Written Discourse

Some takeaways from class is that letters written by people from different cultures can be extremely different
just writing a simple letter requesting for something can be a totally different approach across cultures
just like the assignment we did
where the way a chinese writes a request is
- introduce self
- show interest in the group they are writing to
- explain their situation
- give the request
- show gratefulness and apologize for the trouble caused

but in the case of a westerner
they are more direct and straight forward
which is clear, but may sound impolite as well
so there needs to be a balance:)

another interesting thing we discussed in class was the one about the indian essay on Dowry
we can see how inductive and deductive forms of argument is so different
to us locals, it may seem like the writer of the essay did not seem to have a clear statement or point of view
but perhaps it is just the style of writing from people in theat culture
so just because we are taught a certain way
does not mean another form of argument is neccessarily bad
therefore it was quite insightful
these were my general takeaway
group discussions are indeed a great way to learn more:)