Fiorela Oct 20th

FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011

Assignment 1 – Informative, analytical and/or argumentative Should the sale and consumption of alcohol – the world’s favorite drug – be further restricted, or even banned? Alcohol is the most common drug accepted by society. People always have excuses to drink alcohol: if you are glad about something, you celebrate and you drink. On the other hand, if you had a horrible moment and you want to forget, you also drink. However, we know perfectly the risks that we face if we drink more than what we have to. Although these reasons to stop us from exceeding the limits are known, they are not taken into account. Society cannot justify any more its lack of awareness about the risks alcohol cause due to the fact that the media in this globalized world has taken the job to warn us with advertisements and extra information. But the community prefers to think nothing would happen or that the problem is not going to happen to them. That is the reason why if someone is at the bar, having some fun, he would drink without thinking of the negative side of this: men usually drink pretending they are cool if they do so in front of women and the number of women drunkards is increasing more and more. The consequences are catastrophic and that is the best sign to interpret that alcohol should be banned. First of all, from the biological point of view, although this substance reduces the risk of coronary heart disease if consumed in moderate proportions, it causes the brain to shrink, irritates the stomach and intestines, encouraging the development of ulcers and disturbing the uptake of minerals and vitamins causing vitamin deficiency. It also contributes to cardiovascular and liver disease like cirrhosis (which cannot be cured). Effects of alcohol always depend on the amount taken as on the individual. For instance, the person gets dizzy, feelings of fatigue reduce, but also good judgment, selfcontrol, and concentration. Reaction times and muscle coordination are impaired. What is more, alcohol is just as potentially addictive as many illegal drugs. Those who become addicted to alcohol often lose their marriages, families, jobs or even their lives. Any drug which is addictive and destructive should be illegal in every government. Another important fact is that alcohol is a contributory factor to an enormous amount of crimes. In many countries alcohol provokes 60-70 % of violent crime, including child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault or rape and murder. Teens under 15 who have consumed alcohol are twice as likely to have sex as those who have not, which leads to disorder. It also leads to public disorder, street fights and vandalism. In other words, this drink is one

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 of the prime causes of violence and crime in modern society, and its banning would reduce the occurrence of these crimes. Moreover, we need consistency in the drug laws. If cannabis, the other psychoactive drug, which is not very addictive and which results in virtually no violent crime or public disorder, needs to be banned because of its mindaltering effects, then how much more do we have to wait to find out that alcohol has finally been banned? An additional disadvantage, apart from the others mentioned before, is that people, especially young inhabitants, drive after having a drink. More than the 90 % of traffic accidents are caused by alcohol. This is because the driver cannot differ distances. He might underestimate speed while driving, not only having euphoria but also motor upheavals; without mentioning loss of the visual sharpness and tiredness. Neither the driver nor the co-driver should have had any drink. It is illegal to drive with more than 80mg of alcohol per 100mg of blood. But even at the legal limit, the driver could be five times more likely to have an accident than if he had drunk nothing at all. The legal limit is currently being reviewed; however, governments should not waste their time doing that if they forbid alcohol. Taking everything into consideration, I am inclined to believe that alcohol should be banned as every harmful drug and citizens should raise awareness and stop evading facts that they know are harmful consequences. In other words, they should think that alcohol can affect everybody as every addictive drug does so everyone has to be careful with it. There is frequent merit in the manner of writing and the choice of content. The candidate uses appropriate and varied vocabulary. There are some minor language errors, but most of the work is fluent and, mainly, very convincing. I think this work deserves 33 out of 40 points.

