Writing English 2B: Final writing assignment support post - the future (Part 2)・期末作文のサポート「未来」(Part 2)

Hello! 

How are you? Here is a second supporting blogpost for all of you from a different viewpoint about Japanese technology for the future, and the role it might play in shaping our lives and society here. 

As you can see above, this is a picture of ASIMO - the robot that can walk on two legs that Honda developed. Do you feel that this is a great achievement - or do you see any problems or difficulties with the role that robots might play in our lives, or even society, in the future?  

Activity
This is a short video that was made in 2015, but it is still timely. Watch it as many times as you want or need - there's no dialog on it, so it is easy to follow. 

Here's one basic question: How would you compare and contrast (比較対照して) the things you see about technology and the future in this video with what you saw in the first supporting blogpost about American ideas of the future after World War II? 

One common idea is that technology will be important in our societies and lives in the future, and play a positive role. Would you agree with this - or do you see any problems with technology and its possible impact on Japanese society in the future?  

Good luck with this! I hope this can give you some more ideas and some different ways to think about this theme of writing about Japan and the future.

Have fun with this! See you next week!

Image: By Morio - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29969316
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the content of the video or the products depicted. All rights reserved to the copyright owner(s) of content and products. Uploaded for classroom use only.

Writing English 2B fall semester final writing assignment・後学期期末作文

Hello - and Happy New Year!

How are you? Here is our final writing assignment (期末作文) – writing a short essay with an outline. 

While I have already given all of you the handout about the assignment, I will post the information about it here as another way to help remind all of you about what you can write about. 

After this post, there will be some supporting blogwork for all of you that I hope might help you with ideas on how you can write about this theme.  

Theme

Your opinions and feelings about Japan and the future.

After this blogpost, you will first see about what many Americans after World War II thought the future might be like, and their hopes for it, then see another post about the role technology might play in Japanese life and society in the future. 

The picture at the top of this post is from Expo '85 (国際科学技術博覧会, or what many people called the つくば万博), held in Tsukuba in 1985. The theme of that exhibition was "Dwellings and Surroundings - Science and Technology for Man at Home" (人間・居住・環境と科学技術).  

It has now been going on 33 years since that time. There have already been many changes in Japan since then, and many changes going on now. As you think about the future, what further kinds of changes will happen in Japan? What other changes in technology or society do you feel might develop over time? Will we be living in space? Perhaps living on the Moon?

Even more – what are your hopes for Japan for the future? What problems or issues do you think are the most important that you hope can be solved, or at least be made less of problems?

How much to write

I would like to see around 1 to 1 1/2 pages, with a separate outline that will be about half (1/2) a page. (Make the paragraphs at least a little longer!) So the assignment will be in two (2) parts:

• Outline (あらすじ: about half [½] a page 
• Short essay (this means the assignment writing itself – about 1 to 1½ pages)


Deadline (締め切り)

It will be our final class – January 18th (1/18), so today (1/11) is an outline writing day. The outline will be a part of your grade for the final assignment, so it is important because it will make the writing of the short essay (下書き) go much easier.

Formatting

I would like the final assignment (outline and essay both) to be typed up. But I know because we do not have so much time that it may be difficult for some of you to get to a computer if you do not have one at home.

Because of this, you have the choice to turn in the outline and essay by handwriting in pen.  But either way – if you type up your assignment or if you write it in pen – you have to follow the correct format for the heading on the essay (your name on the first line, the class and period on the second line, “final writing assignment” on the third line, and the date (January 18, 2017) on the fourth line).

The essay should have a title, centered (センター 揃え), with a line space between the title and the first line of the first paragraph, and with line spaces between each paragraph, but with single spaces in the paragraphs.

The outline does not need your name on it, but please staple it on top of the essay, so that I see the outline on one sheet, and the essay on the next sheet. 

Good luck! You've done a great job over this year. I've been very happy to have had all of you as students in this class. So I will look forward to reading your great writing on this theme about Japan and the future.

See you next week!

Image: By ころぞう - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2149120