10 Question MUST ALL A
What to Write?
Food is fundamental to life. As a result, whether we realize it or not, food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. In every era, the unfolding of history has been intimately tied to the need for food, the production of food, and the culture of food. In Part 2, you will research and write the integral role of food in the unfolding history of the Asian culture you are assigned to. In addition, you will learn about all three cultures and cuisine by reading and responding to your peers’ posts.
Specifically, please consider the following when you draft the post:
- Briefly introduce the intimate ties between food and history in the Asian culture you are assigned to
- Summarize the overall history of your assigned Asian culture
- Examine food evolution and its integral role in different eras from prehistory to our own times
- Synthesize the impacts of history in shaping the food culture in your assigned Asian culture
Please have the following requirements in mind when crafting your post:
Your post writing should be a cohesive research paper, not a Q&A session.
- Use at least THREE references from library resources and credible online sources to support your opinion
- Use APA styles for citations and references
- The final draft should be at least 500 words. However, depth matters more than length.
- Part 2=ONE post + THREE responses
How to Write?
First, research and write about history and its impact on food of the Asian culture you are assigned to (12 points)
Here is an outline of the steps to writing a good online post on a brief overall history and food history of an Asian culture. The process is similar to write any good research paper, which takes time and practice.
1. Make sure you know what the discussion prompt is asking
Part 2 requires you to write a brief overall history of the Asian country you are assigned to and examine the integral role of food evolution in each historical era. You may start with a brief introduction of food evolution from a historical perspective in your assigned Asian culture. Then you can discuss the overall history in this Asian culture, maybe by eras. You are not required to have a comprehensive examination of every historical era and event. Instead this post should focus on brief introducing the country’s history. In each era, you might want to examine the changes in food, such as food production and food culture, the role of historical events played in these changes, and/or the role of food as a catalyst or media in historical events. In the end, you can discuss how history shapes the food culture and cuisine to the way it is today. Your post should be a cohesive argument, not a laundry list of time and historical events.
2. Brainstorm possible arguments and responses
Before you even start researching or drafting, take a few minutes to consider what you already know about the topic. Make a list of ideas or draw a cluster diagram, using circles and arrows to connect ideas–whatever method works for you. At this point in the process, it is helpful to write down all of your ideas without stopping to judge or analyze each one in depth. You want to think big and bring in everything you know or suspect about the topic. After you have finished, read over what you have created. Look for patterns or trends or questions that keep coming up. Based on what you have brainstormed, what do you still need to learn about the topic? Do you have a tentative argument or response to the paper prompt? Use this information to guide you as you start your research and develop a thesis statement.
3. Start researching
You need to conduct outside research to have a better understanding of the overall and food history of the Asian culture you are assigned to. The SF State library system offers plenty of resources. There are also lots of articles online about this topic. Make sure you use multiple resources and evaluate the reliability of the sources. Use at least THREE references from library resources and credible online sources to support your opinion.
4. Take stock and draft a thesis statement
Now you need to step back, look at the material you have, and develop your argument. Based on the reading and research you have done, how might you meet the requirements in the prompt? What arguments do your sources allow you to make? Draft a thesis statement in one or two sentences to clearly and succinctly make an argument.
If you find writing a thesis daunting, remember that whatever you draft now is not set in stone. Your thesis will change. As you do more research, reread your sources, and write your paper, you will learn more about the topic and your argument. For now, produce a “working thesis,” meaning, a thesis that represents your thinking up to this point. Remember it will almost certainly change as you move through the writing process. Once you have a thesis statement, you may find that you need to do more research targeted to your specific argument.
5. Identify your key sources (both primary and secondary) and annotate them
Now look back over your sources and identify which ones are most critical to you–the ones you will be grappling with most directly in order to make your argument. Then, annotate them. Annotating sources means writing a paragraph that summarizes the main idea of the source as well as shows how you will use the source in your post.
While it might seem like this step creates more work for you by having to do more writing, it in fact serves two critical purposes: it helps you refine your working thesis by distilling exactly what your sources are saying, and it helps smooth your writing process. Having dissected your sources and articulated your ideas about them, you can more easily draw upon them when constructing your post.
6. Draft an outline of your paper
An outline is helpful in giving you a sense of the overall structure of your writing and how best to organize your ideas. You need to decide how to arrange your argument in a way that will make the most sense to your peer readers. Perhaps you decide that your argument is most clear when presented chronologically, or perhaps you find that it works best with a thematic approach.
An effective outline includes the following components: the research question from the prompt (check Step 1), your working thesis, the main idea of each body paragraph, and the evidence (from both primary and secondary sources) you will use to support each body paragraph. Be as detailed as you can when putting together your outline.
7. Write your first draft
This step can feel overwhelming, but remember that you have already done a lot of work and–armed with your working thesis, source annotations, and outline–have all the tools needed. Your goal in the draft is to articulate your argument as clearly as you can, and to marshal your evidence in support of your argument. Do not get too caught up in grammar or stylistic issues at this point, as you are more concerned now with the big-picture task of expressing your ideas in writing.
When you are writing up the evidence in your draft, you need to appropriately cite all of your sources. You must follow the required APA citation style in your reference. Remember that you need to cite not just direct quotations, but any ideas that are not your own. Inappropriate citation is considered plagiarism. For more information about how and when to cite, visit Proper Citation of Materials (APA style) in the Course Information Center in iLearn.
