send nude photos of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend in the United State of America (USA). They innocently believe that their photos would stay private, but their photos actually circulate among their peers or even spread to online pornography websites. Many youngsters do not know that sending or owning sexually explicit photos of anyone under the age of seventeen is considered as child pornography, which is criminal. Jaffe (2015) also mentions in his article that some teenagers post photos of themselves on social media, such as Instagram, to attract attention. Predators then make use of direct message to ask for more sexually explicit photos from them. These teenagers are at high risk of sexual harassment.

Juvenile may face five years mandatory sentences upon receipt, distribution and production of child pornography in the USA (Child Pornography Sentences, n.d.). Most teenagers do not know the consequences of child pornography and many think that it is no big deal since most peers are doing it. However, criminalizing all the innocent teenagers does not solve the problem. Siewert mentions in her article that some states take alternative approaches to penalize teenagers who engaged in child pornography. For example, in Texas minors who caught for sexting for the first time would be sentenced to community supervision upon completion of sexting education course. Elsewhere, minors are sentenced to serve community-service projects to raise awareness of sexting. Indeed, they should be given a second chance to understand the aftereffect of sexting and child pornography. 

The measures that have been done so far are mostly punitive. This will only prevent teenagers from repeating the same act, but not preventing their peers from committing the same crime. This is because teenagers tend to take the risk, thinking that they will not be caught for sexting. Preventive measures that focus on school education program should be adopted to complement punitive measures. The purpose of education program is to change the cognition of teenagers who think that sexting is not a big deal. These education programs should serve to educate teenagers about various consequences of sexting. Also, authorities like social media sites and parents should practice censorship to the minors. By doing so, the number of first time offenders would be greatly reduced.

Law enforcement in the United States should work closely with high schools in the US to come up with educational programs that serve to alert students about various consequences of sexting and child pornography. Teenagers may take the risk of sending photos of themselves to their girlfriends or boyfriends thinking that they will not be caught for it. However, they have to understand that legal issues are not the only problems they may face for sexting. The educational program should inform them the risk of their photos being spread to others or even online websites. This may leads to blackmails or sexual assault. These minors are exposing themselves to unknown risks. Some real life examples of blackmails or sexual harassment can be presented during the education program to deter teenagers from sexting. 

In addition, online social media like Facebook and Instagram should practice censorship more strictly to those who are under the age of eighteen. Once inappropriate photos of minors are detected, social media should have the right to inform guardians of the minors. Social media should also alert teenagers when they have friend or follower request from an ambiguous individual. This is to protect them form predators of child pornography online. The guardians should conduct impromptu check of their minors’ phones and computers to make sure that they do not own sexually explicit photos of themselves and their peers. Parents can also place the chargers in their rooms such that teenagers will not have access to phones and electronic devices during bedtime (How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do, n. d.). Some may argue that the privacy of minors is being compromised and their human rights are infringed. However, when teenagers cannot make right decisions for themselves, their legal representatives should have the right to protect them from jeopardy. 

In conclusion, US courts should continue to penalize teenagers who misuse social media as a medium for sexting and child pornography. At the same time, law enforcement and schools complement punitive measures by providing preventive education programs. Authorities practice necessary censorship to the minors to protect them from illegal acts. These all sum together to allow social media to provide a conducive space for sharing. 

(831 words)

Child Pornography Sentences. (n.d.). Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Retrieved from http://famm.org/affected-families/child-pornography-sentences/

How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do. (n.d.). Reputation.com. Retrieved from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-prevent-teenagers-sexting-and-protect-them-other-teens-who-do

Jaffe, A. (27 February 2015). The disturbing ways some teens are using Instagram. Identities Mic. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/111304/the-disturbing-way-teens-are-really-using-instagram

Stewart, S. (22 February 2015). Sapping nude images spells danger for teems. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/21/swapping-nude-images-spells-trouble-teens/23824495/

Social media makes information more accessible to internet users. Almost all information went online nowadays and internet users gain access to them instantly. This indeed brings great convenience to the human race. However, social media also makes illegal material circulates quicker and further. Messages are brought to inappropriate audience without proper censorship. To make things worse, teenagers are not passively exposed to pornography online today, they are actively exchanging inappropriate photos of themselves, a phenomenon know as sexting(Siewert, 2015). Parents face great challenge to monitor what their teenage children send and receive through social media.

