PIECE OF WORK

RAFT Newspaper Article

About the chosen work Upon reading the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, I was presented with 8 options for the summative assessment of this unit: soundtrack liner notes for a CD cover, a brochure, a short story, a psychological report, a court transcript, a news report plus a feature article, a sheaf of poems as well as a map. In the end, I chose to write a newspaper article about the discovery of the group of boys on the island and their return to civilization merely because I liked the idea of reporting the boys story as they left civilization and portrayed their brutality on the island, clearly showing my understanding on the novel. In the news article, I described the discovery of the boys who were stranded on the isolated island and briefly included the boys' thoughts and feelings on their adventure. On the other hand in the feature article, I basically chose a few major events in the novel to display the evilness of man's heart, one major theme or message behind the novel "Lord of the Flies". Why I chose this piece of work I reckon that the RAFT Newspaper article clearly shows that I am an inquirer, because when I was planning the article, I had to ask myself simple but essential questions on the 5Ws and 1H (who, what, when, where, why, and how) of the novel, in which I had to relate all the events which happened in the story, summarize them, before adding them into the article from the perspective of the editor, a third person who only learnt about the event through interviews with the boys and the sailor on the army boat (the adults that found and rescued the boys). In addition to the main news report, there was the feature article which poised more challenge and required more of an inquirer to be shown of myself. As I was planning for the feature article, I knew that I wanted to portray the message or theme of the novel from the perspective of Ralph, however, I didn't really know how to exemplify this message. In the end, I decided to look back at the novel, with a question in mind: What were signs of the evilness of humans that were displayed in various scenes of the book by the boys?, ultimately aiding me in finding the proof (events and details) to support my point. Reflection on work As I look back at the original task sheet then at the newspaper article which I produced, I reckon that I did quite well in terms of meeting the requirements of the RAFT newspaper article, hence a more or less satisfactory grade of 9, 8 out of 10, 10. However, the grades are just an indication of my ability, knowledge and my level of understanding on the task, hence they aren't too important, since they are merely numbers that have a significance only in my report grade. Instead, I should focus on how I can improve next time. Nevertheless, other than altering some vocabulary and changing the news article so there isn't too much repetition of a similar meaning (as this is not really necessary), I consider this piece of work well accomplished and a piece that deserves its grade. I especially like the ending of the feature article, where I made up a quote for Ralph, in which he exclaimed that he understood the nature of humans and knew why we are who we are (it is simply because of our blackened heart).

PIECE OF WORK

Russian Fact File

About the chosen work After the first unit on political ideologies, we started looking at Russian revolutions. However, before exploring the politics in Russia, we did some research to get a better idea of Russia, in which we displayed our knowledge on Russia through the format of a fact file. In the fact file, I included facts and figures on the demographics, geography, politics, environments as well as resources of Russia on the whole. For demographics, I showed the different ethnic groups and the spread of population throughout the entire country, for Russia's geography, I included diagrams of the different landscape types, a brief description of its location and climate as well as a relief map to show the elevation of various areas. For politics, I displayed a map with labeled federations of Russia along with its current political status. In terms of environments, I included a brief overview of the environmental issues that Russia faces, such as the degrading of land, heavily polluted water sources. For the resources in Russia, petroleum, minerals and water basins were displayed through maps and further descriptions I added. Why I chose this piece of work I believe that this piece of work distinctly shows that I am knowledgeable, as the method I chose to create the fact file was pretty different to what others would probably choose to do. When I was conducting the research, I didn't simply go on Google and merely searched for: "Facts about Russia", instead, I stopped for a moment beforehand and asked myself what I did know about Russia, before using Britannica, Online Encyclopedia as well as Google Search to expand on my knowledge. A specific example is that from a few Chinese novels I read previously, I found that Russia does have some swampy forests on its coastal areas, it doesn't have much vegetation in the inland areas, and is pretty much covered by tundra landscapes in the North. This was what I basically knew, so all I had to do was research about facts, figures and add diagrams or maps to support my general statement regarding the geography of Russia. Moreover, just by including the graph, diagram or statistics into the fact file doesn't truly mean anything, so I also added descriptions and explanations, picking out the most important information to describe and justify in more detail, thus, showing my knowledge on Russia. Reflection on work I have to admit that I am quite pleased of this fact file, as I was able to effectively apply my knowledge to research and analyze information on different aspects of Russia. From this task, not only was I able to gain a better understanding of Russia, but I was also able to learn about and develop my trait of being knowledgeable. I also understood the importance of being knowledgeable, as it ensures that you can work more productively and gain more accurate information (since the Internet is not always accurate, and with more basic knowledge, one would be able to pick out anomalies). Additionally, I reckon that this piece of work needs to be improved to cover more aspects of Russia in slightly more detail. This would result in a more in depth and accurate fact file of Russia.

