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Discussion Text Sample on Distance Learning

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The advantages and Disadvantages of Distance Learning

A few years ago, distance learning was seen as an inferior way but nowadays even famous and established traditional colleges and universities are providing distance learning courses and it is generally considered a way to improve one's life.

However, people still argue whether distance learning give more advantage or disadvantage. Some of them who see the benefit of distance learning will say that distance learning needs no commuting. Of course it saves money and time that students would take. Furthermore, distance learning can be done at any student’s convenience. Mostly of the classes of distance learning are asynchronous. It means that students do not have to attend a lecture at a fixed particular time and place. Students can review the assignments and do their homework during off-hours or from home. Additionally, distance learning gives more accessibility. No one can deny it. People with limited mobility may encounter the problem when they take traditional class. With the online class system, the problem is absent.

Despite the many advantages, the other people will see that distance learning is costly and needs complex technology. To attend online learning, student must have a computer with possibly access to the internet. Admitted or not, such technology devices are not always available for common students. Another disadvantage of distance learning is that it does not provide immediate feedback. Unlikely traditional classroom, students have to wait for the feedback and comment until the instructor has review the works and sent response to them. Most of the time students will study alone. Distance learners may feel isolated or miss that social physical interaction that comes with attending a traditional classroom

Regarding the individual’s learning style, some students are able to learn when there is a live interaction between them and the available of accompanying teacher while others don’t really need it. So before deciding a choice of attending distance learning or not, each student needs to do a fair analysis regarding the kind of person he/she is.

Loving Money Too Much; Example of Spoof

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There was a man who liked money very much. He worked all of his life and wanted to save all of his money for his own future. He was a real miser when it came to his money. He loved money more than just about anything.
Even, just before he died, he said to his wife; "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I wanna take my money to the afterlife." So he asked his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him.
Well, one day, he really died. Then he was stretched out in the casket. The wife was sitting there in black clothes next to her closest friend. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!"
She had a box in her hands. She came over with the box and placed it in the casket. After that the undertakers locked the casket down and rolled it away. Not long after that, her friend said, "I hope you were not crazy enough to put all that money in the casket."
The wife turned to her friend and replied; "Yes, because I have promised." Then she continued; "I can't lie. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him." Feeling shocked, her friend said; "You mean that you have put every cent of his money in the casket with him?" Then the wife answered; "Surely I did. I got it all together, put all the money into my account and I just wrote him a check."
(Re-written from www.onlyfunnystories.com)

Notice on Generic structure of spoof sample
Spoof text is very similar to recount text. Both spoof and recount tell about the past event with chronological order. Its purpose is to amuse reader with funny story. The story mostly is ended with an unpredictable event.
The above spoof sample has generic structure as follow:
Orientation: It is the introduction of the story. By giving the orientation, reader will recognize, for the first time, who involves in the story.The above story talks about a wife and his husband who loves money too much even up to his death.
Events: Several events are explored in chronological way which able to arrange the story read nicely.Promising with her money miser husband, Putting the box inside casket, locking and rolling the casket are the events which build the complete story.
Twist: This is the unpredictable event/thing/way which amuse the reader. Readers even did not predict before that it would be. When reading the above story, for the first, readers likely think that the wife would put all the money instead of just a check

Narrative Analysis on Malin Kundang Story

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The Myth of Malin Kundang
A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother.
 Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
 Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both sadness and angriness.
 Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.
 In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone.
(Re-written from www.st.rim.or.jp)

Narrative Analysis on Generic Structure
Many believe that a story can teach a society certain moral value. Most stories are build in narrative. Because it is a narrative story, it must consists of complication. That complication, in fact, is the moral value which like to be taught.
Orientation; the first paragraph is set to be the story introduction. Reading the orientation, reader will know that the story is characterized with Malin Kundang and his mother. Wes Sumatra is set as the place.
Complication; this is the main element of narrative story. From the Malin Kundang myth, we know that there are more than one complication. Many stories are composed with multi complications. They are minor complication and major complication. When Malin Kundang and her mother did life hard, it can be the minor complication. this hard life in the first time was solved by his successful trading as new merchant. However this narrative sotry is more interesting when we see the major complication among the participants- Malin Kundang denied his mother after being successful merchant. In every story, complication must be ended; happy ending or sad one
Resolution; this is the end of the story, the sad ending one. Malin Kundang faces his curse of turning into a stone.

How Chocolate is made; an Example of Explanation text

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Have we wondered how we get chocolate from? Well this time we will enter the amazing world of chocolate so we can understand exactly we are eating.

Chocolate starts a tree called cacao tree. This tree grows in equatorial regions, especially in place such as South America, Africa, and Indonesia. The cacao tree produces a fruit about the size of a small pine apple. In side the fruits are the tree's seeds. They are also known as coco beans.

Next, the beans are fermented for about a week, dried in the sun. After that they are shipped to the chocolate maker. The chocolate maker starts by roasting the beans to bring out the flavour. Different beans from different places have different qualities and flavour. So they are often shorted and blended to produce a distinctive mix.

The next process is winnowing. The roasted beans are winnowed to remove the meat nib of the cacao bean from its shell. Then the nibs are blended. The blended nibs are ground to make it a liquid. The liquid is called chocolate liquor. It tastes bitter.

All seeds contain some amount of fat and cacao beans are not different. However, cacao beans are half fat, which is why the ground nibs from liquid. It is pure bitter chocolate.


Note on the generic structure of this explanation sample.

Every text genre has its special purpose or social function. However if we see the generic structure point, we will get the understanding which both the explanation and procedure text have similar purposes. Both explain how to make or form something. However the procedure text will explain how to form or make something completely by instruction way. That is why most of procedure text is composed in command sentences. In the other hand, explanation text will show a knowledge about how thing is formed.

The above example of explanation text has the following generic structure:

General statement; it is a statement which says about chocolate and how it is formed

Sequenced explanation; it is a series of explanation on how chocolate is formed before we eat. First, the chocolate is coming from the cacao tree. Then it is fermented and ship to the chocolate producer. The cacao bean then are roasted and winnowed.

Example of Analytical Exposition in Jakarta Issue

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Analytical exposition is one classified type as hortatory exposition in text genre. Both analytical exposition and hortatory exposition present arguments for supporting the issued thesis. What makes them different from one to each other is the last stage of the text, which the analytical exposition will end with a re-iteration. In the other hand, hortatory will close the essay with a recommendation. Analytical exposition will try to influence the reader by presenting some arguments to prove that the writer' idea is important. Furthermore, hortatory will try to persuade the reader how should or not do concerning the writer's idea. Now let's see the following example of analytical exposition!


Jakarta as a Bad Working Place for Expatriates

Jakarta is the second-worst place for expatriates to work in outside of the United States of America, Canada and Western Europe. It is according to a recent report published by Businessweek.

The Businessweek report ranked emerging markets that might be challenging to move into due to their level of pollution, disease, political violence and availability of good and services.

The report ranked Jakarta second, just below lagos in Nageria and above Riyadh Saudi Arabia, saying the threat of violence from extremest, in particular, was serious drawback to living in Jakarta. Bombings targeting foreign interests in Jakarta, such as the JW Marriot hotel bombing in 2003, have been repeated elsewhere in the city.

The report said despite problem common to many developing cities such as the risk of disease, poor sanitation, and excessive pollution, Indonesia can be an enticing location.

In response, the Jakarta administration took the report positively, saying it could spur the administration to improve its performance.

(Simplified from www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/04/15/)


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