Hawthorne, Peter (2001, 10 December) ‘Drugs or guns’. Time Magazine, page 54-55

The article focuses on the rising issue in South Africa that is drugs or guns. The drugs are symbolic for medication that is to prevent HIV positive among pregnant women and guns is symbolic for military reaction. The article covers on the government who have to contend with two controversies that just won’t go away, arms and AIDS. Lately the South African legal teams were locked in a battle with the non- governmental arms reduction organization. The government does not show their effort in preventing HIV positive among pregnant women in South Africa. The government invest a lot of money for weapons but not on medication, which is the content on these articles. The aspect that I think found valuable or difficult is from perspective because it is all about the stance taken from the writers, and sometimes, we did not know what actually the stance of the writer. In this articles, the stance from the writers is negative and condemn the government and describe the issue specifically to the two legal cases that been faced by South African government.

The stance is negative towards this issue because it clearly shown by the fact that South African government misused the power that been given by the citizen by using that money in illegal way and involved in corruption. The government also forget about the welfare of their citizen. The article condemning the government as “irrationally and constitutionally” by refusing to heed the plight of poverty-stricken South Africans. The article also condemning the government as worse than assassins.

Hawthorne describes the government as those who take advantages with the citizen trust by using their money to buy weapons. For instance, in passage shows that A.N.C chief official Tony Yengeni faces for allegedly obtaining a cut- price Mercedes an arms- deal- linked firm. The government position the government as more badly than scams because their action that using the public money for their own benefit.

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DIETING

Based on articles, Dieting: A waist is a terrible thing to mind is about the experience from the writer, Martin Selingman. These articles can provide them with the clues to the solution of their problem. In Dieting, the information that I find interesting is people who are concerned about their weight. For examples, the young women are universally concerned with their body image. They actually normal in weight, but they are terrified of becoming fat. So they diet, exercise and also take laxatives. Thus, all can cause bulimia which is a natural consequence of all self-starvation to lose weight, in the midst of abundant food.

Actually, weight loss products simply do not work. People said that if we take weight loss products, oue weight will be decreased, but it is not true. Because, in these articles stated that, Seligman cites a number of impressive studies that agree with this statement. These products also gain weight, each time making further weight loss more difficult and also have health problem such as bulimia, depression and others.

Besides, a myth of overweight is also interesting for me. It is some myths that people believe it. Such as have ‘ideal’ weight in order to live longer, overweight people overeat, and overweight people have an overweight personality. All this a re wrong actually. For examples, physical inactivity is a major cause of obesity is one of myths of overweight. It is probably not, because fat people are indeed less active than thin people, but inactivity is probably caused more by the fatness than the other way around.

In these articles, there has a concept for me that am difficult to understand which is concept off The Right Treatment. These concepts provide a weight loss Summary Table. For me, it is hard to understand what the table is about. Overall, for me, this articles Dieting is very important to people because it give many benefit if read it.

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READING 5.4 (METAPHOR)

Based on presentation by Izayati Husna, Mufidah and Farahin, their presentation focuses and explaining the relationship between the writer’s choices of metaphor and how these may influence the reader. What is good about this presenter is they can present their topic very good and clearly. Audience can understand it. Metaphor is a word that is used in an imaginative way to show the somebody shares the same qualities. Metaphor plays a key role in enabling us to talk about and construct the word. The presenter said that metaphor play a fundamental role in ordinary. For examples, computer, mp3 and hand phone, however some problems occurred when certain words being approach. Metaphor in discourse is having communication. The metaphor ‘argument is war’ is a specific manifestation of a more general process and the metaphor voted above, in which events and actions are constructed as a physical objects, such as love and personality and power. The reading are very useful because in can able to communicate with other and make sense of world and reflect our personal and culture. But, this group do not touch many critical issue. All the issue only taken from the text.