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 Assignment 2 – Imaginative, descriptive and/or narrative

Loneliness and desperation I feel such kind of pain inside I just want to run and hide, Get away from this tide Hide from everything, everybody Because every little thing hurts me time after time I have so many problems, I don’t know how to solve Such a lonely day here, I’m just a kid trying to survive in this world, Days of desperation and disgrace Coming, staying still… If only this dull sky turned into a sunny one, 3

FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 If only I could figure out this life, If only I could find a place to fix and ease my soul, If only I could find somebody to sacrifice for me and dry my eyes, If only I could find somebody to protect me from those ones who think people have no feelings at all, If only I could find open arms to give me strength and support, If only I could find a hand to hold and lead me If only I could escape from those ones who are fake. Nobody hears me screaming, Nobody wants to understand, Careless from everything I say… I’m just forgotten in this long path Of problems and loneliness called life I just want to go away. I’m so young and so destroyed Torn into pieces by this stronger force… This feeling of gloominess that has taken over me… This emotion of confusion Mixed with smoke and illusions… Broken dreams left and just gone… That’s why nobody cares if I’m hurt or lost I don’t have any way to describe it I’m afraid of people I also feel unsafe… for all their mistakes… I feel unwanted, I feel rejected, I feel like going nowhere, I feel I have no place… I feel like dying, I just feel tired… I feel there’s no destiny, no way to continue… I feel like losing my faith I feel these cold thoughts running through my veins And even though I can’t help it, I wonder if there’s anybody outside That wants to come and take me… Away… Forever and ever… Away from this… Broken world

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 POEM- Loneliness and desperation To start with, when I decided to write this poem I was going through an awful moment in which I felt at a loss and depressed, without identity and place to go and feel comfortable. I am an only child. That is the reason why I sometimes feel that I carry the world on my shoulders without any company. In other words, I’m under constant pressure. That was the first sign that motivated me to express my feelings in this poem. Secondly, my English teacher found a moving picture of a little boy left alone in such a weird and dreadful place, that I decided to use it as an inspiration for these lines referring also to the image. While writing the poem, I always compared the picture with my emotions, a detail which gave me a sensation of freedom. When I looked at the photograph, many ideas and interpretations appeared in mind like this boy was just there, lost and hurt, after a tremendous and chaotic war or something related to the end of the world. However, I was determined to continue with the first idea. To make use of a variety of words, I made a list and a clustering of all of them as they were coming to my mind: Desperation Pain Gloom Sadness Loneliness Blue, gray days Days of desperation and disgrace are coming soon Forgotten Dry eyes Tears Search for help Motionless Mistakes Problems Broken inside Lost inside Without a place to go to fix your soul And dry your eyes, Protect you from those ones who think people have no feelings at all Without open arms to give you support and strength Careless Broken dreams Nothing remains from those feeling of happiness I used to have Lost my personality forever And everybody tries to bit me with their super ego

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 Runaway Getaway From everything I can’t find myself I can’t see myself I always look for a charm glance and a faithful smile to recover from that kind of Lack of confidence Homeless Blind Rejected Unwanted Can’t find myself To be strong To have strength Without place to belong to Nobody understands me Hide feelings Can’t find dreams Loosing my mind Falling behind Falling from grace Loosing my faith Shameless people Everybody wants to hurt me and take advantage of Giving everything up Just to getaway Messed up my mind Confusion Never listen to me Won’t forget your mistakes Stand up and be strong Be the difference No point in thinking about yesterday I’m so different now Want to run away If only I could… I was forgotten Do you get it now? Cannot find a way to describe Broken heart Can’t handle this confusion I’m unable All by myself Cold words that hurt No one understands I’m going nowhere

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 Somebody has to take me away Trying to figure out this life Unsafe Afraid of people Weak Get tired Get lost Can’t sleep People discriminates me Dull There’s no destiny, no way to continue The ones that I liked most where “open arms to give me strength and support” because it shows the child’s necessity of someone by his side, giving him care and attention. On the other hand, “rejected” is a perfect word to portray the other side of this necessity. This is very important in this piece because it instills the reader to wonder why this infant is in that place alone and also to ask and imagine which were the mistakes mentioned that people committed and why he is so afraid of them. I believe this is a poem for ambivalent and open minds which are able to create an imaginary story from different points of view about why this kid uses such a strong word like “rejected” or “unwanted” for this early age. The tone of the poem is of course charged with desperation, wretchedness and sorrow, and the most significant phrases for me were “If only this sky could turn into a sunny one…” and “I’m just forgotten in this long path…” In the stanza (if only) and another one (I feel), I used repetition to emphasize in the reader’s mind the idea of necessity and feelings. Finally, I coped with many challenges before finishing the whole poem due to the fact that I had to have always in mind I was describing the feelings of a poor little child, not the ones of a sixteen-year-old teenager. Fortunately, I could deal with that fact by mixing the situations, I ended up with a more detailed and memorable piece. This is a very good attempt to write a moving poem, though too gloomy at times. Explanations are sound and give a clear picture of intention and development of the work. However, the poem itself loses unity at certain moments and the choice of words tends to be too simple. That is why this piece gets 30 out of 40 points.

