ESL 114

I personally felt that this class was more interesting than other classes.
One of the reason was that the class was very small compare to other classes.
Normally, lectures are very big, with more than 200 people.
So personal interactions between students or teachers were difficult.
But, since the class was only about 20 people, I interacted with other fellow students and teacher.
Also since the class was entirely second language English speakers, it was very different from other classes.
Overall, it was a fun class.

The worst friday

Yesterday was one of my worst Friday. Not only I was injured, but also many friends of mine were injured. After reading the first two sentences, you might worry that I got into a car accident, but it is not about a car accident, so you do not need to worry about it. This is how the story flows.

Fridays are always special days for me and several good friends of mine because of the following reasons. Just like other people, Friday is the end of long tiring weekdays. I do not need to worry about homework and can devote rest of the day on playing. Also I do not need to set an alarm and can fall asleep without worrying about waking up early in the morning. To us, Fridays are even more special because that is when my friends and I gather up and play basketball together. During weekdays we are caught up with tests and school works, so we do not have time to play basketball together; as a result, every Friday became a sacred “religious holiday” for us to gather up and play basketball.

As usual, immediately after esl114, I went to ARC with my friends and began our “ritual” without knowing things to come. After playing about 30 minutes, we were warmed up and began to play intensely. I tried to steal basketball but I accidently sprained my index and middle finger. Soon my fingers became swollen and hurt when I tried to take a shoot. But I kept on playing because I initially felt it was not a big problem and played on without realizing it was only the beginning. Small accidental injuries happened one by one. But we did not stop playing because if we stop now, we will not be able to play until the next Friday. But after one of my friends sprained his ankle after trying to rebound, we began to say that maybe we should stop. Luckily, he just bought an expensive basketball shoes that saved him from a disaster. He, unfortunately, could not play on and left early. We also felt it is not a good day to play and concluded that we will play just one more game. Retrospectively, it was a bad decision because one of my other friends also sprained his ankle except that he was very seriously injured. Afterward, we took him to hospital and doctor said that he needs to take at least a month of rest.

How are my fingers doing? Unfortunately, the swollen fingers are not getting better but worsened to a point that I am having difficulties with typing. But I hope that my finger gets better and that I can play basketball next week.

Spring Break

Everyone was excited about the spring break that was approaching. Some planned to go back home, some planned to go shopping at Chicago, and some arranged a trip to other part of the states. I also originally planned to visit New York City. Touring one of the biggest cities in the world and seeing my high school friends would be a good way to spend spring break. But, after realizing that two midterms are approaching immediately after the break, I chose to stay at the campus and prepare for my exam. Therefore, while most people had an excited break, I categorize this break as the worst spring break because all I did was study, eat, and sleep.

Every day, I woke up near 2 p.m. and gather up few of my friends and ponder over what to eat for lunch. Since the cafeteria was closed, we had to eat every meal outside, and pondering on what to eat for every meal was irritating and financially burdensome. For several days, we went to different restaurants and ate foods from various countries: Korean, Chinese, Indian, and American. First, eating different dishes was delicious and fun, but soon, we became lazy and did not eat
lunch.

After lunch, we gathered at the ISR lounge and studied. As I already mentioned, I had two exams: Fin221 on Wednesday and Badm320 on Thursday, so I devoted most of the time studying. My other friends, on the other hand, were not as busy as I was. So they downloaded movies and TV series and watched them. For instance, one of my friends finished a Korean TV series during the break, and my other friend watched 2 movies per day. After studying for a while, I also began to goof off.

Dinner time was a period of agony. Every dinner, we had to gather up and discuss what we want to eat. When it was raining, we ordered Chinese food from the rainbow garden or ate Pizza, but when the weather was nice, we went to restaurants at Green Street. Eating at various restaurants was probably the best part of my break.

I initially planned to go to the CRCE and work out or play basketball, but the CRCE was closed so I did not exercised as much as I would like. Fortunately, the ARC was open so we walked to ARC, about 20 minutes of jogging, and played basketball once every 3 days.

Staying at the campus during the spring break was extremely boring, but I was glad that I devoted some time on studying. I hope I can get good grades on the midterm so that I feel my break was not wasted.

The benefits and drawbacks of wearing school uniform

In most East Asian countries, wearing uniform is a rule. This is not the case in America, however. As a student who experienced both American education and Korean education, I have spent several years wearing uniforms at school and the rest of my secondary school not wearing uniforms. When I wore uniform, I hated this rule and could list numerous reasons for not wearing it. But, as I attend American school, I perceived several benefits, and often missed wearing uniforms. Although there are reasons to not wear uniform, there are also reasons to support wearing uniform at school.
Wearing uniform can be financial burden. In Korea, uniform cost as high as several hundred dollars. To the riches, spending thousand dollars are not much burden, but this money can be burdensome to average household. On average, a family lives with two thousand dollars per month in Korea. So five hundred dollars of school uniform can be extremely burdensome for parents, and if a family has multiple children, they will need to spend much of the money on purchasing uniform. Also teens grow up quickly, so they often need to buy new uniform every semester. Then the financial pressure on parents is much more.

