How do you pronounce this -> A' in English?

Writing task # 3 There is no doubt that what we call family is the core structure of society. Although some people may think that this structure is unchangeable over time, I strongly believe that the definition of family has taken a completely different meaning in today’s world. Two reasons make me feel this way, which I will explain in the following essay. First of all, the bonds that we hold with our extended family members are not as strong as they used to be in the past. Two decades ago, people used to travel less than today. Also, it was less common to live abroad, and starting a new life in a whole different country. However, due to technological developments such as the Internet, TV, and smartphones, the new generation is becoming more interested in visiting new places. Thus, it is much more likely that a young adult will go to study overseas or find a new job in another country, searching for better living conditions. As a result, we are very prone to lose some contact to members of our family such as grandparents, uncles, and cousins, that we used to have contact on a daily basis. My personal experience is a perfect example of this. I decided to get married and go to Brazil to study a master’s degree in Civil Engineering, leaving all my family behind in Venezuela. I did this because I wanted to grow professionally, but also because I was curious and attracted to the Brazilian culture. This made me lose contact with almost every member of my family because I am not used to texting them or call them on Skype or Whatsapp. In addition, friends are taking the place of extended family in today’s society. We spend more time with friends from high school and colleague than with our own cousins and aunts. Because of this, we prefer to maintain a closer relationship with those that have more impact in our life. For instance, I consider that my best friend from college, Hernán, is like a brother to me. Since the first day we met at the University, we have cultivated a special bond that strengthened over time, since we went through moments of joy and sadness together. On the other hand, I do not have much contact with my cousin Juan. Juan and I used to play a lot when we were kids, but once we grew up, we lose contact and never spoke again. This example shows that, sometimes, friends can mean more to us than our own family. Moreover, if we spend enough time with our friends, they can substitute the role of a brother or cousin. Therefore, they can become like a member of our

Besides "extendend family", how else can we call our cousins, grandparents and uncles/aunts?

Essay about 'Knowledge' Although some people may prefer to know just enough about different academic topics and consider this a better option for their professional development, I strongly believe that fully dominating a subject in any area of expertise can turn you into a go-to professional. It can also help the world to become a better place. These two reasons will be explained in the following essay. First of all, it is commonly said that “knowledge is power”, thus, every professional should aim to focus on understanding and dominating a specific technology or method if he wants to be recognize by other peers. This respect transforms, sooner rather than later, into new opportunities of promotions or a new job offer that can help us achieve a better social status. That is why there are so many Universities offering tons of Ph.D. and MSc programs for students and professionals that want to specialize in a specific branch of science. My personal experience is a compelling example of this. When I started my Master’s degree two years ago at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I wanted to become an expert in seismic inversion, specifically in a new technology called “Full Waveform Inversion”. This technology has been very popular among the geophysical community in the last decade and is one of the main tools used by oil companies in seismic processing. Since there is almost no one in Brazil that knows how to work with this high-resolution inversion technique, I thought that delving deeper into the understanding of such a method and demonstrating that I am qualified to work with it, will make my profile attractive for future employers. Consequently, as soon as I ended my Master program, I was hired by one of the top geophysical companies in Brazil, thanks to my previous experience with full waveform inversion. This example shows how understanding a very specific topic can help us succeed in our professional life. In addition, knowing a lot about a specific topic is important since it can lead to more discoveries and new applications of science to solve a hard problem. As my Ph.D. advisor says, “hard problems do not have easy answers”. Indeed, if we only study the basics of any subject, we will not be able to come up with creative and innovative ideas that can be a great contribution to humankind problems. Moreover, if everybody takes the easy way and learn only the main concepts, there will never be enough knowledge to make our society progress. That is why some of the great

Writing task #2 Hello, italkians. I had to write a short essay about how a lecture and a reading oppose each other. Here is the text. Please if you find something wrong, let me know. As always, thank you so much! In this set of materials, the passage states that there has been a decline in people reading literature, and discuss how this fact affects negatively the quality of today’s literature, our cultural interests and the opportunities for writers to publish their novels. On the other hand, the professor casts doubt on what is presented in the reading, refuting each of the author's main points. First of all, the professor does not agree with the point of view that the decline of literature readers is harming the intelligence of newer generations. Instead, she explains that there are other forms of written information that can also be stimulating for the reader's intellect. She uses the example of scientific papers and history books to prove her point. In addition, the reading claims that the lacking of a public that enjoys literature has negative effects in today’s culture because instead of reading good literature, people in general prefer to buy self-help books with shallow and vain content, and spend their time doing other things such as watching TV or browsing on the Internet. However, the professor says that our culture is not declining, but quite the opposite. She states, from another perspective, that currently there are tons of well-made movies and high-quality compositions such as songs and music videos that are perfect examples of a nourished and rich culture. Therefore, our culture has not changed for bad but has strengthened and expanded in other branches of art. Finally, the author of the article posits that, presently, talented writers have almost no public due to the poor standards of reading, and this yields a lack of support and investment from publishers. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that there will be a decreasing in both reading and writing of literature in the future. Nonetheless, the professor opposes this point, by saying that this lack of support is not the reader’s fault, but the authors'. She explains that many of the literature books produced today have a language that is difficult to understand. As a result, the public is losing interest in literature and is choosing other methods of entertainment.

