COR160

Essential Academic Writing Skills

Tutor-Marked Assignment 02
July 2015 Semester

Copyright © 2015 SIM University

COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT 02

This tutor-marked assignment is worth 50% of the final mark for COR160 Essential Academic
Writing Skills.

The cut-off date for this assignment is 2359hrs on 04 December 2015.

__________________________________________________________________________
Submit your solution document in the form of a single MS Word file on or before the cut-off
date shown above.

Additional instructions:
1. You will need to indicate clearly on the front page your name, student ID,
course title and assignment number. Note also the following:

 Spacing (between the lines): 1.5 or double spacing

 Font style: Arial or Times New Roman preferred
 Font size: 12 preferred (min 11 and max 13)

2. Summarise using your own words as much as possible. You must document all
information that you use from another source, or you will be penalized severely. You
must acknowledge these by using the APA documentation style. This includes both
in-text citations and end-of-text referencing.

3. If you copy from the work of another student, regardless of the course or programme,
you will be severely penalized. You are not permitted to re-use material from past
assignments whether in part or in full. All of the above actions can result in your
failing the TMA.

*Remember that accurate and proper documentation of information from secondary sources
is essential because UniSIM takes a very serious view on plagiarism. All information from
secondary sources will be detected by the Turnitin software that your assignment will be put
through in Blackboard and anything that is not acknowledged and properly documented will
be taken as an instance of plagiarism and your assignment may be failed.

Scope
You will find chapters 12a (Critical Reading), 12b (Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation), 12c
(Synthesizing) and 12d (Synthesizing Sources) in your COR160 textbook useful. Refer also
to the relevant on-line study units.

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Learning outcomes
− Cite sources in writing using the proper citation and referencing style.
− Evaluate information critically from various sources to respond to a task.
− Synthesise information from various sources in writing in response to a given task.
− Develop a rhetorical structure of an essay.
− Apply persuasive argumentative writing strategies in response to a given task.

Question 1

On Friday, 5th of June 2015, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Sabah, East Malaysia. Twenty-
nine students and eight teachers of Tanjong Katong Primary School were on a school trip to
Kota Kinabalu when the earthquake struck. Some sustained injuries while several perished on
this school trip. Tanjong Katong Primary School, Fuchun Secondary School and Greenridge
Secondary School were in Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia on overseas learning journeys.
Students and teachers from Fuchun Secondary School and Greenridge Secondary School
were all accounted for and had returned safely to Singapore.

There has been much debate in the media with regard to such Singapore Ministry of
Education (MOE)-approved overseas learning journeys. The two articles provided reflect the
debate regarding this issue.

Should the Singapore MOE continue or stop conducting such an overseas learning
journey programme?

In about 1000 words, write a persuasive argumentative essay defending your position in
order to argue for your particular stance on this issue. Other than providing supporting
arguments for the position you take on this issue, you MUST anticipate objections and
provide counterarguments to write the paper. Relevant information for you to gather would
be:

• MOE overseas learning journeys

• Issues (moral, ethical, social and etc.) surrounding such an overseas learning journey
• Arguments for continuing such an overseas learning journey programme
• Arguments against continuing such an overseas learning journey programme
(100 marks)

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COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment

Guidance Notes

1. Your reasoning must be good.

2. Strengthen your argument by using examples and illustrations.
3. You may include any additional but relevant information to the ideas that have
already been given in the scenario and articles.
4. You should use at least 7 research sources to help you write your essay. The
given articles are considered as a separate research source each and can count
towards the 7 research sources.
5. You are to use credible and reliable sources to help you write this essay. Marks
will be deducted for non-credible and unreliable content.
6. Remember to use accurate grammar, correct sentence structures and a tone
appropriate to academic writing. Marks will be deducted for poor English.

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COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment

Article 1:

COMMENT: After Sabah quake, should parents allow

kids to go on school expeditions?
By Kerene Ng | Yahoo Newsroom – Tue, Jun 9, 2015

Should parents still allow kids to go on overseas excursions? Should schools still arrange
such expeditions? Isn’t it safer to just conduct programmes in Singapore?

These were some of the questions asked online after the Sabah earthquake on 5 June claimed
eight Singaporeans' lives and left two missing. Most of the victims were from Tanjong
Katong Primary School (TKPS).

In response to the safety concerns, TKPS said they had taken students to climb Mount
Kinabalu in the past and there had been no problems. The Ministry of Education (MOE) also
released an outline detailing the school’s plan and trail, which showed precautions had been
taken.