However, there are some advantages to wearing uniform. First, wearing uniform makes schools look more orderly. During a gathering, students wearing the same uniform will look more orderly than students wearing whatever clothes they want. And just by wearing same uniform, students might feel more united with classmates and might boost cooperation.

Also wearing uniform simplifies the school’s dress code. Generally speaking, schools without uniforms tend to have much complex dress codes. Students can wear anything they want as long as they do not offend others. To help students to understand what can be offensive, school set limitations on the dress code that takes up several pages. If schools have a set uniform, then they do not need to spell out the dress code. As a result, schools can save trees and also use the budget on other useful things such as buying better desks. Also wearing uniform can prevent fight between students caused by clothes that offended particular ethnic groups.

Therefore, even though wearing uniform can be financial burden, it can also be a good thing.

Opinion

Topic: School uniforms
Opinion: Wearing school uniform should not be a rule
Support 1: Everyone has enough clothes, so buying uniform is a waste of money.
Support 2: If students have to wear uniform, then teachers should also wear them.
Support 3: School uniform should be banned for diversification.

Outline Cause and Effect

Outline Cause and Effect Essay

Thesis Statement: In spite of the multiple benefits, Internet brought some negative consequences by reducing the profit of newspaper industry, bringing difficulty to differentiate good and bad information, and taking away people’s privacy.

1st topic sentence: First, the traditional newspaper industry is suffering due to the Internet.
Supporting details:
- Because news on the Internet is easily accessible and quickly updated, people prefer reading newspaper article on the web than reading the similar article on the newspaper.
- Therefore, newspaper industry is losing profit in both subscription and advertising. For example, the Sun- Times Media Group reported that it lost $168.8million in the third quarter of 2008, and the advertising revenue and circulation revenue went down by 18% and 2% respectively.
- Newspaper industry tried to overcome the difficulty by charging fee on the articles online, but it did not contribute to rise in revenue because people have the perception of everything is free online.

2nd topic sentence: Secondly, Internet negatively affected the society by differentiating good and reliable sources from not reliable sources harder than ever.
Supporting details:
- There are basically no restrictions on posting information online, so people post anything on the web without any evidences.
- As a result, finding out what is reliable and what is not is very difficult.
- For example, Wikipedia provides the users with a wide range of information and is updated often. Consequently, people use it to find information instead of using the traditional encyclopedia believing that Wiki is just as reliable as the encyclopedia. Unfortunately, Wikipedia is unreliable because anybody without knowing anything on the subject can revise the information

3rd topic sentence: Lastly, Internet has contributed to losing privacy.
Supporting details:
- Copy and paste is very easy on the web.
- Users often copy and paste the information from others and pretend it is their own.
- For example, people download music without paying.
- Often, people find out that some of their private information is available online without their agreement such as social security numbers.

Outline Compare and Contrast Essay

Outline Compare and Contrast Essay

Thesis Statement: Even though Hyundai and Kia share similar traits, they are vastly different in dashboard light, suspension, and the emphasis to satisfy the different tastes of consumers.

1st Topic Sentence: Hyundai and Kia are sister corporations which share many parts.
Supporting Details:
- After Hyundai has M&A (merger and acquisition) with Kia, they became sister corporation under the chairman Chung Mong Koo.
- Since they are one corporation, they share many parts such as engine.

2nd Topic Sentence: Nevertheless, the two companies use different color for the dashboard light.
Supporting Details:
- Dashboard light is extremely important because it is important aspect of interior design and helps the driver to read the dashboard clearly.
- Hyundai used blue light for comfortable image.
- In contrast, Kia used red light similar to the Audi Company for strong image.

3rd Topic Sentence: Another difference is the characteristics of the suspension.
Supporting Details:
- Suspension is the part that connect automobile to its wheels. It is extremely important because it influences car’s safety and driving pleasure.
- While Hyundai prefers softer suspension to increase a sense of security, Kia prefers harder suspension to meet the taste of young driver who want sporty driving pleasure.