PIECE OF WORK
(Praise of Coconut)

Essay

About the chosen work After an introduction to expository writing (), I was given the task to choose a fruit and through the use of different linguistic and expository writing techniques, explain and describe the message brought by the fruit. For this task, I chose coconut and explained that it was a really beneficial fruit, which is why even though it isn't grown and produced locally in Hong Kong, it is sold vastly all across town, also the reason to why we should learn from the traits it has to survive in its harsh natural habitats. First of all, since coconuts grow in the tropics with high temperatures, pretty extreme climates and strong ferocious winds, it was forced to evolve, so it could have the function of regrowing its leaves to strengthen its stem against the winds, and bear the ability to survive in high and humid places. Secondly, to overcome the threat of being destroyed by the impact of falling at a height of twenty meters, coconuts have a sturdy round shell compared to the soft, not protective "skins" of oranges and bananas. Moreover, since coconuts are willing to face problems and overcomes them with their distinct characteristics, they are a type of fruit worth being transporting and selling worldwide and also one that is worth praising. Why I chose this piece of work I think that the Praise of Coconuts essay is a good representation showing that I am a thinker, since I needed to research about the different characteristics of coconuts before critically thinking about how these traits convey a message. Then, using various expository and linguistic techniques, show that coconuts are worth learning from. In the essay, I used statistics (temperatures and wind speeds that coconuts can withstand), comparisons (comparing the shape and matter of coconuts, oranges and bananas), a related real life example ("the father of China" who successfully revolted against the corrupt Qing dynasty rulers after continuous failed attempts) to emphasize that coconuts are really beneficial both as a source of food as well as for acting as a "role model". As a thinker, not only did I have to look into its basic, easily spotted features, but I also had to find out about its special abilities as well as consider the morals behind it, three levels of depth to describe this fruit. Reflection on work Although this piece of work was only a small exercise during the first unit of Chinese, I still put quite a lot of effort in writing it, However, when I look back at it, even though there are quite a lot of different and "elegant" literary techniques included throughout the writing and the content is quite focused, due to the fact that I didn't do much in writing during the summer, my writing skills weren't as good, so I will say that this piece of work isn't of such a good quality. Nevertheless, while I was researching facts about the characteristics of coconuts, I have been able to learn about some stunning statistics and facts of coconuts as well as several uniques abilities that they have. Additionally, when I was thinking of the message brought by coconuts, I began reflecting about some special events in my life where I also had to show my endurance, patience and my ability to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings, which is really meaningful.

