Journal Topics
Journal writing is an informal approach to developing your writing skills. Your assessment is primarily based on improvement and completing a minimum number of pages (4 pages skipping lines) by the established deadline. My feedback to you is focused on interaction with what you have written as opposed to correcting syntax or orthography. Since this is a dialogue journal, I respect the confidential nature of what you choose to write. Ease of expression and sophistication of vocabulary are taken into account in the grade that is assigned.
Science and Technology
- The effects of the acid rain
- The global warming
- The problem of noise pollution
- Should recycling be mandatory?
- Cellphone, television, electricity: luxury or necessity?
- The USA must continue exploring the other planets
- NASA is a waste of money and resources
- UFOs: reality or fantasy?
- Benefits of solar energy
- The right to die with dignity – euthanasia
- The integration of science and religion
- Water scarcity in the world
- The integration of science and law
- Is stem cell research necessary?
- Mechanization has affected the quality of food vs. organic
- Natural disasters and how to prepare for them
Beauty and Aesthetic
- Why not to buy fur coats?
- Television is art, or not?
- Beauty pageants, exploitation of women?
- Cosmetic surgery for minors
- How is beauty defined in other cultures?
- How has our beauty concept changed through the years?
- Cinema as an artistic expression
- Fashion as an artistic expression
- Theater as an artistic expression
- Dance as an artistic expression
- Fine arts
- Abstract art
- Sometimes trash is art
- Where there is art in nature
Public and personal identity
- Sexism in the media or/and television
- The car as a symbol of social status
- Why are tattoos in fashion and what do they want to express?
- Are branded products (Abercrombie, Hollister, Gap, Hillfiger, Polo) worthwhile?
- The control or limit the government should impose on advertising
- The effects of witchcraft and Santeria
- Being or not being vegetarian
- Bodybuilding: only for your ego or for your health
- How religion has change the diet
- Why Americans do not know the national and international geography
- How are love, honor, and truth defined?
Global challenges
- The importance of the Amazon
- Is terrorism revolutionary?
- The effects of overpopulation
- Mandatory testing for HIV or drug use
- Things a person can do to help the environment
- Poverty encourages crime, Yes or no?
- Should we have a natural health insurance?
- Denying medical services to illegal immigrants
- Should the next morning pill (for abortion) be available in the USA?
- The importance of the ozone layer
- In favor or against welfare
- Exploitation of children and women in American factories in third world countries
- The national deficit
Families and communities
- The process of entering college
- What every parent should know to raise their children
- The impact of divorce
- Why are there fewer babies for adoption?
- How has the family structure changed in recent years?
- The concept of the Hispanic/European/Asian family vs. the American family
- The ideal age to marry and have children
- How to train a babysitter
- The worst nightmare of my childhood
- What children can learn from their grandparents and great-grandparents
- Solutions to prevent students dropping out of school
- Should the school year in high school be extended?
- Should crime victims receive a reward?
- The importance of marriage in modern society
- Treatment of Native Americans on reservations
- A letter to the mayor complaining about the problems of your city
- Shortage of teachers today and tomorrow
Contemporary life
- Stress and its effects on young people today
- Why should uniforms be required in schools
- What is the American Dream? Does it still exist?
- Describe the typical fashion of the 70s/80s/90s
- Modern heroes and leaders and what they mean for today’s youth
- Should contraceptives be available in high schools?
- False advertising
- Smoking in public places
- Should airlines be nationalized?
- How to improve the safety of aircrafts?
- Should telephone surveys and telephone advertising be prohibited?
- The effects of gangs extend beyond the major urban centers
- Advertisements for alcohol and/or tobacco
- Effects of fast food on people’s health
- Should Puerto Rico be a colony, free state or independent country
- Possible effects of violent toys/videogames on children
- Michael Jackson’s death means the death of pop music
- Hunting (deer, birds, etc.) is necessary in some cases
- The best age (or the appropriate age) to get the driver’s license
- The effects of increasing or eliminating the speed limits on highways
- Should we have admission quotas in universities for minorities?
- Racism in prisons and courts
- The judicial system is racist
- The impact of Latin Americans as the largest minority group in the USA
- Who benefits from the lottery? Does lottery exploit the poor?
- Middle class is disappearing in this country
- Censorship in art and in the press
- Why or why not should we register firearms?
- Advantages and disadvantages of credit cards
- How to plan a surprise party
- European influence in American fashion
- How to prepare your favorite dish
- Myths and misunderstandings about certain foods
- How will the house/car of the future be?
- The best first lady of the United States
- States deserve more autonomy
- Analyze the benefits of organ transplant
- Global hunger /Hunger in Third World countries
- Unnecessary surgeries by corrupted doctors and surgeons
- Effects of caffeine on diet
- Is it OK to lie sometimes
- Modern attitudes about right and wrong
- Discuss “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