According to Siewert, teenagers make use of instant communication function of social media to send nude photos of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend in the United State of America (USA). They innocently believe that their photos would stay private, but their photos actually circulate among their peers or even spread to online pornography websites. Many youngsters do not know that sending or owning sexually explicit photos of anyone under the age of seventeen is considered as child pornography, which is criminal. Jaffe (2015) also mentions in his article that some teenagers post photos of themselves on social media, such as Instagram, to attract attention. Predators then make use of direct message to ask for more sexually explicit photos from them. These teenagers are at high risk of sexual harassment.

Juvenile may face five years mandatory sentences upon receipt, distribution and production of child pornography in the USA (Child Pornography Sentences, n.d.). Most teenagers do not know the consequences of child pornography and many think that it is no big deal since most peers are doing it. However, criminalising all the innocent teenagers does not solve the problem. Siewert mentions in her article that some states take alternative approaches to penalise teenagers who engaged in chid pornography. For example, in Texas minors who caught for sexting for the first time would be sentenced to community supervision upon completion of sexting education course. Elsewhere, minors are sentenced to serve community-service projects to raise awareness of sexting. Indeed, they should be given a second chance to understand the aftereffect of sexting and child pornography. 

The measures that have been done so far are mostly punitive. This will only prevent teenagers from repeating the same act, but not preventing their peers from committing the same crime. This is because teenagers tend to take the risk, thinking that they will not be caught for sexting. Preventive measures that focus on school education program should be adopted to complement punitive measures. The purpose of education program is to change the cognition of teenagers who think that sexting is not a big deal. These education programs should serve to educate teenagers about various consequences of sexting. Also, authorities like social media sites and parents should practise censorship to the minors. By doing so, the number of first time offenders would be greatly reduced.

Law enforcement in the United States should work closely with high schools in the US to come up with educational programs that serve to alert students about various consequences of sexting and child pornography. Teenagers may take the risk of sending photos of themselves to their girlfriends or boyfriends thinking that they will not be caught for it. However, they have to understand that legal issues are not the only problems they may face for sexting. The educational program should inform them the risk of their photos being spread to others or even online websites. This may leads to blackmails or sexual assault. These minors are exposing themselves to unknown risks. Some real life examples of blackmails or sexual harassment  can be presented during the education program to deter teenagers from sexting. 

In addition, online social media like Facebook and Instagram should practise censorship more strictly to those who are under the age of eighteen. Once inappropriate photos of minors are detected, social media should have the right to inform guardians of the minors. Social media should also alert teenagers when they have friend or follower request from an ambiguous individual. This is to protect them form predators of child pornography online. The guardians should conduct impromptu check of their minors’ phones and computers to make sure that they do not own photos of child pornography including themselves. Some may argue that the privacy of minors is being compromised and their human rights are infringed. However, when teenagers cannot make right decisions for themselves, their legal representatives should have the right to protect them from jeopardy. 

In conclusion, US courts should continue to penalise teenagers who misuse social media as a medium for sexting and child pornography. At the same time, law enforcement and schools complement punitive measures by providing preventive education programs. Authorities practise necessary censorship to the minors to protect them from illegal acts. These all sum together to allow social media to provide a conducive space for sharing. 

(816 words)

Child Pornography Sentences. Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Retrieved from http://famm.org/affected-families/child-pornography-sentences/

Jaffe, A. (27 February 2015). The disturbing ways some teens are using Instagram. Identities Mic. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/111304/the-disturbing-way-teens-are-really-using-instagram

Stewart, S. (22 February 2015). Sapping nude images spells danger for teems. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/21/swapping-nude-images-spells-trouble-teens/23824495/