8. Revise your draft
After you have completed an entire first draft, move on to the revision stage. Think about revising on two levels: the global and the local. The global level refers to the argument and evidence in your paper, while the local level refers to the individual sentences.
Your first priority should be revising at the global level, because you need to make sure you are making a compelling and well-supported argument. When revising at the local level, check that you are using strong topic sentences and transitions, that you have adequately integrated and analyzed quotations, and that your paper is free from grammar and spelling errors that might distract the reader or even impede your ability to communicate your point.
9. Put it all together: the final draft
After you have finished revising and have created a strong draft, set your post aside for a few hours or overnight. Read your writing out loud, catching any errors you might have missed before. The final draft should be at least 500 words. However, depth matters more than length.
10. Post your writing
Copy and paste the post in the discussion forum. At the Subject line, please input the name of the Asian culture you are assigned to. Now, congratulate yourself. You have written a good post!
The following rubric will help you achieve an “A” for your forum posts. To be successful you must meet the expectations for each competency listed.
Second, respond to THREE posts-one from each of the three topics (3 responses=3 points)
Remember, the online discussion forum is a place for you, your peers, and your instructor to exchange information and ideas. When responding to others’ posts, be open minded to others ideas, but feel free to express your own opinion as well.
1. Read and respond to THREE posts-one post from each of the three topics. Please choose the posts with no or least responses.
2. Respond to the posts by providing positive and constructive feedback, such as:
- Anything interesting or new you learn from this post
- Anything you would like to add to the discussion
- Any disagreement or different perspectives
- Your personal experience related to the topic under discussion
The following rubric will help you achieve a “Great” rating for your forum responses. To be successful you must meet the expectations for each competency listed.
My Country is Thailand, here is what I did for Part one, it only got B-
Thailand is a country located in Southeast Asia, and it is surrounded by Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. Its capital is, of course, Bangkok and the sole official language is Thai. We discussed (briefly) Buddhism in part 3.4.1 of our course and I would like to note that Buddhism is the primary religion of Thailand, with around 94.5% of the country adhering to it (“Population by religion, region, and area”, 2015). One interesting result of their culture is that they use the Buddhism calendar, so the current year of 2019 is 2562 in Thailand. Thailand is neither a large country nor a small country; it is a little bit bigger than Spain, as it is around 200,000 square miles in area (Tourism Authority, (n.d.).), and it has a population of around 69 million people. Its climate can be described as sub-tropical, as its winter is mild and wet; its summer is hot and wet, and its spring is hot and dry, without any period of autumn.
Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice, as it is also one of the largest producers of rice, and specifically, jasmine rice is an important part of each meal. They eat over 100 kg of rice per person each year. Thai people don’t usually eat by themselves, as this can be considered bad luck, but eating is a social event in which many meals are consumed and divided between the group. Some of the customs are removing your shoes before entering the restaurant and sitting with your legs crossed and on the floor. The food that is made is designed to look complementary to its taste and is an essential part of the dish. There is even an art-form created in Thai culture that revolves around carving artwork out of fruits and vegetables. The food is consumed usually with a spoon (not chopsticks) and a fork, but knives are not often required as the food is usually presented in small, bite-sized portions. And an important part of Thai cuisine is that when you eat it, you will immediately notice that all of the taste receptors on your tongue are activated, as a traditional dish will contain sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter flavors.
The first factor that affects their food culture and activities is their climate. They incorporate a large amount of rice into their diet and it is considered the primary focus of every dish. Even saying “to eat” in Thai is literally translated as “to eat rice”. The requirements to grow rice are an average temperature of around 20-27 degrees Celsius, a lot of rainfall (the soil needs to be flooded), and fertile land. Thailand has an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and has a perfect wet season during the summer and winter (which last long as there is no autumn) for its growth and Thai soil is extremely conducive to rice growth (STA Travel. (n.d.).). Furthermore, because of the tropical climate, people are more inclined to eat their meals outdoors, which is what most people do.
The next factor that affects their food and culture activities is its region and geography. The northern areas of Thailand have highlands and are generally cooler than the south, so the agriculture there grows a lot more aromatic herbs and spices. This can be seen, for example, in Sai Oua. Which is a dish that is made from pig and kaffir lime, galangal, chili, lemongrass, and coriander (Iverson, 2017). Central Thailand uses a more diverse range of dishes; the most famous dish is not even from Thailand, but Burma. It is called Khanom Chin and is made from fermented rice and noodles and a spicy fish-based sauce (Iverson, 2017). As you can see, the region in which the dish comes from will heavily affect what it’s made from as it is influenced not only by the surrounding cultures but also by the prevalent agriculture.
Overall, the main influences that affect the country’s food traditions are mostly dependent on history, culture, and religion. But, as I could not include that in this paper, I decided to show how the physical and regional determinants can heavily change how food is made and prepared. One interesting thing that I would like to finish this essay with, is that most of the dishes are vegetarian, as this is what is prescribed by the Buddhist doctrine. Thailand is rich in culture and diversity and this is clearly evident in their food.
Works Cited:
Iverson, K. (2017, January 25). An Insider’s Guide to Thai Food, Region by Region. Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/…
“Population by religion, region and area, 2015” (PDF). NSO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
STA Travel. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.statravel.com/thailand-climate.htm
Tourism Authority. (n.d.). The official website of Tourism Authority of Thailand. Retrieved from https://www.tourismthailand.org/About-Thailand
0 comments