4th Topic Sentence: Last major difference is the different emphasis of two corporations.
Supporting Details:
- Kia emphasizes design. Kia hired Peter Schreyer as the CDO (Chief Design Officer) to distinguish it from other automakers.
- Conversely, Hyundai does not have a particular emphasis, it pursue an all-round strategy.
- Still in my opinion, Hyundai emphasizes in the engine. The recently created Tau engine has won 2009 and 2010 Wards 10 Best Engine Awards.
- Since Hyundai and Kia share the same engine, it is difficult to claim that Hyundai engine is better than the Kia’s.

Outline Compare & Contrast

Thesis: Even though Hyundai and Kia share many similarities due to the same ownership, they are still vastly different automakers with distinct characteristics.

Main Point 1: Hyundai and Kia are sister corporations
1. They are under the same ownership
2. They are known for dynamic designs
3. They share many parts, especially the engine.

Main Point 2: Another major difference is the LED lights on the car.
1. Kia uses red lights.
2. Hyundai uses light blue lights.

Main Point 3: One of the main difference is different emphasis on automobiles.
1. Kia emphasizes design
2. Hyundai is more all-round

Main Point 4: The characteristic of the suspension is different.
1. Hyundai prefers softer suspension
2. Kia prefers hard and sporty suspension

Compare and Contrast

Both of the clocks look quite similar, but the numbers on the clock are different. Even though Salvador Dali's clock seems to fly away, the picture on the left seems like melting. The clock on the right picture is on the box, yet the one on the left rests on a tree. Overall, both of them are good pictures.

MWC 2010

On February 15, all the mobile phone and wireless communication companies gathered at Barcelona, Spain. Many businessmen and women representing their companies demonstrated their innovative products to mesmerize the audiences. It was the Mobile World Congress, or MWC 2010. Most of the prestigious companies, such as Apple, Google, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung, joined the congress and demonstrated their innovative skills and distinguished themselves from competitors. Other smaller companies also participated and showed how much they have improved over a year. Out of 1300 companies, three companies gained most attention. Microsoft revealed Windows 7 mobile as its new operating system, Nokia revealed MeeGo, and Samsung disclosed the Bada.

Recently, Microsoft was losing the ground in mobile operating system as its competitors produced more innovative operating systems (OS). To regain their market share, Microsoft developed Windows 7 Mobile. Steve Ballmer, CEO of the Microsoft, had so much confidence that he believed that the new OS will be “the turning point to the mobile phone.” Microsoft pointed out that it is much faster than the older versions, and is equipped with Bing search engine, which the company believes is better than the Google. Of all the benefits, the new OS provides Windows Phone Hubs that will integrate people, pictures, games, music videos, market places, and office tools. In other words, the user will constantly receive information updated by his friends, and can connect the mobile to the X-box or the Microsoft Words.

Nokia, the leader of the mobile phone industry, also introduced the MeeGo. MeeGo combined the operating system of the Nokia and Intel. It is designed to operate not only in mobile phone but also in netbooks or Tablet computers. It is also an open sourced operating system, so millions of user can develop their own software just as the Iphone. Many critics strongly believe that it will be the major competitor of the Google’s Android.

Of all these new brilliant products, Bada of Samsung received the most attention. Bada is the first operating system by Samsung. Samsung is the second largest mobile phone producer and is widely known as having the best hardware technology. The interface of the Bada is similar to the Android and the IPhone. Samsung emphasized that Bada is much faster than the other competitors and the social networking system will connect people better than any other products. This OS is also open sourced, so the users can create new programs like the MeeGo. Along with the Bada, Samsung also revealed the first phone with Bada OS – the wave. According to the company, it adopted AMOLED display that will give better visual and last longer. It also adopted the newest CPU to quicken the speed. Although many critics believe that Bada will be not as successful as Samsung expects, it was still the most popular product during the WMC 2010.

Outline for paper2

Development of Internet and our society

Thesis:
Despite of the benefits, the development of the Internet has harmed the society.
1st Topic Sentence:
First, Traditional newspaper and magazine industries are suffering.
Supporting Sentences:
People tend to look for information on the Internet because it is much quicker and easier to get access to.
Since 1990, newspaper industries are going through a long period of negative growth.
Newspaper industries are searching for new solutions such as charging fees on articles online, but failed.
2nd Topic Sentence:
Secondly, Differentiating good information from bad one is difficult.
Supporting Sentences:
There are not many restrictions on Internet, so people can post anything they want. Therefore, much information is flawed.
For example, anyone can post information on the Wikipedia, and as the result, much information is unreliable.
3rd Topic Sentence:
Lastly and most importantly, People lost privacy.
Supporting Sentences:
Copy and Pasting pictures and music is possible as the emergence of the Internet. So people “steal” them from the owner without crediting them or paying them.
For example, one Korean said something inappropriate at a TV show. People spread bad rumors about her on the Internet. The rumors quickly spread she lost her jobs and was accused.