This is part of an essay I just wrote about children and video games :) Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Playing computer games is a waste of time. Children should not be allowed to play them. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Presently, technology offers a lot of different options for children to spend their free time. Computer games and video games in general are, perhaps, the most popular option of entertainment among the majority of kids and teenagers. While some people are totally against the idea of letting children play video games because it can create addictive behavior and also some games might contain high levels of violence, I strongly believe that gaming in computers is not a waste of time at all. On the contrary, they can be a good source for learning and developing important intellectual skills. I also consider that computer games can encourage children to be more curious about computers and the way computers work. I would elaborate on these two points in the following essay. First of all, almost all video games can stimulate children’s intelligence in one way or another. In order to complete certain games, kids may need to put into practice a broad range of intellectual and social skills such as critical thinking and persistence. If the game has some sort of multiplayer mode, kids would also need to make use of teamwork and communication abilities. Moreover, since lots of popular games are in English, players that speak another language could eventually need to learn new words in order to figure out what to do in the game. All these positive traits, reinforced in video games, can have a meaningful impact in other parts of children’s lives such as in School and in interacting with other kids. My own experience is a compelling example of this. When I was a kid, I remember that I used to spend a couple of hours a day playing Nintendo 64’s Zelda. At first, there were too many words I did not understand because English is not my native language. Therefore, I had to look for these words in the Spanish-English dictionary by myself to fully understand what I needed to do to pass all the missions. As a result, I acquired more knowledge in a second language, and the best part is that I was also having fun. That behavior taught me that I could figure things out by myself, and also helped me later in my English class in School since I could associate some terms in my textbook with those I had discovered playing Zelda.

Writing task #1 I had to write a brief essay about how a lecture and an article opposed each other. Here is the text: In this set of materials, the article states that the spreading of zebra mussels in North America poses a problem to the freshwater fish population due to their invasive behavior, ability to reproduce and food habits. However, in the lecture, the professor casted doubt on what is presented in the text and refutes each of the author's reasons. First, it is clearly stated in the reading that, according to the history of the zebra mussel, its invasion to new regions cannot be controlled. Nonetheless, the professor disagrees with this idea. He explains from another angle that, presently, people have enough knowledge to control zebra mussel’s spreading in many ways, especially in the case where the spreading is carried out through ships. As illustrated by him, one option consists of requiring ships to empty their fresh water while still in the ocean, where the seawater will kill the zebra mussels. In addition, the professor disagrees with the point of view that this type of shellfish can dominate new habits with ease, as a result of a lack of natural predators in their new habitats. He points out that there will be no predators only at the beginning of the invasion. Soon after, it is very likely that some animals, such as birds, will change their food habits, thus representing a possible threat to zebra mussels. Finally, although it is stated in the reading that zebra mussels can cause a decline in the overall fish population, the professor provides some evidence to oppose this idea. He explains that this species can yield negative effects only on some types of fishes due to competition for food like plankton. However, they can also be a source of nutrients for fishes living in the bottom of the rivers, yielding an increase in the population of other organisms. (Please, let me know if you can spot any mistake or odd sentence. As always, thank you very much italkians!)

Is there something wrong with this sentence? The article states that a prehistoric mammal, known as "R. Robustus", was probably a scavenger and egg eater instead of an active hunter, and provides three reasons of support, based on the fact that a fossil of this animal was found with remains of a dinosaur inside its stomach. I am studying for the TOEFL, and I just wanted to know if there is something odd with this sentence. If so, how can I improve it? Thank you very much italkians!

Statement of purpose (Part 2) (Part 2) I consider that this prestigious program is extremely suitable to my career plan since it covers the most advanced topics in both applied and non-applied geophysics and provides the most updated resources for researching in an excellent multidisciplinary and multicultural environment. Moreover, taking such a life-changing step will allow me to learn from and work alongside outstanding professors and some of the most influential geoscientists nowadays, inspiring me to become the subject-matter expert I want to be in the near future. I want to grow further as a geoscientist, and I am strongly convinced that through this PhD program, I could make important contributions to seismic data imaging and inversion . I am sure that I will meet all requirements and will be able to maintain University of XYA’s highest standards of excellence. It would be an immense honor to have such an amazing opportunity. Best regards,