Question 1 : Expectations for Critical Literacy

You heard comments and maybe grievances from your seniors about Critical Literacy, but what is/are your expectation (s) or hope for this subject as you are just started.

I just heard more negative comments from the seniors about this subject. As for them, this subject is difficult to score compared to other subjects that semester 4 Diploma in English Communication (DECom) students should go through.As how difficult it  is, I've set in my mind that whatever happen, i must go through it. 

In the other side, I always hope that by learning this subject, my level of thinking can be changed to be more creative. This is because, in the process of learning this subject students need to study about the article like we need to apply the ten rules that we had learnt in class. Before this, when I read something like newspapers, articles, or anything, I just read without having any 'QA' session inside my mind. What happen is, whatever the topic of the article is about, I'll just read and nothing will affect my mind. 

Besides, I hope that by learning this subject, it can increase my level of thinking to be more matured and can think more about serious matter. Before this, I always thought that ' what are they discussing about are not my problems'. Lastly, I hope that I can score in this subject. But in the way to catch the success, what I need to do is struggling more hard because "no pain no gain".

Question 3 : Stereotyping

What is stereotyping? Based on the dictionary meaning, stereotyping is a fixed idea or image that many people have of a particular type of person or thing, but which is often not true in reality. Stereotyping also means something that doesn't have any fact but people belief to be true. There are two types of stereotyping; positive stereotyping and negative stereotyping.

The examples for positive stereotyping are all blacks are great basketball players, all Asians are geniuses, and all Canadians are exceptionally polite while the examples for negative stereotyping are girls are not good in sports, men who like pink are effeminate, and guys are messy and unclean.

For me, these people believe should be changed especially the negative stereotypes because this ways of thinking might create negative impact to the group of people in the future. As for example, people always belief that fierce faced person is bad but in the reality, not all people that have fierce face are bad. So, we should avoid from having stereotyping towards any people maybe because of his or her natural characteristics.

Besides, people should change the stereotypes by establishing it through their own attitude. For example, people belief those girls are not good in sports. So, girls need to stand up and make proof that they are not as what others think.

Question 2 : Perception on Househusband

Househusband refers to the husband who chooses to stay at home to replace housewife's duty, doing their daily routines like taking care of the children, cooking, and many more. This situation become very common nowadays because of the difficulties to find jobs that suits to men's interest. 

When I've asked for my perception about this issue, for me this must not be happened. This is because for me, the men's place is not in the house for the whole day doing the women’s tasks. They need to find foods, money and other basic needs in human’s life and these are not the women’s job. It is not wrong for women to find job if it is just to help their husband but not to replace their husband’s place.

Naturally, men have less ability to shape their children. This is because, not many men have the level of softness as high as the women. They tend to say ‘no’ for everything without having any discussion with their children especially. In addition, for most of the fathers, children need to obey and just do what they are asked for. This situation is very different with women. Most of the children said that they feel more comfortable to share their problems and ask for everything from their mother.  

This trend also can make people around like the neighborhood to think and give bad impressions about this househusband. This is why, he let his wife to go out and hang out without knowing the dangerous for a woman.  

Question 4 : Great Movies but They Don't Always Tell the Truth

Proposition: Hollywood produces great movies, but they don’t always tell the truth even it is based on ‘true stories’. Provide at least two (2) premises or counter argument for the proposition. Write them in a complete paragraph. 

Everybody knows about Hollywood even he or she is a child which only in primary school. When we say Hollywood, our thinking will automatically change to the English movies and also the white and black actors and actresses. In the same time, we will start to think how high the imagination and quality of the movies because most of their movies will satisfy our wants. 

We agree that “Hollywood produces great movies, but unfortunately they don’t always tell the truth even it is based on true stories”.

Hollywood had done all this with their own reasons. One of the reasons is just to attract the people especially their fans or loyal audience that always hope for their best story every time they came out with new idea. This is because, maybe what are they going to present as their movie are based on the story that are very popular among them or maybe their own history that everybody knows. So, when they make some addition or a little bit changes in the movie just to make it more attractive and interesting, it might make their audience feel excited and forget about the story that is actually they had known.

Besides, they decide not to tell the truth in their movie because they need to gain much profit. Because of this pressure, either they want or not, they need to modify the true story in order to grab the audience’s attention. When they are able to catch the audience attention, this can make their profits to increase because the more people watch their movie the more money they can make.

Question 5 : Response for a Newspaper

Read the newspaper excerpt dated 3 March, 2013 taken from New Strait Times. You will then write your opinion as a response that to be sent to Viewpoint, a column where readers can share their thoughts.

What are prisoners? Who are them? Based on the dictionary meaning, prisoner is the person who is kept in the prison as the punishment.

In the article, the writer is talking about the education for prisoners that have many benefits not only for themselves but also toward the community and country. As for me, this is a good way in order to save our youths as long as they are our own assets for the future and so that we need to give them the second chance after they had made wrong.

As the community, we need to believe that people tend to change their behaviors once we give them chance to change. For example, when a guy has been release from the prison, the community usually prejudiced on this person. This can be seen when this guy has difficulties to get job. When he can’t get the job, this can make him to fall into the black world especially when he was offered by a wrong person for the job with high salary. This can make he falls into the wrong ways again and again. So, why not we help them to be like us?

I really support the government that opens the ways for this group of people to start their life from the early stage by giving them education and job opportunities. This will not only give benefits to them but also towards our beloved citizens and country in order to achieve our vision in the year of 2020.