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Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

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1. What I'm looking forward to

I'm excited to explore how activists use art and design to spread their messages. It'll be cool to analyze works by artists like Banksy and see the real - world impact.

2. Initial ideas

Maybe we can focus on a specific social issue, like environmental protection, and study how brands (e.g., Patagonia) and artists collaborate to promote change. We could compare their methods and effects.

3. Challenges

It might be hard to find enough detailed case studies, especially comparing different types of activists (artists vs brands). Also, making sure our analysis is balanced and covers both successes and limitations will be tricky.

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1. Which listening style do you use most?

I think my usual style is relational because I like connecting emotionally. I often listen by responding to feelings. In class, I tend to notice classmates’ emotions.

2. Have you ever focused too much on yourself in a conversation?

One time I talked with a friend, and I realised I wasn’t listening because I thought about my own story. I could improve by focusing on them first.

3. How could you be more active as a listener?

One thing I could do is ask “What made you feel that way?”. Next time, I will try repeating the speaker’s words. A good question is “How does this matter to you?”.

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Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can help ensure that your writing coheres or “sticks together”, which will make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five important features. The first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is reference words. The third one is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis.

https://www.eapfoundation.com/writing/cohesion/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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Cohesion refers to how parts of a text are connected together. It is similar to but not the same as coherence.

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Malala Yousafzai grew up in Swat Valley, Pakistan. When the Taliban took control, they stopped girls from going to school. Malala wrote a secret diary to speak up. Her life was full of danger and violence.

Greta Thunberg is from Sweden. She has Asperger’s syndrome, which made her very focused on climate change. She started by skipping school every Friday to protest alone. Her life was safer, but she faced a lot of pressure from the media and public.

Malala made the world pay attention to girls’ education. She started the Malala Fund to help girls go to school. At 17, she won the Nobel Peace Prize and helped change education laws in some countries.

Greta started the global “Fridays for Future” protests. She made climate change a hot topic worldwide. Many governments and companies made climate promises because of her. She was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Malala was shot by the Taliban because of her activism. She also faced cultural pressure because she’s a young woman speaking out. She must always think about her safety.

Greta was often attacked online because of her age and strong words. It’s also hard to turn youth protests into real political change.

They changed how people see activists. Many thought only adults could change the world. But Malala and Greta showed that young people can speak up and lead big movements.

They became symbols. Now, both girls represent courage and responsibility. They show that anyone—even young people—can fight for a better world.

Their biggest power is not just what they did, but who they are. They made people believe that age doesn't matter—what matters is action.

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This week, I took part in several listening activities. I listened to the tutor explain academic reading skills, joined group discussions, and watched a video about coherence and cohesion. I took notes during the tutor’s lecture and the video.

I felt more confident when listening to the tutor because I had prepared before class. I wasn’t too worried about understanding. However, I felt a little stressed when I had to take notes quickly, especially during the video.

Listening to the tutor went well because the pace was clear and the content was familiar. Taking notes during group discussions was also fine, as I could follow the main points. It was more difficult during the video because the speaker talked fast and there were some new words.

I felt more comfortable when I had time to prepare. Reviewing the topic before class made the listening easier. When there were visuals like slides, I could follow the structure better. But when the material was fast or unfamiliar, I had to focus more, which made it harder to take notes.

I’ve learned that preparation before class and using visuals help me understand more. I also found that I don’t need to write everything down—focusing on key ideas works better.

Next week, I will continue to prepare before class by reviewing the topic. I will try using short forms and key words when taking notes. After class, I’ll check my notes and add anything I missed.

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In this essay, I will talk about activism and racial inequality. I will compare the lives, achievements, and challenges of Martin Luther King Jr. and another influential activist (text 2). Both fought for racial justice, but in different ways. In my opinion, both of them had a huge impact, and their work still inspires people today.

Both activists believed in fighting for justice and equality. They spoke out against racism and discrimination. For example, both led powerful movements that gave a voice to Black people. They both inspired hope in others. I think they are brave and strong leaders. The texts show they never gave up, even when things were dangerous or difficult.

One main difference is their methods. Martin Luther King Jr. used non-violence, peaceful protests, and powerful speeches like “I Have a Dream.” The other activist (from text 2) focused more on different actions or different groups. Also, King became famous all over the world, while the second activist may have had a smaller focus. In my opinion, both were effective in their own ways, and both are important.

