Success is...

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure" - said Bill Cosby, the famous American comedian. I completely agree with him but what success actually is to an individual is another topic. Success is a concept that has changed with time and it can mean different things to people living in a developed/developing or a remote, isolated part of the world. Success is different for a baby, a teenager, an adult or a retired person.
What does success mean to you? Do you consider good marks at school a success? Is it winning a game, a match, a competition, a debate etc.? Is it when you learn or achieve something you've always wanted? Is it when you persist in what you believe in? Is it solving a problem or a difficult situation? Is it convincing someone of your own point of view? Does the opinion of your family, teachers, friends matter?
The above are some of the questions you might consider when writing your post, but you can freely include anything else you think is related to the idea of success or any kind of media (pics, videos, music) that illustrate your thoughts. Start your post with a quote, you might find some for eg. here. Introduce a few people either famous and well-known or those from your environment that you think are/were successful. Then explain what success is to you and try to give some advice on how to achieve it. Don't forget to use paragraphs, a variety of vocabulary, grammar structures and linking words. The deadline for writing this text is March 3.
To finish off here's a few surprising data about some famous people's failure experience before they became successful.

A discursive essay: The only way to cut crime in our country is to make punishment more severe

After you have left your comment on the short video posted in Death penalty or punishment as reform? you can go on to watch this debate Death penalty, luxury prisons and false convictions in which activists, professors, criminal prosecutors, victim advocates, editors exchange thoughts and ideas on the topic. Your task is to write a discursive (for and against) essay titled "The only way to cut crime in our country is to make punishment more severe" and post it in your blog. REMEMBER that skillful writers spend much more time PLANNING their text than writing it. It means that careful planning enhances the quality of writing.

Here are the guidelines (adapted from Writing Help 9) for completing the task:

- PREPARATION: brainstorm ideas for and against hard sentences and softer, more humane punishment, add arguments and reasons to back up the ideas

- PLANNING: make a sketch of your essay, plan the paragraphs:

• introduction: the background of the topic, the situation in your area/country and its possible reasons
• arguments FOR: attitudes and reasons to support the title of the essay, use facts and examples to support your arguments
• arguments AGAINST: attitudes and reasons against the title of the essay, use facts and examples to support your arguments
• conclusion: your personal opinion on the topic

- WRITING: Use your plan to write the essay. Choose key vocabulary and linking words (there are many listed in Writing Help 9), find synonyms (for eg. in the Thesaurus), try to use formal grammatical structures and expressions such as passives and impersonal structures It is feared/believed/thought/claimed etc. Remember that this is a formal text the audience of which could be newspaper/magazine readers for eg. So don't use contractions and informal expressions. Your opinion should be stated only in the closing paragraph.

- CHECKING: Read your essay. See if it really expresses what you had in mind. Evaluate your writing according to these questions and make the necessary changes:

• How well does your essay flow?
• Have you used a variety of linking expressions in all the paragraphs? Can you add more linking words and this way eliminate short sentences?
• Check the style of your essay. Can you make some sentences more formal by using passive or impersonal structures?
• Check your essay for grammar, vocabulary and spelling mistakes.

Finally read your classmates essays and leave a comment on two of them in which you agree AND disagree with ideas expressed in the text.

The deadline for completing both tasks is 24 February.

Funny Valentine messages

It's Valentine's Day today and we're supposed to be celebrating love :-) If you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend it seems natural (and advisable) to send them a love message, but sending messages to best friends and family members is also quite common in the English speaking societies.
You might have different opinions on whether Valentine's Day should be celebrated or not, and how it should be done. Feel free to express your ideas related to this, but I'm sure we can all have a good laugh if search for funny Valentine messages, greeting cards or pictures. Here's a list of funny textual messages. Write your own blog post on (funny) Valentine messages, share your favourite ones and possibly include one of your own as well.

Your opinion on blogging

We have introduced blogging into our English lesson in the middle of January, and we have discussed some issues of blogging (for eg. what blogs are, why people blog, its usefulness in language learning etc.) You yourselves have a month of blogging experience now, and I'm really curious about what YOU think of blogging. Please leave a comment here until 17th February the latest. You should think about the following points:
- Blogging is like....
- Blogging for the purpose of practicing English is...
- It is really good in blogging that...
- My problems/difficulties in blogging are...
- My expectations for the following month:
- My plans for the following month:

Death penalty or punishment as reform?

Do we need capital punishment or not? Is life sentence a fairer, more humane punishment? Here's a short video on how people from different countries think of this issue. Watch it and then leave your comment here stating your yes or no opinion, giving a few reasons to support your choice.