Writing Assignment 1: Reasons Why People Resist Technology

One of the reasons people resist new technology is the negative mindset of the general public, particularly caused by ignorance. An example of the application of new technology is the information technology (IT) sector. Within this sector, technology is advancing so rapidly that people who are not IT-savvy are generally not able to keep up with the latest technology. IT consumers have the freedom to choose whether they want to keep up with the latest technology. Unlike IT professionals, it is not necessary for consumers to be equipped with an extensive knowledge of the most recent technology. Indeed, there are simply too many types of new technologies in the IT industry to grasp. As a result, the lack of interest hinders consumers from keeping up with new technology. It is because of the difficulty and lack of interest in keeping up with new technology that consumers become ignorant about new technology. How interested the consumers are in new technology also depends on their educational background and knowledge of IT. Those who are not well versed in or have not studied IT before tend to become ignorant of the latest in technological development, as they regard IT as something alien to them. There are also consumers who firmly believe that they do not need new technology in their daily lives. They believe that using older technology is enough to meet their needs. For example, last year, Microsoft introduced their new operating system, Windows Vista. However, Windows XP users remain ignorant of Windows Vista’s features and therefore resist Windows Vista. They believe that they are more comfortable with using Windows XP instead of Windows Vista. The features of Vista might be too complicated or impractical for consumers. This example shows how people feel more comfortable and familiar with older technology. In conclusion, the negative mindset of people makes them resist new technology.

Portfolio Task 2: Identify 1 of your common grammar mistakes and explain how the grammatical structure should be used

One of the most common grammar mistakes I commit is the use of prepositions. Prepositions are used in sentences to describe relationship between other words. The general categories of words commonly used together with prepositions are time, location, objects and events. It is difficult to use the correct preposition all the time as most of the prepositions can be used with specific words or sentences. For example, the word “proud” can only be used with the preposition “of”. However, words such as “hope” can be used with more than one preposition such as “for” and “in”. If the incorrect preposition is used, the meaning of the word or sentence might change and this might cause the readers to misinterpret what you are trying to portray. It also makes you’re the ideas in the sentences appear illogical. I tend to get mixed up with what preposition to use in a particular sentence. The incorrect preposition used may sometimes appear correct to me as I am accustomed to my way of using it. This is usually when I want to relate people with location, objects and events or objects with location. In the writing assignment, the usage of the preposition “on” is wrong in the following sentence: “develop a keen interest on IT”. Instead, the corrected sentence should be “keen interest in IT”. I also tend to use preposition unnecessary. This is because I have the bad habit of using unnecessary preposition in my daily speech. Hence, it influences the way I write my essay. One common example would be “I am meeting up with her later”. Instead, it should just be “I am meeting her later”. From preposition exercise I had attempted, I found out that if I did not fully understand what the sentence meant, I would use the wrong preposition. This is especially true for long sentences that use multiple prepositions such as questions 1 and 3 in the preposition exercise. The exercise I have done below helps me to correct as well as to reinforce my understanding of using prepositions correctly.

The preposition exercise I did below was retrieved from the following internet address:

http://www.lrc.centennialcollege.ca/tutorserv/English/Worksheets/Preposition%20Exercise2.htm

Preposition Exercise

1. In order to get school, I have to drive the shopping mall that is located the corner Dundas and McQuay.

2. I was leaning the car when it started to move.

3. The train is leaving Toronto 6:30 and is going east Oshawa.

4. My car is parked a motorcycle and a van.

5. The banana is the fruit bowl that is the counter.

6. I found my earring the dirty clothes laying the washer.

7. The drinking glasses are stored the plates in the cupboard.

8. The dog jumped the car when he realized his owner was leaving.

9. The hospital is the corner from the high school.

10. The child hid the couch a game of hide-and-seek.

11. The child sat Santa Clause knee.

Answer Key

1. to, past, at, of
2. against/on
3. from, at, past/through, toward
4. between
5. inside, on
6. among/beside/near/in, by/on
7. above/below
8. into
9. around
10. behind/beside, during
11. on