Welcome to RW2a and to our class blog

What I read

Although I've read a lot in preparation for it, this post has a different purpose than summarizing and responding to something I've read. I want to welcome you to your EAP class on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

So, welcome.

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My response 

Thank you for joining our Saturday class in Reading and Writing for academic purposes. I hope you find the next four weeks useful, productive, also challenging, and perhaps even fun. 

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My question

As you can see, online discussion makes an appearance early on in Unit 1 of Skillful (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 9) and there is a more extensive coverage of this common part of modern university courses on page 66. 

Click on them to
see images full size.

Also, in her foreword to students on page 6, the series editor, Dorothy E. Zemach, gives some strategies for successful learning, one of which is to "be an independent learner" (in Bixby & Scanlon, 2013). This class blog is one way for us to do this. As Zemach suggests in her comment, it is one way for you to "find and then share information about ... different topics." Some of the topics you will write about here are the unit topics, but I also Zemach's suggestion that "reading for pleasure and using the Internet in English" are important, so your writing here will not be limited to the topics of the units that we study over the next six weeks. 

• Do you agree with Zemach and the authors of our book and myself? Is a class blog a useful addition to our class this term? (This is two sentences, but it's only one question for you to respond to.) 

You can respond as soon as you accept the invitation I will soon send you to join this blog. 

Writing tip

When you write your comment, imagine that readers have not seen the question you are answering. This forces you to make your work an independent piece of writing, one that makes sense by itself. 

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Disease: readings 1 & 2, "Long-distance Care" & "Do We Know Too Much?" (SkRW3, p62, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have now read both "Long-distance Care" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013, p. 59) and "Do We Know Too Much?" (p. 61). As usual, the authors now invite us to respond critically to the ideas from both readings.

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

The questions that ask us to respond to both readings are: 

• Are all advances in science and technology good for humankind? Why or why not? Give examples to support your ideas.
   
• What might be some long-term consequences of so many medical developments that continue to extend human lives? 

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Music and games

What I read

According to Mark Savage in “Top Scores”(2019), the satisfaction that comes from them in games is not really from collecting the coins themselves. In fact, the sound effect of collecting it is the thing that makes you feel satisfied. Savage says that the soundtrack in the game is related to the player’s feeling. He asks readers to imagine playing racing games without any sound of the car’s accelerating or the breaking of the tires. That would make the game very tedious. He also adds that when the music is starting, the players don’t even notice when it actually starts or ends, but they feel thoroughly the tension of angriness or sadness of the song.

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My response 

Games have always played a major part of my life since I was young. I’ve played many kinds of games such as historical games or adventure games. However, I’ve never noticed that music and soundtrack are important things that make the game complete. There’s a logical example for this. In the past, when ‘Contra’, the so-called shooting game, or ‘Super Mario’ was very famous. I used to play those games with and without soundtrack. The feeling while playing it is totally different. When I was playing with soundtrack, the game felt very intense and emotional, whereas, playing it without soundtrack, the game felt so bland and lifeless.


Nowadays, games have developed so much that it becomes as realistic as movies. However, it’s not only the games themselves that make them realistic, one main reason is the soundtracks they give. Even though the graphic of the game is not as beautiful as others, beautiful can increases players’ attractions. Nevertheless, the soundtracks needs to be suitable for the situation in each scene. For example, in the game called ‘Undertale’, an Indy game with 8bit-style art. This game would be absolutely uninteresting without its beautiful soundtracks, which capture many players’ hearts. At first, I didn’t expect anything interesting in an old-fashioned fighting scene, which is completely tedious for young player like me,  in this game. Surprisingly, it turned out to be breathtaking and sentimental fighting scene because of the compatible soundtracks.

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 For My question

Soundtracks are very important to every type of games. Do you agree that music is relatable with games and make the games more realistic and enjoyable?

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Reference

• Savage, M. (2019, March 21). Top Scores. Retrieved from httpsz://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/top_scores_video_game_music