A concerned parent, Loh Kat Teng, whose child had been on the same trip last year, wrote
a Facebook post, revealing some background information behind the expedition. Her post
was shared by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Loh wrote about the lessons her child learned from the trip. “They learned to be prepared by
building up their physical [sic]. They learned to look out for each other and cheered each
other on when the going gets tough,” she wrote.

Calling the expedition experience “valuable”, Loh added that though she can’t speak for other
parents, the school has her full support for the programme.

As a student just out of polytechnic and heading into my next level of education, I agree with
her. I, too, fully support sending students on overseas learning expeditions.

This is why.

When I was in primary school, my parents were not very strict about what I did, and mostly
allowed me to make my own decisions. When an opportunity to go on an Overseas
Community Involvement Programme (OCIP) came up, I decided to stay home because I was
not a risk-taker. I preferred knowing what was going to happen, and being a worrywart, going
to Cambodia on a school trip posed an unlimited amount of “Things That May Go Wrong”.
My parents supported me. Hey, it was easy for them to, knowing their kid was safe and sound

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at home.

But, when my friends came back from the trip with endless stories and various anecdotes, I
began to regret my decision. That regret turned to resentment against my parents because I
thought “Why did they let me make my own decision and not encourage me to go on the
trip?”

From the stories told by my friends who went on the trip, I learned I missed out on a lot of
things. Building a small school for the students there? I want to do that! Bathing from water
in wells? Count me in, please. The photos shared by my friends made me even more jealous
and I resolved never to let anything stop me from going on any school-related trip.

I took chances whenever possible. When I was in polytechnic and my school offered an
exchange trip to Japan, I jumped at it. Sure, it was scary not knowing anything and I spent a
lot of time overthinking the possible things that could happen. But in the end, being able to
experience living in a place different from my own made everything worth it. Isn’t that what
life is all about?

It is understandable for parents to be cautious, to keep your child safe from harm, but what if
that meant that you were keeping them from fun and from valuable life experiences as well?

Whenever a situation arises that forces me to go out of my comfort zone, I think of this quote
by T.S. Eliot which helps bolster my confidence, “Only those who risk going too far can
possibly find out how far one can go.”

Ultimately, it's up to any individual, parent or student, to do what they deem fit. But, I really
hope parents of kids who may have future trips will consider not just the bad things that could
happen, but also think about the good things that your children will experience.
-- https://sg.news.yahoo.com/comment--after-sabah-quake--should-parents-allow-kids-to-go-on-school-
expeditions-082906435.html

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Article 2:

Sabah quake: Father of dead Singaporean girl never

wanted her to go on the trip
PUBLISHED ON JUN 7, 2015 7:24 AM
By Kok Xing Hui

SINGAPORE - Her parents did not want her to go on the school trip to Mount Kinabalu
initially, as they felt the climb was not easy and examinations were coming up in two months.
But 12-year-old Peony Wee Ying Ping, who loved outdoor activities and was in the netball
school team, begged and her mother relented, her father, Mr Alson Wee, 51, told Chinese
evening daily Lianhe Wanbao.

Peony, a Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) pupil, was among those who died when a
6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Mount Kinabalu in Sabah on Friday morning.

Her body, accompanied by her family, will be flown back to Singapore on Sunday, the
Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Saturday night.

Peony's mother, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, flew to Sabah on Saturday

morning. She was accompanied by her younger brother Saturday.

Mr Wee, who works at the Port of Singapore Authority, told Lianhe Wanbao that he stayed
back in Singapore to look after their 14-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.

He added that he regretted allowing Peony to go on the trip.

He said he had climbed the mountain 30 years ago. "I know that the climb isn't easy and I
never wanted her to go. Her exams were also coming up in two months and I didn't think she
should be going overseas now," he said.

But he changed his mind after considering that the children would be accompanied by their
teachers.

Also, he had not allowed Peony to go on a school trip to Taiwan a few years ago, and he did
not want to disappoint her again. He paid $600 for the trip to Mount Kinabalu.

Peony was an obedient girl who would help out at her mother's clinic in her spare time, he
said.

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COR160 Tutor-Marked Assignment

She would also take her baby sister to the playground whenever she was free.

He said sadly: "When children get excited, they don't pay any heed to danger. And now she is
gone."

----- END OF COR160 TMA02 -----

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