Agnostic Essays - Philosophy Of Religion, Existence Of God, God

Agnostic I believe that I am agnostic because I don't know what to think about religion. When it comes to saying whether I believe in God or not, I feel that I have not yet come to a complete understanding of God's existence. This tends to be a vicious cycle which constantly runs through my head. Ever since I can remember, I was taught through my family and church that this being does exist, but as I grew older I began to question whether this almighty being really does exist. How can I believe that this being exists when every day I watch the news and hear of all the tragedy that is happening in the world. I have been taught through my family and church that God is the creator and supreme ruler of the universe. They also taught me that he has set up certain guidelines or rules for which we must obey. These are commonly known as the ten commandments. We have been told that if we disobey these commandments , we will ultimately go to hell. Furthermore, if we follow these commandments, we will go to heaven and live in peace eternally. We all basically have the same perception of what Heaven and Hell are like. Heaven is commonly thought of as a utopia. A place which is soft, beautiful and peaceful. Where there is total peace and harmony. Where as Hell is known as being a prison for evil doers. Hell is supposed to be a dark, hot, and gloomy place with much misery. A persons worst nightmare. As I have gotten older, I don't necessarily believe that God created these commandments or in these places. I do believe that they are still a good set of standards and values for everyone to live by. If we as individuals pray and hold God to be the almighty, How can we make sense of all of the bloodshed, disease, evil and hatred in this world which we live. If God creates, why would he create murderers, thieves, and rapist? How do we except all human beings dying from diseases such as cancer and aids. Can we really state that there is a God, when so many of the young have died in war, or who can account for a creature such as Hitler. I have seen far to much evil in this world to be totally sure there is one almighty being watching over and protecting us. Many people pray to God to keep evil away from all who we love. When in reality, there is no insurance to keep us safe from evil. Isn't it ironic that the one that many people pray to for forgiveness has the power to bring pain in our lives. In my opinion, God is an image for all of us to look up to or strive for his perfection. Everyone wants to be as perfect as the way we perceive God as being. Even if there is no God, this can only make our world better. In conclusion, I still have not been convinced that everything around me has been created by God. But, if it brings all of us closer and makes the world a much better place, I don't see anything wrong with having it. I believe that each individual should get out of religion what they want, not what society wants them to get out of it.

Definition and Discussion of Writing Portfolios

Definition and Discussion of Writing Portfolios In composition studies, a writing portfolio is a collection of student writing (in print or electronic form) thats intended to demonstrate the writers development over the course of one or more academic terms. Since the 1980s, writing portfolios have become an increasingly popular form of student assessment in composition courses taught in colleges and universities, especially in the U.S. Examples and Observations The purpose of a writing portfolio is to demonstrate a writers improvement and achievements. Portfolios allow writers to collect a body of writing in one place and to organize and present it in an effective, attractive format, giving the instructor a view of a students writing that focuses more on the complete body of work than on individual assignments. While compiling individual items (sometimes called artifacts) to include in their portfolios, students reflect on their work and measure their progress; as they do so, they may improve their ability to evaluate their own work.(Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell, The Brief Wadsworth Handbook, 7th ed. Wadsworth, 2012) Process-Writing Portfolios The process-writing portfolio is an instructional tool that manifests the stages and efforts in the writing process. It also contains completed, unfinished, abandoned, or successful work. Process-writing portfolios typically contain brainstorming activities, clustering, diagramming, outlining, free writing, drafting, redrafting in response to teacher/peer review, and so forth. Thus, a picture of the current state of an individuals composing process is revealed. The two essential pedagogical elements in the process-writing portfolio are student reflection and teacher inquiry.(Joanne Ingham, Meeting the Challenges of an Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum. Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles in Higher Education, ed. by Rita Dunn and Shirley A. Griggs. Greenwood, 2000) Reflective Statements Most instructors who assign portfolios will also ask you to write statements in which you reflect on your writing processwhat you think you did well, what still needs improvement, and what you have learned about writing. Some teachers ask students to write reflective statements or a letter to the teacher for each assignment. Others may ask for just an end-of-semester statement ..(Susan Anker, Real Essays With Readings: Writing Projects for College, Work, and Everyday Life, 3rd ed. Bedford/St. Martins, 2009) Feedback With or without rubrics, portfolios are also an excellent vehicle for teachers to give verbal feedback to students. Teachers can provide written feedback on the portfolio itself, or, especially for younger students, they can provide oral feedback using the portfolio as the focus of brief student conferences.(Susan M. Brookhart, Portfolio Assessment. 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook, ed. by Thomas L. Good. Sage, 2008) Portfolio Assessment Portfolios have been seen as valid because they measure what they say they will measurestudents ability to write and revise in a rhetorical setting. However, critics question the reliability of portfolio assessment. Pointing to the number of times a paper can be revised, some claim it is often impossible to determine how competent the student writer is or how much help a student has received during the revision process (Wolcott, 1998, p. 52). Others claim there are too many variables with portfolio assessment and that portfolios do not hold up well enough to statistical measures for them to be considered a reliable assessment instrument (Wolcott, 1998, p. 1). To address the problems with reliability, some schools have added a timed essay test to the portfolio assessment. Still, others believe that the validity of portfolio assessment outweighs the reliability problems associated with it and that portfolio assessment is the kind of evaluation most consistent with the values of composi tionists.  (Julie Neff Lippman, Assessing Writing. Concepts in Composition: Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing, ed. by Irene L. Clark. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003) [O]ne clear benefit of portfolio assessment is that teachers do not have to mark every writing error, because they usually score portfolios using holistic methods. Students, in turn, benefit because they can identify the content and writing skills they have mastered and the areas they need to improve.  ( Vicki Urquhart and Monette McIver, Teaching Writing in the Content Areas. ASCD, 2005)It should be pointed out that portfolios do not necessarily bring greater accuracy to assessment, but they do promote a greater awareness of what good writing might be and how it might be best achieved. The advantages lay principally in that the validity, and value, of assessment is increased if it is situated in teaching and based on a clearer understanding of writing.  (Ken Hyland, Second Language Writing. Cambridge University Press, 2003)

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 47

Personal Statement - Essay Example I had worked very hard and had good grades in my previous schooling and everyone believed that I was the best nominee for the award, little did I know that a huge disappointment was in the offing. I painfully missed the scholarship and in its place, I received a smaller, insignificant award in my eyes. Whereas I thought I was the best person to receive the token, other people were awarded. I became very angry and unknowingly, I developed a grudging heart against those who won the scholarship. I was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the scholarship committee was biased. This feeling of hatred and jealousy continued for a while until I noted that my negative reaction angry look and avoidance attitude had no apparent effect on the winners. It only increased my frustrations and I became more and more miserable. I decided to force that feeling to fade away. I had no choice as those who received the scholarship were oblivious of the resentment towards them. I decided not to continue a llowing my heart and mind to be swayed by important issues in my life. I decided to move on especially after talking to a few friends and family members. They encouraged me to put that ordeal behind me as there are people who face severe challenges in life. This incident caused a huge impact in my life. It threatened to derail me from my career and cause a permanent heartbreak. Through guidance and canceling, my entire family made me understand that a single failure in life does not define the entire life of a person.