It always impresses me how far and wide my blog has reached and how even when I do not upload as much, this blog of mine manages to reach out and help the masses. Well it is doubly impressive when a student like this ine below manages to produce a well written academic essay which warrants a high band. I wish it were this easy to transfer my skills to students. Congrats
Wong Mee Wan for your impressive attempt.
However, it is unlikely that a question like this will come out though as blogging may be considered a specialist subject more relevant to urban candidates. Nevertheless, kudos!
Question : Students should start their own blog. Do you agree ? Support your answer with examples. You should write at least 350 words.
In recent years, the world has witnessed a significant rise in technological advancements across all fields. We saw science improved, mathematical questions answered, and social media flourished. The mushroom of blogs has positively correlated with the increasingly affordable price of computers and gadgets. Majority of the bloggers are students who use it for various purposes. Despite the ongoing debate on whether students should start their own blog, I strongly agree that starting a blog and constantly updating it helps develop critical thinking skills, creates a knowledgeable society and fortifies multiracial unity.
First and foremost, starting and updating a blog helps to stimulate a critical way of thinking. Blog acts as a platform which opens up avenues for sharing and discussing ideas. Students are free to share their viewpoints with netizens all over the world and anyone can propose his or her ideas in the comment section below. Consequently, a discussion will be built up and the commenters need to analyse the arguments by considering the issue from different aspects and backgrounds. Thus, critical thinking skills develop slowly in the students’ mind without one realising it. For instance, the discussion on the economic issue can only come to an ideal conclusion through critical analysis of the current situation by viewing from different aspects, involving the countries, citizens and resources. Therefore, it is crystal clear that blogging can develop a critical thinking mind, especially among the students.
In addition to this, blogging plays a key role in moulding a knowledgeable society. It is a universal truth that most students in this era of globalisation where technology reigns adapt better to learning via electronic media. Furthermore, most students spend more time browsing the Internet compared to reading books and newspapers. Hence, information and knowledge shared via blogs can reach more students than the traditional way of sharing through books. As an exemplification, students who have created mnemonics to ease the memorisation of difficult topics in the syllabus can share them via their blogs so that other students can learn it and even discuss to come up with a better idea. As a result, the knowledge input of students who access to the blogs will be escalated dramatically to eventually mould a knowledgeable society.
Moreover, blogging can enhance the unity among different races. When students of different races blog about their unique cultures and traditions, students of other races who came across the articles will be well-informed about the cultures of other races and thus open their eyes to realise the existence of other cultures in one’s country. This can develop a better sense of understanding and hence maintain the precious unity among races, which is crucial to the harmony of a multiracial country such as Malaysia. For example, when a Malay student posts about their tradition of visiting one another during the Aidilfitri, Chinese, Indian as well as indigenous students will get to know more about the culture of Malays and the dos and don’ts when they join the celebration. Subsequently, students will develop a better understanding about races and unity is fortified when all sorts of misunderstandings are avoided.
On the other hand, one may argue that blogging is time consuming and distracting for the students. This notion anchored its arguments on the common scenario that most students are very likely to get carried away when they access the Internet and eventually wasted so much time doing unbeneficial activities in the Internet. Students are also prone to the exposure towards the underlying negative influences in the Internet such as violence, gore and sexually explicit contents which are able to corrupt the students’ mind once and for all.
In a nutshell, I still totally believe that students should start their own blog as this brings magnificent advantages to the students, society as well as our beloved country. Blogging stimulates a critical way of thinking, produces an enlightened society and strengthen the unity among races. The minor drawbacks can be prevented by careful measures such as parental control. The government through the Ministry of Education should spearhead a foolproof blueprint to instill the habit of blogging among students by providing special training and increasing incentives for the usage of technology in schools.
