Writing Day #1

Integrated Essay: Stonehenge

The lecturer presented the main reasons why the theory, presented in the
passage, claiming that Stonehenge was a burial place is not totally accurate. He
argued that the theory was built on assumptions or incomplete information,
identifying three specific points.
First, he points out that in spite of the presence of human remains in the place,
such as bones fragments, these findings have been known by researchers for
almost two hundred years and are not at all strong evidence of the purpose of the
site.
Secondly, the passage presents the idea that bluestones are materials related to
burial ceremonies but the lecturer refutes this argument based on the fact that
bluestones are in fact native to the area and that these materials could have been
put in place because of its magical pro perties rather than its burial ceremony
significance. Furthermore, many artistical properties are also attributed to this type
of stones.
Finally, the stone mace believed to belong to an important leader or political figure
is the only piece of evidence supporting the idea that Stonehenge is the resting
place of important ancient people. In addition, it has been the only object found in
Stonehenge.
In short, at this point, there is a huge lack of valid evidence in the passage’s
theory so as to think of it as real facts.

Independentes Essay: E-mail/Voice-mail vs Telephone/Face-to-facte

When it comes to communications there are several options to facilitate the arrival
of messages in our bussy daylife. However, from my point of view real human
interaction will always be a better option to communicate with others. There are
four reasons to support this belief.
Firstly, face-to-face interactions allow us to get an emotional response from others
when giving important news or sharing pleasant stories. Forinstance, imaging
telling a friend your are getting married or you have purchased a new car, it is
invaluable to witness reactions such as happiness and sympathy which will be
obviously absent on written paper or recorded in a voice machine.
Secondly, despite e-mails being an easy way to talk with an important client or
even your boss, messages could be misunderstood if badly written. Moreover, new
social trends encourage youngster to use slang words that affect the accuracy of a
letter and leave site to wrong interpretations.
Third, many people would argue that voice mails can do the job and avoid the
issues of badly written e-mails. I believe however that, in such a fragmented one-
way communication, messages could get lost. The fact is, peoples do not check
their voicemails so often.
lastly, I am conviced that telephones are great whenever you talk with a person
overseas or living in another state. In addition, calls let you get inmediate response
and generate inmediate corrections when the message is not fully understood.
To sum up, I support the idea that human interaction should always prevail over
technology.

Writing Day #2
Independent essay: Human needs for farmland, housing and industry are more
important than saving land for endangered animals. Do you agree? Give reasons
and examples.

With the advent of technology, human population growth and its related increasing
need for food and new homes, animal life and nature have been directly affected
in different ways. From my perspective the statement that humans on behalf of
development can freely modify nature to supply their needs, even when this
jeopardizes the existence of some animal species, is totally wrong. There are a few
reasons why I feel this way about this topic.
First, modifying our environment usually implies modifying animal habitats. For
instance, in big cities overpopulation push real state business to build more
buildings at the rim of the cities and, commonly, choosen places for construction
include areas where animals have settled down. Furthermore, this type of
intervention leave species in a homeless situation, wandering in the streets and
even spreading diseases among humans.
Secondly, many species have already disappeared because of human activites such
as logging and fishing. There is an increasing list of endangered animal groups and
an even a larger list of extincted species. Well-known examples to illustrate this
issue are different bear species and tiger species that have been wiped out in the
amazon rainforest.
Finally, I strongly think governments should do more to protect habitats. In spite
of some efforts implemented by some countries, suchs as Norway, it is necessary
to be even more vigilant on the actions of illegal businesses risking animal life.
Already taken measures such as no fishing zones and national parks with no
hunting policies have been somewhat effective. However more must be done.
To conclude, human activity should not be performed without considering nature
and the consequences of changing it. There is more to be done about this topic.

Writing Day #3
The lecturer calls into question the three main points presented in the passage,
supporting the idea that R. robustus, a newly found ancient mammal, was a
scavenger rather than a hunter. The debated topics include the size relationship
between R. robustus and its believed prey, the length and size of the R. robustus’s
legs and finally the absense of teeth mark on the bones found in its stomach.
First, it is stated in the lecture that the size comparison between R. robustus and
an adult Psittacoasur is meaningless because of the fact that the animal could have
hunted baby dinasours and not big ones. Moreover, the size of the mammal almost
doubled the size of baby Psittacosaurs; this type of size relationship is commonly
seen in nature between predators and preys.
Secondly, in spite of the fact that R. robustus had short legs and was rather small
in size, this is by no means strong evidence of its scavenger nature. In addition, in
animal world there are many examples of predators with this body type. For
instance, the tasmanian demon can achieve almost 150 km/hr when hunting
despite its short legs.
Lastly, the lecturer makes the point that R. robustus could have swallowed its
preys completely. This statement could explain the lack of teeth mark s on the
bones found in its stomach. Furthermore, R. robustus didn’t have backteeth in its
jaws and this could be another reason why the bones lack teeth marks.
To put it briefly, there’s enough evidence to believe that R. robustus was indeed a
real predator.
 Writing
Integrated Writing:
In spite of the fact that a good argument could be made for supporting team work
in companies, some issues call into question many of the claimed benefits of this
approach to problem solving and project development. These specific issues are
addressed by the lecturer and supported by evidence.
The lecturer described a study that analyzed how team members plan solutions
and approach to problems and how they feel about the outcomes and work
experience as well. It was noticed in the first place that many group members got
a free ride and did not manage any task whereas other were deeply commited to
find a way to overcome the obstacles.
Furthermore, the outcomes were attributed to the group as a whole not
considering indivual effort or different levels of responsibility for achieving the
goal. The net result was a general discomfort from commited group members.
Then, it was also noticed that many group member became some kind of
influencers in their group taking control of the most important decisions and also
dismissing the ideas from other members. When the outcomes were not beneficial
for the company the group was to blame as a whole.
All in all, there are many issues regarding team work and it is necessary to
consider individual efforts and feelings, stablishing individual responsabilities.
Integrated Writing
The reading and lecture talk about a
century. The author of the reading
Rembrandt by giving three possible
claims made by the author. She is
Rembrandt.
painting attributed to Rembrandt in the seventeenth-
feels that the painting is wrongfully attributed to
explanations. The lecturer challenges each of these
of the opinion that the painting indeed belongs to

To begin with, the author argues that the women in the potrait had inconsistent clothing,
specifically the cap looked like that of servents but the fur coat looked luxurious. He adds
that Rembrandt was known for his attention to detail and would never make such an error.
The lecturer challenges this saying that after a thorough x-ray analysis and pigment study, it
was found that the coat was not part of the painting. It was added 100 years after the
original painting was done.

Secondly, the author suggests that elements of light and shadow dont fit together. He
elaborates that the face is illuminated wrongly and should appear partially in shadow due to
fur coat below. The lecturer rebuts this suggestion saying that the underneath painting
previously had simple white colored cloth. This light-colored cloth matches the
illumination of the face and maybe the reason why Rembrandt potrayed that way.

Lastly, the author posits that the painting might not belong to Rembrandt because the
painting had several pieces of wood glued together. He adds that all past paintings have
been made out of a single piece of wood. In contrast, the lecturer says that when painting
was redone, extra wood was used to accomodate other parts to make the painting look
grand and valuable. He adds that the wood used underneath came from the same tree as of
his other painting, attributing to the fact that painting was indeed made by Rembrandt.

To summarize, there is evidence to suggest that Portrait of an Elderly Woman in a White

Bonnet was indeed painted by Rembrandt.