PIECE OF WORK

Lord of the War Poem Recital

About the chosen work During the unit of War Poetry in English, I was introduced to one of the greatest war poet Wilfred Owen, and was given the opportunity to appreciate and learn from his (as well as other renowned poets') poems about war. After looking into the 4 different stages or genres of war poetry (patriotism, shock, the sense of hopelessness, aftermath) and reviewing linguistic and vocal techniques, I was given the task to compose and recite my own poem on any war. For my war poem of "Lord of the War", I chose the stages patriotism, shock and sense of despair, which I thought was really powerful and possessed the hidden key to a successful war poem. This poem basically describes Japanese soldiers who in the beginning, were extremely determined to venture out into war and fight for their home country. However, just after they were exposed in no-man's land, rained by gas bombs, they all realized the horror of war. I then turn the focus on one of the Japanese soldiers who was on the rim of dying after inhaling the gas, but one who was still brave and loyal to his country. Additionally, through the video recording of my recital, I was able to effectively convey the changes in mood according to the progress of the poem, especially for the ending, which strongly compares the two different stages of war: patriotism and a sense of despair. Why I chose this piece of work I consider that the poem and my recital comprehensively portrays myself as a communicator. Firstly, through the use of various linguistic techniques, I was able to create a vivid image out of the words, enabling readers to feel as though they were actually the Japanese soldiers who were practically in the war zone themselves. Then the props and costume I used during the recital added more detail and colour to the whole poem, and finally, the tones and emphasis I put on certain words while I was speaking made this war poem even more patriotic, shocking, emotional and even more lively and realistic. As a representation of Japan, I chose the costume of a red polo shirt with a white helmet, colours that make up the Japanese flag, I also tried to find a "rifle", a pair of "army boots" and a "helmet" as props to go with the video recitals (which were represented by a hiking stick, long shopping boots and a roller skate silvery white helmet). I was able to communicate using words, gestures, facial expressions as well as pitches and tones all at the same time, which was quite a good example showing that I am a communicator. Reflection on work I am really pleased about both my poem and the video of the recital, since I have never been able to write a powerful, yet meaningful poem before. Moreover, since I have never experienced war in first hand, I pretty much have no clue whatsoever about the feelings of being part of war, so I could only use available resources to aid me in writing the poem, such as videos showing scenes during war, the one man play "Private Peaceful" at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, as well photos, stories and poems about war. Therefore, the fact that I was able to digest and learn from these resources, applying them into parts of my poem then reciting it with actions, props and costume can be considered quite a good accomplishment. I have also found that my creativity skills have improved slightly, as the selected props from the available objects in my home were genuinely bizarre (as mentioned previously). On the other hand as an improvement, I should have practiced and checked the pronunciation of the words before I recited my poem, since some of the names of places I mentioned and several words were misread.

PIECE OF WORK

Drama DW (Developmental Workbook)

DRAMA

About the chosen work In the first rotation of Performing Arts, I chose the subject Drama, and there was a requirement for all students to keep a process journal (also called a DW developmental workbook), in which I included all my ideas, brainstorms, planning, scripts, reflections and also evaluations. There were three main units in this subject: Fame (exploring the life of Amy Winehouse), Absurdist theatre (looking at how to create and use space and also learning about famous absurdist playwrights) and Prisoners (finding out about Augusto Boal, but mainly focusing on the "Stolen Generations", Aboriginal children who were snatched away from their family to be "educated"). Although there is a mix of brainstorms, plans, scripts and reflections throughout the entire DW, there are particularly 2 main tasks both located near the end of the term of drama: the research task on the Aboriginal culture and the final self written, directed and acted short drama play based upon "The Burnt Stick" novel, which is a part in the DW that I would like to focus on here in this reflection. Why I chose this piece of work I chose the Drama DW to indicate that I am principled, due to the reason that there were various tasks which distinctively showed my ability to make decisions and distinguish between right and wrong. In the first unit of Fame, I looked at Amy Winehouse and learnt about the downfall of her career as she was over pressured and started taking drugs, which in my opinion, is a terrible, immoral, and unlawful act. In the small plays that I created with my group showing scenes of Amy before "Show Time", we chose to emphasize that Amy made a horrible choice which she paid off with her life. In the second unit of Absurdist Theatre, I was given 3 scripts to choose from and act out with my partner. In the end, we chose the script about a blind man trying to communicate with his handicapped wife, which although is absurd (as they can't really "communicate" and "help" each other), has a hidden message reflecting a real life situation where people have disabilities but are helpless. In the third and last unit of Prisoners, I looked into the various types of prisoners and applied my understanding into shaping the final performance of the subject, where I merged prisoners with the "Stolen Generations" of the Aborigines to show the bad act of the Australian government, which proves that I can chose and weigh out between good and bad. Reflection on work Looking through all the brainstorming, planning and reflections in my developmental workbook, there were several tasks that I believe I did quite well, such as the final performance, a few reflections, and the blind man's play in absurdist theatre. However, quite a lot of brainstorming and planning weren't completed and recorded as well, which is a shame, as this step greatly affects the acting out parts. Nevertheless, throughout the entire semester in drama, I learnt an ideal more about morals, decisions, justice and also gained more experience and skills in terms of performing and acting in drama. In particular, the monologue at the end of the final performance on "The Burnt Stick" gave me another chance to practice and display my strength of reciting, where I used gestures and emotions to convey the strong message that it was a bad act of the Australian government, stealing the Aboriginal children away from their families. To improve the DW, I should have added more detail in the brainstorming and planning parts, so I would be more organized and prepared for the performances (as some small acts were a little too rushed to complete).