Week 2: Vocabulary, Tone, and Diction / Question about vocabulary: I believe that vocabulary is very important for writing, and perfecting it is always valuable. But would business vocabulary and vocabulary for literature be the same thing?

Taking a cue from a course student's question, I would like to write some considerations regarding the matter of what he is asking about. 

Would business vocabulary and vocabulary for literature be the same thing?
It depends on the kind of literature we are talking about. There are many different kinds of "literature". Business literature for sure is referred to business words and vocabulary. In order to understand business and economic literature, we need to understand that kind of specific glossary. For instance, the words "executive summary" are referred to as a single document or the initial part of a larger business document, like a business report or a business plan. It’s used to give the reader a quick overview of the larger body of material that follows. So, when we read these kinds of words we should understand instantly the meaning of the word is referred to. If we don't know it, we have to memorise the word and its meaning to understand the whole document meaning. By business literature, we also mean the articles of journalism that concern the world of economics and finance.

Then, if, by "Literature", we mean literature in an informal colloquial signification, or fiction reading, hobby, etc. It still can be possible, because there are many novels that set their plot and characters in the business sector. For example "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a memoir book written by a former stockbroker. For sure, when we read a book like this, we have read too typical business words and slangs.

Week 1 / How do you think email has affected communication? Do you hate it? Love it?

 I think email has effected very positively communication nowadays. 

With the immediacy of its shipment and arrival, the email has helped speed up the world of work and make it even more efficient. 

The email has shortened distances in the world and nations and it is possible to send and receive an email anywhere in the world.

I think we got many benefits from email. It is easier to apply for job searching, easier to enrol on education, communicate with other people. For example, I have studied far from my homeplace and before the enrollment, I got all the information I needed via email. Without email, it would have been more difficult to try to understand if that university would have been a good university for me.

Of course, unfortunately, there are dark sides. For example, hackers, scammers, thieves and sexual predators can use emails to try to find their victims and do their terrible illegals activities. Police everywhere in the world have their own special IT sector with IT experts who strive to track down evildoers around the world.

Email, with its immediacy, has cancelled the world of the past, and we can say, cancelled a romantic side of selling mail. More people in the world are rediscovering the romantic side of writing letters on paper and then send them by post and wait for the response of their recipient. It is a rediscovery of ancient times, the romantic side of writing and sending emails that we lost with the increase of technology.

Week 1/ What company/business is having the greatest impact in the world today, either positive or negative?

 Definitely, in times of COVID, the company and kind of business that is having the greatest impact in the world today are Amazon and online commerce.

With so many nations all around the world into lockdown and quarantines and their citizens unable to buy in stores, online commerce surged considerably its sales. The percentages of increase in online sales are among the highest in history and brands, which normally sold their products in physical stores, now, have to find new ways of promoting their products by selling online. Clothing brands or electronics, now try to boost and promote their sales on their websites. 

With the rise of online sellers, even courier businesses saw a very strong augmentation of their work and consequent incomes.

The impact on the global economy increased even the recruitment and the occupation in these kinds of sectors and businesses. Amazon has significantly increased its jobs vacancies by seeking new staff. Couriers agencies too, month after month, with the increase of requests from online stores and customers, increased their search for new personnel. 

This kind of impact in the working world has very serious negative repercussions because more and more workers are forced to overwork and respond to the increasingly incessant requests from online brands. 

On the other side, many businesses reinvented themselves. Restaurants, for example, try to struggle to close their physical activities by selling their food on their online websites and recruiting riders.

Week 1/ Michele's thoughts about writing

In the past, I always loved write and I dreamed to become a poet and a writer. I was an avid reader and in my house, I have a real small library with many books from every kind of literary genre and historic period. Life's vicissitudes and changes stopped me from continuing this activity. The kind of writing I aspire is business writing because I want to pursue the job of the PA and this kind of writing is indispensable. PA's needs to be good writers. Academic researches and business writing are evry common in PA's daily tasks.

Returning to the subject of writing as a personal exercise, I really want to restart this lovely activity. Because it is a very good habit and occupation, on so many levels. It helps my reasoning capacities, it keeps me occupied, it helps my brain to stay active and understand so many things in my life. I feel better even on a psychological level.

We should never give up on our dreams and positive habits. If we find something that passionate about us and makes us feel good about ourselves, why should we abandon it? Even now, whilst I am writing this simple and, hopefully, concise text, I am feeling very good, I am feeling more alive and my brain is active.

The writing areas I need to improve most are the areas of the explanation of a concept and grammar. How should I organise my mind and my writing when I want to explain a concept about a business concept or event. I have been in the past a Business PA and it is very important to explain with proper precision the concept we need to write and let the reader a perfect understanding of our document. I would definitely like to be both a business and an essay writer.