Sample Data Essay

The Internship System by S.Y.

Recently, many Japanese university students join in the internship system. Many universities offer it, including Tsurumi University. The internship is a system that allows students to experience working in a company. It helps them prepare to choose a job before they graduate. This system is generally held during summer vacation, so many students work hard to prepare documents and take interviews. The internship system is very popular and useful now, but about 10 years ago, it was not so widespread.

Please look at the bar graph above. The vertical axis is the number of schools, and the horizontal axis shows years from 1996 to 2007. The bars show universities in blue, and junior colleges in red. The number of institutions offering internships has increased steadily. Now the number of universities and junior colleges offering internships is about 90%. This is about 5 times the number in 1996.

This graph shows the growth of universities and junior colleges offering the internship system. In Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology energetically promotes the internship system for university students. A few years from now, joining an internship may become one of the conditions for getting a job. However, I think this condition won't guarantee that you'll get a job.

Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/other/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2010/04/16/1259257_1_1.pdf

Restaurant Reviews going online soon!

I'll be posting restaurant reviews online as soon as I have edited versions from you along with jpg photos that I can post with them. Watch for them soon at:

Tsurumi Eats!

Today, please finish your restaurant review if you haven't done so and submit it to Kevin. If you are finished, please edit and turn in your final version. If you have done that, please try these online games related to food:

American fast food chain game
Popular food combinations (write the word that makes a pair)
Name the country famous for these foods
Write these foods in 1 minute! (Hint: Make a list on paper first!)

Finally, if you've finished the online activities, read an article on Japan Probe and make a comment in the comment box below.

Solo Karaoke Rooms
Begging Starbucks for free Wi-Fi in Japan
X Japan Concert in Thailand
More radiation testing for food in Japan

Any questions? Ask Kevin.

More About Restaurant Reviews

Today we will look at some Japanese restaurant information on the site, Hot Pepper Gourmet. Please click on this link:

http://www.hotpepper.jp/CSP/psh010/doSpecial?FCS=U013&FCS=U026&SA=SA12&BCS=B002&DN=LU29&FEFLG=&ARFLG=

Kevin will assign you one restaurant from this list. Look at the information about your restaurant. On a piece of scrap paper, translate the POINT into English. Also write one or two sentences that tell some other information about the restaurant. Try to make your description different from other similar restaurants.

Next, in the blog comment box, type the following only. (Do not type the name of the restaurant!):

Your name
1) Point (in English)
2) Other info about the restaurant

When you finish writing, look at what other students have written and try to identify which restaurant matches which description. Write the student's name and the restaurant's name on the paper that Kevin gives you. When you finish, give the paper to Kevin.

You will also look at a sample student Data Essay.

Have a great day!

Sample Data Essay

The Popularity of Social Network Services
by K.F.

Nowadays, you can contact people from foreign countries by using the Internet. Many people around the world make friends through the Internet. And if you register with a social network service, you can make many friends who live in other countries easily. A social network service (SNS) is an online service where you can share some interesting things or activities and maintain contact with your friends.

However, there are many social network service sites in the world. The bar graph above compares SNS website registration. It shows us that Facebook is the most popular SNS site in the world. Facebook was developed in the USA, so it is popular among English speakers. But this popularity does not extend to Japan. A local SNS service, Mixi, is the most popular in Japan, but it is not globally popular. If you want to make friends who speak English, I recommend you use Facebook.

The Internet has developed and we can easily get in touch with people even if they live in other countries. And we can know what friends are doing through an SNS. It is very convenient for people. However, Internet techniques change rapidly. I think there are many people who cannot keep up with the development of Internet techniques in the world. I am one of them.

Source
http://www.webtweet.info/2011/04/16%E3%81%AE%E3%83%A1%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AAsns%E3%80%81%E3%83%A6%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B6%E3%83%BC%E6%95%B0%E8%AA%BF%E3%81%B9%EF%BC%882011%E5%B9%B4%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89/

Before writing a restaurant review ...

Hi everybody! Some people have already sent me restaurant reviews, but I would like to ask you to pause for a moment and make sure you have everything you need before submitting an article. I introduced the essay last week so you would have enough time, but there is no need to hurry. The 1st draft isn't due until Nov. 17. Let's look at the following list and make sure we have all of these things:

1. Restaurant name
2. Restaurant review title (not the restaurant name only)
3. An original jpg photo of the food, interior or entrance
(You must send the photo to my email as an attachment.)
4. What kind of restaurant is it? Chinese, Italian, Korean, yaki niku, ramen, buffet, sandwich shop, family restaurant, etc.
5. Information about the menu, favorite items, service, staff, specials, atmosphere, prices, etc. If the owner is interesting, tell us about her or him.
6. Complete address of the restaurant (including postal code)
7. Phone number of the restaurant
8. Business hours and holidays
9. Access information (closest train or subway station; how many minutes on foot; simple directions)
10. Web site URL if available

Also, be sure to read the restaurant reviews from last year to understand how they should generally look.

In class today, we will do the exciting Restaurant Review Treasure Hunt! Kevin will give you a handout and you will race to answer some questions. The questions can be answered by reading the restaurant reviews from the Tokyo Food File column at The Japan Times online newspaper (the column on the left). Note that only the following 5 reviews appear on the handout, but in random order:

* Mushrooms and much more in Moto-Yoyogi - Nov. 4
* Who says kaiseki dining has to be stuffy? - Oct. 31
* The most satisfying soba in temple town - Oct. 7
* Proper pizza and past - and yes, it's in Tokyo - Sept. 16
* A taste of Portugal in Tokyo's backstreets - Sept. 2

If we have time, you will blog on a restaurant related topic. Kevin will tell you in class. Have a great day!