English Course Reflection, Essay Example

What was something new that you learned about your topic and the process of a research presentation?

My research presentation was on the Great Depression and the project made me realized that history does repeat itself. One would imagine we learnt our lessons during the Great Depression but the recent financial crisis has proven that it is not the case. As far as research process is concerned, I learnt the importance of consulting different sources to have a more balanced understanding of the underlying topic/issue.

What was something that was difficult and something that was positive in this experience?

It was difficult to get more detailed statistics on the Great Depression which was a surprise given the economic and political significance of the event. The positive thing was that the topic helped me improve my understanding of economics and political concepts.

If this was your first time collecting material for a research project, would you carry out the same plan that you did for this project? If this was not your first experience collecting research material, what approach did you take?

This was not my first time collecting research material. First of all, I ensured I took information from a variety of sources. Second, I made sure that the sources were credible. I also looked for statistics because they help us strength our argument. I also used sources from different media to take advantage of their respective strengths and weaknesses. For example, books are usually published after a great deal of meticulous research by the authors while internet makes it easier to find different opinions on a particular topic.

Self-evaluation/Reflection

The course has helped me improve my writing skills because presentation required short and clear sentences without sacrificing the meaning. In addition, I have also improved my organization skills while writing a paper. This course has also helped me improve my critical thinking skills because I had to explain the concepts relevant to the Great Depression as well as anticipate the competing arguments from those who may not agree with my opinions. Overall, I am satisfied with my progress because I am a better writer and critical thinker as a result of this course. I believe my organizational skills in writing have also improved and I have also discovered the importance of planning before writing.

This chart shows that there is really no free lunch. Consumers think they get free access to social networking websites such as Facebook but the price they pay is not in dollars but in private data which is then used by websites such as Facebook to generate revenues. Facebook has gradually forced users to become comfortable with their data’s presence in the public domain and users unwillingly gave in due to their addiction to Facebook. The privacy truly seems to be dead now.

Louis C.K. is concerned that people have stopped enjoying life experiences due to technology addiction and are not grateful for their good fortune. The comedian also believes that we have become too impatient despite the fact that our lives have greatly improved over the years. Louis C.K. uses humor to keep people interested in the conversation but his facial expressions imply that he meant everything he said. His body language demonstrated his desire to maximize the impact of his arguments. The camera focused on for most of the time so as to capture not only his arguments but also facial expressions and body language.

This video reminds us that advancements in technology have greatly threatened our privacy. A significant amount of our private data now exists on the internet which can be exploited by commercial entities to their advantage. This video reminded me that companies will now be able to price-discriminate against customers on the basis of information they have. Moreover, inaccurate data may cost us significantly and yet there is little we would be able to do and sometimes we may even be unaware of the errors in our private information.