Living in a dorm

Because of the university regulation, I spent my first year living in the FAR. Living in FAR was not so pleasant, and I promised that I would never live in a dorm again. I, however, had to live in a dorm again and I began to live in the ISR. Living in a dorm, I perceive both benefits and drawbacks, but the drawbacks seem to outweigh the benefits.
Living in a dorm can help you to get associated with the other dorm mates. I met two of my best friends at the ISR. I live in room 137 and they lived in room 140, and we are separated by only a few steps. As a result, we visit each other’s room often, eat lunch or dinner together, and eventually become good friends.
Before coming to U of I, I expected that I will spend most of the time interacting with Americans. But I normally spent time with the Koreans in reality. In class, I sat with Koreans and studied with them at the library. As the pattern continued, I began to spend more time with Koreans and made Korean friends. But dorm life is different. Most of the people in the dorm are Americans, and I have to speak English with them to communicate. Consequently, I unintentionally spoke English with them and improved English a lot.
On the other hand, dealing issues with the roommate is one of the major drawbacks of living in a dorm. My roommate and I are from the same country, but we lived in a drastically different environment and therefore we have different habits. Even though we are taught to respect each others’ habit, often some habits are too difficult to overcome which result in a quarrel.
For instance, I had difficulty falling asleep yesterday and I was very tired due to lack of sleep during the weekends. I went to bed and 11 but I could not sleep at 3:30 am. I was frustrated that I could not fall asleep even though I was extremely tired. About 10 minutes after, I began to become unconscious. I was feeling relieved and said, “finally I am going to sleep.” But all the sudden, my roommate came in and turned the light on and the light woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep with the light but I could not. I hoped that he will turn the light off soon, but unfortunately because he began to eat snack and study. I was frustrated and asked him to turn off the light. Fortunately, he turned the light off and studied at the lounge, but the situation could have been worse if he was upset and began to quarrel. These conflicts can happen often if people live at a room together and it is the most contributing drawback of living in a dorm.
Even though living in a dorm and becoming friends with neighboring Americans is a benefit, the conflict with the roommate makes me not want to live in a dorm. But I do not regret the two years in the dorm because it will be a memorable experience.

Why I believe the iPad will succeed

Several days ago, Steve Jobs in his usual appearance proudly announced the iPad in the keynote speech. I am not a big fan of Apple products and is one of the few who is against purchasing the MacBook Air or the iPhone while everyone is obsessed with it because I believe the Apple do not produce a high quality product. In my opinion, Apple is not a company that produces good products but only a genius marketer. It is neither the first to produce laptops and mp3 nor the one to produce high quality products, but sold the products well and expensively because Steve Jobs brilliantly marketed the product so that the products appear to be great. After looking at the iPad, I believe that the Apple can also produce high quality products excellently serving the needs of the customers.
iPad, as described by Steve Jobs, is the over-sized version of iPhone and a downsized version of the MacBook. As a result, it will function as a linkage between the iPhone and MacBook, and will perform the tasks that are beyond the capacity of iPhone but are also inefficiently handled by MacBook. Steve Jobs commented that the iPad will generally used in surfing web, mailing, viewing photo and video, hearing music, playing games, and reading e-books.
Since the product is not out, we cannot accurately measure the performance; yet we can hypothesize the performance of the iPad after watching the keynote speech and reading some reviews by the reporters. The A4 chip seems to work excellently in general performance. With the wireless capacity, we can use the Internet wirelessly. Many claim that the web browsing capacity is above expectation. Youtube video is working well. And video games, even though I would probably not play them, are interesting and well performed. Along with the multi-touch technology, the iPad also adopted the SSD memory and we can expect a faster hard-drive compare to the traditional HHD. I am extremely satisfied with the e-book functions. With this function, we can purchase books through wireless Internet cheaply and read them at any places as long as I carry the iPad.
The targeted market, in my opinion, is the businessmen. Nowadays, getting accurate information quickly is extremely important. Businessmen, as a result, spend a lot of times watching news and read newspaper articles or business magazines. With the iPad, they no longer need to carry newspapers or magazines around but just carry iPad to get the most recent information through the wireless Internet. Even though the iPad seems to lack many functions, I believe the iPad will be a success because it will serve the need of customers in targeted market well.

Who am I?

My name is Jeong Ki Lee.
I am a sophomore majoring in Accountancy.
I am from Korea, but I lived in China for several years.
I am currently living at ISR.
I enjoy playing basketball.
I normally study at the Undergraduate Library or the Grainger Library, so say hi to me if you see me.
I hope we will get along well in ESL 114!