Yong+Yi+Xiang

I believe that my main weaknesses lie in Clear Argumentation and Language Use.

[] This site teaches a step-by-step approach to develop clear arguments, starting with analyzing the task and issue at hand first. After this is done, we should then establish our stand and our arguments by looking at the context, the issues involved, both sides of the topic. A table is also provided in this website to help us to establish clear arguments.

[] This site possesses many different uses of language such as Figures of Speech, Metaphors etc. However, the section that i find the most applicable is Persuasive Language. It teaches us how to use certain words or how to structure the sentences such that it appear persuasive, which is greatly beneficial in writing an arugmentative essay.

Firstly, t he term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques.
 * Research and Planning**

Advantages of GM food include pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, cold tolerance, drought tolerance, salinity tolerance, nutrition, pharmeceuticals

Criticisms against GM food include unintended harm to other organisms, reduced effectiveness of pesticides, gene transfer to non-target species, allergencity, unknown effects on human health (On the whole, with the exception of possible allergenicity, scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk to human health.)

GM food possess enormous potential benefits but we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to the enviornment and human health. Otherwise, GM food could possibly resolve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems. **   I intend to write a body paragraph arguing why GM food is a boon. My argument for this paragraph would centralise on the potential of GM food to resolve the food shortages problem in the world because of its higher yield as compared to normal crops. I intend to use the statistics that i found online (world population has already topped 6 billion and is expected to double in the next 50 years) to convince readers of the urgent need to accept GM food as a source of food. Furthermore, I would try and show the disastrous effects of a possible food shortage in the coming years if we still refuse to consume GM food. Hopefully in this way, my argument can be presented as persuasive and convincing.
 * Comments about paragraph

Genetically Modified (GM) Food could essentially solve the issue of increasing food consumption, providing a solution to this problem that has plagued many countries till now. The world population has already topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. The statistics are horrifying; proving our urgent need for Genetically Modified Food to solve the possible food shortage problem that accompanies the booming world population. As compared to normal crops, GM food possesses pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, cold tolerance and drought tolerance. All of these combined would ensure a relatively larger amount of GM food being produced whereas the productions of normal crops are constantly being hindered by natural disasters and pests. In face of the increasing population in the years to come, providing an adequate food supply is an urgent need and GM food could help us to meet this need. GM food has been proven to provide higher yield as compared to normal crops and is this not reason enough for us to support GM food? Why then should people view GM food with distaste when it could provide the possible solution to the problem of food shortage which could have disastrous results on the world if we insisted on consuming normal crops? Food shortages and malnutrition problems are already prevalent throughout the world today and these problems will be worsened when the world population increases throughout the years. Famines could occur and the lives of many people are at stake if we cannot resolve these problems. A solution presents itself before us now and it is GM food. Therefore, Genetically Modified Food is actually a boon that could help to resolve the existing and imminent food shortages that the booming world population brings about.
 * Paragraph**

**Comments by Milton:** I thought it was very informative, but I also thought that it would be better to talk about things that affect the consumers directly. I mean, most people that have food right now probably would not think of the poor children in Africa who are starving, let alone "adequate food supply". Perhaps a mention of things like increased nutrients would make people feel better about GM food?

In this whole week, I have learnt more about essay writing skills, specifically in the areas of clear argumentation and use of language. In order to present your own arguments clearly, I realize that the most important step is to research thoroughly on the issue at hand and then to plan out your argument. In the past, I did not plan out how to write my arguments, which was a fatal mistake. As for language use, I learnt that the usage of words play a very important role in convincing people. Some words may have more impact than others and other techniques such as rhetoric questioning may also help to construct a good argumentative essay. Throughout the week, I have definitely learnt more about the skills needed to write argumentative essays and I will use what I have learnt in future essays.
 * Reflections**