To sum up, both activists made a great contribution to fighting racial inequality. I think the most interesting part is how their ideas still influence today’s world. Many people still learn from Martin Luther King’s speeches and beliefs. I believe activism is still necessary, and their stories remind us to keep fighting for justice.

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This week, I continued developing my activism project about marginalised female students in universities. I finalised the main concept of my installation: a giant eye-shaped immersive space with 360° projections and a touchscreen. I also selected three reliable sources for my PS2 task and analysed them using the CRAAP test. I spent time writing my project summary and preparing for next week’s class discussion.

At first, I felt a bit stressed because the topic is sensitive and emotionally heavy. But after finalising the idea, I started to feel more confident and connected to the project. I’m proud that I chose a topic that really matters, and I feel more motivated now to keep going.

The good thing is I stayed focused and finished key tasks on time, especially the summary and the PS2 source analysis. Also, working on the installation idea helped me feel more creative and clear about my goals. However, it was hard to balance this with other class tasks, so I sometimes felt overwhelmed.

I think the tasks went well because I had a clear plan and I used your support to check my ideas. What didn’t go so well was mostly about time. I underestimated how long it would take to write reflections and do research. I also noticed I work better when I break big tasks into small steps.

I learned that having a strong concept early helps me feel more motivated. I also learned that managing my time needs more awareness—I can't leave everything to the last minute. Small steps and regular check-ins really help.

Next week, I will start sketching the visual design of the installation and prepare questions to collect stories respectfully. I’ll make a simple weekly timetable to balance this with my other classes. I also want to ask for feedback from my tutor to make sure I’m on the right track.

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1.Before the mocks, I was a bit nervous but also prepared. I knew that in the real exam, the listening parts aren’t just played once, which made me feel more relaxed. During the test, the first listening part was still challenging—even though I could listen multiple times (just like the real exam), I found it hard to catch specific details quickly because the speakers talked fast. The second listening part was better: while taking notes, repeating the audio helped me write down more key points, though I still struggled to organize them neatly right away. Reading felt easy; I stayed calm, found main ideas without trouble, and answered questions smoothly. After finishing, I was eager to know my scores—I hoped the repeated listens in listening helped me do okay, and I was pretty sure reading went well.

2.My scores are: Listening Part 1 got 5, Part 2 got 6, and Reading got 7. For the listening first part, getting 5 wasn't a big surprise because even with repeated listening, those quick details were still tricky to catch. The second part scoring 6 made sense as I did manage to take some useful notes and put together a summary, even if it wasn't perfect. For reading, scoring 7 was great and matched my expectation since I usually do well in understanding texts. The feedback said that in listening Part 1, I need to improve on grasping specific information faster, and in Part 2, my note - taking could be more organized. For reading, it mentioned that I can work on speeding up a bit more to handle complex questions better.

3. - Listening Part 1: Be able to catch at least 80% of the key details even when listening once (since I can repeat, but still aim for better first - time comprehension).

- Listening Part 2: Organize my notes more clearly to write a smooth and concise summary without missing important points.

- Reading: Read 1.5 times faster than now to have more time for difficult questions.

Strategies

For Listening Part 1, I'll practice with short audio clips, listen once first (to simulate the real test pressure a bit) and write down as many details as possible, then listen again to check. Do this daily. For Part 2, I'll use the class note - taking templates and practice grouping information while listening. For Reading, I'll do timed reading exercises every morning, set a timer and try to finish passages quicker, then analyze where I can speed up more. I'll also revisit the reading strategy videos from class to remember how to handle different question types.

Knowledge and understanding

I still find it confusing to quickly process all the information in the listening first part, even with repeated audio. In the listening second part, turning scattered notes into a good summary is tough. For reading, although I did well, some complex long passages still make me spend too much time. I need to practice more on listening detail - catching, note - organizing for summarizing, and reading speed for long texts. Also, I should learn more vocabulary related to academic topics to understand listening and reading materials better.

Tracking progress and getting support

To check if I'm improving, I'll do weekly mini - tests for listening and reading, compare my scores and see if I'm catching more details or reading faster. I need feedback from my tutor on my listening note - taking and summary - writing, to see if my organization is getting better. Also, if I'm stuck on certain listening or reading skills, I'll ask my classmates how they practice those areas and get tips from them.