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UNIT 5 : AUDIENCE AND IMPACT

READING 5.3 (TYPES OF EXPOSITION. ‘PERSUADING THAT’ AND ‘PERSUADING TO’)

Based on presentation by Nadiah and Anisah, they present focuses on a type of text terms ‘exposition’. The characteristic features of these texts that are provide reason to support some thesis. Thesis is the main point of argument. Most effective ways is distinguishing differences types of exposition, which is to take this element. Thesis looks more closely of what being argued for. The writer distinguishes between 2 types of exposition based on different purpose they achieve. The 2 types are ‘analytical’ and ‘hortatory’ exposition. The former attempt to persuade the recipient that something is true, while the latter try to persuade the recipient to do something hortatory are ‘persuades to’, to explain why they should change, spoke while the analytical are ‘persuade that’ to explain why things are as they are written (academic speaking and writing). Comment about the presenter is they were reading the text and not came up with their own examples. This can makes audience do not understand what they were present, in exposition and metaphor, metaphor is usually something that teachers associate with poetry and narrative. Metaphor expressed in this way are less explicit that those created by similes. The presenter also includes in critical literacy and from reading, audience can identify differences between analytical and hortatory exposition and can change our perception towards speaking and writing.For this presentation, audience not really understand and they also include 10 elements in this presentation.

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READING 4.5 (CROOKED AND FALLACIOUS THINKING)

Based on presentation by Mastika and Syuhada, they explain meaning about crooked and fallacious. Crooked is not in a straight line and fallacious is wrong based on false idea. In the simply meaning, it is a logical thinking. Entails the ability to think logically and recognize and analysis instances of crooked and fallacious thinking. This reading also about a manipulative tool in the hands of speaker wishing to influence and affect the judgment of their reader which is Medium that use by the crooked and fallacious thinker to make people trust and ignore it. Presenters give the examples by find the donation to build mosque from Muslim not from other religion followers. A crooked thinker may give the impression that he is saying something meaningful and logical when he is fact not proving anything. The presenter said that a false analogy used to support an argument in fact prove nothing. For examples, some advertisement creates to give high expectation to consumers. Asking false question is in the case, the crooked thinker makes an unfair assumption in his question. Mis leading questions of this sort are often asked by lawyers when their make their cross examination. The presenters also state the critical literacy element in this articles which are audience, that involve in communication, rhetorical function: to explain and educate the reader and purpose is to explain and educate the people who involve in communication about the ‘crooked and fallacious thinking’.Overally, this presentation is okay.

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READING 4.4 (STATISTICS)

Based on the presentation by Qila and Liyana, they concerned with the use and misuse of statistic and are intended to caution readers into more informed response to texts that link facts and figures. Statistic has the meaning which are information about any activity expressed in numerical form and others meaning is notes the art and science of collecting, presenting, analyzing and interpreting numerical data. Presenter told the importance of statistic in human affairs is obvious from our tendency to associate ‘facts’ closely with ‘figures’. There are 4 kinds of statistic which are unqualified averages, fallacious sampling, and percentage accompanied by actual numbers and misleading presentation. Misleading statistic are thus dangerous than others. A text is then offered for reading and analysis with the reader being asked to evaluate the deductions made within the text from the statistic used.This presentation need more improvement because im as audience not really understand what the presenter said.

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UNIT 4: ARGUMENT AND EVIDENCE

READING 4.3 (WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE)

Based on presentation by Nur Amira and Tunku Aimi Athirah in this reading 4.3, this text is about the issue of evidence and cross examination. Evidence is the facts, signs or objects that make you believe something is true. Cross examination is for the purpose of exposing inconsistent and contradictions in the testimony of hostile witnessed. From this reading, it is concerned with the issue of evidence. It begins with the famous case of the kidnapping of the infant son of Charles Kindbergh and examines the evidence, wholly circumstantial, that led to the conviction of Bruno Hauptman. The writer told about murdering case and kidnapping case. The presentation gave the differences between kidnapping and murdering case. Kidnapping case is circumstantial evidence while murdering case is testimonial evidence. In all cases, the writer urges that a reader should maintain in critical stance towards everything that is read.For this presentation, the presenter present this topic good and also easy to understand. but, the weakness from this presentation is sometimes the presenter cannot give the correct answer to audience when audience give a question to them.

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