Assignment 3 – Reading and Writing ‘Love letter to the earth’ “Love Letter to the Earth” was supposedly written by an Indian chief in the 19th century, on the occasion when the colonizers wanted to expand their

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 empire taking possession of this “new continent” although it had already had people with a very different way of life. The wise Indian made a plea to take care of the earth in response to the Great Chief in Washington, who offered him to buy the Indian lands. In the first place, from the very beginning, the speaker uses the words “white man” referring to the conquerors and “red man” to give reference to himself and his community as Indians. In addition to this, he compares his words with the stars “My words are like stars, they don’t set” to express that his words do not disappear like the sun when it goes down, but they stand firmly like the stars that always shine day and night…and show us the way… Secondly, the persona also wonders with amazement “how can you buy or sell the sky? The warmth of the land?” to ask how could the white man buy something that was created for all the living organisms in this world. Indians “do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water” because they are simple, humble and nature has no owner for them. Indians cannot take the fields for everybody to give them to the white man, due to the fact that these are for everyone, every single organism of this universe. Furthermore, the Indian uses repetition using the word “sacred” to put more emphasis on the fact that Indians are thankful for the land that gives them everything. White people can offer and promise comfortable and modern places or more; but it won’t be easy for the ones who respect the earth, on the grounds that they care about nature that was and is considered as their mother. “The shinning water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but blood of our ancestors” means that their fathers used to fight for nature as a precious treasure and taught their descendants how to value it. That is the reason why, by this metaphor, the speaker shows how this philosophy of appreciating nature is very important to them, because they keep it in mind by appreciating “every single part of this earth”. There are also personifications in the passage to give the idea of ancestral and cultural presence like, “The water’s murmur is the voice of the father of my father”. What is more, another personification expresses that white men do not appreciate land, but destroy it without caring about it, due to the fact that it is painful, “the sights of your cities pains the eyes of the red man”. What is left to love in your life if you do not protect the beauty of the earth?, asks the voice in other words, used as a literary technique, “What is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill…” Needless to say, the repetition of “the earth is our mother” and the metaphor “…as a place where even the white man can go and taste the wind…” reinforce the idea that as the red man preserves every single corner of nature, the others should take it as an example of lifestyle and also do it. Finally, all these techniques are used by the author to fulfill his attempt of conveying the idea that there is only one condition to “sell their lands”, the white men should take care of them. But even though I consider the red man has a correct point of view about this and his meaningful words are charged with significance, white men would not agree because of their avarice. That is the reason why, these days, we are

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH Coursework portfolio Martoccia Filippetti, Fiorela AR512 0011 lamenting problems and calamities such as tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear contamination, global warming, melting of ice and more. If we had taken into account the philosophy that this red man tried to convey to us almost two centuries ago, nowadays we would not be regretting natural disasters and catastrophes we have to suffer. To conclude, we should stop contaminating the soil, water and air, cutting trees to obtain wood, and we should avoid hunting; we must also try to stop the hole in the ozone layer by avoiding the use of sprays and toxic substances or contribute in some way to impede global warming and ice melting. We have to make a move to urge governments to finish harmful scientific experiments like the one which caused last year’s Tsunami, which took thousands of innocent lives. We should learn how to take care of this world, because whatever we do to nature we do to ourselves. This candidate has analyzed the reading passage in detail, looking into the way the author’s picturesque language is used to convey ideas successfully. She has also provided good insight regarding the subject matter and has contributed with convincing arguments of her own. So, I allot this piece 9 out of 10 points.

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